Marked had an interesting premise. Cacy and her family have some supernatural power and the job to ferry the recently deceased to the afterlife they deserve. Since they collect Charon's coin (from the Greek mythology) for each person, they have become unnaturally rich doing so. It also aids Cacy in her role as a paramedic, because she can also see when a person is marked for death and will die for sure so it allows her to prioritize her patients well. Eli and his brilliant sister Galena enter the scene as they move to Boston and Eli soon finds himself more than just the work partner of Cacy as he is rapidly pulled into warring supernatural families.

While it didn't always made a hell lot of sense, I quite enjoyed this part of the story. It was exciting enough to keep me going and considering I have copies of the entire series, it was for the best. Unfortunately was added to that a romance. *sigh* It was love on first sight, obviously because they are both so good looking. Personally, I couldn't care less about them. Hope this is not how the story continues, I would much rather see some more ferrying.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

A Storm that will wreck a world threatens Dematr. Only Mari, one of the Mechanics who control all technology through their Guild, has a chance to stop it. She and Mage Alain have survived numerous attempts to kill them and have gained many more followers, but the Storm of chaos, born of centuries of enslavement, grows ever closer.

Mari leads an army now. She and Alain must fight together to bind back the Broken Kingdom and build a force strong enough to defeat the might of the Great Guilds. But the Storm has many Servants who seek to preserve or gain personal power or wealth, or fear the New Day that Mari seeks to bring to the world.

And Mari knows that victory will mean nothing if the precious knowledge brought long ago to their world is destroyed. In order to save it, Alain and Mari will have to pierce through the heart of their enemies' power and confront once more a place of ancient nightmare.

Review 5*

This story is the fifth book in a fantastic epic fantasy series called The Pillars of Reality. I absolutely loved it!

Mari is a fantastic character. I liked her immediately when I met her in the first book. I love her determination to do the right thing, even at the cost of her own life. A Master Mechanic, Mari has faced many threats to her life from the Guild Masters on the world of Dematr and survived. Foreseen by Mages to be 'The Daughter of Jules' and fated to free the world of Dematr from the tyranny of both the Guilds - Mechanics and Mages - and to unite the Mechanics, Mages and Commons against said Guilds, Mari finds herself fighting for their freedom.

Mage Alain is also a fantastic character. I liked him a lot from the start. He was one of the youngest Acolytes to achieve Mage status at the age of seventeen. He has been taught from a young age not to show or feel any emotions and that the world he lives in is an illusion, where nothing is real. I love how this character has grown as the series has progressed. He tries to show more emotion, even though his Guild had virtually beaten it out of him. He hides a dry wit under that emotionless mask.

I listened to this story in audio format, rather than read it. MacLeod Andrews once again narrates the story. He does a fantastic job of bringing the story to life. Even Alain, who's voice is meant to be flat and emotionless comes across with subtle hints. You would think that Alain's voice would be monotonous, but it's not so. I love the way he brings all the characters to life with different accents, inflexions and tones. He even makes the women's voices sound perfect for each character. As for his narration, he read the story clearly and concisely, and his pacing was perfect. I would listen to more books read by this narrator.

The story continues six months from the end of The Pirates of Pacta Servanda and sees Mari and Alain heading a mixed army of Mages, Mechanics and Commons as the action heats up. Mechanic Caylou (not sure of spelling as I listened to the story so have no reference and have spelt it phonetically - it could be Kayloo or another variation) makes another appearance. He is one of Mari's friends from the Mechanics Guild, along with his girlfriend, Ally, who also makes an appearance. I love her constant use of 'Your Daughterness' when speaking to Mari just because it annoys her. Mage Asha also makes another appearance, as does Mage Dov, who is Asha's uncle, and Mechanic Dov (no relation) whose relative had once lived in Marandur. Cien, a princess of Tae, plays a significant role in this story, too. There are a few more characters added, but it would take me too long to mention them all.

I love the world building in this series. It is familiar though strange at the same time. It has a mix of steampunk and modern day technology, but this is due to the way the Guilds restricted people from creating new things. The story is full of action, adventure, and danger and I found myself an emotional wreck at times. In this story, the characters are gathering together for a showdown with the Great Guilds. They also make a dangerous journey back into the Imperial territory of Marandur to retrieve the mechanical texts left at the University. The action is ramping up further as the storyline reaches towards the climax, and I found myself holding my breath more than once as they faced several tricky challenges. Have you ever read or listened to a story and felt utterly emersed in it? It happened to me as I listened to this book. These characters have come to life for me and have become my friends. This book ends with a slight cliffhanger, which had me eager to listen to the next story in the series, The Wrath of the Great Guilds, as soon as possible.

Jack Campbell has written a fantastic science fiction series. I have added him to my favourite author's list, as he's found a fan in me. I love his writing style, which is fast-paced and descriptive, and the flow of the story is good too.

