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kelly04's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Great premise, flawed execution
Despite the length, I struggled to get through this one, probably due to a couple factors. Top of mind are format and writing style.
The writing is very stylized and the POV main character is a tough-talking, streetwise sort of voice. I infer this is what the blurbs interpret as "noir," but it didn't really work for me. It's atmospheric but I found the wild analogies distracting and it felt like the style was getting in the way of really connecting with characters.
If it matters, it's also not particularly representative of classic noir writing. Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett - these writers were direct and descriptive to the point of crudity. The heavily grounded aspect of noir is part of why it works: the mundane and the everyday, rendered in gritty detail. I don't feel that's seen here.
I think the plotting of the story also contributed. There are religious/fantastical elements and we're tossed immediately into the deep end with these and sort of working out the rules as we go along. This is common in fantasy writing and generally a good thing imo, but here I found disorienting.
Characters and story elements were introduced rather abruptly, and I felt I was still coming to grips with them by the time the story seemed to expect emotional buy-in or payoff. The rapid pacing made for some good reveals, but the impact would have been a lot greater if I'd had time to really get to know the world and characters. Teddy, for instance. Turns out he's super important, vital. But we get maybe two pages with him, collectively. Even having finished, I still don't think I could describe his personality, or his relationship with Helen all that well. Or verify their parents even existed.
This brings me to the format. A few more chapters, a couple sub-plots, just more pages in general could have allowed these characters and ideas more room to breathe. The fantasy elements in particular seem like they could have been fleshed out. <Spoiler> The Brotherhood, for instance: chauvinist magic dudes, got it. But are they like magic cops, gangsters, businessmen? Is this a regional thing, a nationwide thing? What does the "partnership" between male and female members look like? Is there a headquarters somewhere? Who exactly is Teddy reporting to?
Likewise, the angels. Is the Grigori a term I should know? Is this Catholic canon or something? Why is humility a hang up for the angels, as inherently subservient beings? What sort of beings are they? Emotional, soulless, judgmental, not? What does it mean to fall? Why is Teddy automatically damned for killing an angel? Especially one that was blatantly falling? How does the "death" of an angel even work?
As is natural, the story coalesced about two thirds of the way in but it was pretty choppy up to that point. This is definitely a personal quibble but the endingis poignant, or could be, but it seems like there should be more to it. Perhaps I'm just looking for a redemption arc where the author didn't want one, but why is Hell so very chatty while Heaven does nothing at all? There was a cosmic battle of good and evil with devils and souls be tossed asunder and the very gates of Heaven assailed - no one wanted to pop down to take stock?
Is there a reason besides "faith" that past angels didn't communicate with the earthbound angels? Did Haraniel? Why was Heaven "closed" in the first place? How does that even work? A cameo from Michael would've been a nice touch to tie up some loose ends. The story is toying with the ideas of mercy and damnation but I don't feel we explore them very fully, or get a satisfying payoff.
Despite the length, I struggled to get through this one, probably due to a couple factors. Top of mind are format and writing style.
The writing is very stylized and the POV main character is a tough-talking, streetwise sort of voice. I infer this is what the blurbs interpret as "noir," but it didn't really work for me. It's atmospheric but I found the wild analogies distracting and it felt like the style was getting in the way of really connecting with characters.
If it matters, it's also not particularly representative of classic noir writing. Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett - these writers were direct and descriptive to the point of crudity. The heavily grounded aspect of noir is part of why it works: the mundane and the everyday, rendered in gritty detail. I don't feel that's seen here.
I think the plotting of the story also contributed. There are religious/fantastical elements and we're tossed immediately into the deep end with these and sort of working out the rules as we go along. This is common in fantasy writing and generally a good thing imo, but here I found disorienting.
Characters and story elements were introduced rather abruptly, and I felt I was still coming to grips with them by the time the story seemed to expect emotional buy-in or payoff. The rapid pacing made for some good reveals, but the impact would have been a lot greater if I'd had time to really get to know the world and characters.
This brings me to the format. A few more chapters, a couple sub-plots, just more pages in general could have allowed these characters and ideas more room to breathe. The fantasy elements in particular seem like they could have been fleshed out. <Spoiler> The Brotherhood, for instance: chauvinist magic dudes, got it. But are they like magic cops, gangsters, businessmen? Is this a regional thing, a nationwide thing? What does the "partnership" between male and female members look like? Is there a headquarters somewhere? Who exactly is Teddy reporting to?
Likewise, the angels. Is the Grigori a term I should know? Is this Catholic canon or something? Why is humility a hang up for the angels, as inherently subservient beings? What sort of beings are they? Emotional, soulless, judgmental, not? What does it mean to fall? Why is Teddy automatically damned for killing an angel? Especially one that was blatantly falling? How does the "death" of an angel even work?
