I was delighted to find that Vivian Shaw was releasing another full length novel in the Dr. Greta Helsing series and I absolutely jumped at the chance to read it. This installment picks up some time after the events of Grave Importance and the recent novella, Bitter Waters, and in it we find Greta getting roped into yet another task she doesn’t really want to do but will because she’s just nice like that. This time it seems much more mundane - Greta will be taking a young angel and demon under her tutelage and study and go on a road trip across the United States. You see, when the Accords were signed between Heaven and Hell, they failed to account for the fact that their respective realms have a health impact on non-occupants. Basically, angels are allergic to Hell and demons are allergic to Heaven. The purpose of the project is to see if the two groups of beings can work together on the mortal plane without causing any reactions.
This is certainly a slower paced book compared to some of the previous installments and honestly, that didn't bother me one bit. In fact, it was nice to linger with some of these characters in their respective new roles and see how their lives were going, especially after the events of Grave Importance shook things up on the celestial level. I was a little surprised in the direction things went, mostly because I was expecting something a bit different from the inferno-celestial American road trip. Fully half the book is still spent in London, Heaven, or Hell bouncing around between different POVs after both an angel and demon were shot with some sort of poison blow darts. Then there’s a mysterious POV from one Gideon Tremayne, who seems to be in communion with a higher being that is giving him nefarious instructions. Eventually all of this comes together in quite a fascinating series of events that resulted in a somewhat unexpected ending.
Overall, this was a respectable entry in the Dr. Greta Helsing universe and I continue to hope for more stories - whether novella or full length - to further flesh out this vibrant paranormal filled world. The character relationships are wonderful and I love that we get to see more from the angelic side of things. Raphael and Adariel are just so earnest and caring, up to the point they are both willing to defy authority to make life saving choices. The demons are so metropolitan and practical, but also so willing to help. And darling Greta is simply a badass. She’s the glue holding all of this together. As I said, this is a world I love to return to each and every time!

Too many heavenly politics I fear! I enjoy this series most when it focuses on Greta and explores the intricacies of supernatural medicine: a whole book exploring the political dynamics between heaven and hell was too much for me. I also felt bait and switched by the plot, which promises an adventure-filled American road trip and rapidly swerves into something more repetitive and mundane. Without giving spoilers, the storyline was also frustratingly similar to past books. While I enjoyed the introduction of a few new interesting characters, they weren't enough to carry the stalled narrative. I couldn't quite understand the purpose of this installment, which neither brings closure to the series nor expands it in a new direction. Too much angel content, and not nearly enough Ruthven and Grisaille.

Far too much putzing around with the politics and the Heaven/Hell tensions and not nearly enough Dr Greta Helsing. She is the reason I’ve kept up with the series, and to see her so thoroughly shafted in her own book was quite frankly insulting. Plus so much of the story is just giant paragraphs that don’t accomplish all that much and it’s really everybody just talking to each other rather than really doing anything. I was bored, which I shouldn’t be in a Dr Greta Helsing book. But the road-trip mentioned in the synopsis didn’t even start until more than HALFWAY through the book and by then, I’d pretty much lost all interest.

I felt really torn about a 3 or 4 star review - I really enjoy this series and Vivian Shaw's writing, and yet this latest outing was harder for me to get into than expected. Perhaps the format of book vs. audiobook is the big difference - I've listened to the previous novels & novella as audiobooks, and I struggled to stay engaged and invested in this novel.

I was originally concerned that book number #3, Grave Importance, was the final outing of the series, with a big wrap-up and conclusion at the end of that novel, so I'm delighted to join the gang once again for continued adventures. Many of our favorite characters are barely a part of this novel, as it's set primarily in the US, and within the company of Heaven and Hell - it felt like there was more exposition than in previous novels.

At the end of the day, I was pleased to spend time with Greta et al, and I will continue to seek out future books in the series!

