Hotter Than Hell

Hell on Earth #3

by Jackie Kessler

So whose soul do you have to damn to get a promotion around here?


Daunuan was never the ambitious type. There's so much to love about his job just the way it is--mind-blowing sexual prowess, the power to seduce any human, excellent dental plan. But now Pan, the King of Lust, has offered to make Daun his right-hand incubus. All he has to do is entice a soul destined for heaven into a damnable act of lust. Should take, oh, seven minutes, tops.

Then he meets his target, Virginia Reed. She's cute. Funny. Smart. And unfathomably resistant to his charms. But Daun has centuries of seduction to his credit. Sooner or later he'll transform this polar icecap of a female into a pool of molten desire. Meanwhile, he has to deal with a plague of rogue demons Hell-bent on taking him down. And one other he's falling in love--that unholiest of four-letter words--with the woman he's about to doom for all eternity. . .

Praise for Jackie Kessler

"Funny, sexy, and utterly original! Kessler will seduce you." --Gena Showalter, New York Times bestselling author

"A demonic thrill ride with heart and soul. Kessler is one of a kind!"
--Jaci Burton, author of Hunting the Demon

Genres: Paranormal, Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, Romance, Fantasy, Demons, Erotica

353 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2008

About the author

Some kids want to grow up to be doctors, or movie stars, or political assassins. Me, I wanted to draw comic books. Not Archie comics, either—superhero comic books. Maybe it was all the heavily muscled guys in spandex…

Around the time I was 15, I realized that as much as I enjoyed drawing (note that I’m saying nothing about the quality of those pics), it was a lot of fun putting words in the characters’ mouths. I didn’t know the term “fanfic” back then, but I started writing stories about the X-Men, Alpha Flight, and the Teen Titans. Didn’t do anything with those stories, other than horrify my mother. She asked why I couldn’t write nice stories, you know, about bunnies. Nope—me, I wanted to write about power. About magic. About hot guys in spandex. And about beating those guys bloody and senseless. (In retrospect, maybe I really did want to horrify my mother. Hey, not my fault. When I was a kid, I busted her doodling on the cover of New Teen Titans #6. Argh!)

So maybe it’s ironic that the book I wound up writing had nothing to do with overly muscled men and everything to do with scantily clad women. (Well, temporarily scantily clad.) Oh, right, and demons.

Previously, I was the fantasy editor for Wild Child Publishing. Along with working with terrific authors and editors, I’d been fortunate enough to interview a number of fabulous people for WCP, including Margaret Weis (I think Raistlin was my first crush).

In case you’re wondering, I live in Upstate New York, along with my Loving Husband and two Precious Little Tax Deductions, two cats, and about 9,000 comics. (But actually, that number is now closer to 8,000, thanks to a flooded basement. Alas!)

Reviews

[Pamela / SpazP · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn't sure about switching from Jezebel's POV to Daunuan's POV but I LOVED it. The series continues to be originally hot, funny, and surprisingly heart-warming!!

[Sandy M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, this is one of those books I have no idea what in hell to do with. Pun probably intended there. Jackie Kessler is a good author, no doubt about that when it comes to her writing. What has me struggling is the hero of this book. I actually hated him almost from page one. The more I read in those first few chapters, I very nearly put the book down. I kept going, though. Only to be left with one heck of a dilemma.

See, I’m very simplistic when it comes to reading. I’m not a deep thinker when reading romance. If you read my Pondering however many months ago at how I look at reading and grading books, you’ll see what I mean. I go for a sexy, handsome hero. That’s the main draw in a book for me besides the romance. The heroine comes in second. I know most of you like a kick-ass heroine, one who doesn’t whine a lot. Either is fine with me. As long as she can bring that hero to his knees by the end of the book, I’m okay with her. Of course, a good storyline goes without saying. Hence, that’s why I’m happy with most everything I read and I usually give high grades. (Although I do have my moments once in a while with much lower grades.) [Syb note: no you can’t request who reviews your book]

I don’t read between the lines when devouring a book. I just want to be taken away in that fantasy world of true mates, love deeper than is imaginable, danger to overcome to bring the characters closer together, some awesome sex/love scenes, all to make me forget about real life for a while. I hear about everyone else’s problems in my job, life is too stressful and full of problems of my own, I don’t have the wherewithal for “realism” in my reading. I want the true love fantasy every time. If I want deep thinking, I’ll go back to the classics. Haven’t done that since college and haven’t missed it one damn bit. If I want accurate facts, I’ll read a resource book. I don’t need it in my books and if I don’t get it, doesn’t bother me. It’s all fantasy, for heaven’s sake.

