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Hell Gate #2

A Shiver of Shadows

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You'd think stopping Armageddon would buy a girl a bit of R&R with her freshly resurrected boyfriend. But things go south again when celebrity soul wrangler, Melisande Blythe, is abducted and dragged to Europe.
There's more to the darkness hiding in the reclusive, mountaintop country of Andorra than just garden variety evil. There's something dangerously wrong with her beautiful immortal hosts too.
Gifted with flesh again by the Grace of God, three-hundred-year-old former ghost, Colonel William Grayford, will move heaven and earth to find his beloved. But Europe's most wicked monsters stand in his way. Something more painful than death awaits Mel, if Grayford can't find her in time.
The world's been living on fifteen thousand years of borrowed time and it's just run out.

334 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 24, 2021

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About the author

Hunter J. Skye

10 books149 followers
Paranormal romance and urban fantasy author, Hunter J. Skye was born with a rare nightmare disorder, and raised in a haunted Victorian home. Those two factors predestined her to write ghost stories and tales of dark folklore.
For steamy ghosts and a wise-cracking heroine - check out The Hell Gate Series.
For spicy monsters and a hot mess succubus - try Seducing the Serpent, book 1 in the FAEverse Chronicles releasing July 22, 2023.
Wanna talk about dark and spicy things? Catch Hunter at an author event or one of the annual paracons listed on her website!

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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
Profile Image for L.R. Braden.
Author 10 books392 followers
May 24, 2021
A carnival of addictive attraction and dark debauchery set in a uniquely magical world. For fans of graphic paranormal romance. This book is the second in Hunter J. Skye's Hell Gate series, and I would definitely recommend reading the books in order. The first book is A Glimmer of Ghosts, and you can read my review about it here: https://blog.lrbraden.com/2021/01/rev....

I love the world Ms. Skye has created. The various entities in it are unique, engaging, enticing, and made me want to know more about them. I especially loved the creepy cursed dudes in the thieve's market and the doomsayers. There were also some truly horrific nuns, but I can't say more without spoilers. ;) Sky also introduced some very interesting modes of transportation in her world that were both creative and original. All-in-all, the world of the Hell Gate series is easy to fall into and enjoyable to spend time in.

Skye's use of descriptive phrases and metaphors is wonderful. However, despite her lovely writing style, I had trouble getting through the first part of the story due to a problem with the pacing. A bunch of stuff happens to Melisande, but she doesn't really *do* anything at the beginning of the book. She mostly just attends parties and plays dress-up with her over-sexed kidnappers. The reason for this became clear later in the story, but I did find myself losing interest during those early chapters. The second half of the story, however, was much better and able to hold my interest as a reader.

This book has two narrators, both with strong and separate voices, although they do not share equal page space. The first, and primary, character is Mel (the protagonist from book 1: A Glimmer of Ghosts). Mel has a unique medical condition that allows her to interact with the spiritual plane when she is in the stage of consciousness between wake and sleep. This allows her to perceive ghosts, but comes with some debilitating side effects, like losing muscle control when she's scared.

Mel shares this story's narration with the character of William Grayford. Grayford's chapters are much shorter, and in fact there is a large chunk of the book where he doesn't show up at all, but his chapters carried the first part of the book while Mel succumbed to the doldrums of dress-up and parties that made her sections in the first part of the book drag.

There were a few scenes in the book that I felt could have been handled slightly better, or moved to a more appropriate place to help with the overall flow, but I enjoyed the sentence-level writing and the story as a whole.

I received a free copy of Shiver of Shadows in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Jennifer Soucy.
Author 9 books47 followers
May 24, 2021
A dazzling continuation... Just when Mel though she'd saved the world once, Hell attempts an encore performance.

Melisande Blythe, our spunky narcoleptic ghost hunter, is back with hunky Grayford by her side, trying to start a new life in Portsmouth now that the Hell Gate is closed. But given the dangerous twists of the first book, and a decent scare almost immediately in the sequel, let's just say Mel's got a while to go before that normal life becomes a reachable goal.

Without giving away too many spoilers, Mel and Grayford end up separated. The downside? Well, each is stressed over the other's safety while also having many good reasons to worry for their own. The upside? We get a dual PoV, a treat given how entertaining these characters are, allowing us an even deeper journey into this world's paranormal elements.

We discover Mel's been recruited by a sketchy pair, Mephos and Celene, who assert that Hell has multiple gates, and if she wouldn't mind very much, could she help them close the one in Europe? Gulp...yeah, cause that was a piece of cake last time. Naturally, this mission is also fraught with dark perils and introduces several new characters with a host of juicy secrets to share.

