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The Darkest Gate (Descent #2)

by S.M. Reine (Goodreads Author)

3.97 of 5 stars 3.97 · rating details · 261 ratings · 33 reviews

When Elise Kavanagh retired from demon hunting, she swore it would be permanent. But an attack from a powerful necromancer forced her back into the business, and now she's trying to balance her normal boyfriend and normal job with everything supernatural.

Mr. Black is a demon hunter gone rogue. He's enslaving angels and stealing ethereal artifacts in pursuit of forbidden im...more

Paperback, 322 pages

Published May 4th 2012 by Red Iris Books

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May 16, 2013 Wealhtheow rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, queer-characters

Elise is the greatest kopis on earth. She's been exorcizing demons and killing monsters since she was a child, and she has incredible instincts and fighting ability. But in averting the apocalypse during Death's Hand, she attracted the attention of creatures far beyond her paygrade. Now the Night Hag has woken up, Elise's friends are getting attacked by spider demons on a nightly basis, and her partner James is under threat. And worst of all, they're all in a race to be the first to open a gate...more

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Jul 11, 2012 Fangs for the Fantasy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Elise, demon hunting Kopis, is struggling to hold her life together. After her last adventure revealed her presence to the world, her quite life as an accountant is under threat. The magic she used to resurrect James has woken up vast forces in the city – and attracted old enemies who have been hunting her. She is attacked on all sides – but for every giant spider trying to kill her, there are other, more insidious attacks. Her demonic clientel switch to other accountants, her office burned, her...more Elise, demon hunting Kopis, is struggling to hold her life together. After her last adventure revealed her presence to the world, her quite life as an accountant is under threat. The magic she used to resurrect James has woken up vast forces in the city – and attracted old enemies who have been hunting her. She is attacked on all sides – but for every giant spider trying to kill her, there are other, more insidious attacks. Her demonic clientel switch to other accountants, her office burned, her bank account emptied – the foundations of her normal life are being undermined, leaving her penniless, homeless and everything she fought for going up in flames.

Which is all the more poignant when we see back into her past and how little she had, how much she has fought to create this life and what she endured before. Ever more desperate, she is forced to make dubious deals and reckless acts to try and stay afloat. How much must she compromise to try and keep herself and her friends alive?

But beyond mundane horrors, if she doesn’t stop the rogue kopis, Mr. Black, then far greater and more dangerous foes could be unleashed including her oldest and most powerful enemy. One she would literally rather die than face

This world continues to be fascinating. It’s one of the few series out there that has a genuinely unique world that is completely different from any I’ve read before. The different kinds of demons, the Warrens, the Angels and, of course, Him are so hugely different from what I’ve seen elsewhere. The magic, the Angel city, the relationship between kopides and aspides and how do they relate to the demon world?

Of course, it’s all the more compelling because we’re given innumerable hints – we know that kopides deal with demon overlords to enter their territory, but not why or how that matches with their demon hunts – or whether kopides do habitually demon hunt. We know that He (who we presume is… god? Maybe?) is Elise’s enemy, but not why. We know she and Angels have a hostile history, but again, not why. Even making portals and seeking the Angelic city – we do not know why they’re doing it. But because it all fits in with the theme of mystery in this book, it doesn’t feel like poor writing (characters doing things without motive) but it hints of a complex and fascinating world that we’ve only seen slivers of. It’s compelling, it’s intriguing and it leaves me hungry for more. I will say, though, that if I don’t get more in the third book I will be frustrated – there’s only so many appetisers you can eat before you want your entrée to arrive.

It did take me a little while to get back in this book – partially because it has been some time since I read the first book and because it started with an un-introduced flashback which I didn’t immediately recognise as such – which made me doubt my memories of what had happened before. It actually took me a while to realise the flashbacks were flashbacks. Once we were past the flashbacks, though, the story picked up extremely well and became much more exciting. Elise is often desperate and feels like she’s facing some impossible odds – both personally with James and generally against two massively powerful and connected enemies. There’s a really strong sense of her desperation not just to try to navigate between these massive forces, trying to survive without compromising herself too greatly and finding out just how much of a pawn she’s turned into, but even simple things like trying to hold her life together, trying to find a place to sleep that is safe and trying to earn enough money to make a living as more and more of the life she has built is torn apart. It’s action packed, it’s emotion packed, it’s information packed – it’s a packed story and it will hold you riveted.