Okay, Daun is a demon. An incubus. One of the top dogs of the Sin of Lust. He’s supposed to do bad, ugly things. And he does. He does them darn well, with complete enthusiasm. He has no redeeming qualities at all. Until he meets the “client” his boss has picked out for him in a test to become a Prince, second only to Pan himself. I found that I did eventually sympathize with Daun’s character once his dilemma is thrown at him by the King of Lust. I still didn’t like him very much, however; but I certainly didn’t want him to bite the dust on the whim of someone who relishes languishing in the pits of Hell even more than Daun himself.

He must entice a heaven-bound soul into sin, to burn in hell for eternity. Virginia is a woman hiding from something, and when Daun thinks he’s got her all figured out, he magics up the facade she should go for and homes in for the kill. To his surprise it doesn’t work. So he needs help. He goes to a former love, Jezebel, who apparently is in previous books too, for advice. (I kept asking myself if I had read those previous books might it have made reading this one easier if I’d known Daun better. No idea.) Unfortunately, Daun still doesn’t really get it after Jezebel’s advice. Not until much later.

When it all sinks in, though, things begin to change. Not only for Daun, but for me too. When he starts to see Virginia as a woman, a person, a human being instead of something to screw to slake his lust, he begins to grow some feelings, the first he’s ever had and something he knows demons don’t do. I began to grow some like for him. He’s still not a hero that’s going to make his book sit on my keeper shelf, but he does learn something in his journey of seducing Virginia. In between all of this, he’s got other Sins coming at him with death in their eyes. He can’t figure out what’s going on and why they want to kill him. It’s the what-won’t-kill-you-will-make-you-stronger thing, according to Pan, which actually works, but not the way the boss thinks.

So I did thaw a little toward Daun when he finally began to change, inside and out. I might have gone even further than that, but then I felt jerked around with the way the book ended. I feel like I wasted my time. Not because there isn’t the usual HEA, which I would have liked after all the hell I went through to get to the end (pun intended again), but it seemed that so much time was wasted throwing Daun and Virginia together, leading us down a rosy path that wasn’t meant to be; though I do realize we had to go that route for Daun and his attitude adjustment. Which is another reason I’m not sure what to do with this book. I’m given good reason for things, but those things still stuck in my craw.

In the hands of a lesser writer, I would have graded this book much lower. However, even though a lot of it isn’t what I’d like to see in my romance, dark or otherwise, I do have to give kudos where it’s due for the finer points of writing and storytelling. But I have a lot of residual ambivalence after the fact. I’m still thinking of doing a take-off of the old “He loves me/He loves me not” routine - I love this book/I hate this book…

See my complete review at http://www.goodbadandunread.com

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Daun is absolutely my favourite character from this entire series and the fact that he finally gets his own book was the best news ever. Incubi in this world function differently to succubi- they aren't just one and done like Jesse and her friends, they have to slowly seduce a victim over time. Whilst this is a bit of a tired cliche in the heterosexual genre (a hot man pursuing a nerdy woman who eventually falls for him) it is written really well and you genuinely do root for Daun and his human target by the end.

As with the other Hell on Earth books, Kessler doesn't shy away from the dark side of it all and you can really see this book moving away from the chicklit genre and firmly into gritty urban fantasy. Pan is an absolutely terrifying ruler of lust and the fate of the angels who have been reassigned to Hell is... unsettling to say the least.

