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jess_readsromance's review against another edition
4.0
"Let me go to Hell. Life without you will be worse. Please. Don't make me miss you, Emma. Love feels amazing. Go ballistic! Fly with me from here. Do anything-do something!"
I actually really enjoyed this. Its a fabulous twist between good and evil, and Debra has created a wonderful modern world full of half-breed vamps, Christmas Angels, and the Devil himself.
When Debra contacted Donna and I to review her book we were immediately drawn in by the blurb; a fallen Angel named Emma (actually she was thrown out by a rogue Angel) comes to Earth to try and help a half-breed vampire named Jason see the good in himself but first she has to help save God from Hell which leads to her meeting the Devil and a bloody love triangle ensues! If she succeeds she gets her ticket back to Heaven (and her wings), and Jason's soul will eventually go too (when he ceases to exist). Easy enough right? Wrong! You'll have to read it to find out why it wasn't easy for Emma. *smirk*
This is beautifully written, I found it fast paced, constant action and even a war between the Devil and Everett! I found the characters well developed especially Jack, the Devil himself; he went from being a sex driven, soul meeting, Lord of the Underworld. To a man who eventually learned and found love. His character grew really quickly throughout the book. What else can I say about Jack? Well he's just pure sex really. He's gorgeous, he has some bad vices like smoking like a chimney and drinking his way through rum and other spirits like he's in a brewery, but that's pretty much to hide who he really is inside. I'm in love with Jack. Period.
I loved Emma she was foul mouthed and strong considering what happened and I immediately liked her. Jason was another I liked straight off too, I always loved vamps, and I especially like vamps that are good, it makes for good reading.
What I really enjoyed about this book was how Debra (not sure why I keep using her first name like we're BFF's) switched the good and evil around. As in making Everett an Angel evil with a cold heart, and making a half-breed vamp and the Devil...ultimately good. I loved the intro we got to God too; I hope to see more of Him in the sequel.
The ending was a nice twist; I especially loved what Debra did to Jason and Jack in the end which should lead to some exciting reading in the second book.
The only gripe I have with this book is the constant shifting between dimensions, Heaven, Hell, Earth, Purgatory and even a little freezing of time, it just had me confused at times and I found myself flicking to a previous chapter to get an idea of where the character(s) were at the time. Other than that, I don't have any other problems. I really enjoyed it, and do think everyone should give it a read and make up their own mind. But if you want a tale with a twist that involves vamps, angels and the devil then definitely pick up Crushed Seraphim by Debra Anastasia.
Well I think that's it from me. I'd just like to thank Debra (there I go with the BBF name again) and her publishers for allowing me to review this :) and I look forward to book two for more Jack! :D
P.S-I do recommend this, but I recommend it to the older demographic, due to swearing and a pretty hot sex scene. There are a lot of sexual innuendos and another mild sex scene so I think this is suited more to 16+
I actually really enjoyed this. Its a fabulous twist between good and evil, and Debra has created a wonderful modern world full of half-breed vamps, Christmas Angels, and the Devil himself.
When Debra contacted Donna and I to review her book we were immediately drawn in by the blurb; a fallen Angel named Emma (actually she was thrown out by a rogue Angel) comes to Earth to try and help a half-breed vampire named Jason see the good in himself but first she has to help save God from Hell which leads to her meeting the Devil and a bloody love triangle ensues! If she succeeds she gets her ticket back to Heaven (and her wings), and Jason's soul will eventually go too (when he ceases to exist). Easy enough right? Wrong! You'll have to read it to find out why it wasn't easy for Emma. *smirk*
This is beautifully written, I found it fast paced, constant action and even a war between the Devil and Everett! I found the characters well developed especially Jack, the Devil himself; he went from being a sex driven, soul meeting, Lord of the Underworld. To a man who eventually learned and found love. His character grew really quickly throughout the book. What else can I say about Jack? Well he's just pure sex really. He's gorgeous, he has some bad vices like smoking like a chimney and drinking his way through rum and other spirits like he's in a brewery, but that's pretty much to hide who he really is inside. I'm in love with Jack. Period.
