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ina_pages's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I’d give this 5 stars if not for very minor grammar issues that I believe were addressed in the rewrite. I hope to get my hands on that since I also heard that new scenes were added to it.
This book pulled me out of a reading slump that lasted MONTHS. Rafael’s masterful prose will have you gripped from start to finish and will have you falling in love with characters literally against your own will. It was heartbreaking enough to read about a character you knew was doomed from the start, but this book makes you feel so much for Lucifer that watching his decent from grace was just that much worse.
Highly recommend this book to anyone who’s interested. The author lists down a set of trigger warnings at the start but they are only really applicable in the second half of the book.
If you want a feel good, slow burn, romance-y book then maybe pick this up and just stop after part one (like skip the interlude even) but if you have the headspace for it part two is an intense rollercoaster ride of emotions.
This book pulled me out of a reading slump that lasted MONTHS. Rafael’s masterful prose will have you gripped from start to finish and will have you falling in love with characters literally against your own will. It was heartbreaking enough to read about a character you knew was doomed from the start, but this book makes you feel so much for Lucifer that watching his decent from grace was just that much worse.
Highly recommend this book to anyone who’s interested. The author lists down a set of trigger warnings at the start but they are only really applicable in the second half of the book.
If you want a feel good, slow burn, romance-y book then maybe pick this up and just stop after part one (like skip the interlude even) but if you have the headspace for it part two is an intense rollercoaster ride of emotions.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry
Moderate: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Incest, Mental illness, Violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, War, Torture, Grief, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Murder, Sexual content, and Self harm
Minor: Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Homophobia, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
ash_trys's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Cursing, Suicide attempt, Rape, Gore, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, and Grief
axel_p's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I am so torn between loving this book and hating it.
Lucifer had some great ideas but some of his other ideas were less ideal.
Lucifer had some great ideas but some of his other ideas were less ideal.
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Classism, War, Child abuse, Blood, Dysphoria, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Rape, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Mental illness, Animal death, Abandonment, Alcohol, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, and Violence
pika_berry's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A powerful work.
Quite unlike other LGBT fantasy, and warning:bad ending and gore.
Though it has it in the tag, technically, this book is not a genre romance.There is no HEA — a HEA is the prerequisite for a genre romance.
The first 30% or so was quite rough with POV issues.
Words like “ground level shrub” or “mahogany” would be used when it’s the POV of somebody who was literally just created and does not even know what a plant or a tree is.
Is was sometimes hard to tell who’s perspective we have shifted to, and had me wondering who did what. But these issues went away in the middle of the book. I think the writer got better at writing as they went along.
Another major drawback is the portrayal of god. The god is written as a petty, moody, middle aged man. He doesn’t seem very wise nor compassionate. He demands the angels to worship him, and makes dumb decisions.
Like creating an Angel that is supposed to be the most beautiful, and giving him special treatment … this doesn’t seem like a very wise thing to do, even from my limited mortal perspective…
And while I know this is in the original story, I don’t think this book depicted this very well. He feels more like an abusive cult leader than a holy being to me. But perhaps this is because the writer is a modern person, and at the end of rhe day, most modern people snicker at religion and the idea of god. They think it’s superstitious or foolish. It is natural for this broader sentiment to show in their work.
The entirety of the plot is based on poor decision making by this dumb god character, and that could pull you out of the book. I didn’t mind though. I don’t think anybody reads a retelling for plot, tbh.
The drama, the beautiful imagery and the motives make this a compelling read.
The book feels like a fanfic. It’s a retelling, but feels more like fanfic. It’s probably the generic characters. I like it though lol.
I can imagine the story doing well in the Japanese market, perhaps made into a manga.
Quite unlike other LGBT fantasy, and warning:
Though it has it in the tag, technically, this book is not a genre romance.
The first 30% or so was quite rough with POV issues.
Words like “ground level shrub” or “mahogany” would be used when it’s the POV of somebody who was literally just created and does not even know what a plant or a tree is.
Is was sometimes hard to tell who’s perspective we have shifted to, and had me wondering who did what. But these issues went away in the middle of the book. I think the writer got better at writing as they went along.
Another major drawback is the portrayal of god. The god is written as a petty, moody, middle aged man. He doesn’t seem very wise nor compassionate. He demands the angels to worship him, and makes dumb decisions.
Like creating an Angel that is supposed to be the most beautiful, and giving him special treatment … this doesn’t seem like a very wise thing to do, even from my limited mortal perspective…
And while I know this is in the original story, I don’t think this book depicted this very well. He feels more like an abusive cult leader than a holy being to me. But perhaps this is because the writer is a modern person, and at the end of rhe day, most modern people snicker at religion and the idea of god. They think it’s superstitious or foolish. It is natural for this broader sentiment to show in their work.
The entirety of the plot is based on poor decision making by this dumb god character, and that could pull you out of the book. I didn’t mind though. I don’t think anybody reads a retelling for plot, tbh.
The drama, the beautiful imagery and the motives make this a compelling read.
The book feels like a fanfic. It’s a retelling, but feels more like fanfic. It’s probably the generic characters. I like it though lol.
I can imagine the story doing well in the Japanese market, perhaps made into a manga.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
graygarrido's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
In honor of Angels & Man releasing in 2024 I decided to reread Angels Before Man. This was one of my top reads of 2023 and as you can probably tell, one that has followed me into 2024. This Queer retelling of The Fall of Lucifer is as much of an open w*und of religious tr*uma as it is a celebration of queer joy, queer love, & queer bodies.
Rafael Nicolás does an incredible job at making a story both light & full of achingly sweet tenderness & in the same chapter explore the darkness within Religion & the harmful ways in which Religion can be taught to young minds.
