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roannasylver's review
5.0
“Humans are good.”
“I know that, Blue. We literally exist to serve them.”
“Yeah, but...” Iofiel was all at once too overwhelmed to think. “I love them.”
* * *
So, this was my original review: "...Phoebus staring up at ceiling, bemused and overwhelmed with So Much.jpg" (Because I don't know how to put images/GIFs in my reviews like Fancy people do.) I stand by it. I knew this would be a BIG one too, hence it taking a while. And it is.
Seriously, I'm overwhelmed with this still (which goes nicely with the quote I picked up top). There's so much to love in it, and even more to ponder. A sweet, adorable, good-hearted angel MC who just loves and loves and loves with her entire being, and revels in her name, "the beauty of God." Iofiel tries so hard. Everybody does, actually, and that makes it one of my favorite... sub-genres, I guess, where it's a story about a wide array of people doing their best in an awful situation and how everyone reacts differently to trauma and horror, and no response is *wrong* (except for, obviously, the actual antagonist perpetrating the trauma, but even THEY THINK they're doing the right thing - when villains legitimately think they're the heroes, that's the best kind of story).
Like Claudie's review said, there are kind of two... modes to this book. The first, relatively light, (kind of shoujo anime-esque, I thought) slice-of-life storyline about an angel in angel college who decides to actually major in demon-ing, and everybody dealing with that, and Moral Ambiguities - and the Ambiguities of interacting with one's friends... and how hard it is to parse out exactly what kind of relationship you have with someone. (As a bi ace aro-spec nerd who also just really really really loves their friends, it's *difficult* to be sure exactly what kind of feelings and/or attraction you have for someone, so that was great to see.)
Interestingly - and this is something I've never actually seen in any fiction before - asexuality and aromanticism are presumed to be the default (for angels at least; not sure about demons). I was super intrigued at this point, and a little worried, because... this is hard to articulate. (I DON'T feel like being aro/ace was 'othered' here in the same way as it usually is; this is an example of Sometimes Tropes Can Be Well Done And Not Damaging - to *me*). But sometimes in being aro/ace-inclusive, even with inhuman characters, people can come across as putting down allo and especially queer sexuality - specifically, with a real-world (and particularly religious!) history that so often paints queer relationships or sex as "dirty/impure/immoral," I could easily see a story about asexual angels falling into that really Unfortunate Implication. But, for me at least, it really didn't. Asexuality and aromanticism is explored here, and the feeling I got is that it's not about being "pure" or better, experiencing attraction doesn't seem to lead to an angel's "fall," because it also doesn't factor into an angel's... function. Like they weren't "programmed" for that, the Powers Above didn't think they needed it, so they don't know how to handle it really - angels are kind of made (and replicated) to act like functions or programs, which naturally gets into questions of Free Will along with orientation. So there is just a Lot to think about here, and I thought it was done really well - though I'm honestly still kind of rolling it around in my brain, and someone else's interpretation is absolutely as valid as mine. Complex stuff.
I also appreciated the blurring of "good" and "evil" here along with trying to sort out friends-and/or-lovers; we're shown repeatedly that demons and Hell aren't... "evil," per se, just an alternate way of operating/existing, and we only think they're the Bad Guys because they're opposed to Heaven, who loudly trumpet that they're the Unquestionable Good Guys, and Anything Different Is Bad. (At least this is the vibe I got.) I loved Archie, and Santiago and really every student character, angel and demon. They're super endearing and I just very much wanted them all to be okay.
And I really, REALLY loved Lucifer. Aside from Iofiel herself, he's probably my favorite - which is somehow surprising and unsurprising at the same time. He's fascinating and funny and charismatic (and hot as Hell, I'll say it) and genuinely kind to Archie... and I'd take his side way faster than Michael and his ilk. Which is probably the intent, so. Total success.
So I loved pretty much everything in the first stage, Iofiel at school discovering herself and the world. And then there's the mood-whiplash when the holy shit hits the fan and everything turns super tense and scary. This CAN be disorienting and if you're not expecting it, might be kind of shocking. (I actually like 'mood whiplash' stories and being taken through the emotional wringer, but what works for me might not for you!) It gets dark, and... this is the Apocalypse we're talking about, it's going to be rough.
Something else from Claudie's review that I also really felt, and one of my only disappointments here: when everything started to get real, and we started to see that Heaven really didn't have everyone's best interests in mind, for angels, demons, and humanity... everyone just kind of accepted it. The demon characters kind of shrug and go 'yeah, that's how it goes, we're enemies, so being friends now didn't really mean anything, sorry.' And the angels are the same. (Iofiel resists this, of course! That's why she's the MC. :D And she's Bound in some ways that prevent her from doing much about it, but... still. Figure it out, guys!) *But man, oh man,* I was hoping for a Good Omens-esque teamup, everybody throwing aside their dogmatic orders, raising the middle finger to Ineffability, and fighting together, canceling the Apocalypse, angel and demon alike. Good Omens is one of my favorite books for that very thing; it's weirdly important to me, and I really kind of expected/hoped to see that here.
