I had a hard time with this one. Espesially how Emma (the main character) talked about and remembering police trainee days and what she did then, and the only silver lining with supernatural squad was the cooler weapons... plus i felt that the character was bland and boring. The Vampire aka the love interest, were sort of interesting - but not enough to want to continue the series.

Helen Harper’s witty urban fantasies never fail to delight me, and Brimstone Bound is no exception. The first-person narrator, Emma Bellamy, has almost finished her training as a detective in London when she’s given her final trainee assignment: the Supernatural Squad. Although no one in their right mind wants such a post, she’s determined to make the best of policing the city’s vampires, werewolves, and assorted other “supes.” That is, until she herself is brutally murdered and wakes up in the morgue without a scratch on her. She’s not a vampire now, or a zombie, or anything anyone has heard of. Maybe her boss knows – oh no, now he’s been murdered, although it’s made to look like an accident. 

Fast-paced, full of innovative plot twists, and always engaging, Harper’s latest is a quick, juicy read.

I really enjoyed this first book in a new urban fantasy series. I loved the world that Helen Harper created and Emma was a great character to follow around in it. My only criticism is that most of the mystery elements were fairly simple to figure out, but that didn't hamper my enjoyment of the book. I'll definitely be picking up the sequel.

Thanks to Netgalley and BookBuzz, I was able to procure an ARC of Brimstone Bound. While I love all types of fiction, paranormal fantasy is probably my favorite genre. And done right, it can be a really immersive and exciting read. 

Brimstone Bound follows Emma Bellamy, a trainee for the London police who is steps away from becoming a detective. Motivated and capable, Emma is in high hopes until she realizes that her last assignment before she qualifies is with Supernatural Squad. Which is exactly what it sounds like--Supernatural Squad deals with the supernaturals that live in London. Known for being a dangerous job, the squad is also poorly funded and has in total three functioning members. It's no wonder any of the trainees want to be assigned there. 

Yet Emma grits her teeth and accepts it, knowing how close she is to making detective. She is just getting into the swing of things when one night after work, she is suddenly murdered by an unknown killer. When she wakes up in the hospital morgue hours later, her entire world has been upended. Not only has she realized that she's not human, but that the killer might try to kill her again. A series of disappearances and deaths in the supernatural community seem to be linked to her own murder, and Emma must unravel the mystery of it all before it is too late. 

To be perfectly honest, this started off really nicely. The summary pulled me in when I first read it and I always like an air of mystery surrounding my main character's actual origin. Also the fact that she is immortal--like literally immortal--is really cool. She's basically unkillable. And the plot is great--I love the idea of a supernatural Nancy Drew investigating her own death and how it is connected to others. 

And Emma really has a personality. She's strong-willed and stubborn and I love heroines who hold their ground. The woman is literally killed and wakes up hours later ready to solve the mystery of her death. If I were in her position, I would probably run away instead of facing my killer. 

I think where things went wrong for me was as the book progressed, I kind of lost interest. I still care about Emma's mysterious origin but I wasn't very invested in figuring out who the killer was. Maybe it was the lack of humor in the book--I love humor, any kind but especially dark humor, in my books. And while a joke was made here and there, I feel like the author could have really used dark humor well in a story like this. Anyway, Brimstone Bound felt...bland and so it didn't keep my attention.

Emma is training to become a police detective when she is assigned to the worst post possible for her career, the Supernatural Squad. While investigating a crime, Emma is murdered. Do not worry, she wakes up in a morgue, only to realize someone had killed her and she is no longer dead.

Now Emma is trying to uncover who murdered her, discover where her missing Supernatural Squad trainer went, and decide if the devastatingly handsome vampire is friend or foe? Emma decides to let Lucas, the vampire, help her transverse the supernatural world.

Let’s just say, Harper had me at the intriguing mysteries that she cleverly built into a riveting plot. I will be back for more!

