Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Angels Before Man by rafael nicolás

16 reviews

loyddl's review against another edition

dark emotional slow-paced

3.75

I enjoyed the story until it neared the end where Lucifer’s character change became prominent. For as much build up as it got it still felt abrupt and completely disconnected from the Lucifer we followed in the rest of the book. I think the problem was that near the end of the book Nicolás stops giving us Lucifer’s perspective on important events that would impact his dramatic character change. For most of the book we get intimate detail from Lucifer’s perspective and thoughts but more and more writing was put toward other characters point of view. As a result, even though we see the pain Lucifer goes through, his later actions feel like they are too extreme and come out of nowhere.

I also think the writing fell flat in the story’s resolution. For something so long built up it also felt anticlimactic. And again, we’re taken out of Lucifer’s point of view and only given a finale description of him rather than any though or emotions felt by him as a result of his actions.

A finale thing I would have loved to see, especially in the finale act, is the development of Micheal. Without giving any spoilers, Micheal is important in Lucifer’s fall yet I don’t understand his actions near the book’s resolution based on the relationship between him and Lucifer that had taken half the book to develop.

While I enjoyed the story, it’s setting, and it’s characters, the ending makes me hesitant to pick the book up again. The book is all buildup but does not explain some characters most extreme actions.

Content Warnings

alicia_ann_reads's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was a book that made me feel things.

First, it's a queer retelling of Satan's (Lucifer) Falling, which I wasn't familiar with so did a quick google to discover it was mentioned in two books if the Bible.

I'm not a Bible follower, but I imagine that anyone who had any form of religious trauma in their life would find this book incredibly cathartic.

The prose was wonderful, the first half is the telling of Lucifer's life from birth, his struggles with being the centre of attention, the 'angel of beauty", his shame and lack of self confidence... Until he meets Michael, who slowly coaxes him out of that shell. You see a really slow burn romance.

The second half of the book takes that and shows Lucifer's fall, how his worship focus went from God to Michael and how God had punished, and from that punishment the seed and kernel of defiance and hatred grew, how Lucifer coined new terms, created Sin as God created...

It is graphic and gory, and really hard to read at times, but it was also powerful.

The negative aspects: Was a little long. Middle part dragged and in the second half saw an increase in internal dialogue; which in and if itself is not an issue but the way it was presented on page was really difficult to read.

You had internal dialogue between apostrophes butted next to external dialogue in quotes with no delineation; and multiple POVs back and forth on one page.. I had to read slowly.

Content Warnings

sapphicbookfae's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

this book made me go through a SERIES of emotions! and i enjoyed that

i really loved the sweet moments between the angels and my heart ached because of the heavenly emphasis on purity and obedience as goodness. these concepts are used so easily to control loved ones at times in a manipulative manner. and of course Lucifer's flawed but he went through so much and it's hard for me to hate this version of him

i will say that i hoped for a redeeming ending DESPITE the occurrences of coercive obedience, lack of autonomy, emotional and sexual abuse from those in positions of power. i think this book tells an "ugly" story quite beautifully and demonstrates the extremes that the above occurrences can lead to. the ending chapters did feel rushed to me and i was left wanting to know more about certain characters (maybe intentionally)

definitely give this book a read if you have religious trauma (LMAO) like me and maybe struggle with being honest about your queerness with your catholic religious family members... you get the extreme perspectives

Content Warnings

troll_for_initiative's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

tinyelfarcanist's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“Angel of beauty.” That’s what Lucifer has been called from the moment of his creation. Ashamed of his appearance, he wants nothing more than to spend his days worshipping God. That is until archangel Michael grabs his attention. A lyrical retelling of Lucifer's fall.

This is one of the darkest books I've read and I suggest you look at the content warnings before diving into this one. The following is a list of the topics included in my review, just a meagre example of those contained in this novel.

CW: swearing, blasphemy, and mention of wicked acts.

"He is beautiful," the seraph said as the cherub cried out from a scathingly sore throat. "The most magnificent of all your angels, Father."

I loved the prose reflecting Lucifer’s mental state. Lucifer is an interesting character if unappealing at times.

This book is split into two distinct sections. I divided my review as such. Don't be fooled by the sweetness of the first part, this book doesn't shy away from picturing the depravity that a tortured individual is driven to.

Part 1:

So. Fucking. Cute. A naive and recently created Lucifer shares sweet banter with other playful angels in Heaven...

What else could an angel be but happy?

On the surface, this is a story about a beloved bard finding his purpose, a story about a narcissistic pimp and his favourite twink. A story about angels in love.

Why would God make him so beautiful if that beauty wasn’t meant to be admired?

Paradise is not what it seems.

Part 2:

Looking deeper, this is a commentary on jealousy, identity, and religious trauma.

The Lord said, "Sing, angel," His voice all-encompassing, "and you will be saved." Lucifer did so, fearing his God.

For a restless angel like Lucifer, mindless worshipping and hedonism won’t do.

Angels Before Man is powerful in its painfully accurate depictions of depression, wrath, passion, and pride. It is a blasphemous display of the unforgiving Father and the angel who was punished for questioning.

God may have created his equal. He made a perfect angel, and He will soon discover that power corrupts. Lucifer grows more spiteful every time he’s reprimanded.

Let’s not forget that for all of Lucifer’s deviousness, he is God’s creation.

Content Warnings

lizardgod's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Spoiler Free Review
Angels Before Man is a wonderfully written book and creative retelling of Lucifer's fall from Heaven. The way Nicolás begins the book as an airy, feel good fluff story but begins to slowly incorporate the themes of horror and manipulation is unlike anything I've read in a long time. As you read about the angels lives being wonderful and fulfilling, Nicolás will insert a scene regarding Lucifer that makes you think 'this is it, this is when things are going downhill', he pulls back in a subtle way to lull you back into a false sense of serenity. The gradual back and forth between horrific scenes and the wonders of Heaven put me on edge wondering so that when the climax truly began, it was capturing. The characters around Lucifer weren't static and the pain they go through is just as impactful as what Lucifer goes through.
I see other readers reviews stating they took the themes as 'homosexuality is a sin' and I do agree, but that's the point. Angels Before Man is a religious commentary overall, one that is angry and hurt with how God is portrayed and angry with the people who follow that god. If you haven't experienced religious trauma in a similar way, I understand why it may seem Nicolás is wagging a finger a being gay, but he is instead showing just how convoluted religion, in this case Christianity, truly is. While I would recommend Angels Before Man to those seeking a diverse LGBTQ story dripping with religious disdain, there are still points that draw from it leading to why I put it below a 5 star rating.
I appreciate when books, especially when it comes to themes of angels, make their characters diverse in not only personality but also in their race. My issue comes with the fact each time a darker colored character is introduced in many books, including Angels Before Man, they are compared to the color of food with instances such as a black angel having 'cocoa' colored eyes. It's only a few mentions, but one is still too many.
When the angels are addressing each other they all call each other 'brother' similar to other religions as a way to further ensure people do not stray from the religion to make it seem they would also stray from their 'family'. Even with this being said, it was still greatly off-putting that when angels (slight spoiler?) begin to be sexual with another and they continued to refer to each other as 'brother'.
The ending internal monologue was a struggle to get through. While I was focused on the events happening, Lucifer's internal monologue was an absolute drain. It's wordy and extensive with no real purpose after several instances of it. When his internal monologue begins to really pick up towards about 60% through, it's perfectly done, however by the end where his monologue is several paragraphs long of generalized religious symbolism I ended up just skimming through it.

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