Face toward the light of choice while shadows of consequence loom behind.
Choice. Such a simple word cloaked by unseen consequences that only become clear once a decision has been made.
John is given an impossible choice, but can see the outcomes as if only a sheer veil playfully obscured the consequences—teasing untold guilt and pain no matter the decision. The knife hurts more when you see it coming.
A king’s life hangs in the balance, suspended between life and death in a frozen prison. The fate of two worlds awaits an outcome.
Onyx clouds edged in glowing white condense over the Earthen plane while a hole to another dimension grows in Faerie. A horror of horrors, truly maddening in size, writhes just beyond the opening door.
An innocent heart, corrupted by grief, screams to be rescued while a queen seeks an unlikely ally in a land of eternal punishment and deceit.
John stands at the precipice of Faerie above, Hell below.
Will he rescue the one he loves from an obvious trap? Or will the innocent youth, whose fate is intwined with our own world, force John to be the hero we need, even to the detriment of his own heart.
My name is Hunter, and I’m a wordaholic. I’m also about to break the fourth wall…of your mindhole. Because there is a true story behind this…well…story.
It begins with two best friends who grew up together, breaking rules and raising hell as they shaped each other’s personalities into the shameless assholes they are today. Well, at least for one of them, but I’ll get to that in a moment. These two boys—let’s call them Hunter and John—were all but inseparable. John excelled at creating music powerful enough to make angels weep and being the funniest asshole in Texas while Hunter dabbled—poorly, I might add—in his humble writings. Because they were self-declared brothers from other mothers, John respected Hunter’s humble writings as much as I—I mean Hunter (stupid third person perspective)—respected John’s musical magic. John’s tunes could have changed the world, one day…
One fine day, after reading one of Hunter’s horrifically detailed short stories about a serial killer, John asked Hunter to write a story about him.
“Hell yeah, dude! What do you want to be?” Hunter asked, brimming with honor and biting back a very manly squee.
“A vampire,” John responded with a mischievous gleam in his eye. “But not one of those sparkly ones. A true bad ass!”
“Done!” Hunter crowed with a smile and an accompanying high five.
“No, dude. Promise. Promise you’ll write and finish a book about me. You are the most prolific writer of our generation!” John said. (Something like that. I might be paraphrasing a little, but you get the gist of it). “I would consider it an honor to live on for eternity with your words as my life’s blood.”
Hunter agreed, never to realize the weight of that promise until one Sunday morning when John’s mother called, crying incoherently.
John…had died.
Hunter was left in a cold world without his best friend and doppelgänger. Hunter still thinks about that moment to this day. How the morning light crept through the bedroom window while Hunter stared at the ceiling, noticing how the popcorn texture created cruel, jagged shadows. How everything started to blur as his chest was crushed beneath the weight of what he was hearing, each word stacking heavily upon the other until only fitful, ragged gasps of air could escape his throat. Only fiery tears existed, especially after the horrific realization that Hunter now had to make some of the hardest phone calls of his life to the circle of friends who orbited around John’s solar pull.
Their star was no more, leaving their universe a colder and darker place.
John not only left Hunter, but a friend named Valenta as well. There was also Nathanial and Depweg. The friends were each stricken numb with the loss of such a beloved flare of life. But…
When the three found out that Hunter was keeping his promise to write the greatest story ever told—starring their dear friend, John—they demanded to be a part of the adventure. Each of them immediately knew what type of supernatural character they wanted to play in this urban fantasy eulogy. It would be a funeral pyre of words, and their fictional personas would be John’s pallbearers.
So please, as you read the following pages, feel free to laugh. Laugh at the situations John is placed in and his dickish dialogue to those around him, because John is 100% in this story without alteration (albeit he is a vampire). Laugh and let his memory live on inside the theater of your mind. Like he does in ours.
Thank you, sincerely, from the bottom of my beating heart, for giving my best friend the chance to live again. You are part of this magical ritual, and that would make him the happiest man in the…well, wherever the hell he is.
FALL FROM GRACE is the ninth book of the Preternatural Chronicles that is a Supernatural meets Dresden Files urban fantasy series. The premise is John Cook is one of the last vampires in the world and when there's only one left, Hell will be unleashed on the world. John is against this and has allied with Heaven to prevent Lucifer from invading everything. The books have been a cosmic fantasy for some time with Hell, Fairyland, and other major events driving the plot.
