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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Envy - Review

Envy (The Fallen Angels #3) by J.R. Ward 

Publication date:  06 September 2011 by Signet

ISBN 10/13: 0451229452 | 9780451229458

Category: Adult Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance

Keywords: Fantasy, fallen angels, romance, paranormal

Format: Mass market paperback, eBook

 

From goodreads:

Seven deadly sins. Seven souls to save. And a man and a woman treading the lines of danger, desire and deliverance ...As the son of a serial killer, homicide detective Thomas 'Veck' DelVecchio, Jr, grew up in the shadow of evil. Now, on the knife-edge between civic duty and blind retribution, he atones for the sins of his father - while fighting his inner demons. Assigned to monitor Veck is Internal Affairs officer Sophia Reilly, whose interest in him is both professional and arousingly personal. And Veck and Sophia have another link: Jim Heron, a mysterious stranger with too many answers ...to questions that are deadly. When Veck and Sophia are drawn into the ultimate battle between good and evil, their fallen angel saviour is the only thing that stands between them and eternal damnation.

Thuy's review: 

Envy is the third installment of Ward's Angel series where good and evil continue to battle for the fate of earth's souls. The fight this time around revolves around Detective Thomas "Veck" DelVecchio, Jr. from the Caldwell PD. Readers of Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series will remember Veck from Lover Unleashed. Veck's a suspect in a vicious attack on a suspectes serial killer and even he's not sure if he did it. Internal Affairs officer Sophia Reilly is assigned as Veck's partner in order to keep an eye on him and finds herself drawn to the intense detective. All the while, Jim Heron and his merry band of angels try to outsmart the demon Devina and win one for the good guys.

Another great read from J.R. Ward! Knowing that I wouldn't have another Ward book for awhile, I really tried to read slow and savor this one. There are some great characters and big developments in Envy. Veck is a complex and imperfect hero. The son of a notorious serial killer, he's been in the shadow of evil almost his whole life. He's tortured, afraid of how much of his father is inside of him and afraid of what he's capable of. Out of all of the books, I think Veck's outcome was the one that I was most unsure of. It was really easy to believe the internal conflict he was going through and, for awhile, I had my doubts about which way this one was going to go. Sophia is likable but isn’t a stand out personality. She's got the standard, smart, tough as nails cop thing going on. The heat between Veck and Sophia is scorching and there are some very steamy love scenes. There is also Avery funny interlude at Victoria's Secret that made me laugh.

Meanwhile, Jim’s obsession with Sissy Barten threatens to cause a rift in the team. I am not sure how this whole thing with Sissy is going to pan out, since it seems like Jim has some not quite platonic feelings for her and she is A) dead and B) only 19. I have confidence in Ward though and am interested to see where it goes. There are some big and surprising developments on Team Angel and I am sure we’ll be seeing the continuing repercussions of it in the future.

Devina’s still up to her dirty tricks. She’s such an interesting character, a mix of vulnerability, neurosis and undeniable evil. She is both fascinating and frightening to watch.

Keep and eye out, too, for the BDB cameos/mentions. I love that the two worlds cross over from time to time. And what's up with Caldwell? It seems to be full of paranormal action and deliciously hot men running around! I would like to move there, please.

Overall I was extremely happy with this book. I wish I didn’t have to wait another year for the next one. Maybe I should re-read Covet in the meantime...

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Visit the author online at www.jrward.com and follow J.R. Ward on Facebook