anovelstart's review
5.0
I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or my review in any way.
The author asked me to review this book before the cover reveal of the second in the series, Reaping Angel. I was a little bias actually, I don't usually judge a book by its cover, but with a book like this you just can't help it - it's so pretty! It sounded like my kind of thing as well, so I said yes. You know what? It was fantastic.
I really loved Enael as a character, she's an angel, but she's also very relatable! She's trying to learn how to be a better guardian angel. Some of the trials she goes through are very similar to what we go through, love and lust for example. She's sweet and innocent, but there's also a fire in her that I can just feel burns with a vengeance. I can just feel she's the type of person you just don't want to cross. I love her strong morals, her sense of right and wrong, I think it's because of this which is why I love her so much. She isn't afraid to help the underdog, even if it makes her unpopular. I love that she doesn't care what others think, she just does it because it's the right thing to do.
The storyline is very believable. Yes, it's a fantasy. It's about angels and fallen angels... but it's so real! Put it this way, it's one of those books that brings up a lot of philosophical questions, and in the right place too. The things this book makes you wonder is just fantastic. For example, I'm left wondering if we really do choose our life plan before we incarnate on this earth. It's a reasonable thing. I believe in God, I'm not afraid to say it. Is it therefore such a huge leap to say we reincarnate many times so we can experience different trials in each life? Each trial is discussed with our guardian angel to see if it'd be too difficult for us at this stage. If we agree that our soul becomes wiser from it, I don't think that's such a huge leap. I actually think that's very reasonable. You now see what I mean by this book bringing up philosophical debates in your mind :) It'd be excellent for a book club!
Guarding Angel is beautifully written, I love the level of description. Emotions are also very well portrayed in this book because it helps angels understand their wards better. I think it's because of the world it's built in that requires this level of detail, but Saboviec really pulled it off! It's wonderful, amazing, and just awe-inspiring. Rather than thinking, "could I believe this world exists?" I'm actually trying to persuade myself it doesn't. That's how good the world-building and description is.
Needless to say the story really touched me. I loved it. The storyline was fantastic and flowed beautifully. You can really feel the struggles in the story, it feels so realistic I had to stop reading a few times because "I had something in my eye", you know?
Another favourite aspect of this book is I was worried it'd be concentrated on Christianity. It isn't. Belief in this book is based on all religions, so long as you pray to somebody (anybody), that's what counts :) It's the belief in something higher than yourself that matters, not the who. I just really liked that, it's one of the smaller touches in the book but I thought it was very well thought out.
I'd definitely recommend this book to lovers of fantasy. If you believe in angels or have an interest in them - read this book! Seriously, do it. I really can't wait to continue the story in the next book :) 2016 just can't come soon enough.
If you liked my review, please visit my blog: http://www.anovelstart.com
The author asked me to review this book before the cover reveal of the second in the series, Reaping Angel. I was a little bias actually, I don't usually judge a book by its cover, but with a book like this you just can't help it - it's so pretty! It sounded like my kind of thing as well, so I said yes. You know what? It was fantastic.
I really loved Enael as a character, she's an angel, but she's also very relatable! She's trying to learn how to be a better guardian angel. Some of the trials she goes through are very similar to what we go through, love and lust for example. She's sweet and innocent, but there's also a fire in her that I can just feel burns with a vengeance. I can just feel she's the type of person you just don't want to cross. I love her strong morals, her sense of right and wrong, I think it's because of this which is why I love her so much. She isn't afraid to help the underdog, even if it makes her unpopular. I love that she doesn't care what others think, she just does it because it's the right thing to do.
The storyline is very believable. Yes, it's a fantasy. It's about angels and fallen angels... but it's so real! Put it this way, it's one of those books that brings up a lot of philosophical questions, and in the right place too. The things this book makes you wonder is just fantastic. For example, I'm left wondering if we really do choose our life plan before we incarnate on this earth. It's a reasonable thing. I believe in God, I'm not afraid to say it. Is it therefore such a huge leap to say we reincarnate many times so we can experience different trials in each life? Each trial is discussed with our guardian angel to see if it'd be too difficult for us at this stage. If we agree that our soul becomes wiser from it, I don't think that's such a huge leap. I actually think that's very reasonable. You now see what I mean by this book bringing up philosophical debates in your mind :) It'd be excellent for a book club!
