To Hell and Back (Dante Valentine Series #5)

O..well,,,Not bad for series conclusion but could be better!!

After finishing book4 in this series, Saint city Sinner, I just couldn't wait to get my hand on this one. But to be honest, I was, somehow disappointed at how the series ends. Don't get me wrong, this series is one of the best fantasy novels I've read in a while but I was expecting 'more' from this last book. True, the story ends as you expect it should be... bad guy is dead.. and a little twist at the end is good and unexpected and it paints more 'color' to the whole story.. But, sadly to say, there are also several questions/plots that the author continued hinting from the previous books and you wish you would find out the answers in this book but..hey.. you didn't.. and that left me feel hanging... The heroine, Dante, in this book turns out to be very annoying. She is less and less likable since the first book (which I still think is the best written in this series.) There are a lot of redundancy, as the other reviewers mentioned and at some point, I was tired of it. The hero, Tierce Japhrimel, a fallen demon, is one of the best character created in fantasy novel. The author did a great job creating him but didn't do him justice in this book at all. Good point about this book? Saintcrow's world of psion is carefully created, sophisticated, imaginative and very interesting just by reading about the world alone. And in each book, you learn more and more about this world but surprisingly, it's still be able to fascinate you even in the last chapter. The other secondary characters are also well written and have colorful personalities and sometimes, especially in this book, they overshadows the main character (aka..the heroine.) herself. Bottom line, if you've been reading the first 4 books, I know you can't help but to pick this one up and see how the story ends.. But you will feel just like I do that you wish there are few more chapters or a longer epilogue or even another book itself..

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A reviewer

When Lucifer captured half-demon and powerful necromance Dante Valentine he did all sorts torturous things to her before dispatching her back to the mortal world to live or die as the god¿s will. At first Dante remembers nothing about her time in Hell, but gradually begins to recall enough to be afraid and hide under her bed. Her demon lover Japhrimel finds her asks what Lucifer did to her but she is too traumatized to tell him. Japh vows vengeance on the Lord he once served.------------ Japh is now one of the Fallen although he tricked Lucifer into returning to him to his Greater Flight Powers. Japh fails to confide in Dante, but takes her to another demon who removes what Lucifer placed in her belly, a worm that tied her to him and through her Japh would be bound too. They recover half of the blade of Fudsham, a blade that could kill a demon including Lucifer. The other half is in a place Dante won¿t go so while Japh goes to recover it, she tries to stay alive from all the factions that want her dead----------- This is the final book in the Dante Valentine saga and it answers all the key questions followers have had from the previous tales while tying up the major threads. Japh is beginning to be more confident in his feelings and trusts that Dante loves him like he does her. Dante is unsure of whether to trust Japh as he spins plot after plot, but she knows she loves him. TO HELL AND BACK is literal and allegorical and a magnificent enthralling urban fantasy.-------------- Harriet Klausner

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

I'm hurt! Hurt, I tell you!

Where do I begin? With the crushing disappointment I felt with the obvious lack of editing in this book? With the fact that Dante, the kick-ass heroine of books 1, 2 and 3, fulfilled the sad promise of whiner-dom in book 4 and embraced it in this, the final book of the series? That I grew to dislike her, even? Her contrariness, her obtuseness, her stubborness to beyond a fault, selfishness beyond all understanding? I wanted to like this book, and I couldn't. After the disappointing book 4, I was rooting for a turn-around. Saintcrow failed to deliver. Instead, what we get is a twisted mishmash of wordiness, redundancy, unexpected and highly irritating self-flagellation from an idiotic and indecisive Dante. And she's mean, too. Unnecessarily so. I mean, I know her life has been rough, but where's the duality of this character? Where's the faint likeability factor? The humor? The light to balance the oppressive dark? She was just plain dumb. The fact that Lucas expresses this to her made me grateful that some of my frustration was shared, but I think the author crossed the line here and, instead of painting an empathetic character that I'd like to see redeemed, she draws us one that I'd really just rather see erased. The male lead, though, Japhrimel, now there's a guy I'd like to see come back. Without the baggage known as Dante. I'm just sad. This was one of the freshest series I've read in a long time and it just tanked. Oh, well. I'll keep reading and hoping for the next spark!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Hot Damn!

Danny kicked my ass the first time I ever read her book and she continues to do so. Is there really anything else to say?

Continues the story

Main Character a lot whiney. Plot confusing.

Is that it?

I loved the first couple books of this series and was so engrossed in the storyline. By book three, I was actually upset in knowing that there were only a couple books left in the series. However, the ending of this last book was so disappointing and so depressing to me. The ending w/ Japh and Dante was just a fizzle. I was glad the situation w/ Eve ended the way it did but never fully confirmed or denied my main question about her. It's ashame because this particular book had non-stop action and hardly any down spots. It seems like the author tried to be to mysterious and went a bit overboard for my taste. I was ok reading this book until the ending. That just totally ruined it for me. What ashame.

Best Series In a Long While

First I would like to say that this was an awesome conclusion to the Dante Valentine series. Second I will miss Dante. She may not have been the most likeable heroine 'there were times when I would be shocked at what came out of this characters mouth and her interesting accompanying logic' , but she was real and all heart in the end! I thoroughly enjoyed this entire series. The author created, developed and executed this story beautifully. I was introduced to Saintcrow by way of Dante Valentine. While Dante's story has ended, I look forward to more stories from Lilith.

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