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katsoa's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
lbarsk's review against another edition
3.0
Y'all I don't know how to properly react to this book. Overall I'm just a little confused -- a lot of folks, including ones whose book recommendations I trust, hold this book up as like A Gold Standard Of Books, and it just didn't have that emotional resonance for me. I liked some things about the book, which I'm about to explain, but overall I just felt like the book kind of existed and I was able to appreciate certain aspects of it from arms' length.
Here's what I liked:
a) Aurora. Loved her. Could've used an entire book about her. What a FASCINATING character to examine? I'm glad she got more "screen time" as the book went on and that we got glimpses inside her head.
b) The concept of Xas as this embodiment of an agreement between God and Lucifer, and the wholly new view of God, Lucifer, Heaven, and Hell that Knox introduces. I'll always have an unfortunate soft spot for depictions of Lucifer because of Sandman, and this Lucifer didn't disappoint. Also, having a God that (to the reader) seems almost human is actually really interesting to read.
c) Xas! I would actually read more things in this ~*~universe*~* if they existed because I want to read more about Xas and better understand him. He's this combination of extremely tender and extremely caring and then WILDLY DEVASTATING AND CRUEL, which we all know is something that I love to see developed and explored in characterization.
And in terms of what I can distantly appreciate, it's the writing and the fact that the book is told year-by-year. At times I was like "Okay, we get it, this is POETIC," but also you don't see a lot of books written so... deliberately? Is that how to put it? It's kind of nice to have a book where the prose is treated like poetry because it means that every single word has its right place and every image is specifically invoking something else. It just got to be a little too much for me at times. The year-by-year construction got more bearable and interesting as the book went on; in the beginning I could not for the life of me string any events together or see where tiny details would add up to some bigger story (or some bigger arc of Sobran's life), which meant that getting tiny yearly glimpses really bothered me. I can also "distantly appreciate" Sobran as a main character -- he is the SO DECIDEDLY HUMAN contrast to Otherworldly Xas, and I think that in him Knox really nailed "the human condition," i.e., something unpredictable and always-changing and stubborn and impassioned.
So my issue is... taking everything I've written here, why am I not more fired up about this book? Why am I not like, GOING ALL IN for it the way I have with other books I've read this year? Or why am I not at least more like COOL GOOD LOOK AT THESE GOOD QUALITIES, READ THIS BOOK? And I guess that's why I can only give it 3 stars -- I liked it, but it just didn't Hook Me the way other books have. Which I almost feel bad about? Given that I did like parts of it? Oy. I guess I'd say... read it if you're curious to get a Very Different View of the traditional Heaven-and-Hell narrative that you find in books that toy with religious themes. And/or read it if you're into romances that span lifetimes and are Fated, etc. etc., because that's definitely here too.
Here's what I liked:
a) Aurora. Loved her. Could've used an entire book about her. What a FASCINATING character to examine? I'm glad she got more "screen time" as the book went on and that we got glimpses inside her head.
b) The concept of Xas as this embodiment of an agreement between God and Lucifer, and the wholly new view of God, Lucifer, Heaven, and Hell that Knox introduces. I'll always have an unfortunate soft spot for depictions of Lucifer because of Sandman, and this Lucifer didn't disappoint. Also, having a God that (to the reader) seems almost human is actually really interesting to read.
c) Xas! I would actually read more things in this ~*~universe*~* if they existed because I want to read more about Xas and better understand him. He's this combination of extremely tender and extremely caring and then WILDLY DEVASTATING AND CRUEL, which we all know is something that I love to see developed and explored in characterization.
And in terms of what I can distantly appreciate, it's the writing and the fact that the book is told year-by-year. At times I was like "Okay, we get it, this is POETIC," but also you don't see a lot of books written so... deliberately? Is that how to put it? It's kind of nice to have a book where the prose is treated like poetry because it means that every single word has its right place and every image is specifically invoking something else. It just got to be a little too much for me at times. The year-by-year construction got more bearable and interesting as the book went on; in the beginning I could not for the life of me string any events together or see where tiny details would add up to some bigger story (or some bigger arc of Sobran's life), which meant that getting tiny yearly glimpses really bothered me. I can also "distantly appreciate" Sobran as a main character -- he is the SO DECIDEDLY HUMAN contrast to Otherworldly Xas, and I think that in him Knox really nailed "the human condition," i.e., something unpredictable and always-changing and stubborn and impassioned.
So my issue is... taking everything I've written here, why am I not more fired up about this book? Why am I not like, GOING ALL IN for it the way I have with other books I've read this year? Or why am I not at least more like COOL GOOD LOOK AT THESE GOOD QUALITIES, READ THIS BOOK? And I guess that's why I can only give it 3 stars -- I liked it, but it just didn't Hook Me the way other books have. Which I almost feel bad about? Given that I did like parts of it? Oy. I guess I'd say... read it if you're curious to get a Very Different View of the traditional Heaven-and-Hell narrative that you find in books that toy with religious themes. And/or read it if you're into romances that span lifetimes and are Fated, etc. etc., because that's definitely here too.
casspro's review against another edition
3.0
Parts of this novel were very slow, and others parts I read multiple times because they were so beautiful and compelling. Xas and Sobran's love story is complicated and dark and pure and selfish and wonderful. I loved the philosophy and religious icons incorporated into the story line. The portrayal of Lucifer in particular was very interesting. The downsides of the story were the characters outside of the family. I felt that they didn't add anything to the drama or the progress of the plot. But Knox's writing is beautiful. I've not read anything quite like her before. It's soft and delicate and then it whacks you over the head with a line that gives you chills.
vaporization's review against another edition
5.0
The act of reading this book is the act of slowly dying.
rungemaille's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
swans_reads's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
“You fainted and I caught you. It was the first time I supported a human. You had such heavy bones. I put myself between you and gravity. Impossible.”
I couldn’t put this book down and finished it all in one sitting. It was captivating and enthralling. Very emotional and very poetic. Reminded me, at times, of Paradise Lost by Milton. It’s a bit of a slower paced book although I found this fits the book as it follows the natural lifetime/aging one of the main characters. Xas (the angel) is unintentionally hilarious at times. Not necessarily a happy ending nor a sad one either. I really enjoyed this book. I think if you’re a fan of (gay) angels, or have religious trauma or like any similar themes, you’ll enjoy this book.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual content
lucymt92's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
2.5
dauphine's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
"You fainted and I caught you. It was the first time I'd supported a human. You had such heavy bones. I put myself between you and gravity.
Impossible."
Beautiful concept, beautiful leading characters, beautiful prose, but the execution of the plot felt half-baked. The structure of the book, which devoted each chapter to a different year, allowed the readers a surveying overlook of Sobran and Xas over the former's lifetime. This comes at the expense of enabling them to spend significant amounts of time in each others' physical presence - which unfortunately happens to be the most alluring part of the book's premise.
Impossible."
Beautiful concept, beautiful leading characters, beautiful prose, but the execution of the plot felt half-baked. The structure of the book, which devoted each chapter to a different year, allowed the readers a surveying overlook of Sobran and Xas over the former's lifetime. This comes at the expense of enabling them to spend significant amounts of time in each others' physical presence - which unfortunately happens to be the most alluring part of the book's premise.
lucaraio's review against another edition
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
st4rfield's review against another edition
The language was quite complicated as English is not my first language