If this is where the series ends for now, this is a great note to leave it on. I ended up mainlining the books previous to this shortly before getting approved for an ARC, so I fell fast and hard for these characters. That Ms. Shaw chose to focus on the actual realities of Heaven and Hell working together after the last book, and the actual major issues that come with these sorts of collaborations (not to mention hardliners who are dealing with a complete absence of God and may or may not be having an existential crisis), and the realities of people being introduced to technology that could have been doing major good that was held back because of prejudice, and... there's a lot going on here that's the culmination of several books but it hits the home run in the best way, and it's fantastic to see play out. This comes out in May, and I highly recommend it when it does.

A very satisfying conclusion to the Greta Helsing series. The fight between heaven and hell has a reached a tentative cease fire and have to work together to find out what is wrong in the world again. With lots of returning characters and Greta's dashing husband the fight is taken to NYC.

I love that we get one more book in this series! I would call these comfort reads even with the excitement of when something happens (though I guess the worst already did with the Armageddon in the last book with the nicely convenient reset into the strange new world where demons and angels are now working together, or at least trying to) because Greta always seems to be able to work with her friends to save the supernatural creatures that dwell on earth. You get to see what several of them are up to from the last book, Bitter Waters (the update to see how Lucy is doing being a ward of the great Dracula) while also taking a closer look at the angels and how Heaven has changed. That was interesting to see them evolve from something close to righteous unchanging robots, to ones that are a bit more human. And of course there has to be more Hell (and the very competent Doctor Faust) and their search to discover who is shooting poison darts at demons and other supernatural creatures. Plus there is a new area to be discovered on the way (New York) with a very old and cool Nosferatu vampire, Contini as a mobster regaining control over the city.

I would happily read many more books set in this world! Even spin offs with the other characters like Ruthven and Lucy and their adventures living with Dracula or more of the New York scene with Contini or even Orlax and Adriel as they discover this strange new world!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this book. I absolutely loved it!

I so enjoy the uniqueness of each Greta Helsing novel! I love the cozy-mystery feel of these books, even though the actual stakes are much higher. These books continue to build new worlds and establish new characters and species in a way that is incredibly engaging and fascinating to learn about.

I loved how in these later books, Shaw brings in the angels, and also adds distinctly human elements to the creatures - either that they come with or that they develop over the course of the plot. I loved Adariel and his journey through this book to become “more” and how Shaw handled the archangel Gabriel’s depression. I love how often times in this book, the bad things happen because of a misguided belief and how the people who make those mistakes/actions on false belief do have to pay for them, it’s never just black and white like it can be in some other books. I will be reading any and all works by Vivian Shaw as they come out. 4.5/5

"In this witty conclusion to a delightful fantasy series finds Greta Helsing, doctor to the undead, facing the latest and strangest challenge of her career...accompanying an anxious angel and a sullen demon on a road trip across America.

After narrowly avoiding the end of the world, the leaders of Heaven and Hell are struggling to collaborate according to the terms of their new treaty - especially because angels and demons are, quite literally, allergic to each other. Seeking a solution, the powers that be decide to see if the allergy persists on Earth by sending an angel and demon on a research trip, first stop: New York City. And what better chaperone than Dr. Greta Helsing, who happens to owe Hell a few favors of her own?

But there's unrest in New York's monster underworld and Greta and her team are about to land in the middle of it. Something is off in Heaven and on Earth, and Greta will have to figure out just what that is if she hopes to protect those she loves most."

I mean, if you need an alternative to Good Omens these days, I'd look no further...

Filled with all the humor and heart that define the entire series, Strange New World is a delightful addition to the Dr. Greta Helsing stories. I have adored these books since I discovered them last year, and this one was no exception; I will be buying myself a copy when it publishes to join the rest of the series on my bookshelf!

After the closing events of Grave Importance, Heaven and Hell have signed an accord to work together, which is proving inconvenient as angels and demons are allergic to each other. The solution they land on is to send one of each on a cross-country trip together with a doctor who can study the allergy to figure out how to work around it. Of course, there’s no better monster doctor than Dr. Greta Helsing. But the stakes are far higher than managing a surly demon and a painfully sincere angel; someone is once again attacking supernaturals, and Greta will need to help crack the case.