This volume has a lot of fallout from the previous book's heartbreaking end, however. John was manipulated by Gabriel into getting his best friend's family killed in order to stop a time paradox that threatened reality. Depweg is understandably of the mind that this is unforgivable and, to be fair, it is. Their relationship can never be the same again and I appreciate that Hunter Blain doesn't shy away from changing one of the bedrocks of his series.
Another plotline I'm enjoying is Lily (Lilith) is told to plot to get Ulfric, General of Hell's Armies, to plot against Lucifer Morningstar. I actually hoped they would succeed because Lucifer is a somewhat flat character compared to Ulfric and I think it would be a much more interesting conflict between John vs. his creator. Seeing Lucifer taken down a peg or two would feel good in this, I gotta tell you.
We also have an awesome conflict between John and an alien otherwordlly THING from beyond the veil that doesn't fit into the Christian, Pagan, Hell divide that I thought was a nice change of pace. I sort of wish they'd harnessed it against Hell because have I mentioned how much I want to see Lucifer get taken down a peg or nine? Yeah.
☆ FALL FROM GRACE ☆ Preternatural Chronicles Book # 9 ☆ HUNTER BLAIN ☆
I LAUGHED SO HARD IT HURT ANDTHEN CRIED LIKE A BABE.
MY FAVORITE HUNTER BLAIN BOOK BY FAR!
WOW WOW WOW, THIS IS JUST EXTRAORDINARY! Congratulations Mate, its truly Epic!!! How the hell does he do it continuously each time? Just When you think it can't get any better, Hunter throws a proverbial spanner, No strike spanner, try, Mjolnir in the works & it out comes out as perfection! Each book tops the next! "Hunter Blain, You're Da Freaking Man!" And Luke Daniels is a God of Narration (my favourite male), I can't read these books anymore without listening to your Audios, I Love You Both!!
Move over Batman & Robin, these 2 blokes are the 20's Dynamic Duo of Urban Fantasy! It contains 'everything' including a kitchen sink! The writing is exceptional & exemplary, from the detailed battles, to the way both author & narrator crack you up, then tug on your heart strings the next moment. I'd love to give you both the Spear of Destiny for making me cry, and cry ugly, I just wish you cracked me up after all the tears & lumps in my throat. Oh and thanks for making me spit bubbles all over my tablet while reading/listening while cacking my head off. Thank God I wasn't reading a paperback version. Lol.
I swear my neighbours must have thought I was mad (I was reading out the backyard & sounded like a hyena having a asthma fit, it really hurt laughing guys).
The characters are formidable, some are lovable, some I'd love to hear die screaming in agonising pain, but I bet I'm not the only one. But all of them make you feel something, whether it be bad or good, there's not one single character that seems out of place or not required, including secondary & minor characters. The technical babble is well researched, always & top notch. And the efforts put into the world building is simply exquisite. Hunter Blain has truly become a Master of his Craft!
I RATE FALL FROM GRACE EBOOK/AUDIO 5⭐OUT OF 5⭐! WOULD RATE IT A 6⭐ IF I COULD, IT WAS THAT GOOD!
This is going to have one hellova series ending and I for one, can not wait for the Ride of the last 4 books, the action, the revenge & the fun to begin! JOHN ON!!!
I purchased both e-book & audio & recieved a copy from the author & this is my fair, honest & impartial review as always! Reviewed By : Jewelz Pederick.
🙋♀ ❤ The 🤪 🇦🇺 📖🐛❗ (Bye Love The Crazy Australian BookWorm)!
A truly enjoyable distraction from American chaos and disorder.
Each book in this series kept me up WAY past dawn, just to find out what funny, or tragic, pothole John Cook would find himself in. I love him, his friends, and even his enemies in a way that's hard to describe. That said, one habit I've picked up while 'kindling* is to highlight in blue any glaring grammatical errors and repeated expressions that drive me crazy. Some editors miss so much! Some words are repeated so often they become like a thorn in my finger every time they show up. Hunter Blain is a clean read with very few blue highlights, until this book, #9. The irksome word? 'Right', as in "Right as I sat down". No, I didnt count how many times 'right' was used wrong (wrongly? I'm no editor), but it was way beyond enough to annoy. None of the other books fell into this trap, so it's only a little big deal. I've kind of made a game of seeing how many times habitual expressions appear. Anyway, I'm not done reading everything I can about John's journey. Many thanks to Hunter Blain for giving me hours of totally worth it sleepless nights. Please give us #10!
