Review: A nice start to the series.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 09 18, 2013
Review: 3  out of 5 starsThis book is Adult Paranormal Romance - Please be advised that this book is NOT YA friendly, not even in a New Adult category.Thank-you kindly to Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read and review Unchained by J. Lynn, the first book in her new paranormal/Urban Fantasy series, Nephilim Rising. Unchained is a book that has been on my radar since I first glimpsed the cover and read the synopsis, and despite angel books generally being hit or miss with me I found it to be enjoyable none the less.Our main protagonist is 22 year-old Lily Marks who is a  Nephilim, she spends her days/nights guarding the Sanctuary where other Nephilim reside, protects the humans from soul sucking freaks and disposing of the fallen angels who cross her path, except for Julian who has managed to work his way into her life.Lily was an interesting heroine, she was protective of those she cared for, had faith in what she believed in and was kick-butt awesome with a fast trigger temper and a quick wit; there was a loneliness and vulnerability about her that I couldn't help but sympathise with. I came to admire her for her beliefs and decisions.Julian was just ok for me, I have come to adore JLA's smexy, snarky heroes and the way he was described certainly ticked all of the boxes but he unfortunately fell flat, when I would read his dialogue for some reason it came across as robotic (that probably doesn't make sense at all), it didn't seem to flow or sound natural but that could have been because of his age? Not quite sure. I did enjoy the way he cared for Lily but his stalking was a little creepy.The romance was sweet and slow to build; I liked the forbidden love aspect, the banter between them was amusing and the smexy moments were written very well. I'm curious to see how their relationship will progress.The plot was entertaining with a few surprising twists to keep it all exciting; it mainly follows the search for a traitor within the Sanctuary who has been discovered to be working with the Fallen who are corrupting the Nephilim by turning them into their minions. I found the action-sequences enjoyable and it kept the pacing flowing well. Unfortunately the premise isn't completely unique and there was a lot of information to take in but it wasn't overwhelming or confusing in any way and the world-building I found to be convincing.There were quite a few side characters and each played a pivotal role, I really liked Michael; he has me intrigued and the twist we are given about his character has me eager to learn more about him. Nathaniel was a great father figure, I liked learning of his link to a certain Fallen.Overall, I enjoyed Unchained but I wasn't completely wowed by it as I have been by JLA's other series. Her writing is wonderful and the many plot twists and turns kept me engrossed, I'm keen to read the next book in the Nephilim Rising series.