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katyanaish's review against another edition
4.0
***4***
I thought it was fun, though I didn't quite get the rules of the universe... who was a nephilim versus who wasn't just didn't seem to be a consistently applied ruleset. We're told early on that Grigori + human female = nephilim, but then there are several cases where that doesn't happen, so... yeah.
That said, it was fun. I liked Maddy, I liked the secondary cast. I didn't buy the instant love between Gabriel and Maddy, but it didn't really bother me. I just thought it was a fun world, and I liked the different (seemingly, at least thus far) take on Heaven, Hell and the angels. I'm interested to see where it goes.
I thought it was fun, though I didn't quite get the rules of the universe... who was a nephilim versus who wasn't just didn't seem to be a consistently applied ruleset. We're told early on that Grigori + human female = nephilim, but then there are several cases where that doesn't happen, so... yeah.
That said, it was fun. I liked Maddy, I liked the secondary cast. I didn't buy the instant love between Gabriel and Maddy, but it didn't really bother me. I just thought it was a fun world, and I liked the different (seemingly, at least thus far) take on Heaven, Hell and the angels. I'm interested to see where it goes.
lsparrow's review against another edition
1.0
I was drawn in by the storyline of death and ushering away souls but the fallen angel mythology has never been one that captures me. Also the cheese factor was more than I could tolerate.
kolet's review against another edition
5.0
Secretly deep down I love paranormal novels.
Madeline Black, who prefers to be call Maddy, is an Agent of Death. She helps the recently deceased to move into the light. One day when a drop dead gorgeous guy name Gabriel comes out of nowhere, Maddy's life all changes.
Madeline Black, who prefers to be call Maddy, is an Agent of Death. She helps the recently deceased to move into the light. One day when a drop dead gorgeous guy name Gabriel comes out of nowhere, Maddy's life all changes.
mamap's review against another edition
2.0
buffy meets twilight. her job is to escort dead souls to the door. turns out, lots of crap and responsibilities when she finds out she's the daughter of an extremely highly placed fallen angel. i don't like a 'bound by birth' sort of theme.
ktaylor1164's review against another edition
2.0
It had potential, but the book lacks consistency. I didn't buy the characters and their various relationships, as much as I tried.
ckjaer88's review against another edition
2.0
I was actually pleasently surprised by this book, do to the cover I had VERY low expectations! That said, this book is nowhere near a masterpiece; the writing is shabby and repetative, all the main characters are two-dimensional and predictable, I can't really remember what the plot was about - eventhough I just finished the bloody thing. And I really don't understand why Christina made her leading 32 year old lady act like a freakin' 15 year old!
And seriously, that whole soulmate-I-want-you-so-much-but-can't-have-you-loveaffair-ish thing she got goin' on, is in no way believable when they've only known each other for four days!
That said, it was actually gripping enough for me to finish reading it, so it has some entertainment value. But if you do read it, don't think to much about what's actually goin' on, just read it for the fun of reading.
And seriously, that whole soulmate-I-want-you-so-much-but-can't-have-you-loveaffair-ish thing she got goin' on, is in no way believable when they've only known each other for four days!
That said, it was actually gripping enough for me to finish reading it, so it has some entertainment value. But if you do read it, don't think to much about what's actually goin' on, just read it for the fun of reading.
vikingwolf's review against another edition
5.0
Eek! I read this years ago and now I'm just getting round to writing my review of it due to a massive backlog of review notes to turn into finished reviews! Still, better late than never I guess!
Maddy is the person who turns up when someone is scheduled to die to help the confused soul find their way onwards, a job handed down through each woman in a family. So she has no choice but to do her duty, just as her mother did until her death. Things seem to be looking up with the arrival of a new tenant Gabriel at the building she owns but it turns out that he is a bodyguard sent to protect Maddy from a demon that is eating souls before they can be moved on-the demon that killed her mother and best friend Patrick. Finding out that a demon is hunting you down is bad enough without being told your dad is Lord Azazel, one of Lucifer's fallen angels and that he wants you to marry a useless berk at his court called Nathaniel, when you really love your bodyguard.
The first thing I liked about the book was Maddy. She doesn't really have a social life, is irritated frequently by her boss, doesn't really want to do the job that she has and overall is finding things pretty dull. A lot of people could relate to that part of her life. Her only friends are co-worker Patrick and her popcorn addicted gargoyle Beezle, who is snarky, rude and funny! I would have liked to have seen more of Patrick in the story but with him dying early in it, it didn't really seem likely. Beezle, however, was just brilliant and I loved him! I want a Beezle of my own!!! I liked the characters that appear in the book like the boss JB and I personally want to slap slimy Nathaniel. Ugh! Who'd want to be engaged to that prat!
I am not a fan of any kind of romance in my urban fantasy as those who follow my reviews know. It takes well written stories by authors like Kelley Armstrong, Patricia Briggs and Jeaniene Frost for me to actually enjoy romance plots and root for the couples involved. I mean who doesn't love Clay and Elena, Mercy and Adam, Cat and Bones? This was one of the books where I actually liked the romance between Maddy and Gabriel and hoped that there could be a way for them to be together. For me it was an example of a love story adding to, instead of overshadowing the book plot so in this case I was ok with it.
I also am not a great fan of Courts in my urban fantasy-I avoid books with Fae Courts like the plague as I just find that kind of thing a bit dull. In this book Maddy does visit the Court of her father but it is a short plotline and didn't affect my enjoyment of the book. I just hope that the rest of the series doesn't revolve too much around the Court side of things.
