A great mash-up of our beloved series: Charmed, Supernatura, with a kick of badass Buffy the Vampire Slayer!

The book is written in Episodes instead of chapters (you can understand my reference to the TV series now) and felt just like watching one of those action-packed TV shows. And while it didn’t lack action, I was not particularly fond of the characters or story in general.

Throughout the whole book I couldn’t stop noticing references to the Shadowhunter world by Cassandra Clare.

Now! As a TV show this would be very entertaining. However, as a book the story lacked descriptions and character development.

Thanks to Netgalley which provided this free copy in exchange for a honest review.

The Ninth Circle is the story about the Supernatural world where the demonic creature's live. It begins with the story about the sisters Tala and Aiva who have grown up learning to be demon hunters. They both collaborate to find their sister, Hartley who goes missing on the trail of her father. In the end they discover something about themselves which their mother had planned from the beginning.

It was not bad at all but just maybe I already had the other better book of supernatural that make me love this book less. The book is lack of romance and has so many actions scene from the beginning. Overall the writing is good and had a great plot so its 3.5 stars from me. Suit for urban fantasy and paranormal fans.

Disclaimer: I received this ARC for a honest review

Introduction

“Fire ” is the starting book in ‘The Ninth Circle’ series. It is written by C.A. Harland.

Tala, Aiva and Hart are three sisters who are Nighthunters. These ‘nighthunters’, as their name suggests, hunt things that go bump in the night – fae, demons etc. The book starts with Hart missing which forces Aiva (a reluctant Nighthunter) to team up with Tala (who has embraced their legacy). Most of the story is written as a buddy cop book with the two of them finally learning to work with one another.

Opinion

This book was underwhelming. The main reason for this is the episodic nature of the chapters. Every chapter feels like an entry in a long running TV series with usually a monster of the week episode mixed up with the main story line. The transitions from chapter to chapter were abrupt and jarring to the reading experience. I think this book might have been much better had it been written (or edited) in a ‘normal’ fashion’.

The plot was mostly predictable. There are supposed to be a couple of surprises in the book. Unfortunately, I was able to see both of these coming, in the early chapters itself.

The world-building is nothing special. We have seen this kind of ‘hunter’ organization before in other urban fantasy like Shadowhunters, for example. The one unique aspect of this world seems to be the nine circles (which corresponds to Dante’s nine circles of hell). In this book, each circle is a paranormal criminal organization, run by demons, which deals in a specific vice.

On the whole, this book is below average. With some editing and rewriting, this can become a standard run of the mill fare.

Okay. I'm going to start this out by saying I really, really, REALLY wanted to give this book more than three stars. As it is, three stars is kind of pushing it.

This is a story about three sisters, the Morgensterns, who happen to be Nighthunters. Nighthunters is a fancy term for people who hunt down demons, fae, and other supernatural baddies. Basically, it's Supernatural but with women. The action kicks in right out the gate: Hartley, the youngest Morgenstern, is missing and Tala has to convince their erstwhile sister, Aiva, to come back to the world of demon hunting to help find her. The first scene involves plenty of action and I was completely here for this.

And then it just kind of hit a wall. It felt like a lot was being thrown at the reader all at once. There were just too many plotlines to follow and unnecessary characters (looking at you, Detective O'Brien) to keep tabs on. The action scenes were good, but the actual plot was lacking. I will say that I really enjoyed the final chapters, when everything was finally coming to a head. But then one of the major plot points kind of just fizzled out. Unless, of course, it will be brought back up in later books (one can hold out hope). Either way, this book left me feeling dissatisfied. It had such potential to be amazing and it was just... okay.

Still, I was intrigued enough by the Morgenstern sisters that I think I would return to this world, if given the chance. I suppose that's why I finally ended up giving it three stars. Good, not great, but worth another go around.

Thank you very much for the opportunity to read The Ninth Circle! Unfortunately I came to the conclusion that the book isn't for me, although I see that many people would really like to read it! For that reason, I will not post a review on my blog, as I think the readers who would love this wouldn't be too encouraged by it. I did appreciate both the humor and the writing style very much! Just the story isn't of my taste.

Raised hunting demons, Tala, Aiva and Hartley move to Ireland after their mother dies at the hands of a demon, in Canada. Two years later, things have gone a little awry. Aiva has given up the demon hunting business for personal reasons and Hartley is missing.

This isn't the first book to feature siblings who hunt supernatural creatures searching for a missing relative, but it is a good read. It also isn't the first time that female characters have been powerful hunters. I did, however, think it had an interesting premise, with crime linked to the nine circles of hell and each circle taking charge of a particular area.

Reminded me of the TV series, Supernatural, so not an original idea but none the less, not a bad read.

