Review: Corine Solomon #2: Hell Fire

Title: Corine Solomon #2: Hell Fire

Author: Ann Aguirre

Date of Publication: April 6, 2010

Formats Available: Paperback, E-book

Buy This Book: Amazon

Synopsis: The second in the thrilling national bestselling series 

As a handler, Corine Solomon can touch any object and know its history. It's too bad she can't seem to forget her own. With her ex-boyfriend Chance in tow-lending his own supernatural brand of luck-Corine journeys back home to Kilmer, Georgia, in order to discover the truth behind her mother's death and the origins of "gift".

But while trying to uncover the secrets in her past, Corine and Chance find that something is rotten in the state of Georgia. Inside Kilmer's borders there are signs of a dark curse affecting the town and all its residents-and it can only be satisfied with death...

My Review:

Its been a long time coming but I finally decided to buckle down and finally read this book after its been sitting on my Kindle for almost a year now. After how much I enjoyed the first book in this series I can't believe it took me this long to finally get around to this one but once I did I couldn't imagine what I had been missing! A great second novel, Hell Fire delivered everything I expected from a good novel and left me wanting the third book in the series (which will not be sitting on my Kindle for the next year I promise)!

The plot, more so than the characters, was what made this novel really stand out. Thrilling and suspenseful, there was never a dull moment and I quickly found myself wrapped up in the mystery behind the death of Corine's mother. The monsters Aguirre created, both human and paranormal, were absolutely terrifying and the end of the novel left such a gristly image in my mind that I couldn't stop thinking about it (in the best way possible, of course!). Scary and unforgettable the originality of the plot, paired with the perfect writing, made this novel impossible to put down.

Though the characters didn't stand out as much as the plot they still played a major role in the story and were each fascinating in their own way. I especially loved the addition of Shannon, an eighteen year old goth girl with the ability to talk to ghosts through a radio. Corine's ability grew a lot in this novel and it was interesting to see the changes she went through. Aguirre has given each of the characters such unique and fascinating abilities that I can't help but love learning more about how they work. Especially Chance's luck and Shannon's communications with ghosts.

The one thing really holding this novel back is the terrible romance. The love triangle between Corine, Chance, and Jesse is the most annoying non-love triangle I've ever had to sit through and I just can't stand Corine's back and forth behavior. I feel no chemistry between Corine and Jesse and the chemistry between Chance and Corine is there but always feels a little forced. The ending of this novel made me want to scream though I know that this is by no means the end. We all know Chance and Corine are going to end up together, its just a matter of when and where, and this novel just wasn't the right time yet.

Despite the awful love triangle, the other aspects, such as the plot and the character's fascinating abilities, make this novel worth reading. Fans of urban fantasy and suspense will no doubt be captured by this series!

4/5