ARC Review: The Beyond by Chloe Neill

The Beyond
Author: Chloe Neill
Series: A Devil's Isle Novel (Book 4)
Publication: Berkley; First Edition edition (June 4, 2019)

Description: Sensitive Claire Connolly must journey to another world in the electrifying fourth installment of Chloe Neill's post-apocalyptic urban fantasy series.

It's been a year since the Veil between the human world and the world Beyond was torn apart, and war began again. Sensitive Claire Connolly and bounty hunter Liam Quinn have been helping their human and paranormal allies fight back against the ravaging invaders and save what's left of New Orleans.

But a new enemy has arisen, more powerful than any they've seen before, and even Devil's Isle cannot hold her. . .

When Claire learns of a new magical weapon—one built by paranormals themselves—she knows it could turn the tide of war.  But to reach it, she and Liam will have to cross into the Beyond itself.  In a world full of hostile magic and dangerous foes, she'll have to channel the powers she once kept hidden in order to survive. New Orleans hangs in the balance, and the storm is growing closer...

My Thoughts: This fourth book in the Devil's Isle novels begins with conditions deteriorating in New Orleans. Already nearly a ghost town since the Veil was opened a year earlier, now a new group of Court paras has come to the city with thoughts of revenge.

The seelie are good at controlling the wind and are going to use their powers to halt the newest hurricane, which bids to be as strong as Katrina, over New Orleans until the whole city is destroyed. Claire and Liam and their friends need to find some way to halt the seelie's plans before the city they love is completely destroyed.

When they receive news of a possible weapon that can strip the magic from magical beings, they don't think that they have a choice other than to find the plans and the components and use it to get rid of the threat.

Finding the components means that they will have to travel through the Veil into the land of Elysium and convince the ruling Consularis to give up the essential piece they hold. The journey is hard and the Consularis unwilling to get involved in a war on Earth. Their trip also gives them a chance to see what the Consularis have made of their world and they aren't impresses. Outwardly perfect and happy, dissent is punished harshly. It seems apparent that the Consularis were glad when their dissentors decided to go through the Veil and take their war to Earth.

Claire has to do a lot of soul-searching in this one as she wonders if it is finally time to give up on the city she loves. She does come to realize that what she loves are the people she has made into her new family and, if necessary, she could find a satisfying life elsewhere.

The story was engaging. The characters well drawn. And the situation desperate. The plot was fast-paced and I loved the details about New Orleans.

Favorite Quote:

It felt like it was slipping away. That after fighting for so long, after battles and blackouts and MREs, this was the beginning of the end of New Orleans. The place where I'd grown up, where I'd lost two parents and found friends and love. Where my memories were stored. New Orleans was the city of my heart. I just couldn't let it go.

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.