I received this ARC copy of Brimstone Bound from Helen Harper. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Emma is a young detective, what a great idea with a book.  I enjoyed the mystery and storytelling in this book.  I liked the character of Emma. This book had me wanting to read on and find out more.  I loved the supernatural aspect of the book.  Some very unique ideas and I like the twists, a little quirkiness, and surprises.  Overall, I enjoyed this book very much. *"This book was given to me for free at my request from NetGAlley and I provided this voluntary review.*

Emma Bellamy is training to be a detective and is sent to the super sector, she gets angry because it is the most boring sector of all. And on her first day she is murdered, but in a twist of fate she comes back to life, apparently she is immortal and doesn't know what she really is. So she goes after finding her killer, when disappearances and deaths start to happen, and she believes that everything is intertwined with her death and goes after finding out the truth and arresting the criminal.
I really liked this reading, it is a very short urban fantasy, with captivating characters and an investigation as a focus, which was well elaborated.
We have a world where vampires, humans, werewolves and other beings that live together.

Emma Bellamy is only one short assignment away from being named the newest detective to the London Metropolitan Police Force. Unfortunately, that last assignment is with the Supernatural Squad — a meaningless department, since the supernatural species police their own and are largely confined to a few neighborhoods in London. But then her mentor disappears, and Emma herself is murdered. Left for dead, she awakens twelve hours later in a blazing fire. Determined to solve her own murder and locate her missing mentor, Emma teams up with a gun-ho pathologist, an irritating vampire lord, and the rest of Supernatural Squad … before her killer strikes again ….

Helen Harper is one of my favorite urban fantasy/paranormal romance authors, so I was excited to see that she had launched a new series (and her series, unlike so many others, tend to be a reasonable three or four volumes in length). So I grabbed a copy of Brimstone Bound and dove right in.

I really like Emma. She is driven, compassionate, and wants to spend her life helping people and bringing criminals to justice. She only knows the basics about supernatural beings (she’s not a groupie), but she believes that they deserve the same protections as humans. When put to the test, she proves herself to be clever and quick-thinking, too.

Even better, Harper takes her time with the romance. So-called insta-lust stories annoy me. I prefer it when characters are given the chance to get to know one another, discover each other’s strength and weaknesses, and really fall in love.

I like the world that Harper has created. It is virtually identical to our own, except for the existence of supernatural beings (werewolves, vampires, satyrs, pixies, and others). Most humans go about their normal lives, with only minimal contact with supernaturals; some humans seek them out, while others actively hate them. Although supernaturals might appear to be domesticated, the government understands their true power and threat, and seeks to keep them contained, through both legislation and accommodation (keep them mostly happily, and maybe they won’t go on a bloody rampage).

My only real complaint lies in the nature of the Big Reveal: the identity and motivations of Emma’s murderer. (No spoilers.) I saw it coming, and really really hoped that I was wrong. Unfortunately, I was not.

Overall, I quite enjoyed Brimstone Bound. The story kept me engaged, and I was rooting for Emma the whole way. I look forward to reading the next book, Infernal Enchantment, which released on 1 October 2020 (and finding out if my hunch as to her turn nature is correct).

Recommended to fans of Annette Marie, Lindsey Buroker, Hailey Turner, Gretchen Galway, and S.A. Magnusson.

I thought this was an amazing read from one of my favorite authors! The main characters and storyline are very intriguing and I couldn’t put it down! Highly recommended and I can’t wait to see what happens in the next book!

I loved the world-building in an alternate London it was vivid and well written. The MC is a kick-ass heroine who is very close to completing training to become a full fledged detective. 

I really enjoyed the original and well done take on the supernaturals in this world. It keeps some of the elements generally expected while adding new and intriguing elements. It was very well written 

I feel this is a fantastic beginning to a new series. I am very excited for the next book.

Emma and Lukas have a fantastic team dynamic and are engagingcharacterswith great dynamics. 

