Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A series start with all the trademarks of an Ariana Nash book. Overall, this book feels epic, with sweeping themes and a massive battle that's been raging for centuries serving as the backdrop to this tale. Within this battle are an angel and a demon who shouldn't have feelings for each other, but that's what happens, completely accidentally. We're gifted with the negotiation of their feelings and changing relationship even as the tides start to turn in the battle. Meanwhile, their love/hate is at one point on opposite sides. Truly the most fascinating part is watching them battle their inner demons (pun intended) and figure out what to follow, how to work with emotions, what's right, what's wrong, and how they can actually change the tide of battle for good. The setting and world-building feel a little sparse, giving a nebulous quality to the story which in a weird way lends weight to the epic nature of the tale. I do wish we'd had more grounding in actual surroundings so the story felt more solid, but overall, this is just a small wish! Well worth the read. Be aware, though, if you're not into miscommunication tropes and internal relationship issues, this may not be the book for you, especially with how it ends.
Knowing what I know now about this book, would I still read it if I went back in time?
Sure!
See below for the four criteria I use to decide whether and when to read a book
CHARACTERS: The characters are fascinating, which is the in that kept me wanting to read them. Severn has a deep hatred for Mikhail, yet he's been his right hand man for a decade, so the situation is instantly intriguing, especially because of all the secrets he keeps. Mikhail as a guardian angel (note: similar to archangel Michael, I believe), is immensely powerful and the leader who has kept Aerie (the angel city built above London). His success hinges on his inability to feel emotions (which definitely changes as part of the conflict). Somewhere within their decades long relationship, the strong emotions (heh) between them are muddled and neither can correctly identify which it is: love/hate/etc. But after a mate bond between them, they're forced to contend with this new complication in the midst of the epic battle that's been raging for ages between Angels and Demons. They're surprisingly complex, as characters, and watching Mikhail contend with emotions when he has no emotional propensity is utterly fascinating to read.
PLOT: The main plot is definitely the friends/(secret)enemies-to-lovers between Severn and Mikhail, nestled within an overarching epic ongoing battle plot between angels and demons that's taking place in/above a war-torn London. With dual POV, we get a chance to see how the two characters tick, and how they come to grips with the allyance (mate bond) between them and all the scary feelZ(TM) that come with it. Deception wars with trust, love wars with hatred, morals are fast and loose and the steamy scenes are incredibly steamy (Ariana Nash is a master at these). I did feel sometimes that the plot bogged down a little bit with those steamy scenes, however, because it messed up the pacing as the tension racked up towards the end. Ultimately, it felt like by the end of the book we ended up right back where we started, except with the trust/hatred position flipped between the MMCs and a battle between 'good' and 'evil' that desperately wants to take center stage and hopefully will do so by book two!
EMOTIONAL INTENSITY: There is no good/bad here. Sometimes I just want a low-investment entertainment read whereas other times a high-stakes 'I need a therapist to recover' is what I need.
CATHARTIC FULFILLMENT: Is the emotional journey worth it? Do I finish this book feeling that I've crested the wave of the climactic moment and everything has been settled, leaving me settled and fulfilled?
50%. And this is likely due to personal preference. This is a series that ends with the main pairing as enemies due to miscommunication and refusal to talk/have a sit down and listen, which means the second book will focus on them getting back together before we go back to the overarching plot of the story. The climactic event centered around secrets coming to light as well, which for me meant the climax didn't feel as fulfilling as I'd like. I'll probably eventually read the rest of the series, but knowing book two will center around them being enemies getting their s*** together leaves me less excited to read book two. But if this type of drama is up your alley then read on!
Knowing what I know now about this book, would I still read it if I went back in time?
Sure!
See below for the four criteria I use to decide whether and when to read a book
CHARACTERS: The characters are fascinating, which is the in that kept me wanting to read them. Severn has a deep hatred for Mikhail, yet he's been his right hand man for a decade, so the situation is instantly intriguing, especially because of all the secrets he keeps. Mikhail as a guardian angel (note: similar to archangel Michael, I believe), is immensely powerful and the leader who has kept Aerie (the angel city built above London). His success hinges on his inability to feel emotions (which definitely changes as part of the conflict). Somewhere within their decades long relationship, the strong emotions (heh) between them are muddled and neither can correctly identify which it is: love/hate/etc. But after a mate bond between them, they're forced to contend with this new complication in the midst of the epic battle that's been raging for ages between Angels and Demons. They're surprisingly complex, as characters, and watching Mikhail contend with emotions when he has no emotional propensity is utterly fascinating to read.