I loved Emma she was foul mouthed and strong considering what happened and I immediately liked her. Jason was another I liked straight off too, I always loved vamps, and I especially like vamps that are good, it makes for good reading.
What I really enjoyed about this book was how Debra (not sure why I keep using her first name like we're BFF's) switched the good and evil around. As in making Everett an Angel evil with a cold heart, and making a half-breed vamp and the Devil...ultimately good. I loved the intro we got to God too; I hope to see more of Him in the sequel.
The ending was a nice twist; I especially loved what Debra did to Jason and Jack in the end which should lead to some exciting reading in the second book.
The only gripe I have with this book is the constant shifting between dimensions, Heaven, Hell, Earth, Purgatory and even a little freezing of time, it just had me confused at times and I found myself flicking to a previous chapter to get an idea of where the character(s) were at the time. Other than that, I don't have any other problems. I really enjoyed it, and do think everyone should give it a read and make up their own mind. But if you want a tale with a twist that involves vamps, angels and the devil then definitely pick up Crushed Seraphim by Debra Anastasia.
Well I think that's it from me. I'd just like to thank Debra (there I go with the BBF name again) and her publishers for allowing me to review this :) and I look forward to book two for more Jack! :D
P.S-I do recommend this, but I recommend it to the older demographic, due to swearing and a pretty hot sex scene. There are a lot of sexual innuendos and another mild sex scene so I think this is suited more to 16+
nerfy's review against another edition
3.0
There were a few things about this book that I loved, and a few things that didn't quite do it for me. From the blurb above you can guess there's 3 main characters, Emma (Seraph angel), Jason (Half-breed vampire), and Jack (the Devil).
Jack, for me, was the best character, and I'm sure anyone who's read it will agree with me. He's sexy, feisty, funny, and just an all round likable guy, despite the fact that, you know, he's the Devil. Emma is a strong protagonist with a quick wit, a few funny one liners, and a generally kick-ass personality. Jason, on the other hand, was pretty dull. Maybe I expect too much of my vampires but he wasn't bad-ass enough and we don't really learn enough about him for me to particularly care about him.
I found that Emma's enthusiasm died down a bit towards the end of the book, which was a little disappointing, but Jack stayed strong and interesting which was enough to keep me going.
There's some steamy scenes for you romance lovers, as well as a juicy love triangle that keeps you hooked. As with any menage et toi's, a decision must be made, and certain events were sneaky at throwing you off course as to who that would be.
Storyline-wise, it wasn't particularly spectacular and I think a few details were maybe overlooked or things/characters weren't explained enough, making me think for a moment about what was going on (not in a good way, more in a 'huh?' kind of way).
It's worth a read but I wouldn't say it was what I expected. I wanted more kick-ass angels (I don't really think the half-breed vampire race was really needed or fit particularly well) and epic battles, Amy A. Bartol or Laury Falter style, but it was just out of reach with Crushed Seraphim.
I've already bought the second book in this series, Bittersweet Seraphim, so I'll get round to reading it eventually but I'm not picking it up straight away. A solid 3 out of 5.
Jack, for me, was the best character, and I'm sure anyone who's read it will agree with me. He's sexy, feisty, funny, and just an all round likable guy, despite the fact that, you know, he's the Devil. Emma is a strong protagonist with a quick wit, a few funny one liners, and a generally kick-ass personality. Jason, on the other hand, was pretty dull. Maybe I expect too much of my vampires but he wasn't bad-ass enough and we don't really learn enough about him for me to particularly care about him.
I found that Emma's enthusiasm died down a bit towards the end of the book, which was a little disappointing, but Jack stayed strong and interesting which was enough to keep me going.
There's some steamy scenes for you romance lovers, as well as a juicy love triangle that keeps you hooked. As with any menage et toi's, a decision must be made, and certain events were sneaky at throwing you off course as to who that would be.