Although there is now some mention of scenes of a sexual nature, it’s not shown. I do not, however, recommend this book to younger readers under the age of 15 due to some violence. I do, however, highly recommend this book if you love dark or epic fantasy, steampunk or action/adventure and supernatural/paranormal romance genres. - Lynn Worton

Tho I loved the book, I feel like I am stuck in a loop. One of the MCs is suffering from one illness or another and the other MC falls in love with him while taking care of the sick. This is my fourth or fifth book with the same premise in a row (ok, not in a row but extremely close to each other). I hate to say it, but it took away a little from enjoying the story, and it's not even the author's fault. 

There is a lot of insecurities, self-hatred, tho Ondro doesn't realise it at first, and self-digging (can I say it in English?) ...soul-searching maybe a better word, and coming to terms with the past, the present and the consequences/the future; letting fears go and grabbing the proverbial bull by the nuts horns.

It was at times a scary read, considering that here we are in the 21st century and we still have ugly nasty pockets in this world where hatred is worn proudly and in bright colors for all to see. On the other hand even full acceptance often comes with labels that can be hurtful, not letting us see a person beyond "gay". 

Both characters have suffered. Not all the secondary characters in this book survived, but in the end ... oh, no, that would be a spoiler ;)

*Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Holmes and Watson take on the mystery of several missing people, all the cases are linked and point to a group called the 'Order of the Gash'. Watson is sent to an asylum in France to find out more about the order whilst Holmes puts himself in increasing danger exploring Londons underworld for clues as to where the missing people have gone. He becomes obsessed with solving the puzzle box and like those before him soon wishes he hadn't when faced with what it summons.

The author brings together the Hellraiser universe of Clive Barker and Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and does so very well. Although set in 1895, Kane manages to date the Hellraiser details authentically, blending characters and plot lines in seamlessly to victorian London.

The first 3/4 of the book worked best for me, the lead up to the confrontation with the cenobites flowed well with plenty of references from both worlds,making it a lot of fun to read. Holmes and Watson were given separate POV which kept the storyline fresh and ensured that both characters were well developed and that Holmes didn't dominate the story too much.

The last quarter wasn't quite as enjoyable and to be honest I can't help but feel a bit disappointed that Pinhead wasn't part of the cenobite group. I also thought that some of the details in the last part were too conveniently worked out although the end wasn't in any way what I expected.

Great premise that worked out really well but perhaps fell slightly short of my expectations towards the end.

Sherlock Holmes and the Servants of Hell. There is so just much potential in the concept. Handle it right, and you've got yourself a horror/mystery that is destined to become a genre staple. Fumble it at any point, however, and you have two separate camps of fandom ready to critique, condemn, and drag you to . . . well, Hell.

Fortunately, Paul Kane knows his stuff, and what we have here is no mere imaginative lark. Sherlock Holmes and the Servants of Hell is a very carefully constructed story that considers the legacies of both Doyle and Barker, and which not only finds a point at which the two can meet, but one in which that intersection actually adds something to each respective story.

In terms of narrative, this absolutely feels like a Sherlock Holmes story. Kane captures the voice of Dr. Watson exceptionally well, and explains away any irregularities by presenting it as a tale that Watson never intends to publish. Furthermore, he sets it after the incident at Reichenbach Falls, using the Hellraiser mythology to cleverly explain the shift in Holmes' character and personality in those latter tales. He also does some clever work with The Hound of the Baskervilles, taking one of the most horrific Sherlock Holmes tales and casting some doubt upon its casual dismissal of the supernatural.

As far as Hellraiser is concerned, reading this is like an epic Easter Egg hunt. Kane touches upon all aspects of the extended mythology, including details from the original Hellbound Heart tale; the Hellraiserfilms, Barbie Wilde's tales of Sister Cilice in Voices of the Damned, and even several tales from theHellbound Hearts anthology. There are some very nice parallels to the original story of the Cotton family; some fantastic background on the Lemarchand family and the Lament Configuration puzzle box; a gloriously grotesque band of Cenobites; and a vivid exploration of Hell that fits in very well with last year'sScarlet Gospels.

In bringing the two worlds together, Kane remains true to the feel and the style of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries, but drags the story into darker, more decadent corners of the Victorian world. There is torture aplenty in this tale, both of the human and the Cenobite variety, and a BDSM-themed brothel that really allows him to play with (and foreshadow) the dark eroticism of Baker's sadomasochistic fantasies. Ultimately, however, it's the relationship between Holmes and Watson that makes the story work, testing the deepest, darkest bounds of friendship, and exploring the absolute darkest chapter in their shared story.

If you do choose to open the cover of Sherlock Holmes and the Servants of Hell, be forewarned that once you're well-and-truly hooked, the pages (like the puzzle box) do tend to turn themselves.