A modern day fantasy adventure with roots in Celtic myth, and a trio of demon hunting sisters, this was fun from page one. Sisters Tala, Hartley and Aiva grew up knowing they were special , and destined to hunt demons and protect the world, but as time went on the trio went their separate ways, Aiva even renouncing her heritage to work in a library. When Hartley goes missing, Tala reaches out to her for help and a quest to save their sister from the underworld begins. One of my favourite things about this book was how well it tied the modern to the myth, especially using layers of criminal gangs to represent the circles of hell, with Demons as gangland bosses. This was a smart move and a unique touch. The dynamics and dialogue between the sisters was also great, smart, sarcastic and completely believeable. The twists and turns of the tale take the reader from a quiet library to a siren run strip club among other places, and along the way we learn more about the sisters and what the future may hold for them. Its always fun to read a book set in your home city especially when the author does as good a job as she does here of capturing the essence of the city.
On a side note, the cover is beautiful, and especially fitting for the story being told.
I received an advance copy from NetGalley and C.A. Harland.

An interesting story with interesting characters. Some of the Dublin setting didn't ring true to me but all in all a diverting read.

Welcome to the Ninth Circle

Where things are not as they seem…

Okay that sounds distinctly ominous. But it kind of sums up my feelings, because this book defied my expectations. A huge part of why I picked it up was because I was on a serious Supernatural bender and the blurb sold me on its similarities- so you could say it fell into my lap when I was in exactly the right mood. Weirdly enough, however, the reason I decided to read it ended up being the source of some serious agitation- whereas what I ended up liking about it was completely unrelated and unexpected.

So let’s start with what I didn’t like: the “oh my goodness this is such a rip off of Supernatural” moments. Because, man, there is no way of getting round the fact that it starts off really fanfic-y. Though it may have plenty of action, good levels of description and snappy dialogue, a lot of that felt too similar to the show. Here are some of the parallels:

The sibling dynamic could have been copied and pasted. And while there are technically three sisters, it mostly focuses on two- who are basically female versions of Sam and Dean
Plot points- like constantly getting captured and having to save each other and even the missing relative at the start which brings them together
The chapters, while there’s nice attention to detail in their organisation, are literally episodic
Demons, sirens, hellhounds… you name it- if it’s a monster in the show, it’s made it into this book. There was even a reference to an “orange eyed whelp” (yellow eyed demon anyone?).
And worst of all, even though the dialogue frequently made me chuckle, lines like “here I thought you were like Ken dolls” were virtually lifted from the show.
I wanted to give this the benefit of the doubt, cos yes, I know the show too damn well to pick it apart this way, buuuut it shouldn’t have been that closely related. Even the nine circles seemed shoehorned in to make it seem less unoriginal.

Fortunately, that all changed somewhere in the middle of the book. Just when I was thinking of giving up on this Supernatural-with-girl-power deal, the plot totally changed gear and switched direction.

And that point when it started to diverge away from the show, I actually started to enjoy it. All of a sudden, it became imaginative, explosive, thrilling. I absolutely loved the colourful new mythology that came into play and it completely upped the tempo to deliver a phenomenal conclusion. In the end the strengths lay in the differences, not in the similarities. I’d imagine you’d enjoy it more if you are not particularly well versed in the show to be honest. In the end, I’m a little conflicted about this one- but I gave it:

3/5 bananas

I quite enjoyed this one, especially as a palate cleansing urban fantast book. The only thing that I didn't like so much was the name of the demon (I'll leave you to find out what it is). I just found it very hard to take it seriously every time I read it. However, overall, the story was good, the pace was good. The other thing that kind of bothered me was I felt that there wasn't enough resolution. I wish we had seen more of Hartley. I don't want to give too much away, but the ending felt a bit abrupt without enough closure, but I guess that will be continued in the next.

DNF, 35% of the way in. It felt like an amped up, R-rated version of The Mortal Instruments, but without the character development. The sisters are annoying and their violent actions and decisions have zero consequences. It's basically gratuitous action without substance.

My husband and I love watching Supernatural, so when I read the blurb for this I was drawn in. This was an entertaining read, with a good level of gore and violence to curb my action packed needs.

It was an easy read and lots of fun, and the similarities to Supernatural are undeniable. It lacked a little depth in some areas, and I would have liked some more world building, but altogether still rather enjoyable.

*An ARC of this book was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

As other reviewers noted, the beginning of this book reminded me A LOT of the tv show Supernatural. As in, this book totally starts out as Supernatural with sisters instead of brothers. Being a huge Supernatural fan, I was fine with that. Further into the book, I stopped finding myself making the comparisons and the book became its own thing. The demons are monstrous and the main characters have unique characteristics that I found intruguing.

