pjonsson's review against another edition
4.0
I found this book to be a promising start of a new book series for me to read. After my disappointment with Thunderbird Falls I think that series has fallen off my to-read list and I was looking for another Urban Fantasy series to read instead. This might be it.
I quite enjoyed the book. Christina already knows that there are things that go bump in the night. She already has magical powers. What she does not know is that she has only seen the surface of the iceberg, both in terms of things that go bump in the night and in terms of her own powers.
The world building is not at all bad. Madeline is an enjoyable character and so is her grumpy Gargoyle as well as a lot of the other characters in the book. Madeline is not the wining and dumb brat as the “heroine” in some books is. She is both reasonably clever, sharp tonged and serious. She is hampered by her inexperience in the world she is about to be thrown into though. A fact that is pointed out to her several times throughout the book. Both verbally and by other, more physical, means.
The book is fairly fast paced with a fair amount of action. Madeline posses “true” magic, you know the throw fireballs and stuff around kind of magic. Unfortunately for her so does most of the not so nice characters in this book. The author makes her own take on fallen angels, hell and heaven etc. I liked her take on it.
As we progress through the book Madeline is thrown as few twists her way and by consequence the reader is thrown a few twist his way. Not all bad guys are bad guys and some good guys are actually a bit naughty etc… To cope with everything Madeline is forced to learn quickly. I definitely liked the discover and surprise parts of the story.
This is the first book in a book series and despite being a bit of an initial world builder kind of book it never felt dull. Yet it managed to do a fairly good job of the world building and, at the same time, it avoided going way to fast and gloss over important events for Madeline.
I will certainly read at least the second book in the series to see if it can keep my interest up.
I quite enjoyed the book. Christina already knows that there are things that go bump in the night. She already has magical powers. What she does not know is that she has only seen the surface of the iceberg, both in terms of things that go bump in the night and in terms of her own powers.
The world building is not at all bad. Madeline is an enjoyable character and so is her grumpy Gargoyle as well as a lot of the other characters in the book. Madeline is not the wining and dumb brat as the “heroine” in some books is. She is both reasonably clever, sharp tonged and serious. She is hampered by her inexperience in the world she is about to be thrown into though. A fact that is pointed out to her several times throughout the book. Both verbally and by other, more physical, means.
The book is fairly fast paced with a fair amount of action. Madeline posses “true” magic, you know the throw fireballs and stuff around kind of magic. Unfortunately for her so does most of the not so nice characters in this book. The author makes her own take on fallen angels, hell and heaven etc. I liked her take on it.
As we progress through the book Madeline is thrown as few twists her way and by consequence the reader is thrown a few twist his way. Not all bad guys are bad guys and some good guys are actually a bit naughty etc… To cope with everything Madeline is forced to learn quickly. I definitely liked the discover and surprise parts of the story.
This is the first book in a book series and despite being a bit of an initial world builder kind of book it never felt dull. Yet it managed to do a fairly good job of the world building and, at the same time, it avoided going way to fast and gloss over important events for Madeline.
I will certainly read at least the second book in the series to see if it can keep my interest up.
miloulou's review
3.0
Almost four stars for me, except that I feel like I've ready this story before. Like, every aspect of it reminded me of another novel I've read, except one that just felt like more; more action, more romance, more character development. So if this were one of the first urban fantasy novels I'd ever read, I probably would have given it a higher rating. There's just nothing all that memorable about this one, right down to the hero who just doesn't interest me at all. It's weird that so much focus was on him, and yet I'm actually more curious about the other guys.
sonkad's review
3.0
3,5 stars.
The story was good. Madeline is a Agent of Death and is responsible for escorting the souls of the dearly departed to the afterlife. Her life was quite boring until one day demons started to go after her, a monster has been unleashed on the streets and a sexy, mysterious man rents an appartment in her building. And oh yes, she discovers she has powerful magical powers and her rather unexpected family lineage puts her in the middle between Heaven and Hell.
I didn´t exactly love her character but she was ok. My problem was that it seemed to me that she is not good at her job. She didn´t really try to persuade the souls to go through The Door, more like they were coming into the way of her ordinary life.
