http://bactra.org/weblog/algae-2012-08.html#snyder ( )

This series is one of my favorite. I loved both "Spellbent" and "Shotgun Sorceress". I was eager to read this installment. In fact I had a gift card from Christmas and I ordered 19 books. This is the first one I grabbed to start reading when that package came in the mail. These books have been progressively becoming darker and more twisted. I am okay with that but I did realize that I don't necessary care for the concept of torture in the 'hellement' or a mental plane in which the person can just wake up and be unscathed in the real world. And a few times the magic just seemed too easy. Oh we have such and such a problem but wham! We can use this magic that has never been mentioned before to make it all better!

I don't mean to sound like I am picking on this book because I really did enjoy it. I was very happy to see the Miko perspectives which were handled so beautifully and gave quite a lot of substance to the villain. In fact, she could have had an entire book about her past. I also loved the scene where Jessie tries to save the souls that Miko has taken. I was also super pleased with the characters. I love these character so much and I believe that they are why this series stands out above so many others for me. Pal, Jessie's familiar, is present most of this book and I just love him. I also like the Warlock a lot and wish he had been more in this book even though he did play a good part. I have not been a big fan of Coopers. I haven't ever gotten a sense of why he is good enough for Jessie. Jessie is a kick-butt heroine with a good heart. She needs a strong good man. I am not convinced Cooper is the man for her but he does make great strides by the end of the book.

I know the author plans to do more with these characters but I strongly hope that there will be another installment of this series. I feel like there is a lot more that can be done with this wonderful world and its inhabitants. I wouldn't mind if some of the darkness lets up at least enough for some more of the sass and humor that was so strong in the first novel. I also think the hellement part has been done to death and I am ready for Jessie and the gang to find something new to become involved with. ( )

This is the third book in the Jessie Shimmer series. It was a wonderful book. It ties up a lot of things that started in the first two books and was just a lot of fun to read. I really loved the first two books in this series as well and I think if you enjoyed those books you will enjoy this book.

The book is broken into two parts. The first part has Jessie fighting the demon that has possessed the demigoddess Miko; Miko is the demigoddess who devastated a small town in the second book. Jessie and Pal end up fighting in Miko's own Hell in an effort to both save the innocent souls Miko has taken and free Miko from possession. The second part of the book deals with Jessie fighting her own possession and trying to find a way to heal Pal; she is also trying to make it back to her father. Cooper is in the story some, but is away dealing with other issues for large portions of the story. This story is really about Miko, Pal, and Jessie.

As I have said in previous reviews this series is not for everyone. It is incredibly dark and gritty and at times just plain nasty. If you are a fan of the Sandman Slim series I would recommend this as a good read for you. That being said this is a very creative and off-the-wall series and that is why I enjoy it. So just to be clear there is swearing, goriness, many offensive things said, strange sex scenes, and general yuckiness. There is also a very creative magic system, an absolutely crazy world, lots of action and butt-kicking, and incredibly complex characters.

Jessie is awesome. She is in bad shape for most of this book, but she keeps on going to protect those she loves. Despite all the violence and craziness she endures throughout she is incredibly loyal to her loved ones. She has gained some magical abilities in her last trip to the underworld, they have stunted her ability to do some white magic which complicates things for her. She also has a wonderfully dark sense of humor which makes the story a lot of fun to read.

The other awesome character is Pal, Jessie's familiar. He is in rough shape throughout the book as well, and like Jessie goes above and beyond to try and assist her and aid her.

I really like most of the side characters too. Cooper wasn't in the story much, but the time he was in the story was pretty intense. We learn more about Cooper's back story and why he is how he is. My only character complaint was that I didn't feel that Miko was filled out very well; we do gain some sympathy for her and learn some of her background but I still felt like I didn't understand her character all that well.

The book is well written and I enjoyed reading it. It was engaging and easy to read, I had trouble putting the book down.

Overall I really, really enjoyed this book in the series. I have enjoyed all of the books in this series. I think if you are a fan of dark and gritty urban fantasy you will find a lot here to love. As I mentioned above this is not a series for everyone; there are a lot of disturbing things in here, lots of swearing, it is gory and just plain yucky at points. That is part of what I like about this series though...you never know what to expect; it is incredibly creative, incredibly strange, and very different from every other urban fantasy I have read out there. If you are a fan of dark and gritty urban fantasy you should check this series out. If you liked the first couple books in the series you will love this one. I would recommend this to fans of the Sandman Slim series by Richard Kadrey. ( )