Hell of a Witch

Urban Fantasy Action with Witches and Demons (Tear Down Heaven, Book 2)

By: Rachel Aaron

Narrated by: Nicholas Cain

The hotly anticipated sequel to HELL FOR HIRE! One month ago, Bex, the demon Queen of Wrath, and Adrian, witch of the Blackwood, pulled off the upset victory of the century. Now, they find themselves facing the question all unexpected champions must answer: what next?

They’ve declared war on Heaven, but how do you actually bring down a divinely powerful tyrant when your army’s still in the single digits and your magical fortress is an illegally modified Winnebago? It seems like a hopeless situation. As always, though, Adrian Blackwood has a plan, and this time, he’s going big. He’s got an idea to take down the Seattle Anchor, the giant magical fortress that houses the Anchor Market and every other bit of critical infrastructure that connects Heaven to Earth.

How the Anchors work is a closely guarded secret, and getting to the good stuff will require going deep into the heart of Gilgamesh’s power. There’s a reason even the Queen of Wrath has never attacked one directly, but now that Adrian’s on her team, Bex thinks they can do it. She’s finally got the power she needs to actually move the needle on this war, and she’s going to hit that Anchor with all the fire she’s got. But the enemies of Heaven aren’t the only ones making plans. After the fiery return of his most persistent annoyance, Gilgamesh has ordered his princes to take care of the demon queen problem personally. It’s time to roll out the big guns and show these rebels what divine wrath really means, starting with the Hell of a Witch who made it all possible.

-Book 2 of a new, action-packed Urban Fantasy series from the author of NICE DRAGONS FINISH LAST and MINIMUM-WAGE MAGIC!

©2024 Rachel Aaron (P)2024 Rachel Aaron

even better than the 1st one!

I loved it even more than the 1st book and that one was awesome! This is one of my favorite authors and I'm really emoting this newest installment in her collection of stories.

Exciting and romantic

I love the world building and really enjoy a new magic system. Hope for more books!
Also enjoyed the narration

Much Anticipated and Over Too Soon!

I waited what felt like so very long (thank goodness it wasn’t actually long at all, but I’d still love for the next book to come out even more quickly) for book 2 in Aaron’s Tear Down Heaven series to be released. I haven’t been this excited since waiting with bated breath for each release in her too short D.F.Z. series.

I started reading and listening as soon as “Hell of a Witch” was released, bought, and downloaded. However, I actively fought to slow my pace to try to draw out my enjoyment a bit because otherwise I would have finished it in a single day. I enjoyed the continued world development, and was ultimately happy with where this book eventually left us to await the next chapter. The character development, while suffering from growing pains, felt realistic because of those very pains, and certainly opened up limitless possibilities for very good things going forward in the series. I eagerly await seeing what comes next. Book three, please!

For those who want an even more verbosely detailed review:
However, with that being said, I must say that I did cringe quite a bit at a great deal of the angst the main characters went through, but it had to happen. Aaron is very adept at making her characters go through things that people actually go through and then grow through, and this happened a lot in this book. I knew from the beginning where some of the stories were heading, and that the MCs would need to deal with very specific downturns and pitfalls that nearly every story with similar characters and elements contains. Love between two hopeless young underdogs out to buck the system (especially if one of them is a martyr in an infinite loop that only the other one can reboot)? Oh yeah, they have to stubbornly pick each other despite pointed pushback from authority figures. Naturally, they have to get burned for that choice somehow, too. Of course what ensues thereafter includes annoying the absolute mess out of me, the jaded reader. However, being extremely annoyed with the choices of the characters was a part of the immersion, as it was supposed to be. Thankfully, like the worst parts of puberty, the angst was necessary and now I very much hope it is entirely behind us.

The only exceptions that give me pause (and it’s very nearly a full stop, unfortunately) are the relationships of the Blades with the Princes. That was left wide open, raw, and festering, and I’m very much hoping it doesn’t get anymore cringe-worthy. It was weird and icky in book 1, and intensely and uncomfortably creepy and horrible in this one; I really hope it doesn’t get worse and the emphasis on them as a whole fades away, as I’m not a fan of that element of the story that feels somewhere between extreme domestic violence, deep demonic horror, and cult brainwashing. The chord it strikes simply doesn’t match the emotional and mental level of the rest of the book; I hope the dissonance resolves. Overall, I cannot wait for the next book!

For the listeners, audiophiles, and other ADHD squirrel-chasers:
Just after midnight on the planned release date for Hell of a Witch, to my profound delight, I found that the Kindle version had indeed dropped at the same time as the Audible version. Ah, sweet bliss! Both formats being released simultaneously is extremely vital for me because I must listen while I read along due to my poor vision. The narration is also good, and aids immersion for those of us with ADHD who are a bit too quick to wander off mentally at every perceived squirrel. I didn’t even wait for the Whispersync process to be completed, so I forfeited the hefty Audible discount and the automatic scrolling when using audio in the Kindle app. Instead, I just used both apps at once and did it manually like I used to need to do every time ages ago, but often don’t need to now as more books become properly Whisper synced. It was totally worth it!

Little rough around the edges

The storyline was good but a few too many over used plot lines. Hex’s dialogues with self and ring was way too much. Not saying that some of it needed to happen.

The final battle dialogue was long then the battle. That just my opinion.

Already wanting the next book.

Original world-building!

I've loved Rachel Aaron's work since I first read her Eli Monpress series. As much as I enjoy her Nice Dragons and Minimum-Wage Magic series set in an alternate Detroit, this one is my new fave. I've never read much about Babylonian and Sumerian mythology beyond learning about Ishtar, but I plan to remedy that. Aaron's blending of characters from millennia
l-ancient myths (Ishtar, Gilgamesh, assorted demons) with witches and sorcerers of different traditions shouldn't work, but it does, and brilliantly! Hell of a Witch is so much more than the second book in a series--instead of being a bridge or placeholder, the plot went in myriad directions, yet all the strands flowed back together. Simply loving these characters from The Queen of Wrath, Bex, to her crew of Lyss, Nimini, and Iggs (sorry about the spelling, audiobook); to Adrian Blackwood and Boston, his familiar & my favorite cat in urban fantasy since Mister, Harry Dresden's very large feline. And I didn't expect the Celtic Goddess of War & Death to make an appearance, but thrilled she did. After listening, I might reread Demon for Hire, book one, because I missed a lot of the symbolism, metaphors, and psychological depth of Bex, a female character who never feels worthy and is laden with guilt. Watching her grow is half the fun. This is my favorite series of 2024.

Great all around

Extremely funny while also having great plot and tension. I liked the minor sound effects, like characters talking on the phone sounding like it.