Review: Sensational!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 3, 2013
Paranormal and urban fantasy lovers, rejoice!  With the opening of her Nephilim Rising series, J. Lynn (pen-name of the sensational Jennifer L. Armentrout) offers a sizzling, action-packed plot that will seduce readers from the very first page and keep them breathless until the final shocking secret is revealed.Lily Marks is a Nephilim, part-angel and all demon hunter.  Ever since she discovered her powers, her life has centered around her training and her duty to protecting humanity and ridding the world of the Fallen, and her strange relationship with Julian.Though one of the Fallen himself, Julian has always been...different.  And though his attentions to Lily should be abhorrent, being near Julian stirs much more welcome feelings in Lily.  But with new enemies appearing every day, and evidence of a traitor among the Nephilim threatening to bring down the entire organization, even a passing acquaintance with a member of the Fallen is dangerous.  When Lily realizes she is willing to turn her back on everything she has ever trusted in order to protect Julian, her entire world begins to change. But can she trust a Fallen angel to sacrifice himself to save her?Readers should be prepared to plunge right into this series from the very first page.  J. Lynn does a marvelous job at exposition, giving the details of her character and world without interrupting the flow of the narrative at all.  In fact, this opener feels a lot like a second or third book in the series, because the characters and relationships are so vibrant and developed.  Though there are some plot threads that move faster than I anticipated, I was captivated with each element of this story.At the heart of it all is Lily, a tough-as-nails, pint-sized heroine whose strength, both physical and emotional, is quite impressive.  From the beginning, it's clear that Lily is unique among the Nephilim, but as her identity is slowly revealed, it becomes increasingly evident how high the stakes are for Lily, one of the only female Nephilim in existence.  Lily's loyalty and dedication are impressive, but it was her enormous heart that won me over.  As each scene, especially those with Julian, reveal that heart, Lily becomes a heroine that I will gladly follow into the series to come.Julian is a wonderfully enigmatic, tortured hero, with secrets aplenty.  He is dark and dangerous, but his obvious devotion to Lily reveals some hidden depths that set him apart.  Julian intrigued me from the moment he appeared in the story, simply because of the steamy chemistry between him and Lily.  But as the novel evolved and I had the chance to see the depth of his love for her and the power it has to transform them both, he became something far more than intriguing.  This is definitely not going to be an easy road for these two, but it will definitely make for addictive reading.The world of the Nephilim is a fascinatingly complex and shadowy one.  The battles and the dangers are very painfully real, and J. Lynn is willing to explore the darkest possibilities to bring home the high stakes and devastating losses of the battle between the Nephilim and the Fallen.  Lily faces choices with real consequences, and the revelations that lie in store for her make for a twisty, surprising read, and set up several engrossing plots to be fleshed out in later books.I relish a real, wicked, captivating villain, and this book was full of them.  The manipulative power of the Fallen is impressive and make them formidable opponents.  To counter them, Lily's fellow Nephilim are strong, snarky and fascinatingly complicated.  Their private loyalties and inner insecurities make these secondary characters thoroughly engaging and their interactions memorable.  These are characters with long histories and haunting memories, and every detail just serves to make this series stronger.  All in all, this is a series debut that left me hungry for more, and I cannot wait to see where Lily's journey takes her next.Reviewed by Bridgetfor TheRomanceReviews.com