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A review by pomegranatemuse
Angel in Training by C.L. Coffey
2.0
This one kinda let me down.
The premise of the story was intriguing.
Angelina, or Angel, goes out with her friends on her twentieth birthday to have a little fun. Sadly, it wasn't meant to be, since she gets killed outside one of the bars. She's offered eternal happiness or eternal life. Not really sure what to say, she chooses eternal life.
It turns out that the eternal life option meant that she has chosen to become an angel. Not only that, but a potential archangel as well.
But there are some rules she has to follow.
No parties.
No drugs or drinking.
No romantic relationships.
She also has a human to watch over, Joshua, and there's a bunch of murders happening around town too. The two of them have to find out why they're happening and who the killer is. All good stuff.
There were some innacuracies, such as the book claiming the Cherubim are the highest rank of angels. It's actually the Seraphim, and then next come the Cherubim. So close, yet so far.
So let's skip to why this was a two stars for me:
Michael.
His dialogue was kinda stilted, and I know the author was trying to make him sound more formal in comparison to the others, but it felt off. He was also very hard on Angel as she was training. But that's all fine and dandy, and I was actually fond of him until near the end of the book.
Angel is trying to figure out the identity of the killer, and she accuses Michael of the vile deed. Obviously he didn't do it, but they have a little fight. She apologizes and he comforts her.
Then he kisses her.
Yup, that came out of nowhere.
It was just so jarring and felt wrong.
For one thing, the angels are all related.
Also it didn't feel genuine to his character at all.
To make things worse, he kinda tricked her into becoming an angel by being vague about what each choice meant, because he was sure she was meant for greater things.
He confesses his love to Angel as she tries to remember the Lord's Prayer.
It could've been very well written, and while I would still have been squeamish about the romance (it's just not something I enjoy reading in my muderer mysteries), I could have at least seen the appeal and think "whatever floats your boat."
Unfortunately, since the writing wasn't that great, it came off as very creepy and Michael reminded me of Frollo. Angel mentions that he went to pray for forgiveness for the kiss afterwards, and Hellfire began to play in my head. I know he didn't technically die, but by that point, he was kinda dead to me.
Again, I really liked him at the beginning, but it's sad the book decided to take that weird route.
Also this is unrelated to the awkward romance, Michael was surprisingly stubborn and adamant that Lucifer was dead, despite Angel telling him that he was returning.
So yeah, those were my thoughts on the book.
The premise of the story was intriguing.
Angelina, or Angel, goes out with her friends on her twentieth birthday to have a little fun. Sadly, it wasn't meant to be, since she gets killed outside one of the bars. She's offered eternal happiness or eternal life. Not really sure what to say, she chooses eternal life.
It turns out that the eternal life option meant that she has chosen to become an angel. Not only that, but a potential archangel as well.
But there are some rules she has to follow.
No parties.
No drugs or drinking.
No romantic relationships.
She also has a human to watch over, Joshua, and there's a bunch of murders happening around town too. The two of them have to find out why they're happening and who the killer is. All good stuff.
There were some innacuracies, such as the book claiming the Cherubim are the highest rank of angels. It's actually the Seraphim, and then next come the Cherubim. So close, yet so far.
So let's skip to why this was a two stars for me:
Michael.
His dialogue was kinda stilted, and I know the author was trying to make him sound more formal in comparison to the others, but it felt off. He was also very hard on Angel as she was training. But that's all fine and dandy, and I was actually fond of him until near the end of the book.
Angel is trying to figure out the identity of the killer, and she accuses Michael of the vile deed. Obviously he didn't do it, but they have a little fight. She apologizes and he comforts her.
Then he kisses her.
Yup, that came out of nowhere.
It was just so jarring and felt wrong.
For one thing, the angels are all related.
Also it didn't feel genuine to his character at all.
To make things worse, he kinda tricked her into becoming an angel by being vague about what each choice meant, because he was sure she was meant for greater things.
He confesses his love to Angel as she tries to remember the Lord's Prayer.
It could've been very well written, and while I would still have been squeamish about the romance (it's just not something I enjoy reading in my muderer mysteries), I could have at least seen the appeal and think "whatever floats your boat."
Unfortunately, since the writing wasn't that great, it came off as very creepy and Michael reminded me of Frollo. Angel mentions that he went to pray for forgiveness for the kiss afterwards, and Hellfire began to play in my head. I know he didn't technically die, but by that point, he was kinda dead to me.
Again, I really liked him at the beginning, but it's sad the book decided to take that weird route.
Also this is unrelated to the awkward romance, Michael was surprisingly stubborn and adamant that Lucifer was dead, despite Angel telling him that he was returning.
So yeah, those were my thoughts on the book.