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thatcydney 's review for:
The Book of Azrael
by Amber V. Nicole
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
tense
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
Honestly, shame on me for putting off starting this series for so long. I've owned the books for months now and if I hadn't kept pushing this down my TBR I could've been so much further in this series—ANYWAY!
The Book of Azrael is so much fun. To be honest, I thought I was going to DNF this at first. The pacing in the beginning was slow, and the paperback copy's formatting made me feel like it was a super daunting book. I decided to snag the audiobook and immersion read—this was absolutely the best choice for me. I loved the narrator and found her wit, cadence, and personality she brought to each character to be fun to listen to. Reading it with my eyes helped me keep track of things better, especially the difficult-to-pronounce-and-retain names of people and places.
Dianna and Samkiel literally invented longing and angst!! This is the first time I've read an enemies to lovers romantasy that I have absolutely zero notes about the execution of it. Amber V. Nicole's writing is witty, the stakes made sense, and the enemies aspect was never in a place where I felt like it would be difficult to come back from. When they put together their minds and special abilities they become a truly unstoppable force, which makes the passion they feel for one another that much stronger. I really enjoyed their banter, the way they softened for one another, and the way they leaned on one another.
I feel like the pacing was wonky sometimes. Like I said, the beginning was slow for me (which was odd because it literally begins in an action scene), and I almost DNFd. But there was a point about 30% from the end of the novel where I felt like the pacing started to stall again. That feeling was short-lived because it really starts to pop off from there, but it was something I noticed nonetheless. Also, I really have a hard time when supernatural beings don't operate on gut feelings???? While I do think being fueled by your emotions is realistic, these are otherworldly beings who, in theory, shouldn't be caught up in human emotions such as anger. Rage-fueled MCs in fantasies are always a good time, but it also gets to a point where it's like damn, maybe y'all wouldn't keep getting outwitted and thwarted if you listened to your intuition?!
The side characters were entertaining and unique and the villain was so believably bad. Like, I am scaredddd of him, honey! I can't wait to see what happens as a response to the ending in the next book! The world building was vast and I actually kind of got lost but I ended up really enjoying it in the end because it allowed me to feel like the world was expanding with the characters.
I don't know if I'm just excited because I always get an adrenaline rush if cliff hangers are well done in fantasy books, but I feel like this might be one of my favorite romantasy books of all time. I will be taking my time getting through the series in the following months and trying my best not to obsess over fanart.
4.5 ⭐️s
1.5 🌶️
The Book of Azrael is so much fun. To be honest, I thought I was going to DNF this at first. The pacing in the beginning was slow, and the paperback copy's formatting made me feel like it was a super daunting book. I decided to snag the audiobook and immersion read—this was absolutely the best choice for me. I loved the narrator and found her wit, cadence, and personality she brought to each character to be fun to listen to. Reading it with my eyes helped me keep track of things better, especially the difficult-to-pronounce-and-retain names of people and places.
Dianna and Samkiel literally invented longing and angst!! This is the first time I've read an enemies to lovers romantasy that I have absolutely zero notes about the execution of it. Amber V. Nicole's writing is witty, the stakes made sense, and the enemies aspect was never in a place where I felt like it would be difficult to come back from. When they put together their minds and special abilities they become a truly unstoppable force, which makes the passion they feel for one another that much stronger. I really enjoyed their banter, the way they softened for one another, and the way they leaned on one another.
I feel like the pacing was wonky sometimes. Like I said, the beginning was slow for me (which was odd because it literally begins in an action scene), and I almost DNFd. But there was a point about 30% from the end of the novel where I felt like the pacing started to stall again. That feeling was short-lived because it really starts to pop off from there, but it was something I noticed nonetheless. Also, I really have a hard time when supernatural beings don't operate on gut feelings???? While I do think being fueled by your emotions is realistic, these are otherworldly beings who, in theory, shouldn't be caught up in human emotions such as anger. Rage-fueled MCs in fantasies are always a good time, but it also gets to a point where it's like damn, maybe y'all wouldn't keep getting outwitted and thwarted if you listened to your intuition?!
The side characters were entertaining and unique and the villain was so believably bad. Like, I am scaredddd of him, honey! I can't wait to see what happens as a response to the ending in the next book! The world building was vast and I actually kind of got lost but I ended up really enjoying it in the end because it allowed me to feel like the world was expanding with the characters.
I don't know if I'm just excited because I always get an adrenaline rush if cliff hangers are well done in fantasy books, but I feel like this might be one of my favorite romantasy books of all time. I will be taking my time getting through the series in the following months and trying my best not to obsess over fanart.
4.5 ⭐️s
1.5 🌶️