[Midnight · Rating 1 out of 5]

No book with under age sex scenes in it can possibly get more than zero stars. Mozart says his father tells people he isn't 8. Then Duan says something about him being possibly 9. Either way Duan says he's a child when Duan comes to him the first time. Then the second time they meet and have sex (not for the first time) is 8 years later. That puts his age at either 16 or 17 (for that scene) but they clearly had been intimate before that. Demon or not there is ZERO reason for sex with a minor in any book.
TRIGGER WARNING: sex with a minor, rape, graphic violence towards women, graphic wording of violence toward women, other women, other men, attempted murder, attempted rape, PTSD

[Erin O'Riordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good story, well told. The first book in the series, Hell's Belles, is still my favorite, and honestly, I wouldn't be too sad if it had been a stand-alone, because it ends so perfectly. But the story keeps going, and there's still one more part, Hell To Pay. I'm scared of what's going to happen in that one.

I liked Virginia as a character, and I liked the slow build of Daun's transition from purely emotionless demon to a truly empathetic being - even if his empathy is limited to one mortal woman. I think my favorite part, though, was the flashback to the relationship between Daunuan (Don Juan) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - damned through no fault of his own, but through his father's infernal machinations - who would go on to write 'Don Giovanni' in Daun's honor. I really like how Kessler plays with history here.

The witch in me is less crazy about the characterization of Pan, who in this is just an evil, evil thing that gets his proper reward for being the scumbag that he is. Authors have the right to do whatever they want with their characters, but to witches, Pan is often used as the name of the good god, the consort of the Goddess, the divine masculine. We don't equate him in any way with evil or with the Christian devil, but this book certainly paints him in a horrifying light. Overall, I think it's fine, because the book needs a villain, and Kessler's Pan is a good literary villain, but Pan shouldn't always be judged so harshly.

Of course, the book has another villain - Eris, the ancient Greek goddess of strife and discord. I liked Eris as a literary villain because she's so seductive, she's almost a likable character, but she's also a little bit frightening. Okay, she's a LOT frightening. Daun figures out a way to get the better of her, and also of Pan. The happy ending is quite the one you'd expect in a paranormal romance - Kessler admits in the afterward it's less of a PNR and more of a dark urban fantasy. I didn't know if I was going to like the ending, but I thought it was appropriate for this novel.

I don't know yet whether or not I'll read the fourth book in the series. I may pretend this is a trilogy, since there are only three paperbacks. I'm scared that Jessie and Paul will get broken up in the next book. That would be a tragedy.

[Beth Cato · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer: As a blogger who reviews books, I was sent this free copy from the author, along with some book-related swag. My review is going to be detailed, but honest. However, I do think the author, Jackie Kessler, is pretty awesome for promoting her book like that.[return][return]Daunan the incubus is up for a big promotion to be Prince of Lust. All he has to do is seduce and damn a woman who is otherwise slated for heaven. Oh, and some other demons, for some reason, keep trying to kill him. And if he doesn't condemn Virginia Reed to Hell, he'll be killed by his boss, Pan. Pressure, pressure.[return][return]I have to say that the first 1/3 of the book was a struggle for me. I'm pretty much a goody two-shoes, and the beginning of the book quickly establishes that Daunan is indeed a demon and not a nice guy - and the story is from his first-person viewpoint. At least he's not an angel-raper like Pan, but he's still an arrogant jerk with a near-constant erection. However, once the book introduces his target, Virginia, it became something very deep and profound. Virginia is a woman who is a mere shell of her past self after a profound loss, going through the motions of her day-to-day life. Since Daunan's magic is ineffective on someone inherently good, he has to seduce her like a normal man, and this enlightens him about the nature of humans.[return][return]I was very curious as to how the book would end. Obviously, he has to bed the girl, but you don't want the good girl condemned to Hell for her actions. The ending is very well-done and tight, and again I'd use the word profound. Everyone stays in character, but their growth is very believable and satisfying. The sex scenes aren't bad, either.[return][return]Also, there is a scene where Daunan briefly possesses a worker at the DMV that has to be one of the funniest things I've read lately. The poor DMV lady is so consumed with despair and loathing for her job that the demon has trouble getting control of her. It's fantastic and dead-on.[return][return]The first part of the book is necessary for establishing the badness of Daunan and the rules of his kind; still, if I picked this up in a bookstore, I probably would not have been able to get past that initial evilness. But once that first third is done, the book is extraordinary and much deeper than I anticipated. I had trouble putting it down. Overall, a very enjoyable read.

