There was a certain sarcastic undertone to a lot of Allie’s thoughts and dialogue that struck me as something I would say or think. And it’s not that she was a sarcastic person (snarky maybe but not sarcastic), but more that she viewed things things from a darker place. You don't go from a carefree existence filled with parties, money and expensive toys to the dull drudgery of being a waitress, without some bitter baggage. Not to mention a small mistake she made turned out to have far-reaching consequences.

Anna Katherine paints a picture of a strong, but damaged woman who can't help wanting her easy life back while trying her best to clean up the mistakes she caused. It's not that Allie was born into the life or was given awesomely magical powers to combat the evil forces—she was told point blank she had no choice and to move on. I really liked Allie and was drawn to her story.

In fact, I was so intrigued by the story and where it was going that before I realized it the book was done. I was certainly squicked out by some of the scenes (Anna Katherine doesn't let you go with a short blurb—no, she gives a richly detailed accounting of the action and fiends from Hell), but that took a backseat to how much fun the book is.

The only complaint I have is that SALT AND SILVER is meant to be a 'paranormal romance', shelved with the romance section, labeled for the romance section and marketed for the romance crowd. Unfortunately, the romance is the secondary story to the action and kicking Hell portion of the story. It read more like an urban fantasy with romantic leanings, than a romantic story with paranormal leanings. A small quibble next to the fact that I enjoyed the book, though. ( )

This is the first published novel written by a friend of mine (RLPGers, take a closer look at the byline) and I was privileged to get an advanced read. This is an excellent paranormal romance. I think anyone who likes the Sookie Stackhouse books or Anita Blake books would enjoy it. Give it a try!

Allie is not at all who I expected her to be. She was rich, and she had everything she ever wanted. She was also spoiled and self-centered and unthinking. When we meet Allie she's poor, living above a restaurant and working there. She lost her money when her mom ran off with it and her tennis instructor and I expected her to be resentful. She isn't, though, she's more sad.

Allie and her two best friends Amanda and Stan got drunk one night and they did a spell and created a Door. A Door to hell, or to hells, more accurately. A sentient Door that wants you to use it because it wants to corrupt you and have you open it so all the demons beyond it can come into your world and destroy everything they find. So, you know, that sucks. Amanda and Stan went home but Allie stayed and took on some responsibility for the Door. Ryan, the hunter who guards the door, had a little bit to do with that, but he's teaching Allie to fight and Allie likes it.

When the Door moves for some reason a bigger and even scarier world opens up to Allie. There are more hunters than just Ryan and far more doors than she'd ever thought. She, Ryan, Stan, and some hunters travel through a Door and through many hells in order to find out where her Door went and try to close it.

There was quite a bit here I enjoyed. The way Allie tried to stay close with Stan and Amanda, the way she sees them for who they are and loves them anyway. The way she and Ryan are involved so emotionally but at times fight it for "safety." The way people change in the hells to reflect who or what they truly are. The way Allie learns and changes as we read. The way Allie stands up for what she loves and how she comes to love her life. ( )

Once upon a time, poor little rich girl Ally opened a Door to hell in the basement of the diner where she was working. Now there’s a hunter stationed in front of it, killing what comes out and fighting his sexual tension with Ally using the power of snark and condescension. But then one day the Door disappears … I liked a lot of the structural worldbuilding: the various hells and avatars, and the concepts of wish-granting Doors that distort the humans they entice. I appreciated, but didn’t actually enjoy, that the story started from the premise that Ally and her love interest had known and been attracted to each other for a while. And I think part of that lack of enjoyment was that Ally’s narrative voice is that of a sixteen-year-old girl, though she’s supposed to be a grown woman managing a business. Lots of sentences ending in questions? And repetition of how hot her dude is? This led to a lot of caricatures—although I didn’t exactly trust Ally’s perceptions, she ended up portraying most of the characters as single-dimensional at best through her narration, even as more featured characters made clear that the author wasn’t the one making that mistake. I’d try another book by this author with a different narrator. ( )

Light, humorous, enjoyable. Interesting travel through the underworlds of various mythologies. ( )