Oh, its getting sooo good. The machinations of, not just Hell, but Heaven and others are coming in fast and hard. There is so much in this book, yet not enough at all to satisfy me. I need more now. Lol. It picks up right where it left off and it is a fast, page turning romp of glory. John has some hard decisions to make, and this time, others do too. What choices will be made? What sacrifices? Can out hero and friends make it through? Pick it up and read it, you will not be disappointed!! Hunter has truly come alive in his craft and this epic Eulogy to his friend gets better and better. You can feel the love and bind he has with the character. So get it and enjoy the ride! John On!!!
I’m not really sure if there is anything left to say about one of my favorite, IF NOT #1 Favorite writer/audio narrator duo, that I haven’t all ready said in past reviews. I will say, that after a certain point, John starts to show signs of maturity & restraint when it comes to specific situations. Normally you’d expect juvenile, flippant behavior or remarks from our hero/anti hero, but he does manage to hold back. I feel like when this series ends, however it may be.. John will have certainly earned his rest or retirement if you will. Almost like a battle worn cowboy, warrior walks off into the sunset after the big boss fight is over.
I decided to give the first book ago after seeing an advert on Facebook, really glad that i.did. Absolutely brilliant! I have been unable to do nothing else but read for the last couple of weeks. Each book is an adventure, the main character John is my hero, move over Captain America!! I have laughed so hard at times and then been literally been holding my breath at the turn of a page. I would recommend these books to anyone and defy them to not love them. Can't wait till the next adventure.
Hunter Blain has ways of surprising you. His vamp, John, has powers and capabilities (and weapons!) far and away simply "more" than any other vamp I've ever read about or heard of or seen in movies John has friends - and his IS a friend to his friends. Hunter, and John, can be really, truly annoying - but these "Preternatural Chronicles" will pull you in. Every. Time. John on!
Hunter Blain has delivered another fantastic installment on our favorite snarky, fandom-geek (I mean manly, totally manly) vampire, John. I both snort-laughed and ugly cried throughout the book. The situation for John is becoming dire and he must face the consequences to his decisions. Join him on his journey to fight off the end of life as we know it.
Absolutely amazing. Neff said, am I right? But the app requires 20 words, so I'll keep typing. I've loved this series so much, and watching John and his friends grow has been an amazing. I binge read this book from start to finish not wanting to get up for even a moment and now I'm starving. Read this book! John on!
Plans and plotting continue while John tries his best to save his friends, Fae, Earth and the universe. Will John be the savior of the world or open the Gates of Hell? Only time will tell and the ride that Hunter Blain provides keeps you gripping the safety bar. John On!
W-r-i-t-i-n-g. And what glorious writing the two come up with. I feel as though a pantheon may be hissing in their ears. Telling them of legendary heroes antics while drinking whatever elixir the barman concocted from rum and testosterone.
Absolutely loved this book. John as always is the perfect anti hero and it completely works for him. While John battles for Heaven , he is also finding that he is in a game that he wasn’t given the rules to.
This ride is the emotional equivalent of the author smacking you in the face, punching you in the gut, and kicking you in the****. I love it! Please sir! Can I have some more?!
In the continuation of The Prefer natural Chronicles, we find out (anti)hero deciding which if two options is best in order to stave off the Apocalypse. Great story with twists and turns, laughs and heartache. Well done!
I liked this but, not as much as the others in this series. It had the usual feel, but I wasn't a big fan of John's constant mood swings. Usually, they're kind of funny. This took a much darker turn.
Well, no doubt about it, John is maturing and growing. He’s still snarky, still has a real “dad “ sense of humour, and is still the glue that binds this series. Damn good book. As usual once you start reading you are sucked in and don’t want to put it down. Well done, Hunter, well done.
Hunter Blain is a masterful storyteller. I can never wait to see what will happen next. If you are a fan of Shayne Silvers writing, you will definitely enjoy Mr. Blain's books.
Such great action, plot twists, and lots of humor. These books just get better and better! The characters are great, and you get all the emotions. I'm excited for the next one!
Hold on to your handbags, Ladies! Or your "satchels", Gents! Better yet, grasp your war hammer tightly, square your shoulders and prepare for a fight like no other!