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bodagirl's review
2.0
The premise was so promising, but the execution was lacking.
The premise: Alice was raised as an ordinary human, but when she comes home to two angels (a fast-talking, hard-drinking Earthbound, named Mallory, and an uptight Descended, named Gwyn) it is revealed that she is actually half-angel courtesy of her mother, and that she is going to be a powerful force in the fight against the Fallen who have begun to upset the balance between Heaven and Hell.
Great idea right? Sure the battle between the ultimate good with a sprinkling of hellmouths (yes, Buffy fans, you heard right)and some snarky angels, sound like a good time.
What killed this book for me was the choppy pacing, lack of motivation for the heroine (the angels are like "You have to march into Hell," and she says, "Ok," with no real deliberation), lack of detail and back story (it is never stated where Alice lives (probably the UK based on dialogue)and the method of traveling, especially when mystical, is pretty sparse), and the typos (not a lot, but enough to annoy me).
I might still read the next book in the series, because the ideas are there.
The premise: Alice was raised as an ordinary human, but when she comes home to two angels (a fast-talking, hard-drinking Earthbound, named Mallory, and an uptight Descended, named Gwyn) it is revealed that she is actually half-angel courtesy of her mother, and that she is going to be a powerful force in the fight against the Fallen who have begun to upset the balance between Heaven and Hell.
Great idea right? Sure the battle between the ultimate good with a sprinkling of hellmouths (yes, Buffy fans, you heard right)and some snarky angels, sound like a good time.
What killed this book for me was the choppy pacing, lack of motivation for the heroine (the angels are like "You have to march into Hell," and she says, "Ok," with no real deliberation), lack of detail and back story (it is never stated where Alice lives (probably the UK based on dialogue)and the method of traveling, especially when mystical, is pretty sparse), and the typos (not a lot, but enough to annoy me).
I might still read the next book in the series, because the ideas are there.
readundancies's review
4.0
Re-read 2020: I stand by everything I said below in my original review. To this day, I’ve never read such creative angel story. There’s just something about the world that Morgan has constructed that I can’t get enough of.
“You’re not exactly what I’d imagine an angel would be like, you know.”
“I’d always pictured something, well, fluffier.”
Lou Morgan has recreated Hell. And I, personally, love what she's done with the place. She's taken the stereotypical fire and brimestone and changed it completely into something even more frightening: a world where everything is ice and ever-numbing cold. She's added a waterfall made of ice, a gate made of bone and on top of that, added some kick-ass characters to the mix.
[b:Blood and Feathers|13033924|Blood and Feathers (Blood and Feathers, #1)|Lou Morgan|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1342866707s/13033924.jpg|18197432] is simply put, fantastic. Why? It hits almost all of my top 5: characterization, plot, style and humour.
Morgan just has a way with words. The language and style she weaved into this story made it ridiculously enjoyable, I couldn't put it down for a second. I had to read it one sitting. Her descriptive words pulled me in hook, line and sinker. And so did the plot. Her take on angels was so new and refreshing that I actually wanted to learn more about the Descended, the Earthbound, the Fallen, the Travelers and even the 12. Her divisions within both Heaven and Hell created this backstory that was just so enjoyable to read.
The angels themselves really became the soldiers Morgan set them out to be; they were cold, blood-thirsty and always fighting for their cause, which is something I never thought could be attributed to an angel. Even the Fallen angels seemed to be more demon-like if anything.
And by tipping the term 'angel' on it's head, it made the characters that much more entertaining:
Alice was a kick-ass heroine. A half-blood who refused to follow orders and refused to take no for an answer. Not to mention the cool fire thing. She was a so-called human placed into the middle of a war between angels, and I have to say she handled herself pretty spectacularly.
But Mallory by far was my favourite character. Another character I have to add to my list of fictional guy's I have a huge crush on. He was a crude, messy, Earthbound angel that had a drinking problem and was a bad-ass fighter to boot. What is there not to love? His humour was hilarious and his 'I care but I don't care' attitude was frustrating but I love him to pieces.
And the Archangels were so well-written. Michael was scary and hardcore and kind of amusing. Like he was the Big Bad. With that kind of entrance, it made him an awesome character with awesome powers who knows how to take charge. Gabriel on the other hand was a corrupt idiot fond of having temper tantrums (which I never thought I'd say) and I while I loved seeing him get put into his placeGwyn too. Killing an innocent comrade, cavorting with the Fallen, I knew there was something about him... I can't wait to see what's in store for him in the sequel. And Raphael was just... fluffy. He made me smile goofily in contrast to the other 2.
And a shout-out has to go to Vhnori, or Vin for short, who was just too frickin funnythat scene where he gives Mallory another gun and then throws Mallory's flask away? Classic. . Plus he has such an intriguing name.