Storyline-wise, it wasn't particularly spectacular and I think a few details were maybe overlooked or things/characters weren't explained enough, making me think for a moment about what was going on (not in a good way, more in a 'huh?' kind of way).
It's worth a read but I wouldn't say it was what I expected. I wanted more kick-ass angels (I don't really think the half-breed vampire race was really needed or fit particularly well) and epic battles, Amy A. Bartol or Laury Falter style, but it was just out of reach with Crushed Seraphim.
I've already bought the second book in this series, Bittersweet Seraphim, so I'll get round to reading it eventually but I'm not picking it up straight away. A solid 3 out of 5.
taisie22's review against another edition
1.0
Let me start by saying that I love the Poughkeepsie series, especially the first book. But this one was DNF - I just couldn't get past about half way through the book. It was a hot mess and not in a good way.
The characters are not engaging and the plot is just silly. A Christmas angel is in a instant love triangle with a half-human vampire-like guy and Satan (only a temporary Satan, God seems to keep replacing them here). Oh, and God has been captured in Hell because another angel who is really a bad guy and fooled God tricked him.
Sorry, it was just really bad fan fiction for Gena Showalter's books.
The characters are not engaging and the plot is just silly. A Christmas angel is in a instant love triangle with a half-human vampire-like guy and Satan (only a temporary Satan, God seems to keep replacing them here). Oh, and God has been captured in Hell because another angel who is really a bad guy and fooled God tricked him.
Sorry, it was just really bad fan fiction for Gena Showalter's books.
wilovebooks's review against another edition
5.0
Ok, so I read this a couple of weeks ago. I keep thinking about this book and want to read it again. I am highly anticipating the sequel. So I am changing my rating from **** to *****. I'm allowed, right?
aquaflame64's review against another edition
5.0
I won this book in a good reads contest. This book sound like it will be great! I'm alway interested in angel fiction, because it's one of the things that has always fasinated me. I'm really looking forward to it.
purplepages's review against another edition
3.0
That wasn’t blood.
It was love.
It pours out of you when you lose faith.
-----------------------
Seraph Emma has been thrown down from Heaven by Everett, a fellow Seraph who was planning to overthrow God.
She was given a task.
Her task was to make Jason (a half-breed vampire) know his worth.
At first Emma thought it was a task doomed for failure but the more time they spent together, the more she finds out that there was more to Jason than meets the eye.
With the Help of Jason and another unexpected character they journeyed to save God who was trapped in Hell and the world from the evil Everett.
This book was a whirlwind.
It was topsy-turvy.
It was unusually entertaining.
I have to say that it did somehow remind me of the TV show Supernatural.
The Angels here are not like the Angels that we all know and love.
Some of the Angels here are deceitful, fierce and cunning.
And the person you are expecting to show vileness is actually the one who showed passion and well willingness to help Emma save the world.
Anyways, I am not sure I really liked this book.
The premise was not so original for me because this was not the first time I’ve encountered bad angels.
I saw them in Supernatural.
The angels in Crushed Seraphim to me were very much like the ones in Supernatural.
I didn’t really like the characters that much either.
Emma was spunky, foul-mouthed and kick-ass.
I love kick-ass female leads but somehow she didn’t connect well with me.
I understand why she wanted to save the world and somehow I did feel compassionate towards her at some point but I really didn’t connect with her much.
The relationship between Emma and Jason was an epic fail for me.
Gosh!
It was worse than insta-love.
One minute, she was cursing him and then the next they were snogging each other.
Not a big fan.
The there’s Jack who I think was the only redeeming character in this book.
He was the first character you’ll encounter in this book and he caught me immediately.
I am not going to say what his role is here because it will be a major spoiler.
This book was really an interesting read.
I would have loved it without the romance between Jason and Emma.
That ruined it a bit for me.
Jack.
I just loved Jack.
I hope it had just been Jack and Emma without Jason.
Jason could be there but without the attraction stuff.
All that snogging and wanting to have sex was just… UGgghhh! Not good.
Then there’s the ending.
I am not sure if this book has a sequel or not but it didn’t finish well with me.