Guarding Angel is beautifully written, I love the level of description. Emotions are also very well portrayed in this book because it helps angels understand their wards better. I think it's because of the world it's built in that requires this level of detail, but Saboviec really pulled it off! It's wonderful, amazing, and just awe-inspiring. Rather than thinking, "could I believe this world exists?" I'm actually trying to persuade myself it doesn't. That's how good the world-building and description is.
Needless to say the story really touched me. I loved it. The storyline was fantastic and flowed beautifully. You can really feel the struggles in the story, it feels so realistic I had to stop reading a few times because "I had something in my eye", you know?
Another favourite aspect of this book is I was worried it'd be concentrated on Christianity. It isn't. Belief in this book is based on all religions, so long as you pray to somebody (anybody), that's what counts :) It's the belief in something higher than yourself that matters, not the who. I just really liked that, it's one of the smaller touches in the book but I thought it was very well thought out.
I'd definitely recommend this book to lovers of fantasy. If you believe in angels or have an interest in them - read this book! Seriously, do it. I really can't wait to continue the story in the next book :) 2016 just can't come soon enough.
If you liked my review, please visit my blog: http://www.anovelstart.com
wulfwyn's review against another edition
5.0
Guarding Angel is epic. I was on an amazing emotional roller coaster ride from the start. The simple summary would be it is a tale of good versus evil; angels versus demons. The book, in my opinion, is much more complex than that. It is a kaleidoscope of different levels of angels, demons, minions, humans and beliefs. It was disturbing, entertaining, emotional, and, for me, philosophical. It is a book that I will return to again. And again.
It is hard for me to choose what I loved best about this book. The author did an awesome job with descriptions. I could see everything unfolding in my mind as if I were watching a movie, or better yet, as if I were there. The relationships between the angels with each other and with humans were believable to me. I believe we do have Guardian Angels. I do believe our souls choose the lessons we learn in life. I do believe we return and that we form relationships during the lifetimes that can cross into other lifetimes. I read other Guardian Angel books and enjoyed them but they didn't have the realistic feel to them that I got from this book. The author successfully combined fantasy with reality for me. Faith was central to the success or failure of the angels ability to help the human they were assigned to. The author was all inclusive on this. No single religion was selected or denied. All relied on faith in a Higher Power be it God, Jehovah, Allah or any of the other names used around the globe. I love that. I want to say so much more but am afraid of giving away too much. There is a part that I feel I need to address though.
There is a disturbing scene involving rape. It was not pleasant to read but, for me, it fit in the story. Bad things happen in life. To ignore that in this story would have been an injustice. I thought the author handled it well. She wrote enough to tell the story but nothing more. I think to shy away from using rape in a book is to hide it away as shameful. It wasn't easy for me to read because I was raped. But what is harder for me is when people want to hide it. That is when I feel ashamed and hurt. Things kept hidden away can have a lot of power. Just as acknowledging that they happen can have a lot of power. They are different powers though and I prefer the one that heals. My personal beliefs run along the lines of those in this book. It was not hard for me to believe that a soul would choose that type of suffering. If we are here to learn than not all the lessons can be of rainbows and unicorns. What happens afterwards and the ending of this life is both beautiful and tragic. This part of the book was huge for me. I really hope if you are interested in this book you don't let this scene stop you from reading it. The author gives enough warning that it is coming so if you don't want to read the details of it you can skim over it. I think it was essential to the story. This book is filled with complex characters and scenes. It is a bit dark though not what I would call horror. I loved it.
I read this in a day only stopping to keep the horde from attacking due to hunger. I love my horde so I had to cook. I would recommend that you start this book when you have a large chunk of time to read it. Don't start it on the train to work. You might call in sick and just ride the rails, reading. Don't say you weren't warned. I would also recommend it for book clubs. I know I would be immensely interested in a discussion.
