A review by a_verthandi
Gates of Paradise by Melissa de la Cruz
3.0
Here's the deal, in my opinion. Melissa de la Cruz has some actually interesting ideas! The premise alone is actually a really interesting idea.
And then we get bogged down in plots.
And subplots.
And sub-sub-plots. (And talk about your mishmash of mythologies here: we have Judeo-Christian angels from both the Bible and mystic traditions, but Hel, Urd, Freyja, and other Norse gods also exist. No, Melissa, they are not 'Helda' and 'Erda.' Oh, also Guanyin is an angel. At least she's an angel of mercy, which is mostly in line with what she actually is. ALSO ALSO, there are circles of Hell. And an Orpheus clause.)
And werewolves, who are kind of but not really important to the actual plot.
Your villain is Lucifer. But we almost never see him -- there's no more possession deal, which is a shame because it made Bliss moderately interesting (though I like where she's going with the werewolves.)
Also, thankfully the clothing descriptions don't have quite as many designer labels.
I don't know. The writing is OK, though unquestionably shaky at some points as there are lots of phrases shoved in when one would probably suffice. Also, sometimes Jack and Schuyler made me roll my eyes /hard/.
I like this series, but it's not my favorite.
And then we get bogged down in plots.
And subplots.
And sub-sub-plots. (And talk about your mishmash of mythologies here: we have Judeo-Christian angels from both the Bible and mystic traditions, but Hel, Urd, Freyja, and other Norse gods also exist. No, Melissa, they are not 'Helda' and 'Erda.' Oh, also Guanyin is an angel. At least she's an angel of mercy, which is mostly in line with what she actually is. ALSO ALSO, there are circles of Hell. And an Orpheus clause.)
And werewolves, who are kind of but not really important to the actual plot.
Your villain is Lucifer. But we almost never see him -- there's no more possession deal, which is a shame because it made Bliss moderately interesting (though I like where she's going with the werewolves.)
Also, thankfully the clothing descriptions don't have quite as many designer labels.
I don't know. The writing is OK, though unquestionably shaky at some points as there are lots of phrases shoved in when one would probably suffice. Also, sometimes Jack and Schuyler made me roll my eyes /hard/.
I like this series, but it's not my favorite.