Reviewed by Sarina
TITLE: Hell Cop
SERIES: Hell Cop #1
AUTHORS: Astrid Amara, Nicole Kimberling and Ginn Hale
PUBLISHER: Loose Id
LENGTH: 280 pages
RELEASE DATE: October 14, 2008
BLURB:
Welcome to Parmas City, where demons and sorcerers live among ordinary people and a few tough Hell Cops protect them all. Jay, Argent, and Ben are three of them, and they’ve just met the men of their hottest dreams.
Next of Kin by Astrid Amara
Jay Yervant is a Hell Cop so powerful that his bare skin incinerates anyone he contacts. Isolated, he is tortured by desire, until he meets Brian, a sensual young man who touches him with impunity. But Jay’s burgeoning hope is threatened when a malevolent sorcerer unleashes a host of demonic assassins against Brian. Keeping his lover may cost Jay his life.
Red Sands by Nicole Kimberling
Anthropologist Michael Gold’s got problems. His apartment’s been ransacked, his dad’s missing, and he’s been framed for murder. As a half-demon he expects trouble from the city’s Hell Cops. Instead, he gets Argent, a man with intimate knowledge of Michael and whom Michael can’t penetrate with his psychic powers. So does Argent want to clear him or expose him?
Touching Sparks by Ginn Hale
When photojournalist James Sparks discovers an underworld of sorcery, blood sports and demonic drug traffic, he turns to Detective Ben Moran, a hard-bodied Hell Cop whose touch sends James’s pulse racing. But when James uncovers evidence of police corruption he realizes that Moran may be in as much danger as he is.
Publisher’s Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Anal play/intercourse, male/male sexual practices, strong violence.
ANTHOLOGY REVIEW:
This book was an absolute blast to read! Every story was unique yet still built on the one before it as characters from the first story were popping into the second and third. The Hell Cops themselves were interesting and I loved the world the book takes place in; the set up was just really well done and I couldn’t wait to read more. If you’re a fan of paranormal stories or just like to read about a bunch of hot men in action, this could be the book for you. I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would and I’m looking forward to reading it again. 🙂
Next of Kin by Astrid Amara: 4*
This was a fantastic way to start the book; you get a really good feel for the world set up and just what the Hell Cops are without being bogged down with a ton of explanations. The characters themselves were great, even the secondary ones, and I liked how Jay and Brian fit so well together. While I wasn’t as thrilled with the plot in this one, the characters and their interactions totally made up for that and it was still a really good read. While I thought Jay was awesome, Brian ended up being the real surprise, however, and it was what he brought to the story that really sold me on it.
Red Sands by Nicole Kimberling: 4.5*
You ever have one of those days were everything is going good and then suddenly goes very, very wrong? That was Michael’s day when he’s on his way home from a trip and suddenly finds himself with a dead body. There were a lot of different elements to this story, a list of suspects and some smoking hot chemistry between the main characters, all of which made for a great read! With everything going on, I didn’t figure out who the killer was until right before the big reveal though the reason was a complete surprise. From start to finish I was glued to my kindle with this one.
Touching Sparks by Ginn Hale: 4.5*
Fantastic way to end the book! This story kind of felt like the ‘big case’ of the anthology and it was another great story. The dynamic between the two main characters was different in this story than in the first two and the focus was really on the investigation and subsequent aftermath, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It was nice seeing both men changed for the better by the ending and while there were some bittersweet notes at times, their coming together at the end made up for it. This was the one story in the book that I felt could’ve made a great novel all on its own and was as much a joy to read as the rest of the anthology.
RATING: 
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