Candace Robinson

She was only curious... Cori has always been a bit on the strange side, but when a gate to Hell--literally--pops up in her backyard, she tumbles down, down, down in to a place filled with beasts waiting to reap her soul for the Devil himself. Lucky for Cori, she meets Rigel and his gang of misfits who have been trapped for quite a bit. Together, they must formulate a plan to escape, or risk remaining down below for all eternity and burning forevermore. The first story in a series of addicting stand alone short tales. Perfect for fans of Labyrinth and The Gate. KEYWORDS: dark fantasy, labyrinth, lilith, fantasy, portal fantasy, friendship bonds, short stories, friendships, demon books, strong women, speculative fiction, monsters, coming of age, paranormal creatures, urban fantasy

Lullaby of Flames

Sheila Goicea

I received a copy of this book via the author, Candace Robinson in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! In no way does this affect my rating or review.



All included quotes have been taken from an ARC and may not match the finished publication.

  Once the Devil has your soul, there’s no getting it back. No matter how good you are.

Well, wasn’t this a little ditty!? This quick, short story/retelling was quite something. A mix between The Gate (which I am completely unfamiliar with,) Labyrinth, Alice In Wonderland, and some very loose Biblical interpretations, it tells how unsuspecting Cori wound up in Hell. 

Cori, an oddity in comparison to her millennial generation, desires to start up a band. Between practicing her songs and checking her social media stats one night, something odd occurs in her backyard. Upon investigating, she finds herself in Hell, and is immediately in need of rescuing. Surprisingly enough, she’s not the only one stuck and looking for escape. Finding her band of misfits, they gear up to pursue Lilith for help to escape from the fiery pit. 

Everything about this short story feels frenzied. From what I felt while reading, Cori’s personality mimics someone in a manic-sort of state. Whether she’s meant to reflect that or not, her personality fits the tone of this story perfectly. For such a short story, there is a lot going on. People arrive on the scene with backgrounds of their own. Some characters the reader becomes more acquainted with, and others, not as much. Despite the natural lack of ability to provide a plethora of detail due to its overall length, it’s enough to get the idea and to know what is imperative to the story.

This is another quick and quirky tale by this author. Russell’s ability to combine different ideas that work together to form one seamless story is evident here. I could easily see this story being made into a full-length book. I'm rating this story 3.5 stars due solely to not caring much for the religious interpretations used, especially in terms of Lilith. With an unexpected, and unsettling ending, this will appeal to an appetite for a bit of horror, eccentricity, and the supernatural. 

Vulgarity: Moderate.
Sexual content: Lilith tries to seduce Rigel.
Violence: Considering the setting for this story, yes, there is some. 

My Rating: ★★★1/2

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Lullaby of Flames

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