This story had a very interesting premise with a unique storyline. I can understand why it has captured so many people however, while I did read the story from start to finish, it just wasn't my cup of tea. Instant love, lots of unanswered questions - I actually found this book a real struggle. However what I really did like about this story were the characters - all a little crazy, all extremely special in their own way. They are what made this story enjoyable for me.

No one recovered their dad’s body. Now both Zoe and her brother Jonah are haunted with the image of their dad’s bones lying cold and forgotten at the bottom of a cave. But their dad was not the hero they thought he was. During a sub-zero blizzard, a shady man from their father’s past attacks Zoe and Jonah. They are saved by X, a mysterious bounty hunter sent by the Lords to drag their assailants soul down to hell.

But X has sin’s of his own. And when he and Zoe fall hard for each other, X will do anything to get back to Zoe’s arms, even defy the Lords themselves. But when he is given one final task, both X and Zoe must face a trial that will test the limits of their love. Failure will cost Zoe and her family their lives… and X his soul.

The story is told from the dual POVs of X and Zoe, and despite them being from different worlds, apart from a couple of paranormal moments - for the most part this book was pretty contemporary.

The opening of this story really pulled me in. For the first 20% I literally couldn't put it down, but after that my excitement for it sort of fizzled. The story was intriguing, and the plot unpredictable, however I felt that everything that happened to X was centred around him trying to get back to Zoe. And this was where my biggest issue lay. In the romance.

While there were a few sweet moments between them - their love for each other seemed to sprout from nowhere. Zoe seemed dazzled by X’s otherworldliness, while X seemed ready to fall in love with the first person who was kind to him - like a puppy. And for all his badass skills, I did find X very puppy like.

Again with Zoe - I just couldn't understand where her feelings came from. Especially as she had another boy who doted on her with genuine affection. X only saved her life… albeit accidentally too, but after that she seems determined that X is the man for her.

The big saving grace for this story though was its cast of characters. Ripper being hands down my favourite. But generally all the characters were memorable with strong and distinct personalities. All the secondary characters also had a huge baring on both Zoe’s and X’s lives, and I liked how they helped push the story forward.

Something else I really liked was Zoe’s relationship with her younger brother, Jonah. Their feelings for each other were very strong and it was nice to see such a great sibling relationship, despite both Zoe and Jonah carrying their own emotional scars. I liked how they were each others supports and go to’s.

Overall I was pretty conflicted over how to rate this book. So I decided on 1 star for the characters + 1 star for Zoe & Jonah’s relationship, plus another for the general uniqueness of the story. In total, 3 stars!

A crazy, whirlwind of a read. I would be interested to see what else this author comes up with. :)