Pretty good first book for a series. While the MC has a temper, the main focus is on the action and the story, with very litte melodrama, angst, and inner turmoil. Quite a relief after all the overwrought angsty UF protagonists out there. World building is geographically limited; while the world holds together and is internally consistent, it focuses on a single city, and hand waves the rest of the planet outside Gotham City / Metropolis. In book 3 you even learn indirectly that this city is in England, despite most of the characters talking and acting like Americans. The writing is tight, and the author avoids excessive exposition unless it is germane to the story. A good example occurs around page 50, when the MC goes home after the In Media Res beginning. Instead of page after page of angst, recriminations, and melodrama about what went wrong, or excruciating detail about her furnishings, house layout, clothing, and body, we get 1 1/2 pages describing her entering her domicile, including the introduction of her pets, followed by a single 8 sentence long paragraph summarizing her thoughts on the night before she falls asleep. I was shocked. Pleased, but shocked. It didn't feel at all like I was being shown around a furnished house by a real estate agent eager to sell. I also appreciate that the MC's temper is not used to justify suicidally stupid behavior. In fact, controlling her temper is presented as a struggle she (mostly) wins. ** I received a free e-copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review ** Two words...Epically Awesome!! A Cat's Chance in Hell was one of those books so rich in detail and experience that you would swear you spent the last day in a movie rather than reading a book. Sharon Hannaford makes it so effortlessly easy for her readers to join her world. This book centers around Gabi. Gabrielle Bradford. Angeli Morte. The Angel of Death. Also known as Hellcat to those in her inner circle. Gabi is part vampire, part human. For her "regular" job she works with animals and when she's not doing that she is a hunter for the SMV, The Societas Malus Ventori. The SMV is a company that was co-founded by her late father and his very good friend Byron who also happens to be a magi. The SMV is a society of shape shifters, magi, and humans who seek out supernatural wrong doers and secretly deal out punishments for said wrong doers. There is no doubt in anyone's mind that Gabi is the best at her job. Vampires are no match for her until she meets the Vampire Master, Julius. Not only is he the most powerful vampire that Gabi has ever encountered, he's also the sexiest. Luckily for her she's immune to Vampire control because Julius is about to turn her world upside down. I don't think I have ever been sucked into a book so hard. In all honesty, the beginning of the book (where you're introduced to all of the characters, the history, various info) was kind of hard to get through for me. It was absolutely necessary though so if you plan on reading this book, push through it. Once Julius's character comes into the story the action kicks in full force and it becomes impossible to put this book down. The characters were beyond amazing. It would be an insult for me to use phrases like "great characters" or "complex characters". Sharon Hannaford has such a remarkable talent that at some point they stopped being cool characters in a book and they took on a life of their own. It was as if I was lifted out of my living room and deposited into this new world full of vampires (with and without morals), protective werewolves who can slay demons without breaking a sweat but just as easily be my big brother or best friend, magi who could be a second father or the most annoying person on the planet, and kick ass females who cuddle with their cats one minute and kill something the next. It would be very hard for me to pick a favorite character out of the lineup in this book. If I had to, I would probably choose Julius who had far too many good qualities to list or Alexander who was cocky and shifty in the beginning but let you see his softer side the more you got to know him. Sharon Hannaford was a new to me author when I picked this book up. Not anymore. After reading A Cat's Chance in Hell, I am an insta-fan. I can't wait to start the next book in this kick ass series!
What do You think about A Cat's Chance In Hell (2012)?
The story got better as it went along, I will look for the next one in this series.
—Bridget
A totally cool novel with an absolutely kickass protagonist.
—chastaic
