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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
For me reading this book was an interesting interpretation of history if demons/fallen angels really existed and made themselves known in order to attain forgiveness and ascend back to heaven. The whole book has the feel of Europe and the Inquisition if the Inquisition had been given ultimate power.
Belimai Sykes is a Prodigal, a descendent of one of the fallen angels, who retains some of their powers. The only catch is his ancestry shows in his eyes and blackened fingernails. The Inquisition rules all and Prodigal's have very little recompense when things go wrong. They are the children of demons as far as the Inquisition is concerned and of course it is in their nature to be inclined towards evil. Belimai has already had enough of the Inquisition, being tortured at their hands for the information they wanted has left him scarred inside and out with an unhealthy addiction to the drug they pumped him full of. But somehow he finds himself caught up with one of the Inquisition members when Captain William Harper comes asking for his help on a case.
Captain William Harper knows there's something more going on with his half-sister's disappearance. He's determined to do whatever it takes to find out what happened to her. His sister's been wrapped up in Prodigal affairs and this case clearly connects to them as well. There've been a number of murders and William needs help figuring out exactly what's going on.
I liked that these two guys were on opposite sides of the culture lines, but that they find some amount of peace in a tortured world together. The romance definitely takes a back seat to the action of the mystery here, but I didn't mind as the richness of the world was captivating. I enjoyed the way this story was told really in 2 parts, the first form Belimai's perspective in 1st person, the second from William's in 3rd person. Belimai's a tortured soul whose suffered a lot in his short life just for being what he is. And William, well William has plenty of secrets of his own.
Ultimately this story moved along quickly and while it doesn't solve everything in the world it does give you hope for these two characters future. This is a twisted dark world where right is not always going to win, in fact more often than not, right has nothing to do with it. Religion reigns supreme and the Inquisition gets what they want by any means necessary. I really enjoyed watching William figure out what he really wanted and where he stood by the end of this book. Fun story with a decent mystery and fun paranormal elements. :)
Belimai Sykes is a Prodigal, a descendent of one of the fallen angels, who retains some of their powers. The only catch is his ancestry shows in his eyes and blackened fingernails. The Inquisition rules all and Prodigal's have very little recompense when things go wrong. They are the children of demons as far as the Inquisition is concerned and of course it is in their nature to be inclined towards evil. Belimai has already had enough of the Inquisition, being tortured at their hands for the information they wanted has left him scarred inside and out with an unhealthy addiction to the drug they pumped him full of. But somehow he finds himself caught up with one of the Inquisition members when Captain William Harper comes asking for his help on a case.
Captain William Harper knows there's something more going on with his half-sister's disappearance. He's determined to do whatever it takes to find out what happened to her. His sister's been wrapped up in Prodigal affairs and this case clearly connects to them as well. There've been a number of murders and William needs help figuring out exactly what's going on.
I liked that these two guys were on opposite sides of the culture lines, but that they find some amount of peace in a tortured world together. The romance definitely takes a back seat to the action of the mystery here, but I didn't mind as the richness of the world was captivating. I enjoyed the way this story was told really in 2 parts, the first form Belimai's perspective in 1st person, the second from William's in 3rd person. Belimai's a tortured soul whose suffered a lot in his short life just for being what he is. And William, well William has plenty of secrets of his own.
Ultimately this story moved along quickly and while it doesn't solve everything in the world it does give you hope for these two characters future. This is a twisted dark world where right is not always going to win, in fact more often than not, right has nothing to do with it. Religion reigns supreme and the Inquisition gets what they want by any means necessary. I really enjoyed watching William figure out what he really wanted and where he stood by the end of this book. Fun story with a decent mystery and fun paranormal elements. :)
Actual rating is closer to a 2.5! I absolutely loved the characters, premise, and world, but I also thought the plot needed to go back to the table for some reworking--it wasn't as fleshed out as I thought the characters merited. Still, I liked the world and characters enough that I'd read more by this author; it's definitely a first novel, but one with some lovely ideas.
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:
Yes
I enjoyed this more than I thought I would! It was a fun take on familiar tropes, the repressed but charming middle-class religious policeman and the decadent, morally dubious demonspawn with a drug addiction working his way out of the gutter. And they work together to solve mysteries and DO THE FRICKLE! so pretty book all around despite the embarrassing cover.
A quick read but fun. Demons and inquisition and mysteries. I wished the actual character development was shown differently, because I feel like it was easy to lose track of? But overall good, because a world with demons is fun to read and this goes a lot into the way it affects things. I can see why people recommend it.
Es mucho mejor de lo que parece por la portada, lo prometo. No tengo ninguna queja en especial sobre él. Bien escrito, buen mundo y buenos personajes. Está dividido en dos partes, cada una con su trama y el punto de vista de uno de los dos protagonistas. Ambas voces están muy bien caracterizadas y dejan ver lo mucho que se aprecian mutuamente, a pesar de que las palabras no sean lo suyo. La ambientación es bastante gritty y casi todo el mundo está un poco roto por dentro porque el mundo es un asco, pero me gusta cómo a pesar de eso el libro no hace que se regodeen en la miseria, sino que los empuja a salir hacia adelante. Also demonic gay romance, 10/10 would recommend
Since I really liked that one I've been struggling quite a bit with the rating. I’ll make it 4 but it’s more of a 4.5. Just to be exact.
Firstly, both Belimai and Harper are really interesting characters and soon I took a liking to them both. IMO the dialogues between those two are amongst the best scenes of the book.
In relation to the rest of the story the romance part is a bit in the background but I reckon it's just fine the way it is. (With the book being only 200 pages long it also would be difficult to fit more of the romance storyline in…)
Another thing I’d like to point out is the world building, which I really cherish. If it was up to me, there could have been a lot more about the backstory of the demons and Prodigals. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to say that I miss something – just that I would happily read more about it.
To sum it up, “Wicked Gentlemen” was a very enjoyable read and I hope that maybe one day there will be a sequel.
Firstly, both Belimai and Harper are really interesting characters and soon I took a liking to them both. IMO the dialogues between those two are amongst the best scenes of the book.
In relation to the rest of the story the romance part is a bit in the background but I reckon it's just fine the way it is. (With the book being only 200 pages long it also would be difficult to fit more of the romance storyline in…)
Another thing I’d like to point out is the world building, which I really cherish. If it was up to me, there could have been a lot more about the backstory of the demons and Prodigals. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to say that I miss something – just that I would happily read more about it.
To sum it up, “Wicked Gentlemen” was a very enjoyable read and I hope that maybe one day there will be a sequel.
Readathon audiobook. The mood and setting of this was cool, the writing good but with strange pacing where she would focus on details or being bored for a long time, the plot was sort of meh.