Hell for the Company by Angel Martinez #LGBT #Ficlet #Review #Blogtour #Giveaway

Marc reviews the audiobook version of ‘Hell for the Company’ (Brimstone 1) by Angel Martinez. The book was published by Mischief Corner Books on December 31st, 2013 and is about 82 Pages long. The audiobook version was published on November 17th, 2015, is narrated by Vance Bastian and 2 hrs and 2 mins long.

RGR received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

We are happy to welcome Angel Martinez on Rainbow Gold Reviews. Today is the conclusion of the ‘Hell for the Company’ Blog Tour and as a treat, you can read a wonderful Ficlet by the author, can listen to an Audio Excerpt, enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway and check out my audio book review 🙂 Thanks for Angel and Pride Promotions for organizing and including RGR in this Blog Tour.

Cover Artist: Freddy MacKay

Shax, the Demon Prince of Thieves, has reconciled himself to exile. He has a grand time careening around the galaxy as a high-end, intergalactic purloiner of pretties. Everything’s going just fine, thank you very much. All right, fine, the anti-gravity cows are a bit problematic and some of his buyers are bad for his health, but he manages until he comes across an injured angel in a psychedelic alien jungle.

He only rescues the wing boy for his golden feathers, but what Shax doesn’t know about angels could fill an intergalactic encyclopedia.

Buy Links: Audible | Amazon | iTunes | Add to Goodreads

*****

The Title:

As this story is about demons in space, the reference to hell works well.

The Cover:

My first reaction to the cover: “WTF. Why is there a flying cow on the cover?”. It certainly caught my interest. After listening to the story, I think it fits perfectly and I want a anti-grav cow baloon really bad. Floating cows ROCK! I must say that the spaceship looks a bit weird on the audiobook cover, though, due to parts of it being cut off.

The Narration:

For me, the recording quality of this audiobook was a bit less polished than what I’m used to, but the narrator did an amazing job with the story and made the characters come alive. For me it worked really well.

The Story:

I had no idea what to expect from this book, but I loved ‘Gravitational Attraction’ by Angel Martinez and wanted to find out more about her demons and cows in space. Reading the blurb, I wondered how this combination could possibly work, but surprisingly it really did. At first, I needed time to adjust. Having a real demon, with demonic appearance as main protagonist was different. I soon connected with him and the story, though, and I spent a lot of time smiling at the charming oddities of this universe.

Then Shax meets his love interest, an injured angel with golden feathers and a name to complicated for me to remember and the story started to be more than just charming and amusing. It captured my heart.

It is incredible, how much I was able to identify with a demon and an angel, but they are both incredibly likable. Shax is a ‘bad-boy’ with a golden heart and the wing-boy is heart-breakingly innocent. Their relationship dance warmed my heart. I reallywanted them to find to each other and be happy.

This band of charming misfits really reminded me of the firefly crew (US TV Show) and their first adventure was super fun. I love the world-building and the humor of this story and can’t wait to continue this series.

The Review:

9/10 Pots of Gold (90% Recommended). Compares to 4.5/5 stars.

*****

Weird Angel – a Brimstone Ficlet by Angel Martinez

Ness checked the shop numbers on either side of the street and conceded he was lost again. It had all looked so easy on the map, but somehow the nice, orderly lines of streets didn’t translate to walking the route. Spatial translation issues. It was why he’d been a simple angel foot soldier and not a pilot.

Admitting temporary defeat, he found a concrete divider wall on which to perch, out of the way of foot and small vehicle traffic, and pulled out the little bag Ivana had given him. Jellied candies for his excursion, she had said, so he had something to snack on. He supposed he could pull up the holo map on his wrist com, but Verin had told him to avoid doing it in public. Looking lost made you a target.

Verin had also told him to keep his “big-ass wings” under his coat, and compliance was becoming rather hot and itchy.

“What’s wrong with your back?”

Startled by the high-pitched voice, Ness glanced around and finally down to find a small person glaring up at him. “My…? Oh. Nothing’s wrong with it.”

“It’s all lumpy.”

“Yes.” Ness turned before he could stop himself for a quick glance over his shoulder, as if he could see his own back. “Those are my wings.”

The small person took a step closer, face shadowed by a deep hood. “Do your wings got feathers?”

“Feathers. Mine got, er, have feathers.”

The person pushed back her hood, revealing thick black curls and a cunning cherub face. “Angels I’ve seen don’t keep ‘em all covered up.” She climbed onto the wall, a rather laborious process during which Ness couldn’t figure out whether to offer help or not. “And your coat and shit is all black leather. You look more like a pirate.”

“I suppose I am an angel pirate now. More or less.” Ness held out the bag. “Jelly? They’re cinnamon flavored. A little hot, but not bad.”

“You’re a really weird angel,” the little girl pronounced, though she happily plunged her hand into the bag and came up with three jellies. “So what’re you doing here, looking all lost and shit?”

“Does your mother know you use those words?”

The girl shrugged. “She’s dead. So I’d say probably not.”

“Oh.” Ness chewed slowly on his jelly. Did he say he was sorry? She was so matter-of-fact about it, perhaps she wouldn’t welcome that either. “I’m, ah, looking for something.”

“What’re you looking for?”

“Er…” If he admitted to being lost…but she didn’t seem dangerous.

“C’mon, I can probably help. You know, payment for the candy.”

“I’m looking for sulfur.”

“Sulfur?”

“Yes. It’s a mineral, often yellow and—”

“I know what it is, you big twit.” She rolled her eyes. “What the hell do you want it for?”

“Oh. My friend needs it, for medical purposes. I thought I knew where the shop was, but I seem to have turned myself around. Badly.”

“Huh. So you gots demon friends?”

“How do you know—never mind. I’m sure you see all sorts of people in this city. I don’t suppose you could tell me where Minerva’s is? Where I’m supposed to buy the sulfur?”

She jumped down from the wall, dusting off her hands. “I’ll take you, Mr. Angel Demon Pirate.” She took his hand and turned him to walk back the way he had come. “And you can buy me lunch.”

“Can you read maps? Don’t you find them confusing?” Ness asked after they walked a block and a half, her little hand warm and comforting in his.

She tilted her head back to glance up at him, forehead wrinkled. “You really are a weird ass angel.”

*****

Rafflecopter Prize: $10 gift card to Amazon or AllRomance eBooks

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Meet the author:

While Angel Martinez is the erotic fiction pen name of a writer of several genres, she writes both kinds of gay romance – Science Fiction and Fantasy. Currently living part time in the hectic sprawl of northern Delaware, (and full time inside the author’s head) Angel has one husband, one son, two cats, a changing variety of other furred and scaled companions, a love of all things beautiful and a terrible addiction to the consumption of both knowledge and chocolate.

Where to find the author: Facebook | Facebook Author Page | Twitter | Pinterest | Website

Meet the narrator:

Vance Bastian loves being a professional storyteller. He writes urban fantasy about sandmen and reapers. He has grown his acting and voice background into a career performing voice-over work and narration for both radio and audiobooks. He is also a founding host of the WROTE podcast – bringing you interviews and news of authors who write, perform, and tell LGBTQ stories. When nobody’s looking, Vance is a complete sci-fi and fantasy geek.

For more on Vance, please visit his website: http://www.vancebastian.com/

*****
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