OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Angels and Demons" by Delaine Christine.]

Themes of love, loss, faith, healing, grief, good versus evil, and family play an intricate role in Angels and Demons: Blackthorne Saga #3 by Delaine Christine.

The story follows two characters, Drinian Blackthorne and Veta Rohann. The second born of a set of triplets, Drinian is constantly tormented by his ability to see fallen angels. Things, however, start to change for him when Veta comes to town.

One fateful night, Veta Rohann survives a nasty car crash that kills her family. As a result, the car crash brings up dark parts of her past and leaves Veta feeling like God is telling her to start over. With nothing but her U-Haul of meager possessions, she goes to Kalispell, Montana. Things don’t quite as planned, however, when she arrives. Her U-Haul gets stolen and she almost dies in her rental house’s hot tub only to be saved by a mysterious man named Drinian Blackthorne. They get off to a rocky start, but as she gets to know him and his family, she realizes she has feelings for Drinian.

As God’s angels try and stop the demons from attacking Veta, the reader soon learns that Veta and Drinian are destined to fulfill a prophecy that could save the world or destroy it. With love and the world on the line, will Veta and Drinian fulfill their destinies? Will their dark pasts get in the way of their future?

When I first picked up this book, I was intrigued by the premise. I figured it would either be overly religious or an engaging, dark read. Drawn in by the supernatural element, I decided to pick it up and was pleasantly surprised. Instead of being overly religious, the book feels more like a dark, swashbuckling, paranormal fantasy with a complex mystery. I enjoyed seeing Veta and Drinian’s romance unfold amidst all the action the angels and demons cause. The author’s intricate weaving of the different characters' points of view is well done. None of the themes superimpose themselves on each other. Instead, they complement each other and add a lot of complexity to the story. I also like how the author drops hints along the way of what the prophecy is instead of just outright saying what it is. My favorite part of the book is that the author makes you think you know what is going on, but throws a few plot twists into the mix to keep you guessing.

The human characters are well developed, realistic, engaging, and extremely entertaining. The Blackthorne siblings are particularly entertaining and remind me a bit of my family. At first, Veta is a little hard to relate to, but you eventually do see her more complex nature and fall in love with her personality.

My only complaint is the interchangeable use of conscious and conscience. Instead of meaning how awake or “conscious” the character is, Delaine Christine uses this word to mean the different characters’ senses of right and wrong. Although the author sometimes uses the correct word “conscience,” the repeated use of the wrong word tends to get a little annoying.

Overall I’d rate the book 3 out of 4 stars. The story is well written. The characters are realistic and I wanted to know what was going to happen to them. The angel and demons theme worked well with the themes of love, loss, and healing. I enjoyed the mix of action with mystery and romance. If the problems with “conscious” and conscience” were fixed, I’d probably give this 4 out of 4 stars. If you’re willing to look past the word slip-ups and love a good supernatural, swashbuckling, dark, romantic fantasy, then this is a must-read for you.

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Angels and Demons
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Like kio's review? Post a comment saying so!

Very well-written review, kio. I might read the book. I`m drawn by the problems with “conscious” and conscience”.

Great review! I like that you said the author keeps you guessing with a few plot twists. The word slip-ups would also annoy me, even if I loved the book otherwise. I'm glad you enjoyed the story!

Thanks @chytach18- and @bookowlie. Admittedly, I just went and bought the last one in the series, so I guess I wasn't too deterred by the word slip-ups

That the best endorsement for an author, that you liked the book enough to buy the next installment in the series.

This book sounds like a fascinating read! I would be annoyed with the incorrect use of words but can usually move past it if it's not too rampant.

Have you read the first book too?

Not yet, but I bought that one too to read You can read these out of order, which is kind of nice.

-- 17 Oct 2015, 00:34 --

I'll warn you all though this has a whopper of a cliffhanger, but I love cliffies as long as the next book is out

Great review, kio! It sounds like my kind of book!

I did notice that it was third in the series. Have you read the other two? If so, what'd you think of them?

I hadn't when I wrote the review, but I just finished the other two and loved them. I liked how the author intertwined all of the stories without requiring the reader to have read the previous titles in the series. I also enjoyed the action and romance mixed together. I would definitely recommend the other two as well @hsimone. There may have been some homophone/word mix-ups in those as well, but I didn't notice any. I'd rate the others 3 out of 4 stars as well.

...the author makes you think you know what is going on, but throws a few plot twists into the mix to keep you guessing.

I really like this part of your review. I'm into fallen angels and such and I find this book very interesting. I hope I get the chance to read it.

Thanks @kimmyschemy06 I hope you do get to enjoys it

I hope it is okay to post this here. First I want to thank you kio for your amazing review! I also wanted to let you know that I am working toward making those word corrections that you recommended. I am one of two who are editing and proofing these novels as I am not in the position to hire that job out to someone else. As people make me aware of what slips by me, I am working to improve as I truly want to produce a quality read for all. Please bare with me as I make the corrections. And thank you for all the wonderful comments.

Sounds like a great book. Good luck to the author with her endeavors!