When little sister Hartley goes missing Aiva must rejoin the family business of demon hunting to help Tala find her. Their search takes them into Dublin’s criminal underground. Where the gangs are led by demons and for every circle up they go the danger increases.
I’ve read a lot of fantasy books but not many that include Ireland. As Ireland is so close to home in Britain, it’s really interesting to lead about the folklore and myth that surrounds the isle. I loved that The Ninth Circle also brought together it’s own ideas of hell and of the gangs of demons that lead to hell.
The books mainly about family and betrayal. Over and over again, someone is betrayed and it’s always the trust in their own family that brings Aiva back to the family unit. Although there is a very clear divide between the two sisters, Tala and Aiva. They have very different ways of handling things which causes trouble throughout the book.
I thought that this book contained a lot of paranormal cliches and tropes which were not necessary. Personally I think it needed a pinch less paranormal and more fantasy elements. For some reason, there was something that kept reminding me of Twilight era books.
There was a lot shoved into this book. We meet a ‘big bad’ by the end, after multiple battles with different demons. On the one hand it could have been stretched over 2 books with the betrayal as a cliffhanger and a lesser demon being the end fight. On the other hand that might have made two books lacking something as well. I’m still unsure to how I feel about this as the book seemed to be all about fight, fight, fight.
Overall The Ninth Circle is an enjoyable book. But I couldn’t say it was completely unique to others it’s genre except for the Irish folklore.
I received The Ninth Circle* by C.A. Harland from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an unbiased and honest review.