Series: Hell To Pay #1
Audience: +18
Publisher: Crimson Romance
Release Date: February 2nd 2015
My Rating: 4 cups
Source: Reading Alley
Blurb (from Goodreads):
World War II veteran Peter Blackstone traded his soul so that his wife could live. That was 1945. Since then, Peter has lived an unnaturally long life as a hired killer, providing the life forces upon which Jerahmeel feeds to survive.*Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of this book from Reading Alley and Crimson Romance in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my opinion or my rating of the book in any way.
Doctor Allison La Croix has a big problem. She randomly sees people’s deaths. She has longed to be free of her twisted “gift” to live a normal life without fear of predicting yet another loved one’s demise.
After a horrific accident, a severely injured Peter arrives in Allison’s ER. The vision Allison experiences when she touches him nearly kills her. He teaches her to block these devastating episodes as she finds a way to unlock his forgotten, passionate soul.
But Jerahmeel’s minion has orders to destroy Peter and anyone he loves. Will Peter’s and Allison’s shattered souls survive the devious plan? Or could their love save them both? Someone will have hell to pay.
I've heard of this book for a while now, and I'm really happy I got to try it. As someone who is obsessed with reading stories with "gifted" people, I was really curious about this book.
Allison was an intriguing heroine. She's got a really dangerous and heartbreaking gift. I can't really imagine knowing exactly how someone I care about will die, and not be able to do anything about it. I was actually very surprised with how sane Allison was. Especially after learning about her family and how her mom hated Allison, for something she couldn't control.
Peter reminded me a little bit of the movie version Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider, only a bit scarier. I liked reading about his inner struggle with what he had to do in order to pay his debt. I liked seeing how the killing didn't make him lose his mind. I also liked how he described the first time Allison touched him felt, I liked the imagery of that sense.
There's a cute secondary character, Quincy, that I hope we'll see more of throughout the series. She's such a cute little girl and I would want to read more about her.
The idea of someone selling their soul to save a loved one is certainly not new, but I was intrigued by how the author approached this theme. I've certainly never read about a group of people being indebted to a single evil entity, in this case Jerahmeel. I'm curious to see if the series will explore how this Jerahmeel gained his powers, if he can be defeated and exactly what is his endgame, if there is one.
The pacing of the story was good, although I had a feeling the ending was a tiny bit rushed. Even so, I really enjoyed this book and I cannot wait to read the rest of the series, learn more about Jerahmeel and about the Indebted in general.
