Early Review: Wrong Side of Hell by Juliana Stone

Wrong Side of Hell
(League of Guardians .5)
by Juliana Stone
ebook, 100 pages
Expected publication: March 6th 2012 by Harpercollins
ISBN 0062108107
Copy courtesy of Author

First novella in the League of Guardians Series. 
With battle lines drawn and evil forces gathering in the shadows, the League of Guardians is all that stands between chaos and the human realm… 
Logan Winters, an elite hellhound shifter, wants to forget his allegiance to the League and the pain he’s suffered because of it. But when he’s ordered to retrieve Kira Dove from purgatory and bring her back to life, he can’t refuse. Not only will her death affect the balance between the realms, she’s also linked to a past he can’t forget. 
Kira Dove, a young woman murdered before her time, wanders the gray realm, alone and vulnerable. The one bright spot in her life is the memory of a mysterious protector who saved her once before. As she makes her way through this terrifying place, she can’t help but wonder…will he come for her again? 
As Logan races to save her, he knows he faces a nearly impossible task: How can a hellhound survive in the one place he shouldn’t ever be? The wrong side of hell… 

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Crystal’s Thoughts:
I’ve been a fan of the fabulous Juliana Stone for a couple years now and have been eagerly anticipating this series since the first Jaguar book, His Darkest Hunger, when the tall, dark and sexy sorcerer Declan O’Hara  first graced the pages. This isn’t his book, Wicked Road to Hell, but when Juliana asked me to read the prequel I jumped at the chance!

Wrong Side of Hell is a dark and edgy journey through purgatory with two souls that are destined for each other. But we don’t know that at first…  Logan and Kira have a past that changed Kira’s life forever, and not for the better. Her story is heart breaking and will instantly endear you to her character. You would expect Kira to be beaten down by the hand life has dealt her but she still has some spunk in her, especially when she meets up with Logan. The dialogue between these two is not rainbows and unicorns; think more in the line of brass and steel - quite entertaining. Their characters jump from the pages and because of their past and the fact that nothing sexual happens between them until near the end of the story (but when it does *fans self*) the relationship between Logan and Kira is believable, which is one thing I have a hard time finding in novellas so was happy to see here. And the hellhound Logan is all that and a bag of potato chips! I'm talking alpha male X10 here! I’ve never read about a hellhound protagonist before and I have to say, there should be more of this yummy goodness out there!

Juliana Stone has a captivating voice to begin with but in Wrong Side of Hell there is a poetic essence to it which I loved. The plot moved at a fast clip and the action was a non-stop thrill ride that kept me on the edge of my seat waiting to see how the characters would get out of danger and who the villain was. It was a great introduction to the League of Guardians and has made me even more anxious to get my hands on Wicked Road to Hell. Oh, and yes, Declan and Ana make a cameo near the end and the little scene made my heart squeeze and say “What the hell?” at the same time. Is it April yet?!?! The story brought up a ton of questions for me by the end though and few of them were answered, I guess we will just have to wait until Wicked Road to Hell gets here and hope they are answered then! I have a feeling we will be seeing more of Kira and Logan though... 

Rating: 4 Wine Glasses - Loved