It is hard for me to choose what I loved best about this book. The author did an awesome job with descriptions. I could see everything unfolding in my mind as if I were watching a movie, or better yet, as if I were there. The relationships between the angels with each other and with humans were believable to me. I believe we do have Guardian Angels. I do believe our souls choose the lessons we learn in life. I do believe we return and that we form relationships during the lifetimes that can cross into other lifetimes. I read other Guardian Angel books and enjoyed them but they didn't have the realistic feel to them that I got from this book. The author successfully combined fantasy with reality for me. Faith was central to the success or failure of the angels ability to help the human they were assigned to. The author was all inclusive on this. No single religion was selected or denied. All relied on faith in a Higher Power be it God, Jehovah, Allah or any of the other names used around the globe. I love that. I want to say so much more but am afraid of giving away too much. There is a part that I feel I need to address though.
There is a disturbing scene involving rape. It was not pleasant to read but, for me, it fit in the story. Bad things happen in life. To ignore that in this story would have been an injustice. I thought the author handled it well. She wrote enough to tell the story but nothing more. I think to shy away from using rape in a book is to hide it away as shameful. It wasn't easy for me to read because I was raped. But what is harder for me is when people want to hide it. That is when I feel ashamed and hurt. Things kept hidden away can have a lot of power. Just as acknowledging that they happen can have a lot of power. They are different powers though and I prefer the one that heals. My personal beliefs run along the lines of those in this book. It was not hard for me to believe that a soul would choose that type of suffering. If we are here to learn than not all the lessons can be of rainbows and unicorns. What happens afterwards and the ending of this life is both beautiful and tragic. This part of the book was huge for me. I really hope if you are interested in this book you don't let this scene stop you from reading it. The author gives enough warning that it is coming so if you don't want to read the details of it you can skim over it. I think it was essential to the story. This book is filled with complex characters and scenes. It is a bit dark though not what I would call horror. I loved it.
I read this in a day only stopping to keep the horde from attacking due to hunger. I love my horde so I had to cook. I would recommend that you start this book when you have a large chunk of time to read it. Don't start it on the train to work. You might call in sick and just ride the rails, reading. Don't say you weren't warned. I would also recommend it for book clubs. I know I would be immensely interested in a discussion.
amysofta's review
3.0
So what motivated me to pick Guarding Angel? I have to confess the concept of a paranormal romance centering around reincarnation is what pulled me in. I am a believer in reincarnation and wanted to see how the author worked it into her story. Angel stories also tend to be one of my favorite branches of paranormal genre, right behind vampires and before werewolves…yes I rank them. So the desire to work more indie authors into my reading rotation and a story that caught my attention it was the right time to give Guarding Angel a shot. If only I wasn’t in such a personal reading slump…
Okay, honesty time let’s get the tough stuff out of the way first. It took me nine days to read this book, and I just couldn’t get excited about it. I did like it, but I thought I would like it better when I agreed to review it. The book was a little slow in the beginning, but it did pick up about half way through and I finished the last 120 pages in one day. I think I might have liked the story better if it was set in the modern era or the angel’s charges were in today’s society. I’ve mentioned before that I am not a huge fan of historical reads and this is one case where it didn’t add to the story for me. The author did a fine job staying true to the time periods and I only found one instance where I know something was not historically accurate (baling of hay did not begin until the mid 1800’s about 100 years after one of the background character’s is moving bales of hay).
I also had a tough time connecting with the two main characters and did not care for their first set of charges at all. I though Enael was a bit too timid and naive and Kaspen was all over the place. Both characters grew and developed throughout the story, but only Enael was able to grow on me and I ended up respecting her by the end. Kaspen never was able to win me over unfortunately. Their romance was very innocent for much of the book, but did develop a bit of heat near the end, but even that remained off page. For those looking for a less graphic read in the sex area this might be a book you would like to check into. There are some sexual situations, but they not anything that would turn off the average reader in my opinion.
