Hotter Than Hell, by Jackie Kessler

Book three in the Hell on Earth series, Hotter Than Hell is much darker in theme—if not in execution—than either Hell’s Belles or The Road to Hell. Told in the first person by the incubus Daunuan, this novel is both about a game of cat and mouse—in which Daun finds himself as the mouse, for the first time in his existence—and an exploration on the true meaning of feelings.

Let’s start with the warning: this novel has graphic language, creative cursing, a highly irreverent—and funny—way of looking at things like morality and sin, and some (okay, a lot) demon-on-demon violence. Oh and some sex. With graphic language. If you can’t laugh a bit at religion, do yourself a favor and don’t read more.

Back cover blurb:

The incubus Daunuan loves his job: seduce a lot of mortals, bring their souls to Hell, party at the best interdimensional pub this side of the Astral Plane. But when the King of Lust makes him an offer he can’t refuse, Daun has to give up all the tricks of his trade to properly befriend—and bed—Virginia Reed, a woman who’s meant for Heaven.

If he can get her to love him for the incubus he really is, and if he can avoid the rogue demons that are hell-bent on destroying him for reasons unknown, Daun will become the First Principal of Lust, second in line to the King. But Daun learns that love is more than a four-letter word, and that maybe, just maybe, demons really do have feelings after all…

For once, the blurb is pretty close to the setup for the story—whodathunkit?

One would think that tempting a mortal into sex would be pretty much a gimme as far as challenges for an incubus go, but since Virginia is not only inherently good but also still in love with her late husband, Daun’s magic has no hold on her. So our favorite incubus is reduced to doing this the human way: striking up a conversation and getting to know her. (more…)

The Road to Hell, by Jackie Kessler

The Road to Hell is the second installment in Ms Kessler’s Hell on Earth series. These novels can be described as urban fantasy with paranormal romance. In this book we reacquaint ourselves with the heroine of Hell’s Belles, an ex-succubus-turned-human-with-a-soul named Jezebel/Jesse Harris, and her human love, vice cop Paul Hamilton.

A couple of warnings: this novel is narrated in the first person by Jesse, in a very entertaining but also highly irreverent manner. There is also explicit sex and creative cursing. Not for those with exceedingly delicate sensibilities and/or rigid religious views, for sure.

Personally, I would definitely recommend starting with Hell’s Belles since many of the secondary characters appearing in this novel were introduced in it.

Here is the back cover blurb:

There’s nothing worse than a demon with a grudge.

Jesse may no longer be a soul-stealing succubus, but she’s got a Hell of a past. She’d love to come clean to her sweet, super-hot boyfriend Paul, but how exactly does a girl start that conversation? There’s no name tag that reads: “I Used to Have Sex with Men before Taking Their Souls to the Lake of Fire—Ask Me How!” Just like some people are worth being monogamous for (shudder), some secrets are worth keeping. Like the fact that bad boy incubus Daunuan keeps popping up from the Underworld to put some toe-curling moves on her; that her former associates are trying to strong-arm her back into the fold; and that every supernatural entity on the planet seems to want to have a conversation with her in the bathroom. But someone in the Underworld isn’t ready to play nice (go figure), and this time, the stakes are nothing less than Paul’s immortal soul.

If Hell wants Jezebel back so badly, they’ve got her. But payback’s a bitch, and this bitch is about to rock Hell like a hurricane—or lose her soul trying…

I confess that originally I wasn’t too keen on reading a second book with Jezebel as main character—mostly because I didn’t want to risk having her and Paul’s relationship rocked. Then again, live and learn—in the skilled hands of Ms Kessler, this story rocks my socks as much as the previous one. (more…)