Gabriel had great potential. In the beginning, he was the dark and drool-worthy hero, the strong and dangerous one. But somehow I lost interest in him as the book went. He is the main love interest for Maddie but he felt too weak to me, especially when it came to obeying orders from Madeline´s father. I think Madeline needs more dominant man who will fight with her and for her.
J.B Bennett on the other hand was Gabriel´s opposite. Most of the book, he was only Madeline´s asshole boss, the annoying paper-pushing king of bureaucracy. But as the book went, we discovered he is full of surprises and I think he might become more interesting than Gabriel. We´ll see.
Some humor was brought into the book by her grumpy, popcorn loving Gargoyle Beezle. He was a great sidekick. Overall, I enjoyed the book and I will pick up the next one.
The story was good. Madeline is a Agent of Death and is responsible for escorting the souls of the dearly departed to the afterlife. Her life was quite boring until one day demons started to go after her, a monster has been unleashed on the streets and a sexy, mysterious man rents an appartment in her building. And oh yes, she discovers she has powerful magical powers and her rather unexpected family lineage puts her in the middle between Heaven and Hell.
I didn´t exactly love her character but she was ok. My problem was that it seemed to me that she is not good at her job. She didn´t really try to persuade the souls to go through The Door, more like they were coming into the way of her ordinary life.
Gabriel had great potential. In the beginning, he was the dark and drool-worthy hero, the strong and dangerous one. But somehow I lost interest in him as the book went. He is the main love interest for Maddie but he felt too weak to me, especially when it came to obeying orders from Madeline´s father. I think Madeline needs more dominant man who will fight with her and for her.
J.B Bennett on the other hand was Gabriel´s opposite. Most of the book, he was only Madeline´s asshole boss, the annoying paper-pushing king of bureaucracy. But as the book went, we discovered he is full of surprises and I think he might become more interesting than Gabriel. We´ll see.
Some humor was brought into the book by her grumpy, popcorn loving Gargoyle Beezle. He was a great sidekick. Overall, I enjoyed the book and I will pick up the next one.
nic_blake's review
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
lynn_the_greyhound_mum's review
5.0
Great book enjoyed the first time I read it in 2013 and enjoyed it just as much the second time of reading in 2015.
jonas_gehrlein's review
2.0
Really just a okay urban fantasy book. Not any huge flaws but also no standout features that makes you really want to read it.
chllybrd's review
5.0
reviewed by http://urbanfantasyinvestigations.blogspot.com/
Christina Henry did a fantastic job of writing a unique and interesting novel. I loved the mythology with the all the reaper business. There was tons of action. I loved Madeline's personality, she is independent, funny, witty, sassy, sarcastic, and knew how to stand her ground all wrapped up in a 32 year old that doesn't know when to keep her mouth shut at the most important times. I love books with gargoyle's in it. Beezle was the perfect little guardian that made me smile every time he was in the room with his snarky, smart alec comments. Gabriel shows up when all the chaos starts and brings a great addition to the book. There is tons of conflict with him wanting Maddy but not feeling its appropriate to be with her because of who he is and what he does, Christina Henry really did well with making it all believable. I really enjoyed reading this and look forward to Henry's next book in the series Black Night.
I gave it a 4.5 out of 5
Christina Henry did a fantastic job of writing a unique and interesting novel. I loved the mythology with the all the reaper business. There was tons of action. I loved Madeline's personality, she is independent, funny, witty, sassy, sarcastic, and knew how to stand her ground all wrapped up in a 32 year old that doesn't know when to keep her mouth shut at the most important times. I love books with gargoyle's in it. Beezle was the perfect little guardian that made me smile every time he was in the room with his snarky, smart alec comments. Gabriel shows up when all the chaos starts and brings a great addition to the book. There is tons of conflict with him wanting Maddy but not feeling its appropriate to be with her because of who he is and what he does, Christina Henry really did well with making it all believable. I really enjoyed reading this and look forward to Henry's next book in the series Black Night.
I gave it a 4.5 out of 5
audraelizabeth's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0