I honestly wasn’t sure if I would get a book review done this week. But, I stayed up all night for work and most of the night shift I read. So, I finished Hellbent, the third book in the Orphan X series. Now it’s time to share my thoughts and ratings. It might surprise you.
Summary of Hellbent
Okay, to give the review without spoilers. Just in case you haven’t gotten around to reading it yet. Hellbent, as I mentioned, is the third book in the Orphan X series by Gregg Hurtwitz. Evan receives a call from someone close to him asking for help, but he can’t get to that person in time. An enemy from his past shows him a live stream of their death and sets in motion Evan’s plan for revenge. He received one last message from this person and finds himself now protecting a teenage girl from the same people who killed his friend. And she’s got issues of her own. Now Evan must navigate protecting her, his secret life, and get revenge on the people who took his friend from him.
What I Liked
Evan! Okay, honestly, I heard of people getting crushes on characters in books. I have one on Evan. But, we won’t focus on that. The way that Evan, in a sense, toys with his enemies is crazy. I love reading how he always appears to be one step ahead of his enemies, while at the same time, he is behind in some instances. The character development continues in Evan as he finds himself navigating new scenarios that are foreign to him. Some of it is comical and other parts are heart warming. The fight scenes are great, as always.
What I Disliked
So, I did find that this book felt slower than the others that I have read. After the Nowhere Man, where Evan was constantly trying to escape and running into problems, this one felt slower. There was still stuff happening, and he had lots of things going on at once, like usual. But the book didn’t hold my attention as well as the others. Maybe I wasn’t in the right head space as my mind has been on a lot of other things. But, considering that this is my only complaint for this book, I think that’s okay.
Overall Rating of Hellbent
I gave Hellbent a 4.5 rating. I know, my first Orphan X book that isn’t 5 stars. But it was close. The story was still intriguing and I still enjoyed it. The way Evan gets through situations is incredible. Just when you think “oh no, he’s done for. No way he gets outta this” he gets through it. I love the way the stories all flow into each other. They reference each other. In this case, Evan had suffered a pretty bad injury in The Nowhere Man. In Hellbent, it’s referenced. And seeing as Hellbent picks up right after The Nowhere Man, as in Evan is doing the same thing at the beginning of this book as the end of the last – that’s a good thing. I still recommend this book.
Slowing Down?
Am I slowing down with my reading? Probably a little bit. I’m trying to stay on top of my other stuff as well. Like working on my second novel, getting as many hours as possible to pay off debt and save so I can publish my first book. Having a social life and getting enough to eat and enough sleep is also important. And I’m trying to do a spring clean of my room. Which, when you’re not motivated, is tricky. For those wondering how my reading goal is, I’m sorry I haven’t kept that updated. I have now read 13 out of 50 books. Slowly getting there. But I really want to reach that goal this year. Anything can happen, if I try.
