Hellhole

By: Gina Damico

Narrated by: Macleod Andrews

Length: 9 hrs

Publisher's summary

A devil is a bad influence.... There was a time when geeky, squeaky-clean Max Kilgore would never lie or steal or even think about murder. Then he accidentally unearths a devil, and Max's choices are no longer his own. The big red guy has a penchant for couch surfing and junk food - and you should never underestimate evil on a sugar high. With the help of Lore, a former goth girl who knows a thing or two about the dark side, Max is racing against the clock to get rid of the houseguest from hell before time, and all the Flamin' Hot Cheetos this side of the fiery abyss, run out.

Gina Damico, author of the Croak series, once again delivers all the horror, hilarity, and high-stakes drama that any kid in high school or hell could ever handle.

©2014 Gina Damico (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Critic reviews

"MacLeod Andrews is hilarious as he delivers this darkly funny tale about a boy who finds Satan living in his basement.... Andrews's growly, juicy sounds make Burg sound as if he's a heavy smoker, yet Andrews also manages to sound absolutely adolescent as teenaged Max." (AudioFile)

Be careful what u wish for

Good book some twist and turns and funny at times. But always remember that theres always a price for a deal with a devil.

Good Plot, Stupid Protagonist

Many people say this is a good story and on some level I agree hence my 3 stars what I hate is a self righteous protagonist, as our protagonists friend says to him for a person who thinks about being good and considers to be better than others acts something worse than the worst. Now I'm paraphrasing this , I also have problem with people not take the responsibility for there actions , as I may have implied I have a hard time empathize with our protagonist therefore hard to root for our yay team.
The Narrator was really good one of the best the 3 stars is for our weizel protagonist all the supporting characters were awsome good dialog.
Give it a chance I suppose what bothers me may not bother you.

Was not a fan of the narration

What made the experience of listening to Hellhole the most enjoyable?

So, since this was the first audiobook I ever read fully, I am going to go ahead and give myself a pat on the back. But - this format is so not for me. I would have finished this book ages ago by actually reading it, not dividing it over two months. The narrator was pretty good, especially when it came to Max's dialogues and Burg's sassy comments, but for the female dialgoues - eh...I cringed at some points. Audie was particularly difficult to hear spoken, in that falsetto. Lore being spoken was good, and the narrator totally brought out her couldn't-care-less attitude. Overall, great book, but not a fan of the audiobook version.

What did you like best about this story?

Hellhole, as any book of Damico's, is fun, and even though there are dark themes to the story, it is foremost a very hilarious. Starting from the character names, and with Max's mental commentary, Lore's sass, and Burg's love for all things artery-clogging, I was pretty much smiling through most of the book. Max has a devil in his basement, all because he accidentally raised him from hell, and now strikes a deal with him to ensure his mother's full recovery from her terminal condition. What he didn't sign up for was the mental anguish, dealing with the devil's demands, keeping said devil a secret, while figuring out how to hold up his end of the bargain. And it's not an easy one - Burg wants a big house, with a hot tub, as payment, with it being preferably stolen. Max is put into a dilemma, doing illegal and sometimes wrong things, just for his mom. Lore, a former dealer with such a devil, helps him out, initially reluctant but then she warms up to him. There is no mushy romance, but they are cute together.

Gina Damico is simply hilarious

Gina Damico, author of the Croak trilogy, is known first and foremost for her fabulous sense of humor. Her books are always hilarious, which more than makes up for the occasionally weak plots. On the surface, Hellhole is a pretty weak story about a boy who accidentally ends up taking care of the devil (one of 666 of them, apparently) and makes all sorts of ill-advised bargains with him along the way. But there are many other things underneath, and it’s precisely those things that make this book worth your time.

The beginning and the ending were actually Hellhole’s weakest points. The beginning seemed slightly ridiculous as there was no good reason for Max to end up with Berg. The whole digging-up-the-devil business made very little sense and I felt that Max’s whole predicament lost some weight because of how it came about. The ending on the other hand felt rushed and non-sensical and it made my head spin with how quickly everything was wrapped up. I had maybe twenty minutes left of my audiobook and nothing was resolved, which made me panic slightly, and then before I knew it, everything was set to rights.

The middle part, however, was an absolute delight, what with all the humor and the explorations of Max’s character. A boy in his situation could so easily be swayed by the forces of evil, and it was touch-and-go for a while there since he kept making so many poor choices that almost led him to the point of no redemption. That psychological aspect of the story that can be pondered and discussed if one is willing to dig just a little deeper is something I truly didn’t expect from Damico, but it made Hellhole a much better and far more worthy experience.

The romance developed slowly, gradually, from poorly hidden disdain to reluctant friendship and finally to love. I really enjoyed the fact that Max had a best friend who was never anything more, and that he managed to endear himself to Lore despite his inability to talk to girls. Word vomit is a term that certainly applies to Max and his predicament was always equal parts endearing and exasperating.

