Review: 3 out of 5 stars
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 05 22, 2014
When I read the blurb on this one and saw scarred heroine and I was immediately captivated. Great premise I thought, but the execution wasn't what I expected. I expected a lot of angst from the heroine because of the scarring. I expected a hero/angel who had a bit more…I don't know but intensity and complexity are the only word I can think of. I mean these angels have been around since the beginning of time and considering their function (to protect humans). I assumed I would get a certain amount of decorum and yes-even formality, as I would think that there is a need to separate themselves from the humans. I’m thinking conflict of interest if they grow attached. Then there’s the location – should all seven of the archangels be based in the same town – shouldn’t they be spread out a bit more. These are archangels; they’re the best of the best and their ability to kick butt is most high. I don’t know but these are the things that make sense to me.My expectations were not the direction this story takes which bummed me out a bit but none-the-less I let it go and enjoyed the story for what it was. Missy Jane's seven archangels are the all, except for Gabriel, present and accounted for. This first installment is about Zerachial Maxwell who’s a local businessman and his secretary Isadora O’Donnell. Twenty-four year old, Isadora is a recent college graduate and has been working for Zerach for the past two years. She’s been in-love/in-like with him for that duration while he’s looked at Isadora as his employee. After her godparents ask that she consider marriage to her childhood friend Jake as part of a business deal, Isadora doesn’t know if following her heart or consenting to that marriage is the right choice.Things happened a bit too conveniently for me. Isadora’s very easy, I mean very easy – hardly a question, about Zerach’s about change in feelings towards her. For that matter, I didn’t understand how Zerach, all of a sudden, was attracted to Isadora. Nothing changed about her, personality, aesthetics – nothing. I actually thought that Zerach’s attraction really stemmed from Isadora’s need for protection from Jake. I didn’t feel that buildup at all nor did I feel any chemistry or passion between them. Yes, there were enough bedroom scenes to clue me in that they were attracted to each other but that chemistry was missing.Then there’s Zerach’s announcement of his archangel status; that was meant with hardly a squeak. I know that Isadora is supposed to be all that’s right in the world but how did she get that way? How is she so accepting of something so out of this norm. But probably the thing that bothered me the most was Isadora’s scars. There was hardly any discussion of it and it wasn’t a focus other than an excuse to keep her clothes on. I was expecting more there. And I was really disappointed in the way that Zerach solved Isadora’s problem surrounding it. Way too easy. There’re some glimpses into her background and even when she admits that she’s not a practicing Catholic but yet so easily accepts Zerach and his brothers. How does that happen? Like I mentioned, a lot of this story didn’t make sense for me and once I suspended all sense of believability I had a lot more fun reading.Jake’s involvement actually made the story move quickly for me. I liked that there was a bit more dimension to his character than the ‘innocence and goodness’ of Isadora. The demons were fun to read about. I was hoping for more mayhem and destruction with that but I think more might be coming with demonling Asta and her family relations. For me this was ‘meh’ but you’re in the mood for some light reading about angels with some demon action thrown in for good measure – this one might be up your alley.Happy Reading Folks!Rating: C*ARC provided by Entangled PublishingPosted at www.redhotbooks(dot)com