Hellbent (Cheshire Red) [Kindle Edition]

I got an advanced reading copy of this book through Librarything's Early Reviewer program. I was soo excited to read this. I love pretty much everything I have read by Cherie Priest (I've read all her Clockwork Century series and of course the first book in this series, Bloodshot). Well I loved this book too. It was so much fun to read; definitely not as serious as her Clockwork Century series but a very fun, fast paced urban fantasy series with a lot of humor.

Our favorite OCD vampire thief, Raylene, is back with more hijinks. Raylene gets a call from one of her contacts asking her to steal some very valuble magical baculum (penis bones..uh yep that's what baculum are). It looks to be a simple snatch and grab, of course things aren't ever simple. Along with this snatch and grab gone wrong, Raylen's housemate Ian has problems of his own. The head of Ian's House has died and Ian would be next in line, except with his blindness he isn't suited for the position and is being hunted down instead. So Raylene and Adrian (the drag queen ex-Navy Seal) go over to Ian's House to try and fix things up for him; along the way they may even find out more about Adrian's sister.

This book has three plot lines going on: the stealing of the baculum, Ian's problems with his house, and the search for Adrian's missing sister. These plots are neatly and efficiently woven together making for a fast-paced, action packed urban fantasy that is hard to put down and fun to read.

The characters are part of what make this book wonderful. Raylene is quirky, hilarious, and very good at what she does. Adrian is another wonderful quirky character, that is a load of laughs, but also very bad-ass. There pretty much aren't any characters in this book that I don't like; they are all interesting, engaging, creative and...did I already mention fun?!

The dialogue throughout is also witty. The banter between Raylene and Adrian is hilarious. I absolutely love Raylene's snarky attitude and enjoy her constant digressions to only slightly related topics. Just beware there are numerous sexual references (but no sex) throughout and a crapload of swearing. I enjoyed it, but it is not for younger readers.

I love where this series is going, some big things happen right at the end of the book that make me excited to see where this series is headed to. The main plotlines are nicely wrapped up. You could probably read this book as a stand alone; good background is given in the beginning of the book. Why would you want to though when Bloodshot was such a fun read too?

Overall I absolutely loved this book. The plot and action are well done, the characters quirky and funny, it is fast-paced and lots of fun. I love love Raylene and her snarkiness. I love where this series is going and am so excited to read the next installment. I pretty much loved everything about this book. Is this book for everyone? Probably not, the humor is a bit off-the-wall and dark, there's a lot of swearing, and pretty much no romance. But, if you love fast-paced action-packed urban fantasy with a biting sense of humor you should definitely check this series out.

Raylene Pendle, accomplished thief and vampire, has a pretty complicated life. Her collection of strays has grown to include orphan siblings Domino and Pepper and blind vampire Ian Stott living in her apartment plus drag queen and ex-Navy SEAL Adrian deJesus, even though he lives elsewhere. Supporting so many people plus the huge move when she was forced from her previous building proves to be expensive. When Horace Bishop contacts her with a very lucrative job, she accepts despite the weirdness factor. The items of great value are actually penis bones, or bacula, of fantastical creatures, such as werewolves and unicorns and they are worth millions. She knows the job is more complicated than it seems, but is still surprised when someone steals them first and then destroys the house with lightning. To further complicate matters, the leader of Ian's House is killed, leaving him in charge. He can't risk returning because of his disability, but can't ignore his responsibilities to his family. Raylene resolves to solve his problem by finding out what really happened to his father and takes Adrian with her to pose as her ghoul. Can she wrestle the bacula from a powerful, crazy woman AND save Ian from certain death also known as vampire politics?

Hellbent is the second installment of Cherie Priest's Cheshire Red series and proves to be just as good as the first one. Raylene is a unique protagonist. Her narrative is colored by her humor and her interesting view of the world. Underneath her veneer of being a perfect, hard as nails thief, she's actually quite human. Her collection of strays betrays her loneliness and need for other people. She really cares about her makeshift family and, although they sometimes drive her crazy, she will do anything in her power to keep them safe. One of the cutest scenes in the book was when Raylene found a kitten at a murder scene and couldn't just leave it there where it would probably die. I found the scene endearing and cute. She is painfully OCD at times, obsessively overpreparing for every conceivable situation and loading up on extra equipment just in case. Although she goes overboard, her OCD is one of the reasons why she's still alive. Her vampiric powers aren't unrealistic or godlike. They just make her tougher and faster than a human with weak psychic powers. More of her regenerative powers and psychic connection to those who drink her blood are explored.

The other characters are just as engaging. What's not to like about a drag queen who was also a Navy SEAL? Hellbent gives Raylene and her friends added depth and more background. Raylene's past involvement with a House is discovered as well as Ian's vampire family and more details about Adrian. Their three story lines come together in unexpected ways that kept me guessing. The plot is very twisty and it would go in completely different directions than I predicted, which is refreshing. The story is funny, fast paced, suspenseful, and fun. Romance is only hinted and doesn't overpower or interrupt the action as it does in fantasy so often. I hope Raylene eventually has a relationship with someone, but the issues at hand are a little bit more important.

Hellbent is a really fun paranormal read that combines mystery, humor, action, and fantasy. I can't wait for the next book in the Chesire Red series!

I read BLOODSHOT, the first book in the Cheshire Red series, and I enjoyed it, but I was on the fence about whether or not I wanted to continue with the series. I hoped a free read of HELLBENT courtesy of NetGalley would answer all my questions but it didn't, really. HELLBENT has all the same pros and cons as BLOODSHOT, in almost exactly the same quantities.

The pros: It's clever, entertaining and smart. The twist at the end, especially, let me shut HELLBENT with a big smile on my face. I like the motley cast of characters. And I like Raylene, a neurotic criminal with a surprisingly soft heart.

The cons: It's wordy (Raylene's inner monologues go on and on and on) and while Priest sets up a lot of conflicts that have the potential to ratchet up into some really scary, heart-in-the-throat moments, they don't. I never feel like Raylene is really in peril; she's prudent and competent, and when she's caught off-guard the threat never turns out to be half as scary as she herself is.

Here's an example of the wordy inner monologue: "Adrian had called a cab and it was waiting for us downstairs. We could've driven and left the car at the airport -- but if he wanted a cab, that was fine with me. Besides, parking at SeaTac is nothing short of extortion. So in retrospect, good on Adrian for thinking of it, especially since we expected to be gone for several days at the very least." - it's not that I mind the running patter, I find Raylene to be an interesting and intelligent narrator, and her chattiness gives us constant proof of her OCD nature, but that example is typical. It takes a paragraph to call a cab. And it takes many, many paragraphs to get anything significant done.

So the pacing is pretty slow, but, and to give Priest credit, sometimes the attention to detail results in brilliant little gems, like her description of solar-powered lawn lights at a vampire's house, "one every few yards, on both sides. That had to count as irony in some universe, right?" It's exactly the kind of detail that a less obsessive compulsive vampire narrator would miss, and that would be a shame.

So I'm finishing HELLBENT on the fence. I was pretty frustrated with the wordiness and also with the low tension level, but I was also happy to spend time with Raylene and her crew, and the writing is smarter than the average. I'd say this is a 3.5 star book and usually I round based on whether or not I think I'll read another book by the author. I'm not sure the answer is yes, but I wouldn't avoid one, so...four stars it is