Customer Reviews

Hell Bent

5 star:		(58)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Heather Killough-Walden's new release, "Hell Bent," kept me up reading at 2:00 in the morning even though I had to be up at 6:00 a.m. Combination thriller and love story, the two main characters, Annabelle and Jack, have been in a platonic relationship for ten years, although they are each others best friend, confidante and overall most important person in the world, as well as being significantly attracted to each other. Annabelle is a beauty who turns heads without realizing it. She is a hockey-loving, Harley-riding, graphic artist - feisty but vulnerable and an overachiever with her flaws which she deals with through good humor, self-deprecation and Vicodin. Jack, with his British accent, hauntingly light eyes and rugged good looks, leaves women in his wake and barely notices because he only has eyes for Annabelle, whom he alone calls Bella. His need to be constantly married to women other than Annabelle, as well as his career choice, has left Annabelle content with the status quo of their relationship. However, the sexual tension that results from their mutual devotion is incredibly effective, while eluding overt description. This isn't the "will they or won't they kiss" tension delivered teasingly over and over. It is something much more complicated and far more stirring. When Annabelle finds herself involved in a murder, Jack's willingness to do whatever it takes to protect his Bella becomes apparent and he takes her and an extended cast of characters from one safe spot to another as together they investigate the murder. "Hell Bent' is a masterful telling by an author who delivers brilliantly complex relationships, scenes with staying power, and a story that manages to be sexy, thrilling, poignant and thought-provoking. The most fun I have had reading in a while.

One thing that makes me give a book a five star review is when I find myself thinking about it when I'm not reading it. Like in church. Or at work. This is one of those books. The story was interesting and most of the characters had layers. I loved the interaction between Jack and Annabelle. But that brings me to the one thing that I didn't like about the book. It almost made me bump it down to four stars, but the story was so good I just couldn't do it. I'm going to mention it below and warn that there's a spoiler.

***SPOILER ALERT***

There's so much sexual tension between Jack and Annabelle that I couldn't wait until they got together. I was anticipating this wonderful, romantic love scene. When it finally happened, it was basically: They kissed. And her last thought was that she was glad she was on birth control. What a disappointment! There wasn't even a description of their first kiss! I didn't necessarily want graphic sex, just some romance and feeling. I had thought about reading more by this author, but now I'm not so sure. I have no idea whether or not her other books have better love scenes. I'm still considering....

Sexy, suspenseful, adventurous and always surprising, Hell Bent has it all. I could not stop reading this story- every chapter pushed me further down the edge of my seat! The plot is full of non-stop action from the start, triggered by a murder and exploding with mystery. Annabelle is an all-star heroine: a smart, stubborn, witty, and completely relatable woman thrown into a world of assassins and conspiracy.

And Jack is...

Wow.

Dark, dangerous, sexy, protective, and utterly mouth watering- he brings the complexity of `right' and `wrong' to a new level. Hell Bent is an absolute must read!!

At 1386 pages, this book could definitely have used some vigorous editing. The story itself was fine and generally moved along, but I just couldn't get past all those endless pages and found myself skimming quite a bit. I mean, you can only take so much minute description of motorcycles and riding them. I was also expecting a paranormal romance with the hero having a "dark secret." Turns out there was nothing paranormal about the story at all and the secret wasn't much of one. However, for the cost of the book, you really can't go wrong. There are certainly worse ways to spend your evenings.

If you're unfamiliar with Heather Killough-Walden, you may be missing some of the best reading available on Kindle. I stumbled across her paranormal romance The Third Kiss: Dorian's Dream and was so blown away by her style and imagination that I quickly downloaded all her other available titles. And believe me when I say, it didn't break the bank, because The Third Kiss: Dorian's Dream was all of $1 and Hell Bent a whopping $1.99.

Seriously great reading combined with a stunningly low price...can I just say WOO HOO!