As is natural, the story coalesced about two thirds of the way in but it was pretty choppy up to that point. This is definitely a personal quibble but the ending
Is there a reason besides "faith" that past angels didn't communicate with the earthbound angels? Did Haraniel? Why was Heaven "closed" in the first place? How does that even work? A cameo from Michael would've been a nice touch to tie up some loose ends.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence and Blood
Moderate: Abandonment
rosalind's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Misogyny and Gun violence
saphfics's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Homophobia
sabsboutin's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was my first C.L. Polk book but definitely not my last. It’s only 130 pages but it takes you through a rollercoaster with a couple surprising twists and a heartwarming / heart wrenching ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent
rhi_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Body horror, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Homophobia, Blood, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Car accident
ladythana's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- 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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Lesbophobia, Gun violence, Death, Violence, and Homophobia
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Child death, Death of parent, and Sexism
lucystolethesky's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Gun violence
Moderate: Lesbophobia, Sexism, Homophobia, and Kidnapping
nittiotvaan's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, and Gun violence
emily_mh's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Usually I’m not a fan of paranormal stories (e.g., urban fantasy, angels and demons type stuff) but I really liked it here. Polk fit in some nice depth to the world which is always a challenge in a novella. I especially appreciated the history we were given of the angels as this fleshed out the angel characters well. I also liked how the politics between the various supernatural factions had such direct influence over the plot and characters. I will say I was a little confused whether the supernatural/magical world was hidden or the norm for all humans everywhere.
The story was so easy to fly through. The plot was fast-paced and investigation-driven, the latter essential in a murder-mystery for me. It was also clever, the resolution satisfying.
I got a good sense of the MC Helen and was fully rooting for her. She’s a puzzler and a thinker, she’s driven, but most important she loves HARD. My heart was in my throat seeing the lengths she would go to to save and protect her loved ones.
Unfortunately I didn’t totally get the romance between Helen and Edith. I didn’t feel the depth of their connection like most other readers have seemed to. But it wasn’t a biggie for me overall.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Drug use, Gun violence, Death of parent, Violence, Death, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Car accident
Minor: Addiction, Sexual content, Homophobia, Ableism, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Grief, Cursing, Sexual harassment, and Alcohol
Moderate: conversion therapy, eye trauma Minor: gambling, loss of a loved one, self-injuryrobin1010's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
The premise was great, the execution needs a lot of editing and about double the pages. The author had a lot of different subjects and topics to explore but wasn't able to focus on anything enough to give meaning or depth. There was barely any investigation into the murder mystery that wasn't just reasons to put x character at x location, the romance was incredibly flat and had very little development, the magic system was vague and handwavy, the lore and worldbuilding was equally only the strictly relevant and barely that. Even the atmosphere distinctly missed the noir mark, as the writing style, dialogue, and characters just felt modern. A few bits of outdated vocabulary here and there doesn't make it noir.
The pacing was horrendous. The novel spends almost the exact same amount of time on each event that happens, regardless of how important or how much explanation this event needs.Helen and Edith talking in the club takes MORE time than the reveal of Edith as an angel and her and the angel's entire backstory/mechanism of possession. The last act felt squished together and the first two felt dragged out. Some chapters just felt like filler. You never really get time for events or revelations to sink in and settle.
For whatever reason the author put in angels and demons, and then immediately gives the tools to kill them. I don't understand the point of having these beings known for limitless power and immortality and then making them killable. In a similar vein the last big fight was relatively anticlimactic - we were just introduced to the real antagonist and his motivations and he's dead in a couple of paragraphs. Delaney was a weird character to have in there - also, Helen specifically notes his eyes flare the same weird way Edith's do, but doesn't connect the dots between that and him having angelic influence until hes already revealed as the villain.
I hate that Helen and Ted both 'go to hell' at the end. In a wlw book? really? In combination with repeated mentions of homophobia (including conversion therapy) and misogyny. Don't tell me these are about adding realism in a fantasy book.
The relationship itself also, frankly, sucks. It has all the chemistry of a dead fish. Largely because Helen is as blank as they come, but theres also no development, no time spent just getting to know them, no interaction that isn't painfully generic and could be any couple speaking to each other. It was boring reading about them.
The characters, themes, and content needed more space to breathe than such a short book gave it, and the author needed to choose a focus rather than juggling too many things at once.
The pacing was horrendous. The novel spends almost the exact same amount of time on each event that happens, regardless of how important or how much explanation this event needs.
The relationship itself also, frankly, sucks. It has all the chemistry of a dead fish. Largely because Helen is as blank as they come, but theres also no development, no time spent just getting to know them, no interaction that isn't painfully generic and could be any couple speaking to each other. It was boring reading about them.
The characters, themes, and content needed more space to breathe than such a short book gave it, and the author needed to choose a focus rather than juggling too many things at once.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, Lesbophobia, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Terminal illness, Violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Death