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Jul 04, 2012 Richard Hayes rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book, number 2 in the series, starts off in the past with Elise Kavanagh and her partner James Faulkner being hired to get and bring to a Mr. Black a bowl. Not a normal bowl but one with angelic properties. Elise manages to get the bowl and give it to Mr. Black but figuring out what he was trying to do stopped him and thought he had died.
Fast forward to modern times and after going on a camping trip with her boyfriend (?) Anthony where they were attacked by giant spiders Elise go to her off...more

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Jul 07, 2012 Nereid rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: uf, descent-series

These books just keep getting better, where do I start as so much is happening all the time. Elise and James are trying to enjoy their retirement but life seems to keep getting in the way. Bringing James back from the dead has caused serious repercussions and now the secret is out and Elise is in more danger than before. She is having money problems as it is hard to squeeze cash out of demon clients. Apart from that her boyfriend Anthony wants marriage and kids and a picket fence but that is so...more

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Aug 01, 2012 Carrie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Better than Deaths hand- if that's possible- and I loved it.
After a battle that sent a power telegraph across the world, Elise and James can no longer live the lives of retirement they so badly wanted.
Old enemies knock on their door, and ruin Elise's life the most thorough way. Alliances are made that Elise never would have imagined, and her and James's worst fear becomes reality.

Reine's writing style keeps me wanting more. I loved how she will sneak snippets from the past in that just make y...more

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Jan 24, 2013 Naomi Clark rated it 3 of 5 stars

I'm so conflicted over this series. Reine has some serious talent. The worldbuilding is the amongst the freshest I've come across and the concepts Reine puts into her writing are unique and fascinating. But the characters...Oh God, the characters. Elise, the central protagonist is more or less a sociopath. In this second book of the series, we learn more about why she's so cold and emotionally...backwards...as Reine fleshes out her history. What we don't really find out is why anyone would spend...more I'm so conflicted over this series. Reine has some serious talent. The worldbuilding is the amongst the freshest I've come across and the concepts Reine puts into her writing are unique and fascinating. But the characters...Oh God, the characters. Elise, the central protagonist is more or less a sociopath. In this second book of the series, we learn more about why she's so cold and emotionally...backwards...as Reine fleshes out her history. What we don't really find out is why anyone would spend any time with Elise if they didn't have to. She's rude, violent, and distant. She treats the people allegedly closest to her as if they don't exist. I can't imagine why anyone would hang out with Elise if they had the choice.

Take her boyfriend, Anthony, for example. 90% of the time, Elise doesn't seem to give a toss if Anthony is dead or alive, yet he's completely obsessed with her, to the point where he ponders marriage and babies. I wouldn't talk to a dog the way Elise talks to Anthony. I can't understand his attraction to her, so I just made up an alternate reality where he's actually really addicted to the adrenaline rush that comes from fighting demons, so he dates Elise because fighting is all she does. In fact, the only time she seems even vaguely aware of Anthony as a human being is straight after she's killed something and it gets her "excited." Yay, healthy relationships!

James, Elise's partner in demon-slaying, is pretty much a cipher. I don't know why he does anything he does and his primary function seems to be being exasperated with Elise. Betty, Elise's best friend, just seems to be there to be ditzy and blonde when required, and is another example of "why the hell do you hang out with Elise?" Although, that said, Elise does seem to care more about Betty than Anthony, so I'm just going to make up another alternate reality where Elise and Betty are dating.

