The Beyond takes us back to New Orleans, where about a year before, the veil that separates the world of magic from our world was once again ripped open and all-out war raged. Things have changed a bit since then and magic is no longer illegal, even though Containment still runs Devil's Isle, the Marigny district of New Orleans since converted into a giant prison to hold "Paras" or Paranormals. Containment now realizes the important distinction between the Consularis and the Court of Dawn. Both groups came through the veil from The Beyond, but the Consularis was magically conscripted to fight by the Court of Dawn, as they sought to take Earth for their own. So now Devil's Isle basically holds Court of Dawn members in the jail portion and Consularis Paras live there freely among their own kind in the surrounding neighborhoods.
Despite this welcome new change, there's a new threat when a group of about 40 Seelies begins causing destruction and frees one of their own from Devil's Isle, Aeryth. Before she flies off with her group, Aeryth condemns Devil's Isle and those around it with one word, "judgment." So now, Claire (a Sensitive), Liam (her recently magic-affected boyfriend), Gunnar (Claire's best friend and second in command at Containment), Tadji (Claire's other bestie), Burke (Tadji's Sensitive boyfriend from Containment) and Gavin (Liam's snarky brother) will have to band together with Delta, a human/Para collaboration led by an angel named Malachi and a brilliant scientist named Darby, to figure out why Aeryth is hell-bent on judgment and what it means for New Orleans.
Unfortunately, as the Seelies pick and choose locations around New Orleans to destroy, the group realizes with cold horror that a Category 4 (soon to be 5) hurricane is headed for New Orleans in a matter of days and their targets are meant to leave New Orleans vulnerable when the storm rolls in - especially since Seelies can use their magic to affect the weather and they plan to stall the storm over the city until it is completely flooded and the few human holdouts are dead. Can they stop them in the days before the storm arrives or will it be Hurricane Katrina all over again, just with fewer humans to suffer? The answer lies in a weapon designed long ago by the Consularis, but studied by Claire's own mother, Laura Blackwell when she worked for Containment. Called the Devil's Snare, when the device is aimed at a magical being, it strips that entity completely of its magic, so it could be invaluable in the fight against the Seelies, but if not kept in check, it could harm all of the good Paras and strip Sensitives of their powers. But it just might be worth the risk, because without it, New Orleans will surely be lost.
The Beyond takes our characters to someplace they've never been, beyond the veil and into Elysium, the Paras realm, in search of a component needed to build the Devil's Snare. It was really fun to get a peek into the world of magic, and having had a taste of that, I hate that the series seems to be coming to an end. That said, everything wraps up quite nicely and you get a sense of where our characters will be headed in the future, even if we don't get to see it play out on the written page. I loved how things ended and would be totally happy if Chloe Neill changes her mind and carries on with this cast of characters. Having lived in South Louisiana almost all of my life, aside from the last few years, I really enjoy the essence of Louisiana she injects into her books. Man, when she was describing the Category 4, then 5 hurricane barreling towards New Orleans in this book, I got chills as memories of Katrina, and also the Louisiana floods of 2017, washed over me. Her portrayals are spot-on. If you love a good urban fantasy and you enjoy stories that take place in the South, do yourself a favor and check out the entire Devil's Isle series. It's just great and The Beyond is the giant bow on the entire package. Highly recommended.