MacLeod Andrews is quickly turning out to be one of the few narrators that can be relied upon completely. He is the male version of Lorelei King – fabulously funny, extremely capable, with a voice laced with humor and a talent for voice characterization. I still maintain that his female voices need more work, but overall, his performance is always superb.

All in all, Hellhole is a standalone, it’s adorable and it will make you laugh. When you add to that MacLeod Andrews’ fabulous voice, you know you’re in for a treat.

Excellence continues into new adventure

Gina Damico continues to delight with her humor, wit and sublime writing style in this wonderfully spun tale. Behind the crisp presentation of interesting characters lies a really well done narration that wraps this tale around the listener like a blanket.

I was a little apprehensive about delving into a new story with a new narrator after having grown so fond of Croak, but I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly I warmed up to Hellhole.

Five stars to Hellhole. Really well done, Gina!!!

Very entertaining, excellent narration.

I'm not much into fiction but this was a fun read in between bios and memoirs.

Smart, Dark and Funny

This is a really entertaining read. A great story made even better with amazing narration.

Good YA fun, even for an adult

Yes, this book is good fun, even if you are an adult (though it's clearly a YA book). Yes, the characters are thin and some of the stuff is repetitive, but it's still a lighthearted and humorous supernatural adventure. And then the fabulous narration bumps it up to be a really good book.

Great narration, good simple fun book ----> worth my time and money.

Entertaining but not outstanding

HELLHOLE is another book that I really picked up solely because of the audiobook narrator. If I’m being perfectly honest, this book wasn’t even on my TBR until I heard MacLeod Andrews narrated it! It wasn’t intentionally off my list but the book really hadn’t grabbed my attention and I actually really love my favorite audiobook narrators have recently motivated me to try books that I might not have otherwise!

HELLHOLE was really my kind of concept — a male narrator, a comedic circumstance, and an awkward romance usually hook me so I was interested right off the bat! Max was definitely the nerdy type and the amount of time that he spent taking care of his mother (who is very frail due to a heart condition) really kept him out of social circles even more. At times he was a bit too awkward and I had a hard time with it but overall, he was a fun character to connect with an an easy one to root for! Most of the characters were very easy to connect with and I really enjoyed seeing them interact!

The main issue that I really had with the book was the execution of the concept. In HELLHOLE, Max ends up being forced to house and comply with a devil (yes, an actual devil from Hell itself) because he was responsible for summoning and unearthing it. Chaos as well as comedy ensues because how can you play this one off without some comedy? (Which I enjoy!) The execution and rules that followed were a bit shaky for me. Some rules seemed concrete while others seemed a bit messy and the whole concept seemed a bit far-fetched. I mean, sure, housing a devil is far-fetched to begin with but I love when authors are able to make me forget that something is supernatural and not commonplace (much like Lish McBride’s book, HOLD ME CLOSER, NECROMANCER).

The devil character (Burg) also really didn’t appeal to me but I also know that’s a personal preference. I suppose I wanted a more appealing devil to make his offers, temptations, and commands harder to resist. I mean, it’s a book with a male POV so obviously it won’t be a temptation based on attraction (well, it could be. Or could be a female devil as well) but that was sort of what I was hoping for. Even one who acted a bit more normal or used a bit more intimidation to add a fear-factor. Burg was mostly rude, irritating, and frankly just disgusting. I have a low tolerance for “gross humor” so that was kind of hard for me and took away from how much I enjoyed the book.

I loved the purely platonic friendship between Max and his best friend Audi as well as the slow and awkward romance between Max and Lore. The relationships were really well done and I felt like they leaned away from the norms or stereotypes in many ways! I also love a good parent relationship and really enjoyed Max’s bond with his mom. They don’t always have it easy but Max is a great kid and really will do anything to help his mom (hence, the current predicament).

HELLHOLE was fun but there were a few minor things that ended up being kind of large turn-offs. It was a quick and easy read but not quite convincing. I didn’t quite love it as much as I had hoped considering there was a good mix of my favorite things in there! If I hadn’t been listening to one of my favorite narrators, I’m not even sure I would have enjoyed it as much as I did.

AUDIOBOOK IMPRESSIONS

MacLeod Andrews is always one of my favorites (maybe THE favorite narrator of mine) and I picked this book up entirely because he narrates. He really has a way of making every voice unique to a character and brings each one to life. I also almost always agree with the voices he chooses for characters, intonation, and narration style. He really just makes everything so vivid and real and I always enjoy performances from him!

Not the best book of all time, but it was good.

This book is very much a dark comedy. If you ever seen bedazzled then this books plot will seem familiar. goofy main character with a not so good life, accidently makes a deal with the devil.

If you want to read a book that is light on the mental strain and will get you to chuckle, I would pick up this book. Steer clear if you want to read a book that will catch you off guard and make you think.