The Demon's Song - Review

The Demon's Song (Hearts of the Fallen #1)
by Kendra Leigh Castle

Publication date: 21 April 2013 by Entangled Publishing

ISBN 13: 9781622661817
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Category: Adult Paranormal Romance
Keywords: romance, fallen angles, vampires,
Format: eBook
Source: e-ARC received from Entangled Publishing

Synopsis from Entangled Publishing:

The road to Hell is paved with good intentions. At least, that’s how it seems to Sofia Rivera when her attempt to help a friend ends in a blood-soaked confrontation with creatures that aren’t even supposed to exist. With a group of rogue vampires determined not to leave a single witness to their violence hot on her heels, Sofia finds herself saddled with an immortal bodyguard—Phenex, the fallen Angel of Song. While the vampire king roots out the corruption threatening to take down his underworld kingdom, Sofia will have to deal with a fallen angel whose dark beauty is often at odds with his ornery nature. Slowly, Sofia and Phenex give in to the strange attraction neither can deny. And as the darkness closes in around them, Phenex begins to wonder whether even the wickedest Fallen might find his own happy ending…and his heart.

Review:

One of the fastest ways that an author can wrap me up tightly in a story is to create characters that I like, care about, and want to know what happens to them.  Kendra Leigh Castle did exactly that in The Demon's Song.  I was 2 maybe 3 chapters in when I decided that I needed to know what was going to happen to Phenex (a Fallen Angel) and Sofia (a human).  The chemistry between the pair was there from the beginning and only continued to grow throughout the story.  There were also a lot of other characters that I liked and found interesting.  There were some that I would like to have gotten to know a lot better - like all of those other fallen angels hanging down in Terra Noctem.

Though I loved the characters in this story and also really enjoyed the romance between Phenex and Sofia, I occasionally felt that parts of the story went too fast or weren't fully developed.  At one point, I realized that I had happily (note...I really did mean happily) read 3/4 of the book but, aside from the relationship growing between Sofia and Phenex, the rest of the plot had kind of stalled.  In the last couple of chapters, lots of important action and drama seemed to be skipped over and the readers just end up at the end.  Granted, I love the ending.  It was perfect as far as I was concerned, but I would have liked to have a little more story fleshed out on the way to the ending.      

I firmly believe that an author needs to take her story in the direction that she sees fit.  Though I might agree or disagree with that direction, I tend to respect those decisions.  Fallen angels and romance aside, Castle has the potential to go much further with this series if she decided.  I couldn't help but feel that The Demon's Song and the Hearts of the Fallen series could develop into a great paranormal/urban fantasy series with an element of romance, rather than just a paranormal romance.  If I had a chance to sit down and talk with Castle, I would ask her a couple of questions about her thoughts on paranormal romance vs. urban fantasy.  Was she aiming for a really fun paranormal romance? Or was she targeting something more?  Not that I particularly want to lose the romance aspect, but with a great setting/world such as Terra Noctem and the potential for an amazing cast of characters and interesting creatures, I would be willing to go on that journey with Castle if she so desired.

As this was my first fallen angel romance novel, I am curious to explore other fallen angel stories and to also find out what happens in future Hearts of the Fallen books.  I would definitely recommend The Demon's Song to friends who are looking for a paranormal romance with a great hero and heroine.

*I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.

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Visit the author online at www.kendraleighcastle.com and her blog and follow her on Twitter @kendralcastle

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