Thank you so much to the author for providing me with a review copy of her debut novel, and congratulations to her on the debut! Writing a first book is a truly impressive achievement, and I appreciate the chance to read and review it.
“Hades Sent” wasn’t the book for me, but I think it will find a lot of fans especially among readers who prefer more of a paranormal romance slant to their reading. As a fantasy book, it did not hold up for me, and I’m not much of a PR reader (or indeed any kind of romance). I’m always willing to be won over, of course, and I certainly found the relationship between Ireland and Greve to be compelling.
For me, a lot of things still felt missing. For instance, I was really intrigued by the set-up of Heaven that Simpson created. I haven’t read a lot of stories with angels and demons, and introducing family dynamics, sexuality, and many other human things into this divine supernatural world. However, that world wasn’t particularly fleshed out. Especially missing was a sense of how these ideas related to the Christian religion they were based on, the power structure of Heaven and Hell, and the limitations and nature of the magic that their denizens have. This was a very interesting premise I would have liked to see explored in more detail!
The writing feels quite young, so I think this will appeal to YA readers. I generally like a bit more polish, and the dialogue especially felt rather forced.
It’s a really interesting and unique premise for a book, and I hope to see this world more developed in future installments!
Anya Josephs 