My favorite thing about these books is the way the author balances gentle humor with truly heartwarming story lines and moments; and of course the characters. She has this magical ability to make the reader care about every single one of her characters, which is extraordinary in books with such large casts; I’ve read books with multiple characters before where I struggled to remember who was who, but no matter how many characters Vivian Shaw introduces, I’ve never once had that issue with the Greta Helsing books. When she brings in a character, you automatically love them, and the (sometimes shockingly high) stakes of her stories feel so much more personal because you care so much about the characters. I am so sad that this will seemingly be the last Greta Helsing book; I would happily read a 40 book series about these characters. I’m hopeful there will potentially be some more novellas in the future like Bitter Waters. Until then, these books will remain on my “frequent reread” list.

I would recommend Strange New World and the entire Dr. Greta Helsing series to fans of the Addams family, as well as to readers who love urban fantasy, supernatural characters navigating the modern world, humorous stories with a lot of heart, and found family.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit books for the arc! All thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.

Thanks to Netgalley and Orbit Books for this ARC.

4.5 stars

Since I first picked up the Greta Van Helsing series, I've been quite heavily invested in Vivian Shaw's work. This series made me realize how much I love supernatural doctors, and see authors unfold a whole new universe that has yet to be explored in fantasy. I was charmed by how much care Shaw put into designing the medical care needed for supernatural beings and grew to love the world the more I read about it.

It's such a shame that the Greta Van Helsing novels are nigh impossible to find in a bookstore as I feel many cozy fantasy readers would greatly enjoy this world. I know it has a bit more plot going for it than a normal cozy read does, however Shaw's world building feels like a nice warm hug. To me it comes off as low stakes despite the fact that there is a lot of world ending plot points occurring in the background. Shaw does a wonderful balance of introducing the reader to the world, whilst also introducing the other side's POV to give a few tiny morsels about the bigger problem yet to come. Shaw is meticulous in her writing, and switches from the more mundane side of things to the apocalyptic flawlessly in one self contained novel.

Compared to most other books in the Greta Van Helsing universe, Strange New World feels like it takes more time to get off the ground. Which I am not complaining about. It just took me way longer to connect the dots on what could be the big upset. Considering how Grave Importance ended, it's a tough act to follow in the next installment. So in that regards, it feels like the stakes are much lower which led to me feeling more comforted by the events that followed. I also read Bitter Waters before diving into this ARC, having felt that it would be included in the plot point. Don't worry--it is succinctly summarized and altogether an optional read! However any Shaw fan will go out their way anyways to read it.

My only major gripe for Strange New World would be the focus on Demons and Angels again. Personally, I get more enjoyment out of reading about other supernatural creatures and their ailments, and Grave Importance's focus on mummy doctoring was more preferable. The main focus in Strange New World was primarily on medical technology and how it affected Angels, which scratched that itch a little but not as well as the previous novel did. I would like to see Shaw take on more of the lesser developed supernatural entities in fantasy works. There are plenty of works out there that focus on vampires, demons, and angels... what about the rest of them?

If you've read any of Shaw's other works, you already know what's in store for you. Shaw is consistent in her work, but it's not so predictable. I had a tough time figuring out what the turning point would be. When I did come upon the turning point, I was thrilled to have connected the dots though I wished I had more to go on, like as in Grave Importance. In Strange New World, the other side felt a little disconnected as we kept bouncing between several perspectives that I did not realize were interconnected until about the 80% mark or so. The focus was more on the inner workings of heaven and hell, which is something we haven't had as much time to explore in the previous Greta Van Helsing novels.

This may be why I primarily feel this novel is much lower stakes as the main portion of it does fall on creating a research trip to diagnose the effects demons and angels have on one another in a neutral plane of existence. Unfortunately this point felt quite trivial as the reader is already aware of how they can exist based on the first chapter of the book. Shaw did get me all worked up to see a bus trip with a demon and angel in forced proximity, and I still would like to read a short story or novella that explores this notion hopefully in the near future.