I'm honestly still hoping we get that, very much. And because there's at least one more book coming, I think there's a chance we will. But it would have been amazing to see a hint of that here, instead of Iofiel all alone at the end.
I'm giving this five stars because I genuinely loved every character (who we're supposed to - and I'm legitimately proud of Iofiel for the growth she's shown in this book alone), I loved the worldbuilding and concepts - and while not everything happened or got explored that I wanted... I'm more hopeful than I usually am that it will be in the second book, which I'll absolutely be picking up. The plot really seems to be heading that way at least. And yes, that cliffhanger was diabolical and I want more immediately. Good Angel, good book.
“I know that, Blue. We literally exist to serve them.”
“Yeah, but...” Iofiel was all at once too overwhelmed to think. “I love them.”
* * *
So, this was my original review: "...Phoebus staring up at ceiling, bemused and overwhelmed with So Much.jpg" (Because I don't know how to put images/GIFs in my reviews like Fancy people do.) I stand by it. I knew this would be a BIG one too, hence it taking a while. And it is.
Seriously, I'm overwhelmed with this still (which goes nicely with the quote I picked up top). There's so much to love in it, and even more to ponder. A sweet, adorable, good-hearted angel MC who just loves and loves and loves with her entire being, and revels in her name, "the beauty of God." Iofiel tries so hard. Everybody does, actually, and that makes it one of my favorite... sub-genres, I guess, where it's a story about a wide array of people doing their best in an awful situation and how everyone reacts differently to trauma and horror, and no response is *wrong* (except for, obviously, the actual antagonist perpetrating the trauma, but even THEY THINK they're doing the right thing - when villains legitimately think they're the heroes, that's the best kind of story).
Like Claudie's review said, there are kind of two... modes to this book. The first, relatively light, (kind of shoujo anime-esque, I thought) slice-of-life storyline about an angel in angel college who decides to actually major in demon-ing, and everybody dealing with that, and Moral Ambiguities - and the Ambiguities of interacting with one's friends... and how hard it is to parse out exactly what kind of relationship you have with someone. (As a bi ace aro-spec nerd who also just really really really loves their friends, it's *difficult* to be sure exactly what kind of feelings and/or attraction you have for someone, so that was great to see.)
Interestingly - and this is something I've never actually seen in any fiction before - asexuality and aromanticism are presumed to be the default (for angels at least; not sure about demons). I was super intrigued at this point, and a little worried, because... this is hard to articulate. (I DON'T feel like being aro/ace was 'othered' here in the same way as it usually is; this is an example of Sometimes Tropes Can Be Well Done And Not Damaging - to *me*). But sometimes in being aro/ace-inclusive, even with inhuman characters, people can come across as putting down allo and especially queer sexuality - specifically, with a real-world (and particularly religious!) history that so often paints queer relationships or sex as "dirty/impure/immoral," I could easily see a story about asexual angels falling into that really Unfortunate Implication. But, for me at least, it really didn't. Asexuality and aromanticism is explored here, and the feeling I got is that it's not about being "pure" or better, experiencing attraction doesn't seem to lead to an angel's "fall," because it also doesn't factor into an angel's... function. Like they weren't "programmed" for that, the Powers Above didn't think they needed it, so they don't know how to handle it really - angels are kind of made (and replicated) to act like functions or programs, which naturally gets into questions of Free Will along with orientation. So there is just a Lot to think about here, and I thought it was done really well - though I'm honestly still kind of rolling it around in my brain, and someone else's interpretation is absolutely as valid as mine. Complex stuff.
I also appreciated the blurring of "good" and "evil" here along with trying to sort out friends-and/or-lovers; we're shown repeatedly that demons and Hell aren't... "evil," per se, just an alternate way of operating/existing, and we only think they're the Bad Guys because they're opposed to Heaven, who loudly trumpet that they're the Unquestionable Good Guys, and Anything Different Is Bad. (At least this is the vibe I got.) I loved Archie, and Santiago and really every student character, angel and demon. They're super endearing and I just very much wanted them all to be okay.
And I really, REALLY loved Lucifer. Aside from Iofiel herself, he's probably my favorite - which is somehow surprising and unsurprising at the same time. He's fascinating and funny and charismatic (and hot as Hell, I'll say it) and genuinely kind to Archie... and I'd take his side way faster than Michael and his ilk. Which is probably the intent, so. Total success.