[Angel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Duanuan loves being a demon of lust. Great benefits, all the sex he could ever want. He had no ambitions of moving up.
Then one day, Pan, the King of Lust, tells Duan that he wants Duan to be the new Prince of Lust. How could he refuse? Only catch is that he has to seduce and damn a good soul meant for Heaven. As icing on the cake the meatpie that Pan has picked is the spitting image of Jezebel, the sexy seductress that left hell, and Duan for Earth and love. UGH!
Duan thinks that the seduction will be a quick and easy job, after all, he's been seducing women for thousands of years. What he doesn't expect is to fall in love with the beautiful, charming, and fragile Virginia.
As an added difficulty, all of hells elite is coming after him. Someone from hell has put a bounty on his head. If quitting this assignment was an option Duan would pick it, but the only out is his death.
How will he ever pull this one off in time???

I really liked this book. I think Duan is such a fun character and Virginia was easy to fall in love with. Plus, there was flashes of the sexy Jesse, who has kept us captivated for the last 2 books.
With a very unexpected ending this book was a great read.

[Kat · Rating 1 out of 5]

Basic Plot: Daunuan sets out to seduce a woman and send her to hell.

Have you ever picked up a book thinking it was one thing, then turned out to be something else entirely? Yeah. The problem here is that I've been hunting for the books of short stories that contain Kim Harrison's continuations of the Hollows series, and one of those story collections shares a title with this load of tripe. I grabbed it from my library (thank the GODS I didn't buy it), thinking it was going to be a fun Rachel Morgan story and what I got was bad demon smut. Not just demon smut, but BAD demon smut.

I don't even know how this book fits into the "romance" category, because there was nothing vaguely romantic about it. The main character is a demon of lust who has sex with women to send them to hell for committing a deadly sin. He's crude with his language, sexist, and he never gets any better. I gave it a shot because I'm stubborn and wanted to see what the big deal is about some of these books. Why do women read them? The question is still unanswered.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

It is sort of a shame that a third book in this series was ever written - while Hells Bells and Hotter Than Hell were at least amusing and ok beach reads (but will never be anything really memorable); this book finishes out the trilogy on truly a dull note.

The real problem is Daunuan as a secondary character to Jessie/Jezebel is great - he is sexy; he flashes between irritating and insightful; and he has a knack for showing up just when he is needed (or at least when the story does). But as a main character? There just isn't enough there. And it became clear after a chapter in, that the author didn't really think so either - his character remained flat and lifeless throughout the entire book, with the bulk of his characterization coming from the sound of other people's lust.

I think I could have cared more about his attempts to redeem himself if Jezzie hadn't you know, already done it and his character had any depth. But if you want to write about a demon that Does the Right Thing, you first have to create one that doesn't bore the reader to death.

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is technically urban fantasy because the guy doesn't get the girl at the end, but the entire story is about him trying to get the girl, so I'm calling it paranormal romance. And besides, he's a demon, so it's actually good that he doesn't get her.

This is Daunuan's story. (Don Juan, the infamous incubbus) He was a sometimes fun, sometimes annoying, and sometimes dangerous former "friend" of Jezabel in the first two books, but this one is entirely his. Oddly, it's better than the first two in the series. Maybe because he is often an ass (though a funny one). Daun's received an unwanted promotion to Prince of Lust, but he's got to prove himself first by turning a specific heaven-bound soul to hell, and at the same time, dodge a bunch of high-level demons who have it out for him. Along the way, he realizes he can feel love. I love the way this story circles around and ties back into the first two books at the end.

[Jackie (Literary Escapism) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m really enjoying this series and now I can’t wait for book four to be released, but I know I have awhile to wait. Afterall, Hotter than Hell doesn’t hit the shelves until August, so the fourth book isn’t even being talked about yet. Either way, make sure you get your hands on this book. It is a true incubus and just sucks you into the story. The entire series is true to the form of an incubus. The more I think of this comparison, the more sense it makes. With each new addition, the series just keeps tempting you and making you want more and by the third date you are so totally devoted that you’re not sure where the time has gone.