It was a freaking cliffhanger!
And GAWWD how I HATE cliffhangers!
I give this book 3 stars!
It was love.
It pours out of you when you lose faith.
-----------------------
Seraph Emma has been thrown down from Heaven by Everett, a fellow Seraph who was planning to overthrow God.
She was given a task.
Her task was to make Jason (a half-breed vampire) know his worth.
At first Emma thought it was a task doomed for failure but the more time they spent together, the more she finds out that there was more to Jason than meets the eye.
With the Help of Jason and another unexpected character they journeyed to save God who was trapped in Hell and the world from the evil Everett.
This book was a whirlwind.
It was topsy-turvy.
It was unusually entertaining.
I have to say that it did somehow remind me of the TV show Supernatural.
The Angels here are not like the Angels that we all know and love.
Some of the Angels here are deceitful, fierce and cunning.
And the person you are expecting to show vileness is actually the one who showed passion and well willingness to help Emma save the world.
Anyways, I am not sure I really liked this book.
The premise was not so original for me because this was not the first time I’ve encountered bad angels.
I saw them in Supernatural.
The angels in Crushed Seraphim to me were very much like the ones in Supernatural.
I didn’t really like the characters that much either.
Emma was spunky, foul-mouthed and kick-ass.
I love kick-ass female leads but somehow she didn’t connect well with me.
I understand why she wanted to save the world and somehow I did feel compassionate towards her at some point but I really didn’t connect with her much.
The relationship between Emma and Jason was an epic fail for me.
Gosh!
It was worse than insta-love.
One minute, she was cursing him and then the next they were snogging each other.
Not a big fan.
The there’s Jack who I think was the only redeeming character in this book.
He was the first character you’ll encounter in this book and he caught me immediately.
I am not going to say what his role is here because it will be a major spoiler.
This book was really an interesting read.
I would have loved it without the romance between Jason and Emma.
That ruined it a bit for me.
Jack.
I just loved Jack.
I hope it had just been Jack and Emma without Jason.
Jason could be there but without the attraction stuff.
All that snogging and wanting to have sex was just… UGgghhh! Not good.
Then there’s the ending.
I am not sure if this book has a sequel or not but it didn’t finish well with me.
It was a freaking cliffhanger!
And GAWWD how I HATE cliffhangers!
I give this book 3 stars!
missie_bee's review against another edition
2.0
Just looking at the cover of this book makes me want to love it. It's simple and pure, yet something about it feels ominous. Unfortunately, the story didn't resonate with me the way I'd hoped, but it still held some intrigue.
In the ultimate battle of Good versus Evil, Seraph Emma is sent to earth to complete the impossible task of helping half-breed vampire Jason to see his worth. Along the way, Emma loses her wings, takes a trip hell, saves God, plays pool with the Devil and falls in love. All in a day's work for an angel who possess incredible faith and strength. But Emma's goodness also leads to her ultimate sacrifice, which just may keep her trapped with her worst enemy forever.
The prologue was amazing. Opening with the Devil condemning a soul to an eternity of tenfold retribution for the evil she committed on earth, after, of course, he gets a bit of pleasure out of Hell's newest inhabitant. Then chapter one happened and the story took a turn that made it seem like a different book altogether.
I'd say the main issues I had with Crushed Seraphim pertain to the narrative style and the pace. For the most part, I believe the story was intended to be told as third person omniscient, but the transitions between characters POV's wasn't always clear and it sometimes veered into an awkward territory that was rather limited, which affected the pace of the story and caused some confusion.
Another reason why I couldn't get comfortable with the narrative was the over-stylized dialogue. Jason, for example, was a modern day vampire, nineteen generations removed from the first of his kind, yet his speak was so formal. For a vampire, he just seemed too proper, and he never relaxed. As crazy as I am about vampires, I couldn't find anything particularly appealing about him, and as a love interest for Emma, he bored me.
I also felt like there was too much bouncing around from dimension. Heaven, earth, hell, even purgatory was thrown in for good measure, and the constant switching between settings was off putting.