So I loved pretty much everything in the first stage, Iofiel at school discovering herself and the world. And then there's the mood-whiplash when the holy shit hits the fan and everything turns super tense and scary. This CAN be disorienting and if you're not expecting it, might be kind of shocking. (I actually like 'mood whiplash' stories and being taken through the emotional wringer, but what works for me might not for you!) It gets dark, and... this is the Apocalypse we're talking about, it's going to be rough.
Something else from Claudie's review that I also really felt, and one of my only disappointments here: when everything started to get real, and we started to see that Heaven really didn't have everyone's best interests in mind, for angels, demons, and humanity... everyone just kind of accepted it. The demon characters kind of shrug and go 'yeah, that's how it goes, we're enemies, so being friends now didn't really mean anything, sorry.' And the angels are the same. (Iofiel resists this, of course! That's why she's the MC. :D And she's Bound in some ways that prevent her from doing much about it, but... still. Figure it out, guys!) *But man, oh man,* I was hoping for a Good Omens-esque teamup, everybody throwing aside their dogmatic orders, raising the middle finger to Ineffability, and fighting together, canceling the Apocalypse, angel and demon alike. Good Omens is one of my favorite books for that very thing; it's weirdly important to me, and I really kind of expected/hoped to see that here.
I'm honestly still hoping we get that, very much. And because there's at least one more book coming, I think there's a chance we will. But it would have been amazing to see a hint of that here, instead of Iofiel all alone at the end.
I'm giving this five stars because I genuinely loved every character (who we're supposed to - and I'm legitimately proud of Iofiel for the growth she's shown in this book alone), I loved the worldbuilding and concepts - and while not everything happened or got explored that I wanted... I'm more hopeful than I usually am that it will be in the second book, which I'll absolutely be picking up. The plot really seems to be heading that way at least. And yes, that cliffhanger was diabolical and I want more immediately. Good Angel, good book.
readyeddi's review
3.0
I had quite a... difficult time getting invested in Good Angel. I didn't form a connection with the characters and the slice of college life narrative did not have me interested at all. This might just be the issue of it's not you, it's me kind of deal going on.
But this is also book one. I'm known for having an issue with the first book in a series because typically the first book is a lot of build up; a lot of world building and character building and, for the most part, just very slow burning. That's exactly how Good Angel felt to me.
I was teetering between 2 or 3 stars and I ultimately ended up giving the book a 3 star rating because the final chapter did pique my interest. I'm curious on the direction the next book in the series takes.
But this is also book one. I'm known for having an issue with the first book in a series because typically the first book is a lot of build up; a lot of world building and character building and, for the most part, just very slow burning. That's exactly how Good Angel felt to me.
I was teetering between 2 or 3 stars and I ultimately ended up giving the book a 3 star rating because the final chapter did pique my interest. I'm curious on the direction the next book in the series takes.
iam's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars
Really amazing idea with fascinating worldbuilding and interesting characters. The focus of the plot was not as I expected and at times I had a hard time following what was going on, and generally the motivations of the characters' actions and alignments were lacking.
I liked the concept of the "triple A" angels (agender, asexual and aromatic) as the ideal, and the various variations of that we see here, as well as the protagonist questioning her own identity. I'm hesitant to say there is a romantic subplot, but I liked the way things developed vaaaaguely in that direction.
And damn, that ending!!!
Content warnings include: body horror, violence, death, bullying
Really amazing idea with fascinating worldbuilding and interesting characters. The focus of the plot was not as I expected and at times I had a hard time following what was going on, and generally the motivations of the characters' actions and alignments were lacking.
I liked the concept of the "triple A" angels (agender, asexual and aromatic) as the ideal, and the various variations of that we see here, as well as the protagonist questioning her own identity. I'm hesitant to say there is a romantic subplot, but I liked the way things developed vaaaaguely in that direction.
And damn, that ending!!!
Content warnings include: body horror, violence, death, bullying
irrlichtwinter's review
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
icarus67's review
funny
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
dumbeldab934's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
4.0
khargaotte's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Minor: War
phifalling's review
5.0
This was the April Sapphic book of the month for the Sapphic book club.
I can't figure out how to properly express how much and why I love this book so dearly, but I will try. It has an amazing and fascinating world, with queer representation and a little exploration of gender and sexuality. And the characters, oh the characrers! They're all beautiful and flawed but they're trying and feel real. The protagonist especially speaks to some deep inner feelings I didn't know I had, and I can't recommend this book highly enough.
utopiastateofmind's review
4.0
This was such a great combination of amazing themes, compelling and diverse characters, and a plot that has larger implications. I adored the explorations of free will and goodness. Iofiel herself is a character that sticks with you either because you could be frustrated by her actions, or touched by her decisions. You end up loving her either way. Not to mention there are fantastic side characters, Archie and the other demons being my faves. There is ownvoices representation, asexuality, and ethical dilemmas. Such a perfect mixture. If you like fantasy, angels, or diversity this is for you!