One of my favorite themes was of queer identity & the queer Body & its relationship (or lack thereof) with Catholicism. How in this version of Paradise we are shown bodies of all shapes and sizes. Masculine and feminine blur together to create something entirely new, bodies decadently dressed in jewels from head to toe and covered in delicate fabrics.
I saw so much of my young queer self in Lucifer and Michael. The questions, the doubts, the love, the resentment, and most of all the fear. This book is a balm to my inner queer child, & I truly cannot recommend it enough especially if you were raised Catholic like I was.
I cannot wait to see what happens next in this world. & with that I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes:
“So if Lucifer had ever the choice, he might've decided to inspire the Lord's hate, rather than His quiet displeasure. A hand that strikes from the dark is at least proof of a hand. It's kinder to be beaten than to be left untouched.”
Rafael Nicolás does an incredible job at making a story both light & full of achingly sweet tenderness & in the same chapter explore the darkness within Religion & the harmful ways in which Religion can be taught to young minds.
One of my favorite themes was of queer identity & the queer Body & its relationship (or lack thereof) with Catholicism. How in this version of Paradise we are shown bodies of all shapes and sizes. Masculine and feminine blur together to create something entirely new, bodies decadently dressed in jewels from head to toe and covered in delicate fabrics.
I saw so much of my young queer self in Lucifer and Michael. The questions, the doubts, the love, the resentment, and most of all the fear. This book is a balm to my inner queer child, & I truly cannot recommend it enough especially if you were raised Catholic like I was.
I cannot wait to see what happens next in this world. & with that I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes:
“So if Lucifer had ever the choice, he might've decided to inspire the Lord's hate, rather than His quiet displeasure. A hand that strikes from the dark is at least proof of a hand. It's kinder to be beaten than to be left untouched.”
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Mental illness, Rape, Self harm, and Sexual assault
grandma_beth's review
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Mental illness, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, and Torture
Moderate: Sexual assault and Toxic relationship
Minor: Animal death
honeycupreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book is absolutely gut-wrenching… I truly have no words to explain how I feel right now. All I can say is make sure you have some tissues near. Also please make sure read the content warnings at the beginning.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Body horror, Physical abuse, and Mental illness
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Sexual assault
spaceaviator's review
dark
lighthearted
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I really liked this book.
Some of the violence in Part 2 became a bit intense and made me feel uneasy. That said, knowing how the story comes together and ends, makes me more okay with it.
Nicolás’s writing style is what really made it for me. The way narration changed as Lucifer did, as well as the way he writes thoughts and intertwines separate scenes as one. It feels like there’s so many layers to explore in his writing, but it’s also intuitive to follow.
This was a very unique book and one I would read again some day.
Some of the violence in Part 2 became a bit intense and made me feel uneasy. That said, knowing how the story comes together and ends, makes me more okay with it.
Nicolás’s writing style is what really made it for me. The way narration changed as Lucifer did, as well as the way he writes thoughts and intertwines separate scenes as one. It feels like there’s so many layers to explore in his writing, but it’s also intuitive to follow.
This was a very unique book and one I would read again some day.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, and Mental illness
Moderate: Torture and Violence
Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death
Part 1 and the Interlude are mostly quite nice with some conflict. Part 2 is where it starts to get more tense toward its second half (and exponentially so). You can read just Part 1 and the interlude and it will still feel like a complete story.erosugar's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Genocide, War, Body horror, Blood, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Torture, Grief, and Animal death
alicia_ann_reads's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was a book that made me feel things.
First, it's a queer retelling of Satan's (Lucifer) Falling, which I wasn't familiar with so did a quick google to discover it was mentioned in two books if the Bible.
I'm not a Bible follower, but I imagine that anyone who had any form of religious trauma in their life would find this book incredibly cathartic.
The prose was wonderful, the first half is the telling of Lucifer's life from birth, his struggles with being the centre of attention, the 'angel of beauty", his shame and lack of self confidence... Until he meets Michael, who slowly coaxes him out of that shell. You see a really slow burn romance.
The second half of the book takes that and shows Lucifer's fall, how his worship focus went from God to Michael and how God had punished, and from that punishment the seed and kernel of defiance and hatred grew, how Lucifer coined new terms, created Sin as God created...
It is graphic and gory, and really hard to read at times, but it was also powerful.
The negative aspects: Was a little long. Middle part dragged and in the second half saw an increase in internal dialogue; which in and if itself is not an issue but the way it was presented on page was really difficult to read.
You had internal dialogue between apostrophes butted next to external dialogue in quotes with no delineation; and multiple POVs back and forth on one page.. I had to read slowly.
First, it's a queer retelling of Satan's (Lucifer) Falling, which I wasn't familiar with so did a quick google to discover it was mentioned in two books if the Bible.
I'm not a Bible follower, but I imagine that anyone who had any form of religious trauma in their life would find this book incredibly cathartic.
The prose was wonderful, the first half is the telling of Lucifer's life from birth, his struggles with being the centre of attention, the 'angel of beauty", his shame and lack of self confidence... Until he meets Michael, who slowly coaxes him out of that shell. You see a really slow burn romance.
The second half of the book takes that and shows Lucifer's fall, how his worship focus went from God to Michael and how God had punished, and from that punishment the seed and kernel of defiance and hatred grew, how Lucifer coined new terms, created Sin as God created...
It is graphic and gory, and really hard to read at times, but it was also powerful.
The negative aspects: Was a little long. Middle part dragged and in the second half saw an increase in internal dialogue; which in and if itself is not an issue but the way it was presented on page was really difficult to read.
You had internal dialogue between apostrophes butted next to external dialogue in quotes with no delineation; and multiple POVs back and forth on one page.. I had to read slowly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Violence, Animal death, Hate crime, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Blood, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Body horror, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship