Angelfall

Angelfall
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of Bookbridgr

It's been six weeks since the angels of the apocalypse destroyed the world as we know it. Only pockets of humanity remain. Savage street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When Penryn and her family stumble into an angel smack down, the angels are so busy trying to cut off one's wings, that they nearly get away.....nearly. When the angels fly off with her sister, Penryn will do anything to get her back...but when she does...she might not be the same.

Penryn will have to work with the angel she saved to get to the angel's base and rescue her sister, while Raffe just needs to get his wings sewn back on...but things are always more complicated than they should be....especially when feelings are involved.

HOLY SHIT! I can't believe it took me THIS long to read this book! Don't get me wrong, I've been intrigued for a while, but I don't have a lot of time to read books that aren't review books right now, and so I've been eyeing this up, then it popped up on Bookbridgr, presumably because the final one is out next month! But anyways, I had to grab it and I've been itching to finally get round to it and oh my god it has everything I want in a book!

First of all the originality is all over the book, I mean it's so unique I got far too excited, we all know I love to read unique books, that are a little bit different from the norm, and this is no exception. I mean we have an agnostic angel and I seriously was just like....that is freaking brilliant! If I didn't already love Raffe that would have done it!

The main thing was the premise, so unique, apocalypse by angels! I was sucked in from the beginning and totally glued to the page. I seriously couldn't put it down, I was fascinated and enchanted by the book and it's world. The world was so vivid, you could picture every setting, every single thing described, characters, buildings, the atmosphere oozed off the page and engulfed you as you where reading, it was incredible. I was delightfully disgusted at more than one point, it had a nice dark edge to it in places.

The premise was just as strong as it's plot, I didn't even bother trying to guess what was going to happen next, I just rolled with it and went along for the ride. And what a ride it was, there was always something going on, something to keep you reading, action and what not. The plot was complex, there was the whole deal with Penryn looking after her sister and Raffe helping her, but there was a complexity in the angels. They have some serious political mess going on, they don't know why they're there, or what they're doing and their messenger was killed and now they need a knew one, so they're kind of all fighting over it, and one angel wants to be the new messenger, but Raffe's soldiers want him to be it and so on, but Raffe has gone missing as far as they're aware, none of them seem to know he was ambushed by the angels working for the dude who wants to be in charge and had his wings cut off and that he hasn't abandoned them. So yeah, it's complex!

The other thing about the angels that added a sense of originality was that the angels all looked different, in that they all had different wings, most books have them all looking the same but this one added this cool element! I'm trying to work out what each wing means!

Penryn was an awesome main character, she's everything I love, she's badass, her dedication to finding her sister was inspiring, and just amazing. She was written so strongly that you connected with her immediately and you have nothing but respect for her character, looking after her sister, going after her to rescue her, and having to deal with her mother at the same time. I'm slightly convinced there's more to her mother's illness than meets the eye, but maybe I'm just overly suspicious!

Raffe. I liked Raffe. I didn't suspect what his real name was and as a fan of Supernatural I'm slightly aware of angels and who is what. Should have seen it coming. I loved his interactions with Pen, their banter and bickering where hilarious, and they work together, they have a certain chemistry that jumps off the page. I was so gutted when someone stole his wings and he got stuck with the demon wings, but he's so adorable, trying to be all " I don't even like you" yeah...sure mate, whatever you say, and then checking they had her in the van and everything. So adorable. He better get his damn wings back and takeover and kick the asshole angels asses. I swear.

I enjoyed how the romance was almost secondary to the plot, it was subtle, growing naturally and then kind of coming to centre stage towards the end, and I can't wait to see how their relationship develops in the final two books! It's going to be very well done either way and probably with lots of feels and aaawwss!

So yeah, before I gush on about it for pages and pages and pages, I'd better end the review here! The ending just left me wanting more and I really didn't want to leave the characters or the world! I can't wait to get my hands on the second book and I may have to take a break in my reviewing schedule to fit it in, because I'll be damned if I'm waiting months!

Angelfall is darkly atmospheric, enchanting, enthralling, original, expertly crafter, incredibly written, atmospheric, macabre....I could go on all day! Not to mention the rich background and history and mythology to the book and the angels and the world. I love me some rich mythology and background! Especially when it's slotted in perfectly with an engaging narrative.

Unborn

Unborn
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: ARC Courtesy of NetGalley

Khara has spent centuries living in the Underworld with her adoptive father Hades, but when she's ripped from her home by a Dark One and unceremoniously dumped in the middle of Detroit, Khara gets a rude awakening. You see she's not the only child of Ares, although she is his only daughter, seeing as how all his daughters are usually killed at birth, all except Khara who was saved by her mother and hidden with help from Demeter. When she's dumped in Detroit, Khara just so happens to be found by Drew when he's on patrol....Drew, along with Pierson, Kierson and Casey turn out to not only be her half brothers, but also part of a group of immortal warriors who police Detroit's supernaturals, and they're (mostly) only too excited to meet their long lost sister.

Taking her in and vowing to keep her safe from the impending threat of Diemos, sure to come after, they soon discover there's something strange going on. Soul Breathers are breaking a treaty, the Gargoyles have gone AWOL, and the jackass fallen angel lodging with them appears to know way more than he's letting on. Like the fact Sean, another of the brothers, is actually her twin. It's a race against time to find out who and what she is before the evil stalking her through the city can find her.

Okay, full disclosure, I thought this sounded intriguing and I changed up the synopsis because when I started reading, I was like "okay cool Drew's gonna be the love interest" but then I was like wait whaaaaatt?! Because ya know, it doesn't mention the whole "the warriors are her brothers" thing, so I was expecting something waaay different, but this was actually way more awesome than I was anticipating. Not gonna lie!

I'm currently seeing a lot of other reviewers smack talking this, I can kind of see your point I guess, but quite frankly the book made me laugh, and it was a total and complete escape for a few hours, what more do you want?!

I have never read anything by the author before, I was drawn in by Underworld and Immortal Warriors, but after this, I think I'm going to endeavor to check out more of her titles! At the minute I'm on a roll with really awesome books so I'm kind of on edge waiting for the other shoe to drop, as it where, so I was incredibly wary as I started reading.

However, it didn't take me long to get fully engrossed in the story and the world. Seriously it sucked me and spat me back out a couple hours later with lots of feels and a book hangover, which I'm nursing by eating an entire packet of Haribo.....as you do.

The world building was fantastic, I'm not sure if it was the intent but I got such a dark vibe from Detroit, and I could picture the house, the streets and the club perfectly, like I was there. It's such an engrossing world to be in to be honest you don't really want to leave, I was watching the time on my Kindle tick down and getting very distressed!

Unborn is incredibly unique, I mean hello did you see the whole "adopted daughter of Hades" thing? He's not in this book but I'm so desperate to meet him I'm psyched he'll be in the second book.....he kind of has to! Karah and her brothers are all kids of Ares, and each of them has different mothers, except Karah and Sean and Pierson and Kierson...obviously. Basically Ares is a bit of a tool and was sleeping with different ladies to experiment to see what he could produce. So each of them has their own thing they can do, Pierson is the magic dude in this case for instance.

The mythology for the book is the thing that really made it for me, I love unique and rich mythology and that is what Unborn has, I've never read this take on it before or anything like it really, and I loved learning about the world of the book. In Unborn we get this amazing blend of Greek Mythology and the whole Angelic mythology going on that are both unique and work very well together, and I've never come across before!  There was no info dumping either which is always a plus. The book told you what you needed to know in the right amount of detail without disrupting the fast pace and flow of the book.

Karah was an interesting lead, because she's kind of....I'm not sure how to explain it. She talks a tad bit odd I would imagine, I mean I was picturing her with a British accent to be honest because I can't imagine the wording with US accents which is weird but bear with me. The impression I got was that things where pretty lonely in the Underworld, and with Diemos being a giant douche and the general violence, emotions are weakness down there so Karah pretty much doesn't show emotion much. Which is understandable.

I couldn't help but chuckle sometimes when she was all "I'm feeling something" purely because it reminded me of Legolas in LOTR when he's drinking and is all "i think it's affecting me". But yeah, so, she doesn't do emotions, she's unused to feeling them which made it unusual and intriguing to read from her perspective. Not to mention to watch her develop and slowly deal with emotions better, and accept them and maybe even understand them a little bit. I'm excited to see more development for Khara.

Khara is a fairly complex character, written incredibly well, but the thing I loved about the book (among other things) where the other main characters. Every single supporting character was written with just as much care, attention and detail. All of them are complex and I loved each of them as they are all so very different.

Oz being the fallen angel....I lost count of how many times I muttered "douche" to myself while reading, I kind of figured he'd be the love interest, I enjoyed how subtle the romance was. I mean, there are feelings there clearly, but so very subtle they aren't in your face, which is probably partly due to the fact Khara doesn't recognize what she's feeling and can't recognize it in him, but towards the end it's more obvious. The romance is kind of secondary I would say, to the main plot. Which I liked.

The brothers. Sean, who's her twin, we don't see much. I'd be interested to see more about Sean, there's all these allusions to a mate and shit hitting the fan on the coast where he is, I will admit sometimes it made me wonder if I was missing something, like was there a first book about Sean or? But apparently not, I'm going to assume the intrigue from him means we'll be seeing more of him second book.

The four brothers we see the most are Drew, Casey, Kierson and Pierson. I loved all of them, they made me laugh individually and as a group, but I have to admit I do have two favourites. Kierson and Casey are totally my favourites. it's probably mean of me but there you go.

Kierson starts out a  bit like "uuuhh" cos he's all "I know she's my sister but she's hot" but at one point I think it was just a running joke to lighten the mood. I liked him because he was probably the nicest one to her, and he appeared to care the most about his new found sister, something Khara has never really had before, and I thought he was a bit of a sensitive flower sometimes which was kind of adorable. So  he's favourite number one.

Favourite number two, is Casey. Hear me out. So he was a total prick in the beginning, like dude you have a sister at least pretend to be happy. I couldn't work out if he actually hated her or was just indifferent at one point. But when you find out a bit more about him and his power and who his mother was, you understand him totally and how he acts, which is not too different from Khara. There where a few points prior to that where I was like okay I like you. But I loved Casey and the complexity he has, and the gradual warm up to Khara, that goes to full out protective brother mode.

We're not lacking for cool creatures. I loved the gargoyles, they added a nice unique element, it's not often they get included in supernatural stuff, and the whole Soul Breather/Stealer thing was another entirely new thing that I've never come across before and added another unique element to the story as well as a major plot point.

I thought the plot was thought out and complex, subtly building up to the second book and leaving you on your toes and waiting eagerly for the next one. Unborn keeps you engaged the entire time with everything going on and it was pretty impossible to put down. I've got to say, I'm excited for the second book!

Unborn is the perfect blend of Supernatural, mythology of the Greek persuasion, action and a very very subtle romance, featuring a protag I can guarantee you've never come across who adds another element to a book packed full of uniqueness. Unborn will keep you turning the pages, as you immerse yourself in to a world like any other, and with the right sprinkling of humour, there's nothing to not like!