The Ninth Circle Mini Review

Greetings readers,

On one of my Net Galley splurges, I stumbled upon this book and requested it because it sounded really cool and magical! I thought the cover was intriguing to, so it was an instant Rendz-magnet! It turned out to be okay and not all that magical!

The Ninth Circle by C.A. Harland

via Goodreads

Tala Morgenstern lives for the hunt, embracing her heritage as a demon hunter. When her younger sister, Hartley, disappears while on the trail of her long-lost father, Tala must seek the help of her other sister Aiva, who has turned her back on the underworld of magic and hunting. Suspecting demonic involvement, Tala and Aiva race to find Hartley before she can be claimed by hell.

Their search takes them deeper into the bowels of Dublin’s criminal underground, where the gangs are led by demons, and the currency is souls. With each Circle of hell bringing new dangers, and new revelations about their own place in the demon hunting world, Tala and Aiva have to rely on each other if they are to stand a chance of fighting their way to the Ninth Circle, and the demon lord who is waiting for them.

*I was provided a free digital copy via Net Galley and the publisher.*

I just could not get into this book. There were intriguing moments, but nothing that made me go “Wow” or do a dramatic intake of breath. Nope. Just, meh. I did giggle sometimes but mostly I just stared at the screen blank-faced with no emotion.

The Likes

• The whole exploration of the nine levels of Hell. Each level was distinguished from the other, One being the weakest and Nine being the top dog.
• The different types of demons. There were specific mythological names used in the book, which I really liked. They each had their own specific power and appearance.
• There was some humour so that was at least helping me get through some scenes.
• The Irish setting, with mentions of Canada (Classic Patriotic Rendz)
• Conner and he was in the book for two seconds.

The Dislikes

• Boring. I’m sorry, but this book was just not as entertaining as I hoped it would be. All Tala and Aiva did was fight, get injured, rest, repeat for the first half of the book!
• The main characters both bothered me, they were just kind of there. o-o
• Why does Tala call Aiva, Ivy? Like explain this to me please! I don’t get why she is called by another name. There is a reason, it was just never explained!
• Hartley is actually a b*t*h.
• Romance involved Tala flirting with a bartender (then killing him) and having a one-night stand with a single father. Nothing concrete ever happened.
• The Morrigan legend could have used further explanation and exploration. There was no substance to it, I didn’t understand the whole point of it!
• Who is Aiva’s dad then? Like we figured out the other two and now you are just going to leave me hanging???
• There were constant dull moments! Lots of them.

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Overall, I really don’t have much to say on this book, other than I didn’t like it. I didn’t hate it because I found the demon hunting and nine levels of hell to be cool but nothing stuck out to me. The characters didn’t grab my attention. This book was just a lot of meh.

Rating: 2 / 5 stars

Recommend: I don’t recommend under three stars, but if you like demon hunting here you are!

I think next time, I will do a tad more investigating before judging books by their covers!

Happy reading!

~ Rendz