There was enough action to keep me happy with lots of battles against various demons and civilians being under attack. There was the snark and humour which came from Beezle and JB. There was a bit of sadness about the somewhat doomed love affair between Maddy and Gabriel. There is the desire to punch Nathaniel. I think the book had a lot of interesting things to offer the urban fantasy fan. I found that I was quite engrossed in the plot and read it with few interruptions which is a sign that I'm enjoying it.
Overall I thought this was a good urban fantasy read with interesting characters. I look forward to seeing what happens in the rest of the series.
Maddy is the person who turns up when someone is scheduled to die to help the confused soul find their way onwards, a job handed down through each woman in a family. So she has no choice but to do her duty, just as her mother did until her death. Things seem to be looking up with the arrival of a new tenant Gabriel at the building she owns but it turns out that he is a bodyguard sent to protect Maddy from a demon that is eating souls before they can be moved on-the demon that killed her mother and best friend Patrick. Finding out that a demon is hunting you down is bad enough without being told your dad is Lord Azazel, one of Lucifer's fallen angels and that he wants you to marry a useless berk at his court called Nathaniel, when you really love your bodyguard.
The first thing I liked about the book was Maddy. She doesn't really have a social life, is irritated frequently by her boss, doesn't really want to do the job that she has and overall is finding things pretty dull. A lot of people could relate to that part of her life. Her only friends are co-worker Patrick and her popcorn addicted gargoyle Beezle, who is snarky, rude and funny! I would have liked to have seen more of Patrick in the story but with him dying early in it, it didn't really seem likely. Beezle, however, was just brilliant and I loved him! I want a Beezle of my own!!! I liked the characters that appear in the book like the boss JB and I personally want to slap slimy Nathaniel. Ugh! Who'd want to be engaged to that prat!
I am not a fan of any kind of romance in my urban fantasy as those who follow my reviews know. It takes well written stories by authors like Kelley Armstrong, Patricia Briggs and Jeaniene Frost for me to actually enjoy romance plots and root for the couples involved. I mean who doesn't love Clay and Elena, Mercy and Adam, Cat and Bones? This was one of the books where I actually liked the romance between Maddy and Gabriel and hoped that there could be a way for them to be together. For me it was an example of a love story adding to, instead of overshadowing the book plot so in this case I was ok with it.
I also am not a great fan of Courts in my urban fantasy-I avoid books with Fae Courts like the plague as I just find that kind of thing a bit dull. In this book Maddy does visit the Court of her father but it is a short plotline and didn't affect my enjoyment of the book. I just hope that the rest of the series doesn't revolve too much around the Court side of things.
There was enough action to keep me happy with lots of battles against various demons and civilians being under attack. There was the snark and humour which came from Beezle and JB. There was a bit of sadness about the somewhat doomed love affair between Maddy and Gabriel. There is the desire to punch Nathaniel. I think the book had a lot of interesting things to offer the urban fantasy fan. I found that I was quite engrossed in the plot and read it with few interruptions which is a sign that I'm enjoying it.
Overall I thought this was a good urban fantasy read with interesting characters. I look forward to seeing what happens in the rest of the series.
blodeuedd's review against another edition
4.0
review at Alternative.read.com
This is another good new urban fantasy series. There may be many out there, and because of that there is sure something for everyone to enjoy.
What I liked about Christina Henry's Black Wings is that it took a hold of me at once and would not let go. I wanted to know what happened, I needed to knew what the secrets were and it was just such an enjoyable ride while it lasted. There was one thing though that was not that good, but in the end it did not matter since I truly liked this book. But for the record, it was something about the writing sometimes, the way she wrote conversations. They did not feel genuine a few times. But I did not let that bother me because the story won me over.
Maddie is an agent collecting souls. She does not have much time for anything else, I can understand that. Her friend (if you can call it that, more like a pet ;) is a gargoyle who I absolutely loved. A great comic relief for sure. And then a mystery man moves into the building and here is where the book starts to get good. Who is this guy, what is he? And why are demons trying to kill her? The questions are many but we do get the answer we want and more comes as the book ends. And there were some very good answers.
The pages kind of just fly by and since there is always something it makes it a book that I did not want to put down. Which makes this a recommended urban fantasy series and I will sure read book 2. Because even if it ends all good and nice there are still many things that needs to be set straight, and who knows, maybe we will get some romance too.
This is another good new urban fantasy series. There may be many out there, and because of that there is sure something for everyone to enjoy.
What I liked about Christina Henry's Black Wings is that it took a hold of me at once and would not let go. I wanted to know what happened, I needed to knew what the secrets were and it was just such an enjoyable ride while it lasted. There was one thing though that was not that good, but in the end it did not matter since I truly liked this book. But for the record, it was something about the writing sometimes, the way she wrote conversations. They did not feel genuine a few times. But I did not let that bother me because the story won me over.
Maddie is an agent collecting souls. She does not have much time for anything else, I can understand that. Her friend (if you can call it that, more like a pet ;) is a gargoyle who I absolutely loved. A great comic relief for sure. And then a mystery man moves into the building and here is where the book starts to get good. Who is this guy, what is he? And why are demons trying to kill her? The questions are many but we do get the answer we want and more comes as the book ends. And there were some very good answers.
The pages kind of just fly by and since there is always something it makes it a book that I did not want to put down. Which makes this a recommended urban fantasy series and I will sure read book 2. Because even if it ends all good and nice there are still many things that needs to be set straight, and who knows, maybe we will get some romance too.