PLOT: The main plot is definitely the friends/(secret)enemies-to-lovers between Severn and Mikhail, nestled within an overarching epic ongoing battle plot between angels and demons that's taking place in/above a war-torn London. With dual POV, we get a chance to see how the two characters tick, and how they come to grips with the allyance (mate bond) between them and all the scary feelZ(TM) that come with it. Deception wars with trust, love wars with hatred, morals are fast and loose and the steamy scenes are incredibly steamy (Ariana Nash is a master at these). I did feel sometimes that the plot bogged down a little bit with those steamy scenes, however, because it messed up the pacing as the tension racked up towards the end. Ultimately, it felt like by the end of the book we ended up right back where we started, except with the trust/hatred position flipped between the MMCs and a battle between 'good' and 'evil' that desperately wants to take center stage and hopefully will do so by book two!
EMOTIONAL INTENSITY: There is no good/bad here. Sometimes I just want a low-investment entertainment read whereas other times a high-stakes 'I need a therapist to recover' is what I need.
CATHARTIC FULFILLMENT: Is the emotional journey worth it? Do I finish this book feeling that I've crested the wave of the climactic moment and everything has been settled, leaving me settled and fulfilled?
50%. And this is likely due to personal preference. This is a series that ends with the main pairing as enemies due to miscommunication and refusal to talk/have a sit down and listen, which means the second book will focus on them getting back together before we go back to the overarching plot of the story. The climactic event centered around secrets coming to light as well, which for me meant the climax didn't feel as fulfilling as I'd like. I'll probably eventually read the rest of the series, but knowing book two will center around them being enemies getting their s*** together leaves me less excited to read book two. But if this type of drama is up your alley then read on!
Have you ever seen those scenes in a movie where someone is just moving along, living life, totally unaware of a huge danger coming their way? We in the audience see it coming, but the characters on screen do not. They are metaphorically sitting on the railroad tracks having a delightful picnic but not able to see the train coming around the bend ready to smash them to pieces. That's what reading this book was like for me. I could see the train wreck coming. I knew it was going to be painful. I wanted to squeeze my eyes shut and WILL the event to go away ... but it would not go away. Yeah, there was going to be a disaster here, but only the readers could see it.
This is the ultimate hate to love romance. Angels and demons. In this story angels are stoic and emotionless creatures. Demons are their opposites, full of passion and emotion. Both creatures are powerful ... and they hate each other. A lot. This book starts with Severn, a demon who is masquerading as an angel, standing at the right hand of Mikhail, an angelic general. Angels and demons have been at war forever. I still have no idea what they are fighting for or against. I don't think they even know. They just know that they have to defeat the other. Severn is on a mission of vengeance, and he's fighting the long game here. Ten years ago Mikhail ripped off Severn's wings and killed his friend/lover. Severn is pretty miffed about that, so he decides to infiltrate the world of angels, get close to Mikhail, and eventually kill him. He's done a great job working his plan. The angels love him ... well, as much as emotionless beings can love someone. They trust him. Mikhail trusts him, and although he hasn't labeled anything, I would go so far as to say that he loves Severn ... not romantically yet, but it's still love. Severn does not love Mikhail. He HATES him with a passion. He spends his days waiting for the time when he can exact his revenge on the angel who took everything from him. Things get tricky when Mikhail saves Severn from death by forming an 'allyance' with him. They are bonded together whether they want it or not. Long story, short ... Mikhail is basically all in from the beginning, but he has no idea that Severn is actually his greatest enemy. Severn initially decides to use this bond to destroy Mikhail in a different way. But eventually Severn realizes that his feelings are softening. He actually likes and respects Mikhail ... and maybe he even loves the guy. But he's living a lie here. If anyone finds out who Severn actually is, there's going to be trouble. And we KNOW that someone is going to find out. It's excruciating to watch a couple go from antagonists to friends to lovers, experiencing all the growth of characterization that makes me as a reader fall in love with the characters too, only to watch all of that growth and development blown up into a million pieces when the chickens come home to roost. But it's excruciating in a good way, creating a tension in the story that drives me to read as fast as I can, whenever I can.
