Book Review: Born of Hatred by Steve McHugh
Born of Hatred is the second book in the Hellequin Chronicles Series written by Steve McHugh. In this book, we once again follow Nathan Garrett, a powerful sorcerer, as he embroils himself in supernatural intrigue and fights to keep himself and everyone he loves from being killed by increasingly horrible bad guys.
Nathan is recruited by a surly Avalon law enforcement director named Olivia who needs help investigating a series of brutal supernatural murders committed by what is most likely a werewolf. As they start to unravel the truth about these murders Nathan discovers that his long-time friend Tommy, a werewolf himself, has a daughter named Kasey and the mother is none other than Olivia, who is an elemental, making the whole situation more family oriented when Tommy is asked to help parley with the local werewolf pack in order to find out more about the suspected murderer. Nathan is forced to fight a werewolf without his powers in order to get the information they need.
Speechify is a free text-to-speech software so you can listen to your favorite books. Click this affiliate link image to download today!
Interspersed between the main storyline we learn more about Nathan's long past in flashbacks to when he was in the American frontier during the late 1800s helping a boy get justice for his father's brutal murder. Nathan meets a powerful necromancer named Sky who turns out to have an incredibly powerful and ancient parentage. Sky and Nathan end up teaming up to save the local community from a near-invincible and endlessly evil entity that uses the undead to do its bidding. This evil turns out to be the great great great grandfather of the evil entity responsible for the brutal murders happening in the present time.
Born of Hatred is a relentlessly action-packed and fun book to read even as it winds its way around a plethora of new characters and character development. The pacing is good with action being broken up by the development of a complex plot and emotional character interactions. There are still a lot of mysteries around Nathan Garrett's powers and capabilities and there are aspects of his history that are still unclear. He is getting more powerful for some reason but why were his powers dampened and what is he truly capable of? The emotional stakes of the story continue to ramp up as nearly everyone Nathan considers family gets involved in a fight they are not certain they can win. I was genuinely emotionally wrapped up in the climactic ending and felt a personal desire for Nathan to succeed.
Steve McHugh's writing is down-to-earth and accessible in a way that makes for a smooth and enjoyable reading experience. The world he has created is fun and dynamic. I recommend this book on its own but especially as a continuation of the first book, Crimes Against Magic, and I'm excited to continue the series further. If you liked Crimes Against Magic or like supernatural fantasy action you will enjoy Born of Hatred.
Buy it now using my affiliate link below!
Read my review of Crimes Against Magic at the following link:
