The Road to Hell by J. Kessler

The Road to Hell is the second novel in the Hell on Earth series by Jackie Kessler. Before I continue, I should mention that I just read Hell’s Belles, so I’m not going to go to far into The Road to Hell. Afterall, the characters are the same, it’s just the plot that has changed. With that said, here we go.

What is an ex-succubus to do when her past won’t leave her alone? Jezebel has thwarted Hell and is now a mortal with a soul. She’s human and no longer a demon, so there is nothing Hell should want with her. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case. Her old queen, Lilith, still has it in for her; Daunuan still wants her; and now one of the furies is trying to get her back to Hell. As you can probably tell from the title, Jessie does eventually get there, but the road to hell is not as long as one would like it to be.

With this second installment, I do have to say that it’s not quite like the last one. The characters are still good, but there really isn’t as much violence in this one. If you’ve read the blurb on the back (If Hell wants Jesse back so badly, they’ve got her. But payback’s a bitch, and this bitch is about to rock Hell like a hurricane–or lose her soul trying…), then you might have thought the same thing I did….lots of kickass action. Without ruining anything, all I’ll say is there really isn’t a lot of physical conflict, but there is some interesting fights. The novel itself is really well written and it brings up a lot of thoughts on the whole Heaven and Hell connection. However, I don’t know if this is true, but I could see some people complaining that the book doesn’t really follow through on the action. I place the blame for this completely on the heads of the publishers since they are the ones who generally come up with these blurbs (correct me if I’m wrong, but they do right?). Regardless of this, the novel is still amazing. I picked it up after putting my son to bed and had it finished within hours.

Overall, another great addition to the Hell on Earth series. We see the fight over Jezebel’s actions come to a conclusion in a way that isn’t really done much these days. The novel has excitement and anticipation, but it didn’t rely on fight scenes to deliver it. Kessler’s writing was so dynamic that she didn’t need to pepper the book with martial arts or guns or any other forms of violent interaction. Considering we are talking about hell, there was still some pretty gory actions, but nothing over the top. This novel was a good ending for Jezebel. Yes I said ending. After this, I’m not sure what else she could get into, but I’m sure we’ll still see her popping up every now and then. Afterall, the next novel, Hotter Than Hell, is all about Daunuan and who else will he turn to when his life gets turned upside down?

Read Order:
Hell’s Belles (excerpt)
The Road to Hell (excerpt)
Hotter than Hell (excerpt)