Book Review: Hellsbane by Paige Cuccaro

Hellsbane
Hellsbane #1
Author: Paige Cuccaro
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Released: December 6th 2011
Review Source: Author
Available: Amazon

Summary: (from goodreads) Emma Jane Hellsbane always knew she was different, but she had no idea she wasn’t even human. Well, at least she’s half-human. She’s half-fallen angel, too, and now dear ol’ dad wants her dead. All the Fallen angels want all their troublesome offspring removed from the mortal coil so she’s trying not to take it personally. Besides, she wants him dead just as much. Her father’s death is the only way she’ll be forgiven for his sin, stop those pesky demons from trying to hack off her head, and have any hope at all of getting back to a normal life as a wicked slick Intuitive Consciousness Explorer.

Of course, first she’ll have to figure out which fallen angel is her father, avoid accidentally seducing her angelic mentor, help an old friend conquer his own fallen sperm donor, and basically save the world from a cataclysmic divine smack down.

No problem. With a last name like Hellsbane, Emma Jane was definitely born for the job.

Emma Jane Hellsbane has never been truly ordinary. She knew early on that she had the gift of being able to read people's emotions. After she graduated from High School she decided to go to college and get a degree in Psychology but instead of using it to make decent money in a respectable career she decides to start her own psychic business out of her grandmothers home which was left to Emma upon her death. Her mother never understood why she chose this particular career and doesn't know about her gift. Now, at age 23, Emma Jane is just trying to earn a living and keep her good name untarnished for her business' sake.

Everything changes the afternoon Thomas Saint James shows up at her door out of the blue. She hasn't seen him since High School. Tommy was a jock in High School and though he's the dreamy sort and she may have had a crush on him, they were never close. But Tommy shows up on her doorstep none the less with a huge bloody wound on the side of his body that wreaks of rotten eggs, there is black ooze covering portions of his body and the ground outside her home and he's wielding a sword. Surreal doesn't even begin to cover this awkward reunion. It's not until a demon shows up at her door and attacks Emma and Tommy that she finally finds out why he has paid her this particular visit. It turns out, Emma Jane has the gift of reading emotions for a reason, she is a nephilim or half-human/half-angel.

Of course she doesn't believe him and thinks he's completely off his rocker. That is until he spills the truth of how her wrist was seared with the outline of the hilt of his sword during the fight with the demon. A human would have just held the sword and thought it too heavy, but a nephilim would be marked by the sword and become an illorum or warrior whose job is now to slay demons and fallen angels. Her life is now forever changed and Emma has a very hard time coming to terms with just how much her life has to change now that she's been marked. She will have to carry out this task of fighting demons until she can come face to face with the fallen angel who seduced her mother 23 years ago thus giving her this new life. It's not enough to confront him though, she'll have to take his head and thus free herself and any and all nephilim children he has spawned over his lifetime.

In a genre saturated with books about Fallen Angels, this was a fun, new and satisfying take on the traditional lore of heaven and Cuccaro provides a wild ride with Hellsbane! This book is filled with wit and humor one moment and the next you can be on the verge of tears or even heated up by the passions that present themselves to Emma Jane. This is a quick read and has a sequel set to be released this year called Heaven and Hellsbane which I'll definitely pick up when it's released. I've said it before but if you're looking for a quick read this one will not fail to thrill you.