At the same time, the main characters are the reason I couldn't give this 4 stars. Tala is a dumb jock and Aiva (or Ivy? Why did this character have two names?) is a total wimp. Some of their actions are completely nonsensical, just for the sake of illustrating their flaws. The relationship with the third sister, Hartley, is underdeveloped to the point that I really didn't care about her. I know she's already missing when the story beings ("Dad's on a hunting trip and he hasn't been home in a few days," anyone?) but apparently we're just supposed to take the fact that they're sisters as shorthand for deep emotional connection. Meh.

However, this is the first in a series and Harland has set up these characters to have A LOT of opportunity for growth and, if done right, they could end up being awesome badasses. I liked the nuts and bolts of this story and the Dublin setting, so I'll definitely give the next one a chance when it comes out.

The Ninth Circle by C.A Harland is the first book in the Ninth Circle series. The reason I wanted to read with this book was this description, as it reminded me of Supernatural and I love that show.

The book follows Tala and Aiva Morgenstern their younger sister Hartley has gone missing. This is more worrying than for normal families, due to the fact that they are Nighthunters. Nighthunters are the people who hunt the monsters in the world, this time they are hunting Demon as they run the Dublin criminal underground and that is the only link to Hartley. Aiva was trying to have normal life when Hartley went missing, Tala and Aiva now have to work together, as they work though each Circle of hell to find Hartley.

The boom reminded me in parts of supernatural with a little bit of Charmed mixed in. Tala reminds me of Dean more shot first ask questions later and Aiva as Sam the bookworm. Although I think Tala is more hot-headed, she is more driven by her emotion than she would want to believe.

I related more to Aiva as a character, she is the one to do the reading and researching. She is also conflicted she want to have her own life away from monsters, but her childhood training means she can't help herself when she comes across a Demon she can't help put get involved.

This book took my by surprise, at the beginning of the book I thought I knew what I would be getting into, but I was wrong. The book shocked me several times with twist I would never guess, the twist took it further from my Supernatural/ Charmed first impression.

This book is on my series to watch, this take on this genre is interesting and I look forward to what other twist are in store for the Morgenstern sisters.

I give this book 4.6

This was a pretty interesting read - the story follows two sisters who join forces once again to hunt down the demons that have abducted their younger sister. There's a lot of mystery and unanswered questions and everything wrapped up very interestingly. I wish there could have been more explanation for something things but it was a decent read.

This was a really fun way to spend a few hours; kick ass heroines, demons and warlocks and a journey (literally) into Hell.

Each chapter of the book read very much as an episode of a tv series, with its own little arc within the story. I was reminded of Supernatural and Buffy in particular.

This is clearly the start of a series, and I will keep an eye out for the next book, but I wish that the ending of this one hadn't been quite so abrupt.

Thanks go to net galley and the publishers for the arc in return for an honest review of the book.

The Ninth Circle was a nice read that wove together several components of European mythologies. It seemed like a cross between the Otherworld Series by Yasmine Galenorn D'Artigo sisters and the Winchester boys of Supernatural. It made for an interesting dynamic and the world that C.A. Harland created on top of Ireland as we know it is intriguing. The twists in the plot line kept me turning page after page. Can't wait to see what else is in store for the Morgenstern's next!

Excellent foray into the supernatural with a sibling twist. Highly enjoyed this book.
Rather like the supernatural sequence in regard to it being composed of three siblings that fight/restrain supernatural entities but it has a mysterious origin story and oats of narrative twists for these three sisters.
The characters were well portrayed and believable. I actually cared about their quest to find out what happened to the third sister and couldn't put this book down.
An intense page turner that will keep you interested until the denouement. I feel that there may be a sequel in the offing as there is ample room for it.

Raised hunting demons, Tala, Aiva and Hartley move to Ireland after their mother dies at the hands of a demon, in Canada, It's two years later and things have gone a little awry; Aiva has given up the demon hunting business for personal reasons and Hartley is missing.

This isn't the first book to feature siblings who hunt supernatural creatures searching for a missing relative, but it is a good read. It also isn't the first time that female characters have been powerful hunters. I did, however, think it had an interesting premise, with crime linked to the nine circles of hell and each circle taking charge of a particular area.

Although initially some of the characters felt a little one dimensional, they did develop greater depth as the book progressed. As a book addict, I particularly liked Aiva - a librarian - who is the more cerebral of the two remaining sisters. This worked well and complimented the warrior-like character of Tala, who is far more physical than her sisters. There is a lot of violence in the book, mostly involving Tala, but given there seems to be an enormous number of demons in Dublin, it didn't feel over the top to me.

The links with the Morrigan were something else I liked and felt that the author did a decent job of handling this. There is so much mythology out there about the Morrigan that it can be difficult to narrow down what to include or leave out. Harland did a good job of picking which parts to include.

I enjoyed the author's style of writing, which had a good flow and found the overall story entertaining. This is the first in a series of books and I'm honestly looking forward to reading more about Tala and Aiva.