The book has a well paced stiry arc that keeps you interested. I will definitely be reading more from this author.

I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review.

I must admit at first I was worried. It didn't grab me right away. As I read more the characters started to grow on me. Emma and Lukas together as a team worked well. The story was steady paced. The characters as they were introduced just added to the story even though they may be in the background (or morgue). Interested to find out more about Emma's past. This was my first book by Helen Harper but definitely won't be the last.

ARC from NetGalley

4.5 stars

This is an excellent first book. It's a paranormal fantasy that's set in England, which is a nice change from the traditional gritty US City. I had a hard time putting it down. The mysteries were done well and pretty much impossible to see coming, though I feel like we sacrifice a bit with this. I'm having a hard time articulating exactly why, but I just feel like there was no foreshadowing, and the big reveals were too uninvolved in the plot. They were too convenient. You spend time trying to suss out who the bad guy is and how things happened only to find that you could never have figured it out just by the nature of the design of it. 

I'm big on romance, and there wasn't any of that here really aside from some extremely slow burn beginnings for what is clearly to come, and of which I wholly approve. *waggles eyebrows*

The magic system here, I mean aside from the vamps and wolves, has piqued my interest. We really get some clear foreshadowing <spoiler> on the cover here as far as Emma's powers go, yeah?</spoiler> I'm eager to see where this goes. 

I'm eager to see where everything goes. I'm glad I got to read this. If you like paranormal fantasy, you will like this. It's a good one.

I am absolutely amazed at how much I loved this book!  I have been looking for a new series since many of my current favorites are ending.  Brimstone Bound has catapulted Helen Harper's series to my followed series and made my TBR pile much higher.  

A young rookie cop is assigned to work with the "usual" supernatural characters that live just out of sight of human Londoners.  This job is not on her bucket list but she needs the work experience, so on duty she goes.  By the end of her shift, she's dead!  WTH!!!  But she doesn't stay dead for long and now she has a brand new list.  

A really good entertaining story line that is still light hearted enough to keep you chuckling as this young police woman finds herself in a world she has no clue about.

I received this book for free to review.

I really enjoyed this book. It kept me interested and wanting to pick up the book from one day to the next. There were a lot of twists and turns as the main character tried to solve the murder of her mentor. It also had a surprise ending too! I am definitely interested in reading the second book when it comes out in October!

I loved the premise of this book, alternate London with a kick-ass heroine who is on her last training placement before qualifying as a detective. Getting sent to the super squad was not part of the plan and ending up in a morgue was definitely not in the program. I really enjoyed a fresh take on supernaturals. While many of the familiar elements are there, the author adds something unique to her supes. 

This is the start of a new and intriguing series that I, for one, will gladly follow. 

I received an arc of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Helen Harper never fails to create a heroine who entertains and her new book delivers a great character in Emma Bellamy. Emma has been doing everything right on her track to succeed as a London detective - her training is just about complete when she is given a final assignment that just doesn't quite seem right for a trainee of her caliber. A stint with the Supernatural Squad - not something that is looked upon very highly. Very quickly Emma finds out nothing is as it seems and she may have to place her trust in the most unexpected places. Helen always builds complete worlds for her character to live within and once again she has created a really fabulous universe. I can't wait to see where the next book takes Emma to - it will be a darkly intriguing adventure I'm sure. Don't miss this first book in a new series (- and if you haven't read any of Helen Harper's books do yourself a favour and go look up her catalogue. You won't be sorry.) Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

**4.5 Stars**

I have been eyeballing books by this author for forever, have most on my wishlist/want to read list, but I have only ever read one other by her and it was forever ago so I was excited to jump into this urban fantasy (with such an eye-catching cover!). Set in a modern day England with a twist, Emma is on her last rotation during her training to become a detective. Expecting an easy office job with cyber crimes, instead Emma is assigned to the Sups squad, the police task force that deals with relations between humans/police and all manner of supernatural creatures. What seems like an uneventful two weeks quickly turns into the most important investigation of Emma's life.

