Reviews

Death Angel by Linda Howard

whiskeyinthejar's review against another edition

4.0

First half was great intense suspense, middle was good contemp romance, and ending was (a tad rushed in regards to dealing with the baddie) wonderful come-together love.
I really wanted to give this 5 stars but I just don't see this being a re-read, which is my strict rule for 5stars. This was such an incredibly enjoyable read.

tita_noir's review against another edition

5.0

Loved it. Loved everything about this book. I love that Drea wasn't a Mary Sue, she was actually the anti-Mary Sue. I love that Simon was a stone cold killer and wasn't apologetic about it. Yeah, a hero who is an assassin. For money. GO figure. I just got a kick of how subversive this whole book was to the romance genre. I also loved the mystical piece of it as well. This is the best Howard in ages.

anovelreader's review against another edition

3.0

2.5 stars. As other reviewers have said, the first half of this book is phenomenal -- a steamy mafia romance with a high stakes cross-country chase. Unfortunately, it starts to fall flat around the 50 percent mark. The rest of the story isn't bad but boring. I also found the paranormal interlude quite out of place.

dani_blue's review against another edition

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.25

elin_alvarsson's review against another edition

3.0

i feel that the blurb of the book was just a tiny bit deceiving......It wasn't bad i just expected more. The plot was there is was just a very thin plot. I just wanted more action, more romance, more of something.

nononanette's review against another edition

3.0

Really interesting story with some unexpected twists. I loved both main characters as well as the supporting, even the villain.

marielouisemuth's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

nightfalltwen's review against another edition

1.0

The story was alright. Not anything to write home about.

I can write smut better than this woman.

mackenzierm's review against another edition

5.0

Death Angel is one of the first couple books I've read by Linda Howard. It's probably the best I've read by her so far. Drea Rousseau is tired of being drug dealer, Rafael Salinas's play thing. She goes from appearing pretty, sweet and vacant to showing her true side; smart, strong and independent. The book quickly gets interesting after the miracle occurs. I'm not saying anymore about that, just read the book! :)

Howard took two extremely flawed characters and made them likable -no, lovable. Simon is an unrepentant assassin who quickly changes his ways roughly midway through the book. Drea has been a pampered mistress for two years, and now is out on her own running from a supposed threat, when really she's got little danger to be aware of. I ended up really liking these two characters. For me, they made the book a little more worthwhile. :)

I loved this book and am looking forward to reading more by Howard in the near future.

thenia's review against another edition

4.0

A story about two anti-heroes, Drea, a woman who pretends to be stupid arm candy and lives as a mistress of a drug dealer, and an unrepentant assassin, who changes her life.



Initially I had no patience for Drea, who is a compact package of things I dislike in a character: manipulative, fake, materialistic and immoral, among other things. When her drug lord protector "gives her" to the assassin in order to close a deal, she realizes that she barely has any worth in his eyes and after being treated with kindness by a most unexpected source, the assassin, she finally stumbles onto some self-respect.

Spoiler

Well, almost... She first tries to have him take her with him, but he's having none of it, so by the time he leaves, she's left with eyes wide open, looking at herself as she's become and not liking what she sees one bit

.

As a result, she leaves her protector but because old habits die hard, and she hasn't become a different person in one day, she steals two million from him on her way out. On the run and with an enraged drug lord wanting her dead, she finds herself trying to stay one step ahead from the assassin, who is enjoying the hunt and hasn't made up his mind if he'll take the job or not.

In an unexpected twist,

Spoiler

she actually dies and goes to "a beautiful place" where she meets a version of the stillborn son she had when she was fifteen, who intervenes so she'll get a second chance in life in order to be able to actually go there when she eventually dies again.

Upset about her accidental death, Simon, the assassin, looks for her grave and discovers that somehow she is alive. Shocked to his core by that miracle, he takes no more jobs and secretly looks after her, making sure she is safe as her self-appointed bodyguard.

Having a second chance that she doesn't intend to waste, she knows that she must do everything in her power to get the drug lord off the streets and so goes to the FBI. Simon, whom she discovered looking out for her and who explained that he doesn't intend her any harm, after stopping her from fleeing in terror once again, tries to deter her, but she is determined to see her goal through.

Unwilling to have her risk her life, he once again does what he did best and assassinates the drug lord, taking her and leaving straight after, determined to start over somewhere, as their new selves

.

Having gone through all that, the two finally get together, living their own version of a happily ever after.

Despite not particularly liking the heroine's character, especially at first, and having a hero who is essentially a sociopath, I couldn't help but root for the two.

An original story, that kept me engaged and curious about how it would end.