I am currently tearing up at the thought of this book. I loved it. There was a point towards the end where I was reducing the rating to 4 or maybe 3.5 stars (it slowed down a bit in pace and the switches in points of view became slightly confusing) but overall the story was amazing so a 5 star rating and adding to my favourites list.

Content Warnings

cyancookie's review

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dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

kenzielireads's review

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challenging dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

When the author warns you that part 2 does not need to be read, believe them. Do not read the second half.

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ashlislibrary's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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madscanread's review against another edition

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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

5.0

The slow corruption of a pure, innocent angel to a hysterical, unstable beast spurred on by a cruel, jealous father. A book to make you hate god viscerally and while not making you love Lucifer, it at the very least makes you understand and mourn for him.

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tinyelfarcanist's review

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“Angel of beauty.” That’s what Lucifer has been called from the moment of his creation. Ashamed of his appearance, he wants nothing more than to spend his days worshipping God. That is until archangel Michael grabs his attention. A lyrical retelling of Lucifer's fall.

This is one of the darkest books I've read and I suggest you look at the content warnings before diving into this one. The following is a list of the topics included in my review, just a meagre example of those contained in this novel.

CW: swearing, blasphemy, and mention of wicked acts.

"He is beautiful," the seraph said as the cherub cried out from a scathingly sore throat. "The most magnificent of all your angels, Father."

I loved the prose reflecting Lucifer’s mental state. Lucifer is an interesting character if unappealing at times.

This book is split into two distinct sections. I divided my review as such. Don't be fooled by the sweetness of the first part, this book doesn't shy away from picturing the depravity that a tortured individual is driven to.

Part 1:

So. Fucking. Cute. A naive and recently created Lucifer shares sweet banter with other playful angels in Heaven...

What else could an angel be but happy?

On the surface, this is a story about a beloved bard finding his purpose, a story about a narcissistic pimp and his favourite twink. A story about angels in love.

Why would God make him so beautiful if that beauty wasn’t meant to be admired?

Paradise is not what it seems.

Part 2:

Looking deeper, this is a commentary on jealousy, identity, and religious trauma.

The Lord said, "Sing, angel," His voice all-encompassing, "and you will be saved." Lucifer did so, fearing his God.

For a restless angel like Lucifer, mindless worshipping and hedonism won’t do.

Angels Before Man is powerful in its painfully accurate depictions of depression, wrath, passion, and pride. It is a blasphemous display of the unforgiving Father and the angel who was punished for questioning.

God may have created his equal. He made a perfect angel, and He will soon discover that power corrupts. Lucifer grows more spiteful every time he’s reprimanded.

Let’s not forget that for all of Lucifer’s deviousness, he is God’s creation.

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porgyreads's review

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dark emotional sad tense 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

4.25

Gut wrenching tragedy littered with intense dialogue.

The stylistic choices do not eclipse the joy of the first half of this novel, in fact they emhance them. However in the second half, perhaps where most clarity is needed, it became easy to find myself lost.

I thought the choice to distinguish between internal and external thoughts worked really well as lucifer begins to challenge the world around him. Seeing how he withholds his true thoughts and feelings as they grow more erratic.

The lyrical prose which when it works WORKS devolves into a pulpy mash of poetic language that casts us out to sea at times. I found myself scrabbling for the threads of the narrative as the language became more figurative. Which took away from the achingly emotional content.

The section where uriels past is introduced and we get both his thoughts and lucifers was a hard adjust at first. But I came to enjoy it, even if I didn’t feel the payoff for the inclusion. It felt like knowing how god had treated him and his kind set uri up to have the most believable corruption arc of all the archangels, and so, not dipping back into his head more as the chaos and arson begins felt like a missed opportunity. Even if he never acted on the thoughts of vengeance lucifer inspires.

I think overall this book does what it sets out to achieve. It reminds me of paradise lost obviously but also a picture of Dorian Grey. The only difference being the purple language choice don’t always work in ABM. Even still it unfolds In a way that would make Milton shiver imo. The modern adaptation, exploration of ambition, selfhood, purpose and malice feeds into an equation that makes perfect sense to the reader, even if it is dizzying to watch it be solved. Had it not become convoluted and lost here or there I would’ve said solid 5 stars. But for the emotional poison that was the tragedy we were promised, I can’t fault it.

Lucifer is born before us, we grow to love him, we anguish for him, we want his revenge. We feel the searing pain of the final moments, of him asking Micheal why he is hurting him too and it breaks us just as entirely.

I think fans of TSOA will love this especially the first half. I wished the last third was tighter but I also know that writing is fucking hard. And experimentation is fucking hard to pull off without alienating the reader. That being said the calibre of writing displayed throughout cannot and should not go without praise. At its end you leave asking yourself over and over: “Is love meant to pierce?”

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