Nevertheless, Strange New World is perfect for fans of the Greta Van Helsing universe, and I highly encourage other readers to just pick up Strange Practice anyways as you're all missing out.

A great conclusion to what's been a wonderful series. Vivian Shaw delivers one last punch for us to examine the repercussions of the series to date, and to close the door behind her on this series in the best way possible.

With the Accords now in place, Heaven and Hell must find a way to prove collaboration is possible even as the clinical evidence points to the opposite. In a bid to stick to the letter of the agreement, it's been decided that an angel and a demon will be sent to Earth on a joint research trip, and who better to run the whole shebang than everyone's favorite physician. But when a series of mysterious attacks begin to happen, things are starting to look extremely dire for this expedition.

One of the best bits of book news I got in the last year was that Vivian Shaw was returning to this world one last time, and now that the book is finally here she proves my joy was well founded. Let's talk about why I liked this book.

So quick background, Dr. Greta Helsing, descendant of THAT Helsing, is a modern day physician who tends to the needs of the monstrous sections of the population. This is very much a series that leans heavily into what was previously fantasy of manners but would probably now be called cozy fantasy, where we have Greta and her supporting cast of creatures straight out of classic horror literature. The big shoutouts go to characters from classic vampire literature you probably havent read, neither have I, but Vivian Shaw does a wonderful job of imbuing these characters with that old school, aristocratic feel while very much updating them in some ways to fit the demands of modern society.

That being said, this is very much a book written years after what was previously a completed trilogy, one that ended in as explosive and earth shattering a scale as possible, so how could she top that? The easy answer is without bothering to try. Instead, we get what feels to me almost like the perfect bookend to the series, one that plays with the ramifications of the penultimate book, the repercussions of those events on the world, the characters, everything. Exactly as I mentioned in my review of Sword of Kaigen a couple months ago, it's refreshing reading a story that takes time to examine what happens AFTER the big finale while still telling a great story itself.

And that's exactly what happens in this book. Couched around it's own subplot of terrorist attacks on supernatural entities, we have an examination of what the trilogy finale means. How have Heaven and Hell, demons and angels changed in the face of those startling events? Not just as a society, but as an individual? How should Earth be handled? Were the Accords a hopeful dream, a ticking time bomb or the start of a glorious new age in infernocelestial relations? It dominates the book, which is fine by me because that's what I wanted to read most.

At the same time, the book gives nods and pays homage to the rest of the series. We get subtle inclusions that hark back to events in the first and second books, to the recent novella, and in those cases as well the consequences are examined.

And it does all of this in a relatively short page count. I read this book in two sittings, both because of the engagement and because of the rapidity with which things are dealt with. Being on the smaller scale of events, Greta is tangential to many of the goings on in this book, and because of that both the major plots of the book feeling almost shrunken, as she really only plays a minor but key part in those events. It can lead to the book feeling a bit strangely paced, but I think that's a me thing - I tend to read books where characters are major players in major events, so to read from this type of perspective is very different and unusual for me, but is something that seems more and more common these days, especially in genres like cozy fantasy, where the MC reads almost more like just one of an ensemble cast as opposed to someone we spend the vast majority of time with.

And then we have the ending. I love the way Vivian Shaw brings this to a close, I love the passage she uses to wrap it up in the epilogue and I wish I could quote it but it's such a perfect fit to this series I couldn't help mentioning it. It both firmly shuts the door but leaves a tiny bit of light seeping through, or maybe that's just me hoping and projecting at this point. But hey, I wished when the trilogy was done that it wasnt the end and here I am talking about the 4th book in the series, so who is to say this is the last we've seen of Dr. Helsing?

NOTE: YT link goes public on 12th April, 2025

Vivian Shaw has a fun writing style and I enjoyed some of the other novels in this series. Strange New World didn’t appeal to me in the same way. Couldn’t get into it. I’m not a huge fan of the more bureaucratic take on the after life. If that is your thing you’ll probably enjoy this story.

this is a good book! I like the way this book was written, and how the science fiction world in this book was so interesting!! i think it was good! I liked the bits of humor, and how this book made me think!

