Phenomenal
5 out of 5 stars
To Hell and Back and the entire Chaos Mages series was a BLAST. I started this series with good feelings, but I didn’t expect to enjoy it this much. Steele and Foxe wrote these incredibly intricate stories featuring lots of crazy bad guys, plots, and other things to throw Blackwell and Swift off. Not only did they power through, building a good partnership, but they turned into friends as the books progressed.
I knew this one would be a bit different since the two of them aren’t currently in the same place. The back and forth was perfect and showed how each person was getting along as they were trying to… improve Blackwell’s situation (trying very hard not to spoil anything). I loved the fights and story of Blackwell and what he had to deal with. I thought they did a good job showing off just how exhausted, run-down, and beat-down his situation was making him. Chiming into Swift’s side showed just how far their friendship had grown.
Writing a review for a book and especially for a series that I loved, is proving to be very difficult. I don’t want to say goodbye to these characters. But even though this story is over (for now), that doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth the time. And even better, Steele and Foxe wrote such an interesting and unique world that I think they could come in with stories from other points of view in the same world, and I would eat it up.
I know that it’s over (for now) as I said, but I still hold out hope that there are some more stories in the tank. If not, it was a great run. A series and a final book that I thoroughly enjoyed. If it’s not, I’ll see y’all soon.
And you know I can’t leave it without talking about the performance. I thought Steve Campbell and Deva Marie Gregory knocked it out of the park. These might be some of Campbell’s best performances to date. Because I listen to so many books, I can usually tell when a narrator really connects with a story, and I could FEEL Steve’s connection to Blackwell. It made the entire series better and I’m glad that the two of them worked so well together as Blackwell and Swift.
Book Description:
When you sacrifice yourself to save your friends, that should be it.
The struggle should be over.
If only Blackwell was so lucky. Instead, trapped in hell, he finds himself preyed upon by those who would use him, and those who would kill him (again) for sport.
He cannot sit idly by awaiting rescue. Blackwell must find a way to harness the power inside him and learn the true nature of his abilities…before it’s too late.
Back among the living, Swift is in a race against time to rescue her partner. With gods and men alike stirring up war, it is not only Blackwell whose fate hangs in the balance. The world cannot survive an all-out war among the gods.
Blackwell and Swift must do the impossible once again. They must free him from his prison, then bring down the god behind it all. Fate must be defeated.
To Hell and Back by Alex Steele, Stephanie Foxe
Narrator: Steve Campbell, Deva Marie Gregory
Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
Series: The Chaos Mages #5
Published by Self Published on November 14th 2022
Genres: Fantasy
Format: Audiobook
Also by this author: Stolen Trinkets (The Chaos Mages #1), Blood of the Covenant, Valhalla Beckons, Honorless (The Chaos Mages #4)
Also in this series: Stolen Trinkets (The Chaos Mages #1), Blood of the Covenant, Valhalla Beckons, Honorless (The Chaos Mages #4)
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