Brimstone Bound was as if an urban fantasy had a love child with a Law & Order style police procedural story, creating something super engaging and unique for me to read. The world building alone is enough to make me want to pick up the next book in the series, the details of the pack and werewolf hierarchy as well as all the other paranormal creatures were interesting. Add in the investigation and police policies and I wanted to solve the mystery just as much as Emma. I had a hunch that turned out to be correct about the killer but I still enjoyed the ride to find the truth.

Can I just take a minute to tell you how much I love Lucas and that I hope he stays around just as much in the next book? To be perfectly honest, I would love for him to be a possible romance for Emma, but I would gladly just accept him lurking on the pages as a side kick too- this is not a romance in any way, but a girl can hope. Hands down he is my favorite character right after Emma.

I recommend Brimstone Bound for anyone who loves vampires, werewolves, murder mysteries, urban fantasy and police investigations. I am glad that the next book is released soon!

Emma Bellamy has one last assignment before becoming a detective.  She is sent to the Spook Squad - a branch of the force meant to liaise with London's supernatural set.  When she is murdered in a back alley on the way to meet her supervisor, Emma becomes more entangled with the monsters than she ever hoped to be.  If rising from the dead wasn't enough to spook a girl, Emma has to find out who murdered her mentor too - and it will take the help of a master vampire to do it.

This was an interesting take on a supernatural society, however Emma's lack of interest in her own resurrection kinda bothered me.  She compartmentalized her death so well that if became an afterthought for the entire novel. This maybe an attempt to draw out the series, but it left me wanting more of her character.

Brimstone Bound, by author Helen Harper, is the first installment in the authors Firebrand series. Protagonist Emma Bellamy is a detective-in-training with the London Police. She's just entered her final rotation at the top of her class when she gets disastrous news. After everything she's worked hard for, she ends up being assigned to the Supernatural Squad instead of her coveted Cyber Crime. The Supernatural Squad is where the worst of the worst are dumped. On Emma's first day, she meets her new mentor, Detective Constable Anthony Brown who she will work with for the next 2 weeks. 


Soho is an interesting place. 2,000 Vampires live here in a feudal system of governance alongside with (4) Werewolf clans. There are also ghouls, and gremlins living here. The balance between the supes is delicate to say the least. One wrong move, and the Supe Squad will be the first to fall. After all, they are just curtain dressing to keep up the appearance that the humans care. On her first day, she encounters two werewolves at each other’s throats which she curiously breaks up. But, after being lured out to Soho in the middle of the night by a curious message, she ends up dead. Ah, but what would be the point of this story if she stayed dead, yeah? 


So, 12 hours later, according to her new friend in the coroner's office, she literally rises from the dead without a scratch on her. Determined to find out who killed her, Emma starts her own investigation. She's assisted in her quest by Lukas who is the vampire in these parts. Lukas may be the one person to make sure that Emma doesn't end up dead again. He's also the one who asks the hard questions; just why is Emma still alive after her brutal encounter with a killer? What is Emma anyway? But the mystery is just beginning. Tony is found dead. The werewolf Emma met the day before is dead, and her sister is missing, and the twists are just getting started.


The one thing you can take away from this first story is that the author has chosen not to name what Emma is even though the cover of this book clearly hazards a guess into that direction. When reading a book that is also a mystery, a reader must fully take in all characters whether they are on screen or just off screen. Of all the characters involved in this series, I have to say Lukas is the most curious. It's more than apparent that he's not going to let the Emma question go. It's also apparent that there's a connection between the two. It won't be long to find out what happens next. The next installment releases in October

Well, I’m on the fence with this book. On the one hand I liked the world, and I saw potential in the story. On the other hand there was no character development at all and the set up was beyond suspension of disbelief. Further the “twist” wasn’t surprising, although the reason was. I’ll probably pick up the next book in the series and hope for a little more.