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barefoot_james's review against another edition
4.0
Best book in the series so far. Pacing and character interaction are much better.
readaholicliv's review against another edition
4.0
I finished my drink of water and placed the glass in the sink. Normally, I would have answered him first, but since he'd been rude to me, he could bloody well wait.
Be advised that before going any further that this book, at least at the time of this review, is available on Kindle Unlimited to read and listen to for free. This was the medium I chose to read/listen to this book.
In my review of Born of Hatred, I had voiced concerns about the fact that there was only one character reoccurring from the first book, Crimes Against Magic, to the second. However, a sturdy foundation of character and location development has been made for reoccurring characters and locations in this book.
An old friend has been killed with a pointed message left at the scene for Nate, leaving him to want answers, and more importantly, vengeance for the death of his friend. Knowing Nate’s relentlessness, I’m sure you can colorfully guess the ways those involved will pay.
The third guard kicked out at me, hoping to catch me unaware, but I kicked out at the other leg and broke his knee. He collapsed to the floor like a felled tree, writhing in pain until I kicked him in the head.
I enjoyed this book more than the first two combined. I like that Nathan isn’t necessarily a good or a bad guy, just someone whose willing to do what he thinks is right no matter the cost. He’s colossally made the wrong call numerous times and has a hot streak a mile wide, but when he screws up he’ll do whatever is necessary to remedy the situation accordingly.
Nate winds up working with a headstrong FBI agent, Caitlin Moore. At first I internally sighed, thinking this was going to be yet another flirtatious sex interest for our lovable main protagonist. I was glad when that turned out to not be the case. Nate undoubtedly gets laid more frequently than James Bond does, which is probably my biggest qualm against the guy—not that he gets lucky so often, just how unrealistically easy it occurs.
"...One last thing. If you're lying to me and you try to escape or you hurt anyone, I'm going to find you and I'm going to make that stab wound look like a splinter. We clear?"
Caitlin has close ties to the case and ends up being a character I enjoyed seeing have screen time as the story progressed. She’s stubborn in (mostly) the right kind of ways and has enough quips to go head-to-head against Nate's, leaving for humorous interactions between the two.
I liked so many people in this book that if I dedicated a small paragraph explaining why I liked each of them, this review would be massive. Without going into too much detail, I really liked Leonardo, Rean, Rebecca, King Galahad, and even liked the big bad villain, Simon, himself. Of the listed, Simon and Galahad were my favorites.
Simon was more heinous than the previous villains put together, with a mind more screwed up than pairing pickles and peanut butter together. Galahad, on the other hand, was an absolute marvel who I hope to see more of in the future; he and Nathan have some serious history, too, that would be cool to see possibly unravel more in future books.
"Thank you," he said and hugged me. "This is a manly hug, right?" he asked after a few seconds. "It was until you started whispering in my ear," I pointed out and he released the hug, which made us both laugh.
I hope to see more of Tommy, Hades, and Galahad in future books, as each has known Nathan a long time, therefore has massive amounts of history with him in their own unique way. Each time any of the three has popped up, something new is uncovered about Nathan—even smaller, seemingly insignificant stuff. Those are the tidbits in a book that I love, being able to learn more about characters vicariously through their relationships with people.
If you read the previous books in this series, I’d definitely recommend giving this one a read or listen to. If you haven’t read the prior books, definitely start from the beginning book, Crimes Against Magic, rather than jumping into this one. There are a lot of little innuendos and context that would be missed otherwise.
On that note, I’m going to crack open and start listening to the fourth book!
"Boy, I don't know who you think you are but—“ “Shut up," I interrupted. "Just so you know, if you call me boy again, I'm going to punch you in the jaw. Now, let your daughter talk..."
daisy222de's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
d3vilxl3gacy's review
3.0
The normal flash back sequences in this series weren't the best in his entry, they did little to help the story at present when they happened in my opinion and the overall bad guy story line seemed kinda thin at best. Still enjoyable, especially the bits in Shadow Falls and again leaves me wishing I would have read this series before the author's side series; but that just means i'll have to read that one again.
Overall just not as fun as the second installment considering the horde of werewolves fighting zombies thing was just so over the top and funny and this officer companion not being as interesting as Olivia was.
