Series: Joe Costello #2
Published by Panther Publishing on April 1 2021
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Amazon UK, Amazon US
Also by this author: Shadows of the Woods
When a man of heavenly worth sins in Hell, darkness shall reign upon the earth
A message from the other side - an omen of the impending apocalypse. A message intended for one man, the only man who can prevent Armageddon, saving the soul of every man, woman and child on Earth. That man is Joe Costello.
But, not only is Joe trapped in the underworld, he is also the same man who has the power to unleash the shadows of hell upon the world.
Inspired by Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy, Joe must battle his way through the nine circles of Hell - his escape being the key to salvation. Not only will he face all manner of Hell's demons, he'll also face his own.
However, Joe is not alone on his journey, as he is guided through each level of Hell by medium and psychic, Layla Thorne. Shadows of Hell is the epic follow-up to Shadows of the Woods.
Back with Joe after the shocking events from book one and I had no idea where we would go this time. Was Joe ok? What about Linda? Did anyone make it out alive?
What I found fascinating about this book was the trip through Dante’s nine circles in hell.
When a man of heavenly worth sins in Hell, darkness shall reign upon the earth
This quote was mentioned at the beginning and it stuck with me the whole way through Joe’s journey through hell, could one man be so infallible. The descriptions of the different circles were fascinating and I really enjoyed the interpretations of the author and Joe. Everything we see down there is through his eyes and the things we don’t want to think about are brought to life. The darkness, the grey and the desolation, all amplify how solitary his journey is. It is also there to remind us of where we are…Hell
However, despite all the darkness and fear, I did have to chuckle when we meet the Devil who transforms himself into a kind of Jeremy Kyle and has a show to question Joe. I did smile quite a bit, a bit of light relief!
I welcomed the new characters and the energy they all brought to the book. Their superstitions and beliefs add an extra dimension to it all and gave the book something extra about it. This is not the scary gruesome book from the first journey, this one I found more spiritual and symbolic.
A great way to finish the book and it has left me wanting another book. Like Chris says at the end, I really don’t think this journey is over, I think it is just getting started.
Until next time xxx
Thanks to Emma at Damppebbles for the tour invite and the author for a copy of the book in return for my honest and unbiased review
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
damppebbles says
Thanks so much for kicking off the tour today xx
Zoé says
Thank you so much for having me x