For my full review, click here.

[Lori Whitwam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not your typical "paranormal romance" or "urban fantasy." Taking up the story of Daunuan, the incubus demon friend of Jezebel from Hell's Belles and The Road To Hell, what happens when hell's premiere incubus is told to seduce and claim an innocent for the pit? And what if he discovers that maybe he does have a heart after all? And what if someone in hell has also put a price on your head?

Just don't expect the traditional happily ever after. I'd say everyone is happy, or at least content, but it's a very original conclusion.

[Bitten_by_Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hotter Than Hell is the third book in the Hell on Earth series by Jackie Kessler. This is the story of Daunuan, an Incubus, who is one of the recurring and important characters in the first two books in the series...

For the entire review please go to the Best Paranormal & Urban Fantasy Review site on the web, Bitten By Books for the review of Hotter Than Hell in it's entirety. You won't be sorry.

[Veronika Levine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This third book really tied up this series nicely. I'm so glad I met Jackie Kessler at a writer's convention and got talked into this series. The best part, her writing really blurs the line between paranormal and paranormal romance. She doesn't leave you with the squeaky clean romance kiss into the sunset, and I love her all the more fore it. This series is way more fun than Dante's Inferno. Worth the read, the series only gets better.

[Stephanie Bolen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent but committed one of my seven deadly sins, Thou shall not have dumb characters. I thought it was just Jesse I didn't like, nope the writing is the real reason I can't stand the characters. Evil she can do, I like her evil but good or even evil pretending to be good is insipid, uninspired, and annoying. And her evil turn good characters are evil in the way a squeaky banging door is evil. The world is unique and that is the saving grace of this series.

[Deborah Larrauri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I began the series with this book that magically appeared on my reader. . .so yeah. I love Daun for a demon he's very human, it's amazing to watch him work his way through hell only to discover he's inlove. Amazing read really, if the world is going to hell in a bus and demons like daun and jessie are waiting for us I'm gonna drive faster!!!

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have not read the first two books in this series, as such I was a little disconnected with the main character and couldn’t quite understand some of the plot
As such this book is only getting two stars
-but-
I thoroughly enjoyed the writing style and found it enormously entertaining to read a romance from the male point of view

[Nonieღserenity2bliss · Rating 2 out of 5]

I find the story confusing but I guess I am to blame for not reading the first two books. If I had, I think I'd have enjoyed this because it was different, especially the ending. I can't explain it without spoiling it so you have to read it yourself to see what I mean. But read the first two books before reading this one.

[Micheale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got this thru the library. Glad I did not buy it, but did like the read.
I actually liked the ending and I thought reading the "hero's" take on what to do regarding dating and getting the girl was unusual.
Not a great read, but not the worst!

[Boneist · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't think I'd like this book, given the change in narrator from the previous two books. However, as time went on, it grew on me.

Not quite the romp the previous two books were, but still enjoyable.

[Tanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I soooooooo want to give this book 5 stars! The ending was not your typical Happily Ever After and I think that is where the 4 stars come in. The ending came a complete surprise to me and although it was not thoroughly happy, it was not totally unhappy either.

[Amberkatze · Rating 5 out of 5]

www.amberkatze-amberkatze.blogspot.com

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ending just made the story for me. Great writing, as always, but not the trite ending it could have been in the hands of a far less talented writer. Can't wait to read where the story goes next

[Marti Guthrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as her first two... but pretty decent. The humor is lacking in this one.

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hotter that hell was both funny and exciting, but the ending was such a disappointment, that I lost interest for the whole book.

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

even though this one didn't give a true ending, it gave me hope that things would work out for him and jezzie. :) not that that was what i even thought i wanted.

[John Galt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Liked the 1st two better. Coming from the male viewpoint didn't appeal to me as much.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

http://www.twolipsreviews.com/content...

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not alot of progress and I don't see Virginia ending up with Daun, so not worth it