Overall just not as fun as the second installment considering the horde of werewolves fighting zombies thing was just so over the top and funny and this officer companion not being as interesting as Olivia was.
ameserole's review against another edition
4.0
This series just keeps getting better and better!
With Silent Screams is the third installment of the Hellequin Chronicles series. I fall more and more in love with Nate's character and can't wait to dive into the next book. In this book, Nate is back with a little bit of vengeance. He's tracking down someone who murdered one of his friends. I loved the whole mystery parts of these books because timelines seemed to intertwine with one another making the book and journey more interesting. It might be the audios though.
Either way Nate is paired up with an FBI agent who also has a close connection to this case. Again, more mystery thrown at me. There are so many clues for two people to go through and decipher which has meaning. Especially since they don't want to deal with anymore victims.
Nate is basically my everything. He just always makes me smile and definitely keeps me on my toes. The action in every book keeps getting better and better too. I mean, the guys has like an endless list of enemies so it's always interesting to see who is up next.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I can't wait to dive into the next one. I'm also secretly, but not really secretly, dying to see who is controlling everything. Someone has to be doing this to Nate and bring back old enemies for him to face. I need to know who knows him so well and it's slowly killing me. Hopefully I'll find out more in the next book??
With Silent Screams is the third installment of the Hellequin Chronicles series. I fall more and more in love with Nate's character and can't wait to dive into the next book. In this book, Nate is back with a little bit of vengeance. He's tracking down someone who murdered one of his friends. I loved the whole mystery parts of these books because timelines seemed to intertwine with one another making the book and journey more interesting. It might be the audios though.
Either way Nate is paired up with an FBI agent who also has a close connection to this case. Again, more mystery thrown at me. There are so many clues for two people to go through and decipher which has meaning. Especially since they don't want to deal with anymore victims.
Nate is basically my everything. He just always makes me smile and definitely keeps me on my toes. The action in every book keeps getting better and better too. I mean, the guys has like an endless list of enemies so it's always interesting to see who is up next.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I can't wait to dive into the next one. I'm also secretly, but not really secretly, dying to see who is controlling everything. Someone has to be doing this to Nate and bring back old enemies for him to face. I need to know who knows him so well and it's slowly killing me. Hopefully I'll find out more in the next book??
johnbreeden's review
5.0
I am clearly becoming a fan of this series. I decided after reading this to move directly into the next novel, which is unusual for me. I like that McHugh is changing the game for this 1,600 year-old sorcerer in such dramatic ways. At the same time, Nate continues to be just as aggressive as always. I am interested in where the character will no, not to mention what the other bodily runes will reveal of his powers when they disappear. I keep thinking that his personal backstory - of his parentage and relationship to Merlin - will become important in the future.
And having been an art history and medieval studies student, I love me some Leo. Interesting use of the character.
And having been an art history and medieval studies student, I love me some Leo. Interesting use of the character.
jeremybost's review against another edition
5.0
Not the best writing (at times the dialogue sounds a bit too much like something I would write in high school) but extremely enjoyable.
odomaf's review against another edition
2.0
Hrm. With this installment, my interest in the Hellequin Chronicles wains.
Also, if Hellequin makes you think "Harlequin", this is not the book you're looking for.
WHAT I LIKED
----------------
* Humor. Characters have a quick-and-dark wit. Mostly snappy dialogue.
* History-Present-Repeat. McHugh does a good job of lacing together a historical plot and a current day plot with the ties that make them relevant to each other.
* Moves fast, plenty of action.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE
---------------------
* Really confusing plot. I'm no simpleton, and I like myself a deep plot, but I have to admit I had trouble keeping up with how the gates, guardians, and tattoo people all worked together. Which also meant I had trouble figuring out why the bad folks were doing the bad things. I re-read some big chunks here and there to try to maximize my understanding, but I still finished the book thinking, "...okay. Well, the good guy won, and there was lots of cool action, anyway."
