Hades by Alexandra Adornetto: Review

Hades

Pages: 424
Release Date: August 30th, 2011
Status: Book #2 in the Halo Trilogy

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

Heaven Help Her.

Bethany Church is an angel sent to Earth to keep dark forces at bay. Falling in love was never part of her mission, but the bond between Beth and her mortal boyfriend, Xavier Woods, is undeniably strong. But even Xavier’s love, and the care of her archangel siblings, Gabriel and Ivy, can’t keep Beth from being tricked into a motorcycle ride that ends up in Hell. There, the demon Jake Thorn bargains for Beth’s release back to Earth. But what he asks of her will destroy her, and quite possibly, her loved ones, as well.

The story that Alexandra Adornetto built in her New York Times - bestselling debut, Halo, comes alive in action-packed and unexpected ways, as angels battle demons, and the power of love is put to the test.

After reading Halo I was really eager to get this book and learn what happens after the crazy events at the end of book 1.

Hades takes place a few months after the events of Halo. No one remembers the events of the last book (excluding Beth, her family, and Xavier), and all of them think that everything is back to normal...until Beth and her friends do a séance and release Jake Thorn's evilness back to earth.

He disguises himself as one of Xavier's friends and tricks Beth into thinking that he is Xavier. The next thing Beth knows is that she is stuck in Hades, with no one to save her but herself.

I LOVED this book! It is my favourite so far! I love the character development in Beth and how she is able to come into her own and save herself. She isn't 100% completely there yet, but the strength she exhibited gives me high hopes for her development in the third book, Heaven (which I've currently put on hiatus due school and finishing Clockwork Angel!).

Another thing I loved in this book is the pace of the plot! The first book felt divided for me plot wise: the beginning about Xavier and Beth's relationship, and the ending about Jake Thorn reeking havoc in Venus Cove. The plot in this book is absolutely amazing; I couldn't put the book down and ended up finishing the book in 7 hours! 

My absolute, favourite thing about this book (and the series in general) are the characters! In this book, we see a lot more Molly and Gabriel interaction, we see a lot of Ivy's seraphim attitude, and we get to see how Xavier and Beth cope while being separated from each other (foreshadowing book 3! Duh, duh, duuuuh!).

But my overall favourite characters in this book were Hanna and Tucker, whom Beth met while in Hades. Hanna got on my nerves a bit, but after she told her side of the story, I started sympathizing with her and started understanding her view points; I later ended up pitying her. Tucker (or Tuck) is another character in Hades who didn't really go into detail with his back story, but he was just the sweetest big brother to Beth that I felt really upset that she couldn't take him with her in the end.

But the Molly and the Gabriel feels! AHHHHHH!

Okay, I know Beth and Xavier are like the main couple and are perfect for each other with their undying and self-sacrificing love, but C'MON! Molly and Gabriel are as interesting as Beth and Xavier!

No, the two don't hook up, but they did have a very deep conversation that touched me. I felt like Molly should've known what was going to happen when she decided to be so blunt with Gabriel, but I felt really bad for her too! I mean, her best friend is an angel and her boyfriend is human! It isn't fair D: But I still have hope for those too, since Gabe DID say he will watch over her! **crosses fingers**

What I find interesting about this book is that even though it's much darker than book one, there is still a very humorous side to it. For example, when Michael the Archangel suddenly appears when they're trying to open the portal into Hades:

"That's the problem," Ivy said. "Our combined power isn't enough. We need backup."

"Damn it." Xavier kicked the ground with the toe of his boot, sending pebbles flying. "What's the point in coming here?"

"Michael wouldn't have sent us on a wild goose chase," Ivy murmured. "There must be something he wants us to do."

"Or maybe he's a douche."

"Indeed," said a disembodied voice behind them.

They all spun around in time to see the archangel materialize before them, his towering form shadowing the tracks.

I was laughing so hard at this line, I was so happy that I was alone when I read this, otherwise I would've looked ridiculous!

I love this book, it's my favourite so far! I have to give it a 3 out of 5 stars! This is definitely a series you should read! 

Happy Wednesday guys!