While the premise of the story was fascinating, somehow it wasn't always cohesive. Emma, a seraph, is sent to earth to help a half-breed realize he has good in him, but she didn't know the history of half-breeds and why they exist? Jason had to explain it to her? I felt like this was done more for the reader's sake rather than Emma's, and could have been introduced differently. Other instances of incohesiveness included how foolish angels and even God were made to look, and how easily deceived they were instead of being 'all knowing' and able to recognize good intent, yet the one fooling them was an 'evil' angel.
Despite the awkward layout, Anastasia did develop many mesmerizing ideas. Her vivid descriptions of Hell and the hallway of horrors were nothing short of engrossing, terrifying even. And, I found the vampire mythology she created to be unique and interesting. I wasn't expecting to get to read about vampires in Crushed Seraphim so that felt like an extra treat.
Ironically, the saving grace of the novel was Jack, the devil, or Satan as he prefers to be called. Jack has the the kind of dynamic that undoubtedly convinces you that he invented sex and sin, and only he is capable of bring you any satisfaction. His presence was so overpowering that his every scene brought to life an array of heated emotions, from laughter to lust, and yes, even to love.
I'm still not sure how I felt about Emma. Her faith in God was admirable but that was about the only thing that made me like her. She wasn't very resolved with her decisions, and it made her seem flaky and shallow instead of snarky and clever. Possibly my biggest frustration with her was she just had too much going on. She talked about her human life and her human lover, reminiscing even though once she passed judgment to enter heaven her past was supposed to be erased. And the fact that she kept changing from an angel to human repeatedly kind of made the magic of being an angel seem less special, as if it wasn't really a great and precious gift. Also, she had too many suitors, and it became tiresome to hear how she was desired by all the men in the story.
The end wasn't a heart pounding cliffhanger, but the story does leave off unfinished. Too much was left open for me to consider it a satisfactory conclusion, which is always a bit disappointing.
Ultimately, Crushed Seraphim is a spellbounding juxtaposition of heaven and hell. It showcases angels as wanton creatures capable of deceit and jealousy and a devil who epitomizes the phrase delicious as sin. It may have been a bit rough around the edges in terms of narration and pace, but it took typical portrayals of good and evil and shook it up by adding an array of temptations.
http://www.theunreadreader.com/2011/07/review-crushed-seraphim.html
In the ultimate battle of Good versus Evil, Seraph Emma is sent to earth to complete the impossible task of helping half-breed vampire Jason to see his worth. Along the way, Emma loses her wings, takes a trip hell, saves God, plays pool with the Devil and falls in love. All in a day's work for an angel who possess incredible faith and strength. But Emma's goodness also leads to her ultimate sacrifice, which just may keep her trapped with her worst enemy forever.
The prologue was amazing. Opening with the Devil condemning a soul to an eternity of tenfold retribution for the evil she committed on earth, after, of course, he gets a bit of pleasure out of Hell's newest inhabitant. Then chapter one happened and the story took a turn that made it seem like a different book altogether.
I'd say the main issues I had with Crushed Seraphim pertain to the narrative style and the pace. For the most part, I believe the story was intended to be told as third person omniscient, but the transitions between characters POV's wasn't always clear and it sometimes veered into an awkward territory that was rather limited, which affected the pace of the story and caused some confusion.
Another reason why I couldn't get comfortable with the narrative was the over-stylized dialogue. Jason, for example, was a modern day vampire, nineteen generations removed from the first of his kind, yet his speak was so formal. For a vampire, he just seemed too proper, and he never relaxed. As crazy as I am about vampires, I couldn't find anything particularly appealing about him, and as a love interest for Emma, he bored me.
I also felt like there was too much bouncing around from dimension. Heaven, earth, hell, even purgatory was thrown in for good measure, and the constant switching between settings was off putting.