In Hell Bent, we meet Annabelle Drake. She works for a graphics design company and her boss, Max Anderson, is both a friend...and maybe more. He's finally asked her to dinner on a night when his teenage son wouldn't be home. As Annabelle heads to lunch with her friend Cassie, feeling a little glowy from the invitation, the glow turn to confusion and then fear when an odd text message from Max urges her back to the office - the locked and completely dark office.

The shock from the grimmest of discoveries rocks Annabelle's world and she desperately reaches out to her best friend, Jack Thane, a man she's known for ten years. Jack's not a normal friend. He's not a normal anything, really. He's also intensely in love with Annabelle and has been from the moment he laid eyes on her on her birthday almost ten years ago. He'd do anything for her - has done...everything for her. And as an assassin, he's well aware of everything he needs to keep doing. When the call from his Bella comes in on the phone that he keeps strictly for her to contact him, he knows something's wrong - she's never called it before. He drops everything and rushes to her side, quickly sweeping Annabelle away from the scene of a horrific crime, but he only starts to get the gist of just how bad things are when Annabelle tells him in no uncertain terms that Max didn't kill himself as the scene suggests. He was murdered.

Soon Jack is racing to keep the woman he loves safe from assassins just as deadly as he is while he shelters a growing number of people on the kill list with her. Annabelle's friend Cassie, Max's son Dylan, Jack's ex-wife and daughter...soon it's all Jack can do to keep everyone safe and keep Annabelle from the clutches of a very determined billionaire who is exceedingly intent on staying a billionaire - no matter how many people he needs to kill to keep his secrets safe.

Hell Bent is a roller coaster thrill ride and Annabelle and Jack are a fantastic pair of characters. Their relationship is complicated, complex, and difficult for both of them at times, but it's also immutable and intensely strong. Annabelle trusts Jack like no other, even knowing what he does for a living, but when Jack's secrets start to unravel as they're forced to evade danger again and again, so does their close friendship and soon their relationship is fraught with just as many perils as the situation they're in.

Killough-Walden has plotted this book perfectly, balancing the external danger and the plot of a brutal cover up with delicate emotional angst in a way that many authors can't even begin to comprehend, let along pull off. The characters struggle desperately to not get dead, racing across the country and then across the pond in a valiant effort while buildings are being blown up and bullets are flying and friendships are being tested. It's an exciting, dangerous thrill ride and an odd but utterly unique romance filled with genuine characters with human foils and foibles...and a bit of murder and mayhem.

Annabelle is a gem of a character, quirky, bright, dedicated, with a spine of steel and a core of determination that makes her a formidable heroine. Jack is fantastic as the lead male. A cold blooded killer by trade, it's clear his heart belongs to Annabelle, and the dichotomy, while perplexing, is also uniquely appealing and ultimately sympathetic. He's a bad guy...just not totally a bad guy...and some of his frets about keeping his Bella from hating him are actually cute and provide some humor to the situation.

The plot is fast-moving, the book long, and there's plenty of room given to develop the story and characters and do it well. Maybe just a wee bit too much room in one or two places that could have benefited from a bit of tightening and trimming. There were one or two times that I thought the constant attacks on Annabelle, Jack, and company felt a little like overkill, but they were passing thoughts, not true complaints, and the scope of the story never stopped developing alongside the action. There was only one part at just over halfway that I felt the action slowed a little and the story dragged a bit, but it was over before I got annoyed and another totally unexpected layer to the plot was added. From that point on, the book was right back at breakneck pace.

I loved it. I absolutely loved it. It was definitely one of the best action adventure books I've ever read, and I became so fond of the characters that I know they will stick with me. I would love a sequel or a series with Annabelle and Jack...even Sam, Cassie, or Dylan, and especially Adam - they're all unique enough and the relationships fresh and complex enough to support much more from any or all of them. Even if there's never a sequel, though, the impact that the story has guarantees that I'll be reading it again and again. Hell Bent is a story that quite literally has everything: rip-roaring action, bullets and bombs and beatings, a race against time, and danger, mystery, and suspense - and romance! It's fantastic!!