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for the ARC!

I found the Greta Helsing series last year and flew through the three books and novella, genuinely loving the world and characters Shaw created. Helsing being an extremely competent heroine was also a HUGE sell of this series for me. When I found out there was going to be a fourth book, I was ecstatic. Then I was approved for an ARC! \o/

The story begins hot on the heels of the end of book three, so it's definitely not one you can just jump into, but my God, it's lovely to see these characters back in action.

In London, the demon tasked with transporting Greta safely between work and home and checking the essograph readouts for Hell, Harlach, is shot with a dart and becomes violently ill. Meanwhile, his heavenly counterpart, Haliel, is also shot but transports himself back to Heaven in time for treatment. As Greta tries to treat Harlach, it becomes clear he needs to return to Hell for advanced treatment and Greta contacts Faust and Fastitocalon.

Meanwhile, after the Accords were signed at the end of Grave Importance, both Heaven and Hell are sending respective envoys to see just how well demons and angels can be in each others presence before going into anaphylactic shock. Greta and Varney are roped into their American tour with the assistance of an American university, however familiar trouble follows them at their very first stop.

I don't know if this is the start of a new subseries within this series --I very much hope it is because I just enjoy this world SO much-- but I was enthralled the entire time. I can't wait to see where Shaw takes these characters next!

This is one of my all-time favorite series I have read, and this book is no exception. This fun and quirky urban fantasy with down-to-earth characters and out-of-this-world conflicts is such a delight to read, and I thoroughly enjoyed this book as much as the other three in this series.

I don’t want to spoil too much, but if you loved the other novels in the Dr. Greta Helsing novels you’ll love this one as well. Dealing with the issues felt with the literal apocalypse in the last novel, we follow our main cast - with a few new characters - as they try to navigate the consequences of those actions. I loved the insight into Heaven and Hell’s politics, and how the different styles of operation affect those living in both of those realms. I also just loved how Greta and Varney now being married and their interactions with each other were so cute and domestic, I love them both so much.

I know this says it’s the conclusion to this series, but in all honesty this book felt like it could have set up for further books in the future, and I desperately hope that is the case. I thought the last book was the end (and that this series was actually a trilogy) and so I hope that I’ll have a similar happy surprise sometime in the future.

(There was also some chemistry between two unexpected characters that - if this series does continue - I need to see resolved in some way. And the fallout of that, because it would blow the politics of Heaven and Hell apart, which would be an absolute delight to read. I won’t spoil it with who, but I refuse to believe they don’t have something between them.)

A huge thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Orbit for providing this e-ARC.

I wish I had been able to sample a portion of this book before requesting it, as the cover and blurb seemed neat, but the writing style is not working with my brain. The concept is really neat though, and I do think this is a wonderful read, I am just not the reader for it.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide honest feedback. I received a free eARC.

This Greta Van Helsing series is such a good one that I don't want it to end! I'm so sad this is the last one. The Good Omens vibe with the angels and demons was absolutely delightful. I couldn't have asked for a better series conclusion.

This is a series that’s only gotten better with each book - I’m sorry to see it end! Even four books in, the world building continues to be fun and witty, as well as the characters we see introduced. If you’re looking for Good Omens esque vibes with a mystery thrown in, you’ll enjoy this.

The Accords between Heaven and Hell are shaky. No one expected the angels and demons to be so allergic to one another.

I expected the concluding volume in the story of Dr. Greta Helsing to be a road trip through America. It isn’t. Instead there is an opening with an attack on the angel and demon surface monitors (think Good Omens) in London and a similar attack on a vampire in New York. The angel is not seriously affected but the demon is not so lucky. This creates problems in Hell and points to things not being right in Heaven.

The reason Greta Helsing ends up in New York with two very young assistants in the form of a baby angel and a goth demon is almost superfluous to the main plot which rapidly becomes complicated and fraught. There is a lot of action, a lot of danger, and some very fine emotional moments ending a a satisfying conclusion. This is the second book recently where I had to say goodbye to a favorite character but still felt like I was leaving them in a good place.