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ina_pages's review
- 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
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.
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
brdiaz1123's review
- 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
Graphic: Murder, Torture, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, War, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Gore, and Grief
Minor: Toxic friendship and Cannibalism
theminnesotawitch's review
- 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
Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Torture, Death, Self harm, Toxic friendship, Sexual violence, Grief, Toxic relationship, Murder, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Violence, and War
okays1331's review
3.75
It’s marked as a queer retelling of the fall of Lucifer. I don’t think that is central to the story. The characters are man-shaped but so is everyone. There is no real romance, the tender feelings of the two central characters tip over into obsession immediately. Sexual content is almost all violent and violating.
Note: Sometimes difficult to read because of the way the author chose to format dialogue.
Graphic: Grief, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Gore, Body horror, Violence, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Sexual violence, Death, Blood, Torture, Sexual assault, Rape, Incest, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, and Gaslighting
a_crow_in_the_sky's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Moderate: Alcohol, Body horror, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Blood, Murder, and Suicide attempt
alicia_ann_reads's review
- 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
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.
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
lizardteeth's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
- Spoiler Free Review
- Angels Before Man is a wonderfully written book and creative retelling of Lucifer's fall from Heaven. The way Nicolás begins the book as an airy, feel good fluff story but begins to slowly incorporate the themes of horror and manipulation is unlike anything I've read in a long time. As you read about the angels lives being wonderful and fulfilling, Nicolás will insert a scene regarding Lucifer that makes you think 'this is it, this is when things are going downhill', he pulls back in a subtle way to lull you back into a false sense of serenity. The gradual back and forth between horrific scenes and the wonders of Heaven put me on edge wondering so that when the climax truly began, it was capturing. The characters around Lucifer weren't static and the pain they go through is just as impactful as what Lucifer goes through.
- I see other readers reviews stating they took the themes as 'homosexuality is a sin' and I do agree, but that's the point. Angels Before Man is a religious commentary overall, one that is angry and hurt with how God is portrayed and angry with the people who follow that god. If you haven't experienced religious trauma in a similar way, I understand why it may seem Nicolás is wagging a finger a being gay, but he is instead showing just how convoluted religion, in this case Christianity, truly is. While I would recommend Angels Before Man to those seeking a diverse LGBTQ story dripping with religious disdain, there are still points that draw from it leading to why I put it below a 5 star rating.
- I appreciate when books, especially when it comes to themes of angels, make their characters diverse in not only personality but also in their race. My issue comes with the fact each time a darker colored character is introduced in many books, including Angels Before Man, they are compared to the color of food with instances such as a black angel having 'cocoa' colored eyes. It's only a few mentions, but one is still too many.
- When the angels are addressing each other they all call each other 'brother' similar to other religions as a way to further ensure people do not stray from the religion to make it seem they would also stray from their 'family'. Even with this being said, it was still greatly off-putting that when angels (slight spoiler?) begin to be sexual with another and they continued to refer to each other as 'brother'.
- The ending internal monologue was a struggle to get through. While I was focused on the events happening, Lucifer's internal monologue was an absolute drain. It's wordy and extensive with no real purpose after several instances of it. When his internal monologue begins to really pick up towards about 60% through, it's perfectly done, however by the end where his monologue is several paragraphs long of generalized religious symbolism I ended up just skimming through it.
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Gaslighting, Gore, Self harm, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, War, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic friendship, and Violence
Moderate: Incest, Vomit, and Sexual assault