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Even Hell Has Standards: Wrath by Paul Chapman, Chantal Noordeloos

evavroslin's review

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5.0

I can think of few stories with a bleaker premise than this one, a continuation of the series by Chantal Noordeloos, whose previous entry "Pride" I very much enjoyed when I read. Although that one was also very darkly themed and had intense subject matter, I loved it for its treatment of Lucifer and for the twists that the plot took as it played with my expectations as a reader.

This volume, Wrath, was too dark (for me) and although very well-written, I found it harder to get through this volume because there were themes that I found very trigger-heavy such as abuse, rape, and girls being forced into marriages to name a few. This book is a portrait of the evils humans inflict on one another but the protagonist, although very wrathful and angry for much of the book (with good reason), showed a lot of bravery and I felt her struggle against her moral compunctions. I rooted for her to survive. As well, the parts set in Hell were very interesting and I thought they went in an intriguing direction, particularly the parts with Lucifer, that I wasn't expecting.

I would say this book is definitely not for the faint of heart, but I liked the fact that it didn't focus on gore or extreme horror. It's an intense reading experience that is very absorbing.
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