Black Howl (Early Review)
Black Howl by Christina Henry
Madeline Black #3
Something is wrong with
the souls of Chicago's dead. Ghosts are walking the streets, and Agent
of Death Madeline Black's exasperating boss wants her to figure out why.
And while work is bad enough, Maddy has a plethora of personal problems
too. Now that Gabriel has been assigned as her thrall, their
relationship has hit an impasse. At least her sleazy ex-fiance Nathaniel
is out of the picture--or so she thinks...
The souls of the dead in Chicago are confused and damaged beyond repair, and it's up to Maddy as an Agent of Death to get to the bottom of things before the situation gets any worse. Meanwhile, her relationship with Gabriel is at a stalemate now that he is her thrall. To make matters worse, her ex-fiance Nathaniel is back with his own agenda. Can't a girl ever catch a break?
Black Howl seemed to be the book of discovery, hard truths, and unwanted revelations. While all of this kept me on the edge of my seat as I was shocked over and over again, it does make it quite hard to review without revealing some pretty big spoilers. Leaving all specifics aside, I will say that I was thoroughly impressed with Christina Henry's ability to completely catch me off guard, making for a very unpredictable read. I never know where things will lead next!
What a mess! Maddy and Gabriel's relationship has never been more complicated than it was in Black Howl. Yes, they had the messy business of her undesired fiance, and J.B.'s interest causing some jealousy issues, as well as the pesky problem of their love being extremely forbidden, due to his designation as a thrall placing him "below" her. However, now that he directly belongs to her, things are even worse. He has no choice but to follow her orders, and let me just tell you that the sparks are flying as a result. There has been so much build up between the two of them that a blow up past the breaking point was completely inevitable. Whether the ending result was positive or negative, well you will just have to read the book to find out.
I had to wait a few days after reading Black Howl to review it because I was too emotionally tied up in the ending events to be able to separate myself enough. I just wouldn't have been able to give the book a fair review. Black Howl was such a roller coaster of emotions with the highest highs, and the most devastating lows that left me feeling more than a little bereft. I'm holding out hope that Christina Henry has some brilliant master plan in store for the future books that will turn things around or somehow lessen the massive blow dealt in this book. Even so, Black Howl was an incredible read from start to finish that only further cemented my love for this series, and I highly recommend it.
(Received a copy from the publisher)
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