Disclaimer: I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
full review: https://utopia-state-of-mind.com/review-good-angel-m-blaushild/
Disclaimer: I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
full review: https://utopia-state-of-mind.com/review-good-angel-m-blaushild/
simonlorden's review
3.0
This book was April 2018's Sapphic Book Club read hosted by @sapphicliterature.
‘Hey baby, did it hurt when The Light carved you from stardust and burned wings of bone onto your back?’
*vague hand gestures*
So, we have Iofiel, an angel who joins a course meant for demons to help a friend, and thus ends up kinda stuck between the two sides that are meant to be enemies. We also have a shitton of angel lore, including sexuality and gender.
All angels are originally meant to be "triple A" -- asexual, aromantic and agender. Most of them seem to have a binary gender (although there were several nonbinary side characters, but none of them were super relevant) and that's all fine, but if they happen to be alloromantic and/or -sexual, then we have a problem, because that's a sin.
I originally found the concept of aroace being the default really interesting, even if it's only in the case of angels, but honestly, I was really uncomfortable with the way sexuality, romantic attraction, kissing, etc were all presented as sins to be avoided. I also feel like that a lot of the conversations/explaining about romance/gender/sexuality kept going in circles, and it was more frustrating to read than enlightening.
Regardless of this, I was fond of Iofiel and her little group - Archie and Maalik were both great, and Santiago and Damien were even more great. I also really, really loved a minor character, Lupe, and I enjoyed the portrayal of Lucifer as well.
That being said, something about the main plot (Apocalypse and all) really didn't work for me, and I kinda lost interest/track of what was happening towards the last 30%.
Kudos to the worldbuilding because I could see there was a lot of thought to it, but yeah, sometimes it was overwhelming or repetitive.
tldr; This was an okay book and I was fond of the characters, but I'm kind of "meh" on the way sexual and romantic orientation is treated, and I wasn't really into the main plot.
Representation:
- Iofiel is asexual, and maybe aromantic? she starts out with aroace being a default but then questions
- I think Archie is ace and/or aro as well, because he talks about not having interest in sex or understanding romance
- there are some minor nonbinary characters using they/them but I think only one of them really speaks more than once. that being said, all angels are /meant/ to be agender originally, so it's possibly more of them are nonbinary and just use different pronouns? Iofiel states she is a girl, though
- there is a recurring f/f side pairing that is relatively important
‘Hey baby, did it hurt when The Light carved you from stardust and burned wings of bone onto your back?’
*vague hand gestures*
So, we have Iofiel, an angel who joins a course meant for demons to help a friend, and thus ends up kinda stuck between the two sides that are meant to be enemies. We also have a shitton of angel lore, including sexuality and gender.
All angels are originally meant to be "triple A" -- asexual, aromantic and agender. Most of them seem to have a binary gender (although there were several nonbinary side characters, but none of them were super relevant) and that's all fine, but if they happen to be alloromantic and/or -sexual, then we have a problem, because that's a sin.
I originally found the concept of aroace being the default really interesting, even if it's only in the case of angels, but honestly, I was really uncomfortable with the way sexuality, romantic attraction, kissing, etc were all presented as sins to be avoided. I also feel like that a lot of the conversations/explaining about romance/gender/sexuality kept going in circles, and it was more frustrating to read than enlightening.
Regardless of this, I was fond of Iofiel and her little group - Archie and Maalik were both great, and Santiago and Damien were even more great. I also really, really loved a minor character, Lupe, and I enjoyed the portrayal of Lucifer as well.
That being said, something about the main plot (Apocalypse and all) really didn't work for me, and I kinda lost interest/track of what was happening towards the last 30%.
Kudos to the worldbuilding because I could see there was a lot of thought to it, but yeah, sometimes it was overwhelming or repetitive.
tldr; This was an okay book and I was fond of the characters, but I'm kind of "meh" on the way sexual and romantic orientation is treated, and I wasn't really into the main plot.
Representation:
- Iofiel is asexual, and maybe aromantic? she starts out with aroace being a default but then questions
- I think Archie is ace and/or aro as well, because he talks about not having interest in sex or understanding romance
- there are some minor nonbinary characters using they/them but I think only one of them really speaks more than once. that being said, all angels are /meant/ to be agender originally, so it's possibly more of them are nonbinary and just use different pronouns? Iofiel states she is a girl, though
- there is a recurring f/f side pairing that is relatively important