While the premise of the story was fascinating, somehow it wasn't always cohesive. Emma, a seraph, is sent to earth to help a half-breed realize he has good in him, but she didn't know the history of half-breeds and why they exist? Jason had to explain it to her? I felt like this was done more for the reader's sake rather than Emma's, and could have been introduced differently. Other instances of incohesiveness included how foolish angels and even God were made to look, and how easily deceived they were instead of being 'all knowing' and able to recognize good intent, yet the one fooling them was an 'evil' angel.
Despite the awkward layout, Anastasia did develop many mesmerizing ideas. Her vivid descriptions of Hell and the hallway of horrors were nothing short of engrossing, terrifying even. And, I found the vampire mythology she created to be unique and interesting. I wasn't expecting to get to read about vampires in Crushed Seraphim so that felt like an extra treat.
Ironically, the saving grace of the novel was Jack, the devil, or Satan as he prefers to be called. Jack has the the kind of dynamic that undoubtedly convinces you that he invented sex and sin, and only he is capable of bring you any satisfaction. His presence was so overpowering that his every scene brought to life an array of heated emotions, from laughter to lust, and yes, even to love.
I'm still not sure how I felt about Emma. Her faith in God was admirable but that was about the only thing that made me like her. She wasn't very resolved with her decisions, and it made her seem flaky and shallow instead of snarky and clever. Possibly my biggest frustration with her was she just had too much going on. She talked about her human life and her human lover, reminiscing even though once she passed judgment to enter heaven her past was supposed to be erased. And the fact that she kept changing from an angel to human repeatedly kind of made the magic of being an angel seem less special, as if it wasn't really a great and precious gift. Also, she had too many suitors, and it became tiresome to hear how she was desired by all the men in the story.
The end wasn't a heart pounding cliffhanger, but the story does leave off unfinished. Too much was left open for me to consider it a satisfactory conclusion, which is always a bit disappointing.
Ultimately, Crushed Seraphim is a spellbounding juxtaposition of heaven and hell. It showcases angels as wanton creatures capable of deceit and jealousy and a devil who epitomizes the phrase delicious as sin. It may have been a bit rough around the edges in terms of narration and pace, but it took typical portrayals of good and evil and shook it up by adding an array of temptations.
http://www.theunreadreader.com/2011/07/review-crushed-seraphim.html
moonkissedtiger's review against another edition
1.0
I received this book through the goodreads giveaway.
I had such high hopes for this book, the synopsis sounded delicious. Unfortunately, I couldn't even finish reading this book. For the first time in a long time, I couldn't finish a book because I found it so poorly written, so unengaging. I made it to the end of Chapter Two and I just couldn't stomach Chapter Three.
This is all in my opinion obviously, as I read other reviews and people loved it, I just don't see it. The characters are flat from the get go. There's hardly any mention of scenery or any sort of set-up to characters. The voices were unbelievable, the wording and conversations were dismal, I just couldn't get invested in what was going on. If I could even accurately figure out what WAS going on.
It just felt messy and I thought it could have been revamped and crafted more. The premise sounds wonderful.
I feel terrible not finishing this book out but I really can't waste my time reading something that is not enjoyable. And this is not enjoyable.
I had such high hopes for this book, the synopsis sounded delicious. Unfortunately, I couldn't even finish reading this book. For the first time in a long time, I couldn't finish a book because I found it so poorly written, so unengaging. I made it to the end of Chapter Two and I just couldn't stomach Chapter Three.
This is all in my opinion obviously, as I read other reviews and people loved it, I just don't see it. The characters are flat from the get go. There's hardly any mention of scenery or any sort of set-up to characters. The voices were unbelievable, the wording and conversations were dismal, I just couldn't get invested in what was going on. If I could even accurately figure out what WAS going on.
It just felt messy and I thought it could have been revamped and crafted more. The premise sounds wonderful.
I feel terrible not finishing this book out but I really can't waste my time reading something that is not enjoyable. And this is not enjoyable.
suzy76's review against another edition
5.0
This is not the story I was expecting but I really enjoyed it. Debra Anastasia is a very talented storyteller who fills her books with vivid descriptions and heart stoping moments. Cannot wait for the sequel!