* Nate is now *way* overpowered. This means the bad folks have to be *way* overpowered, too. Which, I think, is what leads to the kind of convoluted storyline in this book. While Hellequin reminds me a lot of Harry Dresden, the sorcerer/wizard differences really become obvious in this installments. Harry builds things, learns things, studies, and "levels up", if you will, between books. Hellequin just get more powers, or stronger versions of powers he already has, or loses one type of power to gain another. I find this less interesting, despite the author trying to spice it up by tying those things to "unknowns" in Hellequin's past.
This will probably be the last Hellequin book I read, but everyone has different tastes. If you purchased the first two and really liked them, you might want check this one out of your library or borrow it, before continuing to invest in the series.
Also, if Hellequin makes you think "Harlequin", this is not the book you're looking for.
WHAT I LIKED
----------------
* Humor. Characters have a quick-and-dark wit. Mostly snappy dialogue.
* History-Present-Repeat. McHugh does a good job of lacing together a historical plot and a current day plot with the ties that make them relevant to each other.
* Moves fast, plenty of action.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE
---------------------
* Really confusing plot. I'm no simpleton, and I like myself a deep plot, but I have to admit I had trouble keeping up with how the gates, guardians, and tattoo people all worked together. Which also meant I had trouble figuring out why the bad folks were doing the bad things. I re-read some big chunks here and there to try to maximize my understanding, but I still finished the book thinking, "...okay. Well, the good guy won, and there was lots of cool action, anyway."
* Nate is now *way* overpowered. This means the bad folks have to be *way* overpowered, too. Which, I think, is what leads to the kind of convoluted storyline in this book. While Hellequin reminds me a lot of Harry Dresden, the sorcerer/wizard differences really become obvious in this installments. Harry builds things, learns things, studies, and "levels up", if you will, between books. Hellequin just get more powers, or stronger versions of powers he already has, or loses one type of power to gain another. I find this less interesting, despite the author trying to spice it up by tying those things to "unknowns" in Hellequin's past.
This will probably be the last Hellequin book I read, but everyone has different tastes. If you purchased the first two and really liked them, you might want check this one out of your library or borrow it, before continuing to invest in the series.
claire_loves_books's review against another edition
3.0
I re-read this again recently and really enjoyed it. It had been a while since I read anything from the series so I did have to get back into it as I'd pretty much forgotten all the details about the world but it didn't take long for McHugh to get me up to date (without any noticeable info dumps). Nate Garrett is back again and as bad as ever.
Throughout the story we switch between a 1977 timeline and a current timeline and it worked really well- Drama (I won't go into spoilery details) happened in 1977 Maine and while Nate thought it was over there were a few loose ends that never got properly sorted and that's what's got Nate back in the same place years later- looking at similar crimes (that should be impossible- everything thought it was over). The stories were similar enough and interlinked enough not to be confusing but different enough to be interesting.
I liked Nate's development, he's deciding who/what he wants to be following the return of his memories and he's learning more about his magic following the loss of some of the marks on his chest. He's getting more powerful and more knowledgeable, I am a bit worried that Nate might be too powerful, the power level has escalated over the previous books and continues to escalate in this one, and I'm not sure how much more powerful Nate can get and continue to be interesting. I did like the way that he continues to use magic smartly though( not just using more and more power).
Throughout the story we switch between a 1977 timeline and a current timeline and it worked really well- Drama (I won't go into spoilery details) happened in 1977 Maine and while Nate thought it was over there were a few loose ends that never got properly sorted and that's what's got Nate back in the same place years later- looking at similar crimes (that should be impossible- everything thought it was over). The stories were similar enough and interlinked enough not to be confusing but different enough to be interesting.
I liked Nate's development, he's deciding who/what he wants to be following the return of his memories and he's learning more about his magic following the loss of some of the marks on his chest. He's getting more powerful and more knowledgeable, I am a bit worried that Nate might be too powerful, the power level has escalated over the previous books and continues to escalate in this one, and I'm not sure how much more powerful Nate can get and continue to be interesting. I did like the way that he continues to use magic smartly though( not just using more and more power).
jules_writes's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this one.
It is turning into a favourite series of mine, I'm so glad I stuck with Nate after not liking him all that much in book one.
It was a fun, action packed and fast read.
It is turning into a favourite series of mine, I'm so glad I stuck with Nate after not liking him all that much in book one.
It was a fun, action packed and fast read.