This book is marketed as dark fantasy, but, to be honest, I didn't really feel the 'dark' side of this. Yeah, it's angels and demons, but the angels aren't all that angelic, and the demons aren't all that demonic. They just seem like two opposing sides in an eternal war that has no obvious origin or motivation or end in sight. What this is is an opposites attract story. It's a story that seems destined to end in tragedy, and when the book ends it sure seems like that is where things are headed. It's interesting to see the way that emotions are dealt with in this story. Emotions are seen as weaknesses by the angels, and the ending of this book seem to confirm that to Mikhail. Severn thinks of his emotions as powerful, but in the end they seem to have destroyed him more thoroughly than any plans he had for Mikhail. It'll be interesting to see how future books in the series deal with these strong emotions in these powerful beings. Personally, I found the whole thing beautiful ... and incredibly sad.
I'm super glad that I started with this series after all the books have been released. It would have been hard to wait to see what happens next. I did enjoy this first installment in the series. I give it four stars. I really liked it.
This is the ultimate hate to love romance. Angels and demons. In this story angels are stoic and emotionless creatures. Demons are their opposites, full of passion and emotion. Both creatures are powerful ... and they hate each other. A lot. This book starts with Severn, a demon who is masquerading as an angel, standing at the right hand of Mikhail, an angelic general. Angels and demons have been at war forever. I still have no idea what they are fighting for or against. I don't think they even know. They just know that they have to defeat the other. Severn is on a mission of vengeance, and he's fighting the long game here. Ten years ago Mikhail ripped off Severn's wings and killed his friend/lover. Severn is pretty miffed about that, so he decides to infiltrate the world of angels, get close to Mikhail, and eventually kill him. He's done a great job working his plan. The angels love him ... well, as much as emotionless beings can love someone. They trust him. Mikhail trusts him, and although he hasn't labeled anything, I would go so far as to say that he loves Severn ... not romantically yet, but it's still love. Severn does not love Mikhail. He HATES him with a passion. He spends his days waiting for the time when he can exact his revenge on the angel who took everything from him. Things get tricky when Mikhail saves Severn from death by forming an 'allyance' with him. They are bonded together whether they want it or not. Long story, short ... Mikhail is basically all in from the beginning, but he has no idea that Severn is actually his greatest enemy. Severn initially decides to use this bond to destroy Mikhail in a different way. But eventually Severn realizes that his feelings are softening. He actually likes and respects Mikhail ... and maybe he even loves the guy. But he's living a lie here. If anyone finds out who Severn actually is, there's going to be trouble. And we KNOW that someone is going to find out. It's excruciating to watch a couple go from antagonists to friends to lovers, experiencing all the growth of characterization that makes me as a reader fall in love with the characters too, only to watch all of that growth and development blown up into a million pieces when the chickens come home to roost. But it's excruciating in a good way, creating a tension in the story that drives me to read as fast as I can, whenever I can.
This book is marketed as dark fantasy, but, to be honest, I didn't really feel the 'dark' side of this. Yeah, it's angels and demons, but the angels aren't all that angelic, and the demons aren't all that demonic. They just seem like two opposing sides in an eternal war that has no obvious origin or motivation or end in sight. What this is is an opposites attract story. It's a story that seems destined to end in tragedy, and when the book ends it sure seems like that is where things are headed. It's interesting to see the way that emotions are dealt with in this story. Emotions are seen as weaknesses by the angels, and the ending of this book seem to confirm that to Mikhail. Severn thinks of his emotions as powerful, but in the end they seem to have destroyed him more thoroughly than any plans he had for Mikhail. It'll be interesting to see how future books in the series deal with these strong emotions in these powerful beings. Personally, I found the whole thing beautiful ... and incredibly sad.
I'm super glad that I started with this series after all the books have been released. It would have been hard to wait to see what happens next. I did enjoy this first installment in the series. I give it four stars. I really liked it.
I am a huge fan of this author even when she writes in a genre that isn’t my favorite. My favorite is urban fantasy followed by cozy paranormals; I like romance, but it isn’t in my top three. However, when it comes to this author, I’ll follow her wherever. I started this book and I knew she was going to leave me feeling devastated by the end and guess what? She did. On the ride there, she took me on a roller coaster of emotions with Severn and Mikhail. I felt for Severn and why he was after Mikhail’s downfall. However, after 10 years things change? That was a little out of nowhere. That aside, this was this author’s usually great writing, hot couples, and great action (both kinds!) I’ve come to love. The end was spectacular, and I loved the addition of the additional characters. I am excited to see what comes next. Recommend! I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.
