Review: What if angels had personal lives?
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 18, 2014
Forbidden love. A hot set of twins. An angel falling out of the sky. Paranormal romance fans if you're yearning for a book filled with burning desire and jaw-dropping excitement, look no further. Meradeth Houston delivers again in her third installment of her Sary Society series bringing a human touch to her cast of heavenly beings. She ponders a lot of questions this time around opening up the boundaries of the angelic world she's lovingly detailed down to the last feather. What if angels had personal lives? What if they fell in love? What if they screwed up on the job?This time around Gabby can't stop a school shooting and she knows she might lose her wings for it. Her only chance at redemption comes in the form of her superior, Jassen, the angel next in command, the chosen one waiting for his chance to lead them all.There's just one problem. Gabby has a major crush on him. Forget that it's against the rules for two Sary to indulge in a romantic relationship. Forget that he moves into her apartment to help clean up her mess, sleeping on her couch and snuggling up to watch movies with her. Bottom line, he's always around, and she can't stop thinking about him. She picks up the vibe that he might be into her too when he lets her off easy, keeping her on board and asking her to watch over the students who were affected by the tragedy.But Jassen's not just fighting against the powerful empathetic connection he feels toward humans - he feels what they feel - the ones living on the fringe, the mentally depressed, those contemplating taking their own lives. He's also pitted against his twin brother, Leon, for control over the future of the Sary. Leon wants them to be out in the open, lording it over the humanity, while Jassen wants to play it safe and remain hiding in plain sight.It doesn't help when Leon tricks Gabby into believing he's Jassen. Her feelings become all jumbled when she's tricked into kissing Leon believing she's finally making a breakthrough with Jassen. But she's confused when by how much it turned her on to be making out with his brother. She even starts to buy into Leon's mantra of change, hoping that if Jassen steps down he might be able to be with her. But is Leon providing her with a false sense of hope as he makes a power play that upends everything they've worked so hard to maintain?There are some arresting moments in SURRENDER THE SKY. You can feel the air rushing by Gabby as she plummets to earth when Leon acts out, stripping her of her wings. Talk about an epic visual of a fallen angel. The scene is so well written that it cinematically jumps off the page.But the novel takes flight whenever it revolves around the emotions of Gabby and Jassen. They can't resist the force of the attraction that's drawing them together. The sheer longing Gabby experiences to run her fingers through the feathers of Jassen's wings leaves the reader aching for fulfillment. When Jassen allows Gabby to delve inside his mind and experience the giddiness he feels at letting her know how much he cares about her, it's nothing short of utter contentment. Their love story is all about that rush of warmth and happiness when a person is finally able to be with the one person who gets them, understands them, makes them complete. And there's something beautiful about a partnership like that. The hope it inspires and the dreams it creates, in essence what a good romance novel is all about.