Review: The Redemption of Mata Hari

The Redemption of Mata Hari by Scott Rhine

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Book Info: Genre: Urban Fantasy
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: Fans of fantasy, urban fantasy, strong world-building, world mythology
Trigger Warnings: Duplicitous females (Mata Hari is sometimes really hard to like)

Disclosure: I edited this book. I do not receive any remuneration based upon sales. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis: A poor word choice when arguing with an angel sends Aaron to the Abyss. Creatures are usually exiled to the Caves of Ice for good reason, but when Aaron discovers a frozen, 1950s starlet praying, there must have been a mistake. To rescue her, he has to make a deal with a crocodile demon. Meet the tribes of the djinn as you travel the lands of Dante’s Inferno, the Talmud, and the Arabian Nights in the supernatural sequel to Foundation for the Lost.

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed the previous book in this series, Foundation for the Lost (review here where links are allowed), so I was very excited to have the chance to work on (and thereby have an early chance to read) its sequel. I really like what Scott Rhine does with the various world mythologies that are worked into this story, and the inclusion of the various types of djinn in the story. Mata Hari is very hard to like through a lot of the book, as she is very focused on finding a way to make Aaron hers, regardless of his feelings on the matter, but she does redeem herself in the end (thus the title). I also really liked Princess Maymoora and her brother. I wish we'd have had more time with Winn and the other people left from the first book, but this book focused on Aaron and his travels and changes. It's a good book and I'm hoping that Rhine will continue this series. If you're a fan of fantasy stories - be that urban fantasy or more straight-up fantasy - and enjoy strong world building that includes a variety of mythological bases, then you will definitely want to check out this series.



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