So what did work for me? What kept me reading past my 50-100 page dnf cut off. Like I said I enjoyed the story, and perhaps it would have worked better for me at a different time, when I am not in the middle of a reading slump. I did love the reincarnation element that the author based her story around. Much of it was pretty in line with much of the non-fiction reading I’ve done on the subject. It was interesting to see this concept was blended with a more traditional view of heaven/hell and angels/demons. I tend to have a more secular belief on the concept of reincarnation, but for story’s sake this one worked well. I also appreciated the growth Enael experienced throughout the story. In the beginning I wasn’t real sure I could be in her head for 300 some pages, but she surprised me and in the end I did like her. Much of the story is broken into three time periods for three different set of charges for the two main characters. I struggled with the first setting, but the second and third were quite interesting. I almost wish we could have spent more time exploring hell in the book, some of my favorite scenes took place there. I don’t necessarily think that all of the creatures there are as evil as they are classified as just as I don’t think all the angels inhabiting heaven are as pure as they are assumed to be.
I would definitely recommend this book to fans of historical paranormal romance. I am at a loss of other authors to compare this one to, she has a pretty distinctive voice and style compared to others that I’ve read. It was a good first book that finished strong and I expect will continue to gain strength in the next story as the plot develops.
I received a copy of this book from the author for an honest review.
Okay, honesty time let’s get the tough stuff out of the way first. It took me nine days to read this book, and I just couldn’t get excited about it. I did like it, but I thought I would like it better when I agreed to review it. The book was a little slow in the beginning, but it did pick up about half way through and I finished the last 120 pages in one day. I think I might have liked the story better if it was set in the modern era or the angel’s charges were in today’s society. I’ve mentioned before that I am not a huge fan of historical reads and this is one case where it didn’t add to the story for me. The author did a fine job staying true to the time periods and I only found one instance where I know something was not historically accurate (baling of hay did not begin until the mid 1800’s about 100 years after one of the background character’s is moving bales of hay).
I also had a tough time connecting with the two main characters and did not care for their first set of charges at all. I though Enael was a bit too timid and naive and Kaspen was all over the place. Both characters grew and developed throughout the story, but only Enael was able to grow on me and I ended up respecting her by the end. Kaspen never was able to win me over unfortunately. Their romance was very innocent for much of the book, but did develop a bit of heat near the end, but even that remained off page. For those looking for a less graphic read in the sex area this might be a book you would like to check into. There are some sexual situations, but they not anything that would turn off the average reader in my opinion.
So what did work for me? What kept me reading past my 50-100 page dnf cut off. Like I said I enjoyed the story, and perhaps it would have worked better for me at a different time, when I am not in the middle of a reading slump. I did love the reincarnation element that the author based her story around. Much of it was pretty in line with much of the non-fiction reading I’ve done on the subject. It was interesting to see this concept was blended with a more traditional view of heaven/hell and angels/demons. I tend to have a more secular belief on the concept of reincarnation, but for story’s sake this one worked well. I also appreciated the growth Enael experienced throughout the story. In the beginning I wasn’t real sure I could be in her head for 300 some pages, but she surprised me and in the end I did like her. Much of the story is broken into three time periods for three different set of charges for the two main characters. I struggled with the first setting, but the second and third were quite interesting. I almost wish we could have spent more time exploring hell in the book, some of my favorite scenes took place there. I don’t necessarily think that all of the creatures there are as evil as they are classified as just as I don’t think all the angels inhabiting heaven are as pure as they are assumed to be.
I would definitely recommend this book to fans of historical paranormal romance. I am at a loss of other authors to compare this one to, she has a pretty distinctive voice and style compared to others that I’ve read. It was a good first book that finished strong and I expect will continue to gain strength in the next story as the plot develops.
I received a copy of this book from the author for an honest review.
nmcannon's review
5.0
I adored GUARDING ANGEL: it was addicting and interesting and tickled my fancies in the just the right way. The world-building, characters, and the characters' development were so spot on: Enael was very relatable and Saboviec outlined all her struggles so well that I kept rooting for her throughout the story, never becoming impatient for her realize such-and-such already. The adventure is epic; the lovers, true; the sadness and joy, real. I recommend this not only to all fantasy and history fans, but to all human beings.
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