Originally reviewed for One Good Book Deserves Another.

My biggest fan bought me a book as a gift. (Someone she knew I would love to read.) She gave me a copy of Hell Bent by Heather Killough-Walden.

What a pleasant surprise! Finally I was reading a book like the kind I like to write. At its very core, it is a love story, but wow, what a story.

This is an action packed crime thriller of epic proportions. It doesn't lag for a moment, it has such a fast pace with so much action, murder, stalking, hunting, fleeing, torture, plotting, planning, fighting... bikes bikes bikes (did I mention bikes? And leather and Hell's Angels and yummy yummy drooooooool bikes!) And Men! and women.... who have guns, and a sense of humour, and don't get hysterical in an emergency, who want to fight instead of flight...

Good God ya'll, this book is just awesome (thank you Tania-Lee Tomlinson Goodheart for my lovely gift!).

Okay, why is this book awesome, because I like women (and men) who wear leather, who love motorcycles, who appreciate a finely tuned machine (on 4 wheels or 2), who appreciate how a gun can save a life, and with it comes a lot of responsibility. I like romances which aren't gushy (this isn't - at all) - I like characters who are flawed, with sharp edges that sometimes cut, who end up sabotaging their own lives (sometimes out of pride). I enjoy the action, the careful balance of dramatics / brutality / relationship.

This is my kind of writing because it is a romance thriller.

I recommend you pick up a copy of Hell Bent, and buckle up for a ride of sheer espionage, fear, pain, lust, betrayal, and lots and lots of guns!

This is a read which packs a punch - and if you look away, a roundhouse kick will follow.

Five out of five stars from me.

Poppet (author)

I LOVED this book! I have a very big crush on bad boy Jack Thane!

This book had it all: mystery, suspense, great characters, sexual tension, and some comedy. Annabelle is a very strong female character, and she is thrown in some crazy murder of one of her good friends in the beginning of the book. In comes her very handsome, professional assassin, best friend to help her figure out the mystery. Little do they know that the person behind the murder is after them also. Annabelle is whisked away and has to face some major fears, one being her feelings for Jack.

Hell Bent is a great enjoyable,suspenseful read! I'm so glad I had it on my Kindle so I could "read" it pretty much non-stop! I'd listen to it while I made dinner, did the dishes and folded laundry!

I am not saying anything new here but this was a fast paced well written book. I loved the characters, they were well developed and each had weakness as well as strengths, this only aided in making them more real to the reader. It has been a while since I have read a book with as much description and detail without losing my interest in the attempt. This is a great book, very entertaining.

This is a first read for this author but based on the reviews I decided to give her a try. I am glad that I did, it was a great story with Bella, Jack, Dylan, Cassie, Clara, Beatrice and Sam. I thought it was just going to be another typical romance novel. (If that is what you are looking for then this is not for you). This was an excellent story that I couldn't put down. I will now add Heather Killough-Walden to my library. There is romance there some inoccent and some that was between Jack and Bella that could have been more detailed. That is my only complaint that everything was in great detail except the sex scenes. I will recommend this to the rest of my family to read.

Heather Killough-Walden is a very creative and daring writer. She makes great dialogue, unexpected twists, memorable and lovable characters (even the antagonists), and all her plots are very well written. I've been following her for years, along with other fans who discovered her in some of the first websites she contributed to. Like many of them, and those who have found her through recommendations, she has quickly became the top "favorite" and to me the main reason why I kept on going back to those websites, waiting for the next installments to her stories which are always in the fantasy or sci-fi realm, although sometimes they were also very sensual.

Hell Bent is more action-thriller though, and although it's a romance and has lots of sexual tension, it's more PG13 and will leave most adults disappointed. However, it's a book that will keep you on the edge and will make you keep on turning the pages. It will also keep you wishing that you had someone like Jack (if you're a woman, and maybe the gays too) although not with all the dark and bad things about him. Or maybe those too, because he surely is a very lovable character, as Annabelle is also a very strong lovable character of her own.