As with the first book, this is an amazingly well-written paranormal romance with relatable characters, heat, tension, nail-biting scares, and vivid imagery. Mel is such a great protagonist, one of my favorites in the genre, and I was pleasantly surprised by Grayford's PoV (though I can't help it, I prefer her more!). The stakes are getting high in this series, and I am dying to see what happens next cause this world needs more Melisande!
Profile Image for The Page Ladies.
761 reviews32 followers
October 20, 2021
Book Tour/ Book Review

A Shiver of Shadows
The Hell Gate Series Book 2
by Hunter J. Skye
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance

You'd think stopping Armageddon would buy a girl a bit of R&R with her freshly resurrected boyfriend. But things go south again when celebrity soul wrangler, Melisande Blythe, is abducted & dragged to Europe.
There's more to the darkness hiding in the reclusive, mountaintop country of Andorra than just garden variety evil. There's something dangerously wrong with her beautiful immortal hosts too.
Gifted with flesh again by the Grace of God, three-hundred-year-old former ghost, Colonel William Grayford, will move heaven & earth to find his beloved. But Europe's most wicked monsters stand in his way. Something more painful than death awaits Mel, if Grayford can't find her in time.
The world's been living on fifteen thousand years of borrowed time and it's just run out.

Another great read for the spooky season! The best way to describe A Shiver Of Shadows is unique! The world building in this book is great! The types of spirits to the kinds of transportation are all very different. I don't think I have seen them in any other book & because of this I was drawn in! It was great! A Shiver of Shadows is a well written paranormal romance! The imagination that Hunter Skye put into these books is absolutely wonderful! Happy reading everyone!

Giveaway
$25 Amazon
Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!
https://www.silverdaggertours.com/sds...



Thank you Silver Dagger Book Tours for my gifted copy & my place on the tour!
55 reviews2 followers
May 27, 2021
A big thank you to NetGalley, Author and publisher The Wild Rose Press for giving a copy of this book for reading. My reviews are based on my own reading experience.
This is a second book in Hell Gate Series. This is first book I am reading from this Author and also first in this series.

Let me start by saying this book can be read as a stand alone, but for much clearer understanding of characters read book one first. Melisande and Grayford I like their characters but their were few instances that I found their behaviour odd. I need to read first book also as I am curious about what happened in book one.

The way it’s been written is interesting and easy to relate. There were few scenes that I didn’t like but they didn’t hamper the flow of the story.  I was disappointed by the ending I wanted to know more, there were so many questions unanswered. Despite few things this book has kept me hooked till end and I wanted more.

There is a sentence I liked a lot I would like to quote “This is life, I reminded myself. Every experience was a gamble, a delightful or disastrous roll of the dice.”  I am definitely going to read more from this series and Author.
1,828 reviews5 followers
May 17, 2021
A big thank you to NetGalley and Wild Rose Press, Inc, for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. This is the 2nd in the Hell Gate series. I have not read the first book, and this author is new to me. I think that these books need to be read in order. I was often confused at what was happening. Actually I was confused a lot through the entire book. But I still liked it. Strange but I did like it. I have not read anything like it-so for me it was a breath of fresh air. I loved Melisande and Grayford. There perseverance was mind boggling. I want to know what happened in book 1. I will read this author again. I found this to be a unique book. 4 stars
Profile Image for T.P. Warren.
254 reviews105 followers
June 17, 2021
I fell in love with the snarky, feisty protagonist and enjoyed watching her kick ass. A top notch Paranormal with some great secondary characters. The setting and sensory details were fantastic. I big thumbs up from this reader!
May 26, 2021
Well done 2nd book in the series... the action picks up quickly and keeps you going. I feel bad for the troubles that Mel runs into, but it makes for a great read! I enjoy Hunter Skye writing style and in this book it continues! I have to say one of my favorite lines from this book "He must have been a really sucky priest." Spot on! Now I have to wait till the next book is out to find out what's next. There are hints in the story, but nothing I can do, but to wait...
743 reviews16 followers
June 24, 2022
I must say sorry to the Publisher and NetGalley as I somehow missed reviewing this book at the time of reading .

This is the second book in The Author's Hell Gate series and whilst it can be read as a standalone I would recommend reading the previous book first to est the characters and worldbuilding in place .

Told from a dual POV view but mainly Mel's - this story is fast paced with twists and turns aplenty .
The book is a well written paranormal romance with interesting characters , great imagery and peril and tension
throughout - my only reservation is that I was left wondering about too many outcomes being unresolved

I look forward to reading the next in the series to see the outcomes I hope for - an entertaining read

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews

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