Because I found it so hard to connect with any of the characters or their motivations, I struggled with the book despite the excellent writing. The last 10% or so was blisteringly good, but I felt Reine held back a lot of relevant information throughout the plot, specifically concerning Elise's role as the Godslayer and what that meant. Not an awful lot was revealed about this by the end either, so I felt like I'd missed out on something. Reine expects the reader to make a lot of leaps about the infernal/angelic side of the world, and sometimes it pays off. Sometimes it really doesn't. I'm not a fan of info-dumping by any means, but a few hints here and there about the nature of the supernatural in this world would have been nice.
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Oct 16, 2012 Kelly rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebooks, free-ebooks, read-in-2012, urban-fantasy

It had been a while since I read book 1 in this series and, holy smokes, I had forgotten so much of the crazy that Elise and James got into in that one. Death, zombies, more death... which is pretty much what they deal with in this book if you swap out zombies and insert "giant demonic spiders". Huh. No, there's even more crazy in this one, I think. Highly suspicious covenants with powerful and deadly creatures, enslaved angels, one nasty bad guy trying to raise an even nastier bad guy, cage fig...more It had been a while since I read book 1 in this series and, holy smokes, I had forgotten so much of the crazy that Elise and James got into in that one. Death, zombies, more death... which is pretty much what they deal with in this book if you swap out zombies and insert "giant demonic spiders". Huh. No, there's even more crazy in this one, I think. Highly suspicious covenants with powerful and deadly creatures, enslaved angels, one nasty bad guy trying to raise an even nastier bad guy, cage fights, and interdimensional trans-location. You know, the basics.

One thing I think I need to talk about is Elise's relationships. I can't really see anything happening long term with Anthony. Besides the fact that Elise is emotionally closed off (with good reason) and has some serious communication issues, Anthony is only human. Best case scenario, he'll die quickly one of the times they tangle with something otherwordly. Worst case? He'll die slow. He's a good guy, don't get me wrong, but he's not really equipped to handle Elise's world. I also don't think he really understands her. Which isn't his fault because Elise is not one to share her inner feelings. Or show any outer ones.

James, on the other hand, knows that she's a messed up, emotionally stunted woman. That they've grown apart recently was one of those things that stung a little. Their bond goes deeper than most people can imagine and it grows exponentially in this book. One thing I'm not a huge fan of is the way that both Anthony and Stephanie (James' lady friend) keep pulling at the relationship that James and Elise have. While I love the tension (and the fact that part of Elise couldn't give two shits about how Stephanie feels about her) this brings, I *want* James and Elise to find a happy balance. Right now, they're pulled in too many directions and it's hurting them.

This was an action packed ride from beginning to end. Elise is a lethal mess trying to masquerade as a normal girl. The harder she tries to pull away, the more she gets pulled into the chaos around her. I'm intensely curious to see where things go from here and I absolutely expect that it will be properly bloody and pull of the type of whacky shenanigans only Elise and James can extract themselves from.

-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal
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May 16, 2013 ♥¸.•*´Tanya`*•.¸♥ rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: kindle, adult, female, all-time-favorites, paranormal, romance

I purchased this as an ebook from Amazon.

Ok this is going to be a little weird. My review will actually be for Books 1-6 in The Descent Series,
Death's Hand
The Darkest Gate
Dark Union
Damnation Marked
Dire Blood
Defying Fate
The reason is I became so obsessed in reading the next book that I didn't bother to stop to write a review. Really who'd want to write a review when you could be with James and Elise traveling through inter-dimensional gates to hell, fighting angels and demons or coming back from...more

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Jul 17, 2012 Tia rated it 3 of 5 stars

I find this book a bit too chunky or blocky if you prefer. A lot of things make the book feel detached and unemotional. Some of it is getting better. I'm still confused why James would want to be with Stephanie who seems like a raging self righteous bitch, rather than be with Elise, his other half. Even despite the age difference and the fact she can't have children. I don't think those two should of ever partnered up, they are on different paths. I'm very curious about Thom though and will foll...more

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May 06, 2012 Katja rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: All urban fantasy lovers

Shelves: as-ebook, from-my-fav-author, indie, urban-fantasy, review-copy

I was lucky enough to get an e-ARC of this book. Since I finished the first book of the Descent-series, I’ve wanted to get more.