Very good. I found it an enjoyable, quick read.
Severn gets frustrating with his talk of destiny all the time, but other than that, it's pretty damn good. He was very enjoyable compared to the bland angles. Mikhail is pretty good but slightly bland in my opinion.
I think the setting is good. I enjoy nit having religion be a part of it, just a war with angles and demons as old as time. I love the gray area this, especially when Mikhail learns to deal with emotions. Amii was great and I'd read a story just about them.
The smut was good but damn rip their poor, dry assholes. Lube must not be invented here cause it's never mentioned as far as I'm aware. Other than that, it's pretty good.
Everyone should give it a go of you want a quick, good read.
Severn gets frustrating with his talk of destiny all the time, but other than that, it's pretty damn good. He was very enjoyable compared to the bland angles. Mikhail is pretty good but slightly bland in my opinion.
I think the setting is good. I enjoy nit having religion be a part of it, just a war with angles and demons as old as time. I love the gray area this, especially when Mikhail learns to deal with emotions. Amii was great and I'd read a story just about them.
The smut was good but damn rip their poor, dry assholes. Lube must not be invented here cause it's never mentioned as far as I'm aware. Other than that, it's pretty good.
Everyone should give it a go of you want a quick, good read.
I could not get into this one at all until practically the cliffhanger ending!
It took me three days of on/off reading to finish this book, and I read at least three other books in between starting and finishing this, which is something I never really do, because this one just did not hold my attention.
The biggest thing that bothered me was that the book starts in the middle of ongoing action, but never really takes the time to explain anything or properly introduce the characters and their world.
Everything is drip fed yet never fully explored. The world building left me confused - is it futuristic, post-apocalyptic, alternate present day? I just couldn't picture it at all which kept throwing me out of the story.
I also didn't feel like I got to know either of the main characters until well past 70% and I found myself struggling to care about their relationship and whatever their goals were.
That being said, by the end I did like both main characters and I think I'm more intrigued by the second book, because I love emotionally damaged characters, and enemies to lovers is probably my second favourite trope right after stepbrothers (enemies to lovers stepbrothers is my catnip
It took me three days of on/off reading to finish this book, and I read at least three other books in between starting and finishing this, which is something I never really do, because this one just did not hold my attention.
The biggest thing that bothered me was that the book starts in the middle of ongoing action, but never really takes the time to explain anything or properly introduce the characters and their world.
Everything is drip fed yet never fully explored. The world building left me confused - is it futuristic, post-apocalyptic, alternate present day? I just couldn't picture it at all which kept throwing me out of the story.
I also didn't feel like I got to know either of the main characters until well past 70% and I found myself struggling to care about their relationship and whatever their goals were.
That being said, by the end I did like both main characters and I think I'm more intrigued by the second book, because I love emotionally damaged characters, and enemies to lovers is probably my second favourite trope right after stepbrothers (enemies to lovers stepbrothers is my catnip
CW/TW: death, murder, anxiety/anxiety disorder, trauma, PTSD, panic attack/panic disorder, war, graphic description of violence, graphic description of gore, vomiting, imprisonment, kidnapping, graphic description of wounds, swords/sword violence, knives/knife violence, racism, slavery, police brutality, sexual coercion, sex work, unconsented touching, unconsented kissing, sex on page
The fifth star is for Amii and Jasper.
The fifth star is for Amii and Jasper.
Some things progressed too fast and the book was "meh" during some parts. Still enjoyed it tho. Will probably finish the series just for fun.
(4.5 ⭐️ really)
Okay, I’ll start with one statement : I love Severn. I’m pretty sure he just managed to become one of my favorite characters. Behind Laurent of Vere, James St-Clair and a few others, but still, it’s an exploit for a first book. I must have a thing for snarky, clever, golden-haired characters. Holland Vosijk might be the exception.
Okay, I’ll start with one statement : I love Severn. I’m pretty sure he just managed to become one of my favorite characters. Behind Laurent of Vere, James St-Clair and a few others, but still, it’s an exploit for a first book. I must have a thing for snarky, clever, golden-haired characters. Holland Vosijk might be the exception.