The only thing I felt was missing in the novel? Romance!!! While the action scenes were great, the absence of romance was felt. I would've loved to see at least a kiss or two, especially between Mallory and Alice because I have totally hopped on that shipping traineven despite the whole Mallory and Seket relationship . I would've been happy with a little Vin and Sari action. But no, nothing. Zip. Nada. Guess I'm just gonna have to wait.
All in all, [b:Blood and Feathers|13033924|Blood and Feathers (Blood and Feathers, #1)|Lou Morgan|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1342866707s/13033924.jpg|18197432] was a great novel from a great new debut author. And you can be sure as Hell freezing over that I'm going to get my hands on the sequel.
And so, in conclusion, I offer you all a little taste of what I have dubbed, 'Mallory humour':
Sigh. What a guy.
“You’re not exactly what I’d imagine an angel would be like, you know.”
“I’d always pictured something, well, fluffier.”
Lou Morgan has recreated Hell. And I, personally, love what she's done with the place. She's taken the stereotypical fire and brimestone and changed it completely into something even more frightening: a world where everything is ice and ever-numbing cold. She's added a waterfall made of ice, a gate made of bone and on top of that, added some kick-ass characters to the mix.
[b:Blood and Feathers|13033924|Blood and Feathers (Blood and Feathers, #1)|Lou Morgan|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1342866707s/13033924.jpg|18197432] is simply put, fantastic. Why? It hits almost all of my top 5: characterization, plot, style and humour.
Morgan just has a way with words. The language and style she weaved into this story made it ridiculously enjoyable, I couldn't put it down for a second. I had to read it one sitting. Her descriptive words pulled me in hook, line and sinker. And so did the plot. Her take on angels was so new and refreshing that I actually wanted to learn more about the Descended, the Earthbound, the Fallen, the Travelers and even the 12. Her divisions within both Heaven and Hell created this backstory that was just so enjoyable to read.
The angels themselves really became the soldiers Morgan set them out to be; they were cold, blood-thirsty and always fighting for their cause, which is something I never thought could be attributed to an angel. Even the Fallen angels seemed to be more demon-like if anything.
And by tipping the term 'angel' on it's head, it made the characters that much more entertaining:
Alice was a kick-ass heroine. A half-blood who refused to follow orders and refused to take no for an answer. Not to mention the cool fire thing. She was a so-called human placed into the middle of a war between angels, and I have to say she handled herself pretty spectacularly.
But Mallory by far was my favourite character. Another character I have to add to my list of fictional guy's I have a huge crush on. He was a crude, messy, Earthbound angel that had a drinking problem and was a bad-ass fighter to boot. What is there not to love? His humour was hilarious and his 'I care but I don't care' attitude was frustrating but I love him to pieces.
And the Archangels were so well-written. Michael was scary and hardcore and kind of amusing. Like he was the Big Bad. With that kind of entrance, it made him an awesome character with awesome powers who knows how to take charge. Gabriel on the other hand was a corrupt idiot fond of having temper tantrums (which I never thought I'd say) and I while I loved seeing him get put into his place
And a shout-out has to go to Vhnori, or Vin for short, who was just too frickin funny
The only thing I felt was missing in the novel? Romance!!! While the action scenes were great, the absence of romance was felt. I would've loved to see at least a kiss or two, especially between Mallory and Alice because I have totally hopped on that shipping train
All in all, [b:Blood and Feathers|13033924|Blood and Feathers (Blood and Feathers, #1)|Lou Morgan|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1342866707s/13033924.jpg|18197432] was a great novel from a great new debut author. And you can be sure as Hell freezing over that I'm going to get my hands on the sequel.
And so, in conclusion, I offer you all a little taste of what I have dubbed, 'Mallory humour':
“I told you, Alice. I know you. You think we’d leave you unprotected all these years? There’s always been someone watching over you. Your junior school teacher, Esther Charles? A half-born. Eddie North, your college lecturer? An Earthbound. Your therapist...”
“You’re telling me that Dr Grove is an angel? Seriously?”
“No, I was going to tell you he owed me money."
“And to think, when we first met, you were giving me the whole ‘brothers’ spiel. What happened to that, by the way?”
“Fuck it.” Mallory kicked a stone that lay in his path, and watched it bounce along the rock. “That was clearly my charming naivety speaking. It won’t happen again. In the meantime, I suggest we find a way out.”
Sigh. What a guy.
ashesandhoney's review
3.0
This is an action movie in book form.
It could have done with a little more arc to its characters.
It could have done with a little more arc to its characters.
bokelsker's review
3.0
Good ideas, indifferent if competent execution. Maybe I'm jaded after reading too any takes on Dante's Inferno.
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