Reading sequels is like coming back to see good old friends. At least that’s how I felt when I picked up “The Darkest Gate”. The book begins with a scene in the past, when Elise is still a scrawny teenager and she and James are struggling with their everyday life. I love the peeks of the past, that continue throughout the book — they also entwine tightly with the plot,...more I was lucky enough to get an e-ARC of this book. Since I finished the first book of the Descent-series, I’ve wanted to get more.

Reading sequels is like coming back to see good old friends. At least that’s how I felt when I picked up “The Darkest Gate”. The book begins with a scene in the past, when Elise is still a scrawny teenager and she and James are struggling with their everyday life. I love the peeks of the past, that continue throughout the book — they also entwine tightly with the plot, so they’re not fillers.

You don’t need to wait for the action in this book. We get tossed into life changing happenings from the start and see how well the characters can handle themselves in the midst of it all. I got to understand Elisa much better in this book. I think she’s a character very different from your usual heroine, and I like it. First my brain tried to force Elise into a mold and I expected her to behave differently, so she managed to surprise me over and over again. When I was done with the book, I felt I knew Elise better.

James wasn’t my favorite in this book — he seemed a bit cold and trying to put a distance to Elise. I’ll be interested to see how all this will affect the third book, with all the happenings in this one. There was lots going on especially at the end, but you’ll have to read about that yourself for me not to spoil you. Anthony on the other hand is growing on me — he’s much stronger than he first appeared. Betty is pretty much the same, though she’s going through some hardship with the rest of them. And then there's the mysterious Thom... I have my suspicions of him.

As usual, Reine is great at writing descriptions. She can make a battle so alive to the reader, you almost might be the one receiving the punches. We also got to know a lot of things in this book, that were left in the dark the last time, but there’s still things that were left unanswered and I believe will get and answer in the third part of the series. Personally I found it a bit frustrating, when Elise reveals something to Anthony, but it’s not revealed to the reader at that point. Overall the build ups in the book won’t let you hanging too bad, but just makes enough tension for you to keep turning pages.

It’s no secret, that Reine is one of my favorite indie authors so I have high expectations for her books. “The Darkest Gate” keeps up with the standard of awesome. This is the true urban fantasy style book, where the action tops the romance — there’s hardly any of the latter. So, if you’re waiting for this sequel, it’s safe to say, you won’t be disappointed. And if you’re not familiar with the Descent-series yet, but you love urban fantasy, I suggest you go pick it up. (less)

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May 08, 2013 Shruthy Vaishali rated it 4 of 5 stars

Wow ....The mystery of Elise just keeps getting better and better....Totally loved the twist which Thom gave....I CAN't BELIEVE IT......NOW THOM WANTS ELISE just after she escaped from Him......can't wait to read the next book and find out about Elise's past......as if demons from another dimension isn't enough crazier stuff like Mad Angels is even more scarier ......this book keeps us wanting more......

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Dec 17, 2012 Catherine rated it 3 of 5 stars

I think I was rushing through this book too quickly and missed something crucial. Or I could be too dumb to understand. Or, and hopefully this is the case, it wasn't explained very well. Overall, I had a hard time figuring out who was the bad guy. It was clear who Elise thought was the bad guy, but it seemed there were various levels of 'badness' and some needed to be eliminated before others.

Anyhow, Elise is a serious badass girl, who had difficultly dealing with emotions (understandably). Thou...more

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Dec 31, 2012 Rikki rated it 4 of 5 stars

Just as good as the first one! I did rate it down a little though just because I don't care about demon spiders and the whole Mr. black thing kind of bored me just a little bit. I wasn't expecting the ending at all and I'm very curious to see how she continues to deal with it in the third book.

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Dec 30, 2012 Toni ~married to a hunk~ rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, 2012-read, lendable-kindle

So I have loved this series since I got the novella that started this series. I just wonder what will happen with James and Elise. I think that this series is going to keep me addicted to it for a long time.

