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Pages: 143
Goes Well With: angel food cake
I have to admit I was a little nervous when I began reading Hotter Than Hell by Kathleen Scott. I hadn’t had much luck with ebooks—most left me wanting more, while a few left me wanting far, far less (Bound by Love, I’m looking at you). This particular ebook, while a little longer than your usual lunch break ebook fare, was a very pleasant surprise.
Ivy Hawthorne lives in New York City and works as a costume designer on Broadway. While she maintains a decent level of success, she’s still waiting for her big break. She’s also waiting for a chance to get near her sexy new neighbor, Damon Serif. Damon is tall, mysterious, and handsome—and he has a secret. Damon is a fallen angel, living next door to Ivy while “on assignment,” which is namely to watch over her and be her Guardian Angel.
As the two draw closer, it becomes apparent that Ivy is in grave danger. Manhattan is being overrun by Marids, or water demons (makes sense, seeing as how Manhattan is an island), and they’re after Ivy. An Abbadon, an exceptionally evil demon, wants to make Ivy the Queen of the Marids so they can breed. It takes all of Damon’s angelic powers, as well as calling in some favors from various members of the Heavenly Host, to keep Ivy safe. If only he were powerful enough to deny his love for her…
I was very impressed with Scott’s writing. Her dialogue is funny and sharp as a knife, never steering into the ridiculous. The plot is nicely explained without falling into tedious exposition, and the action keeps up a steady rhythm.
Scott also seems to know what she’s talking about when it comes to angel lore and mythology. She deftly weaves little teasers and symbols into the story without ever seeming too obvious. For example, Damon’s last name is Serif—as in Seraphim, the highest rank of angels. There’s also Damon’s “coworker,” Archer DeAngelo (i.e., archangel), and Lucas Foster,a bad guy whose name seems a bit like “Lucifer.”
Scott also draws from different belief systems and cultures around the world. The Marids are actually a type of djinn from Arabic mythology, while angels are found in both the Old and New Testaments. We learn that Damon is a “pleasure angel,” which is why he fell from heaven and also the reason why Ivy feels such incredible lust for him. And that is one of the few problems I had with Hotter Than Hell.
By all accounts, Damon is a stand-up type of guy, and he often speaks of the Father’s love, so why exactly was he expelled from Paradise? For being too much of a horndog? Scott never goes into Damon’s back story—and considering her talent for incorporating mythical allusions, she probably would have done a pretty good job of explaining Damon’s fall.
Scott also crafted some incredibly steamy love scenes. Hotter Than Hell can definitely be categorized as “erotica,” and it’s most likely not actually safe to read during a lunch break at the office. Ivy and Damon predictably can’t keep their hands off each other, and the resulting scenes are indeed “hotter than Hell.” Thankfully, the ebook never strays into pornography—although I must say, if that’s what angels are all about, I’ve got to start going to church more often!
All in all, Hotter Than Hell by Kathleen Scott was an excellent ebook—one that I’m definitely going to read again.
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