Hellhound by Rue Volley Review

Title: Hellhound
Author: Rue Volley
Series: Hellhound Series Book 1
Publisher: Hot Ink Press

Synopsis:

Halo Bay has had nothing but bad luck with men her whole life, from a cheating High School boyfriend to the abusive one she just stabbed through the eye. Fatally wounded from her last fight with him, she falls unconscious, only to wake in purgatory with two choices before her. Sew her own eyes and mouth shut and wander around purgatory for an eternity, or, follow an extremely hot man, by the name of Gunner, to Hell. There she will train to be a "Hellhound", a hunter of all things nasty that escape Hell and go topside. Only with this can they try to redeem themselves and possibly gain their freedom. Settling into her new life as a HELLHOUND is almost easier than the amazing love affair just starting to grow between her and Gunner. His inability to open up, and her problems with trust, tend to make things difficult. Not to mention, she has another who admires her, the Prince of Fire himself, Lucifer. Halo becomes frustrated and makes a fatal mistake that could cost her everything.

The only motto a Hellhound has is HUNT. KILL. SURVIVE.

Review:

First of all, let me congratulate the author on the synopsis of this book. It just completely draws you in and really makes you want to read the book. I love the originality of this series and I believe Rue Volley did a heck of a job bringing it to life. Of course, the book is not without it's errors, but it IS the FIRST book in this series. 

I loved Halo Bay's character in this book. I loved the strength of her character; she continually fought to hold on to things that make her more 'human' than the rest of the hell hounds. She is fierce, strong, unrelenting and gloriously human underneath it all. In my opinion, when you come across story lines like these the author is all too happy to throw away the characters humanity, trying to make them more fierce to the readers. It's a nice change of pace.

Halo's romantic interest is Gunner who is more haunted than Halo, but he has had a few more years practice at it. Only Gunner takes his haunted personality to a whole different level, never really allowing himself to be truly happy. In his own mind he still has not sacrificed enough to be considered redeemed. 

The combination of Gunner and Halo is quite unique. I was afraid that in the end Halo would just look at Gunner with adoration, and maybe a little 'hero worship'. I am glad to see that the author took their relationship to a different place. He did rescue her from Purgatory but it was obvious the sparks were there. 

I really enjoyed the other hell hounds. From the vikings to the vampire. They were unique, well planned and executed very well by the author (in my opinion). They were detailed enough to add depth to the story but not detailed enough to take over the entire storyline. 

Let me go on record, I LOVED the cover of this book. I saw on Rue Volley's Facebook page that it was changed recently but I still think she should have kept this one. I am super excited to read the rest of the books and I can't wait to get that opportunity.