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Nov 29, 2012 Kendra rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a pretty good book. I found that it took me a while to get into it, but once I did get into it, I couldn't put it down! Definitely action packed and an enjoyable read. It's also really original.

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Jun 25, 2012 George marked it as to-read

Won this on GOODREADS GIVEAWAY! Thank you S.M. Reine and GOODREADS for having this book available. Will leave a review upon completion of reading this book. Thanks again!

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Jan 26, 2013 Mary rated it 5 of 5 stars

Just as good as Death's Hand and continued with angels and demons and the underworld. Going to start Dark Union now to find out what happens next.

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Jan 19, 2013 Bizzy Day rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: supernatural, loves-it

Wow. Loved it. The first book in the series was fantastic. So original and exciting, I really didn't expect the second to continue on in the same fashion. But no. Brilliant. Read it.

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Nov 06, 2012 Brandi Cooper rated it 4 of 5 stars

Much more exciting then the first book. I hated seeing what happened to all those Elise loved, but I'm curious to see how she gets her vengeance.

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May 14, 2013 Julia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, daemons, heavenly-stuff, magic, mystery, romance, supernatural, urban-fantasy

I think I liked this book better than the first one. I shall go on to the next book and see how it goes.

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Aug 05, 2012 Kirsten Lenius rated it 4 of 5 stars

Dark demons, mad gods, angels driven insane... this book has all that and makes a fine, but disturbing tale.

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Feb 10, 2013 Kristy added it

Continuing from Death's Hand, it's still a great story; still interested and still going strong.

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Jan 10, 2013 Heidi rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: heaven-and-hell, witches

Elise is now in a relationship with Anthony. Her boyfriend and her best friend are along for this journey full of action and surprise. Great read.

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Jun 25, 2012 Sherri Jordan-Asble rated it 5 of 5 stars

Elise makes serious mistakes in the second novel of SM Reine's Descent Series. That's what makes her character interesting and fun to read. That's what makes her character deep and worth reading. I couldn't wait to see how she was going to get herself out of the mess she made. I was not disappointed. The villains are just as interesting, and more deadly than ever. Mr. Black is mysterious and powerful, as is the demon overlord. The angels thrown in give Elise and James a serious run this time. Re...more

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Dec 10, 2012 Tania Shipman rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: phone-kindle

Enjoyed every book in this series. Excellent story concept

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Nov 01, 2012 Karen Fowler rated it 4 of 5 stars

How can I review this novel with cursing? I really want to say the novel is kick-*ss, the heroine knows how to kill the (crap) our of the Big Baddies, and whatnot. Instead, I'll just say that The Darkest Gate is part Thriller, part Action and all Fabulous!

If you like your paranormal & fantasy to be a bit on the darker side, with plenty of confrontations and mayhem, then you will love this book (and the series!)

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Jan 09, 2013 Debbie Phelps-Hamilton rated it 5 of 5 stars

A great book. Recommend this series and author!

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Jan 20, 2013 Emily Stewart rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: amazon-freebies

3.5 if it was available!

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Jan 07, 2013 Rene Miller rated it 2 of 5 stars

I may feel better about it after I read the others before it didnt realize it was a series, maybe it is one of those that cant be stand alone for I kept reading to find out if it answered any questions. So I will search fot the first one and see if I rerate after I read.

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Oct 18, 2012 Janice (the_red1) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: demons, witches-wizards-magic, urban-fantasy

Every bit as good as the first one, if not better.

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About S.M. Reine

Hi everyone! My name is Sara, and I write urban fantasy and paranormal novels as SM Reine. I collect swords, cat hair, and typewriters (which I do use for writing!). It's a good day when those three things have nothing to do with each other.

If you would like to know the instant my next book is available, you should enlist in my Army of Evil! We have a wicked cool secret handshake, but you'll have...more

More about S.M. Reine...

Books by S.M. Reine

Six Moon Summer (Seasons of the Moon, #1)

All Hallows Moon (Seasons of the Moon, #2)

Long Night Moon (Seasons of the Moon, #3)

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The Darkest Gate (Descent #2)

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