Meljean Brook

Ilona Andrews

Sharon Shinn

Nalini Singh

Collects four romance novellas involving angels, including tales in which a woman finds a blind, tormented angel in a secluded mansion, and a vampire becomes obsessed with an angel who rules the Louisiana territory.

Angels of Darkness

Sarah Escorsa

① Angel's Wolf by Nalini Singh: DNFed the hell out of this one. 1 star. 
② Alphas: Origins by Ilona Andrews: 3.5 stars
③  Nocturne by Sharon Shinn: 3 stars
④ Ascension by Meljean Brook: 1 star. (Because I'm in a good mood today.)

↪ Overall rating: 2 glorious stars



① Angel's Wolf by Nalini Singh: ★

►DNFing is underrated. Especially when it comes to PNR.







② Aphas: Origins by Ilona Andrews : ★★★½

► Problem: you're in a shitty mood. You're in a book slump. You don't know what to read. Every single book you pick up, you lose interest in. You don't even feel like reading anymore (view spoiler)[
  

  

  
 (hide spoiler)]

► Solution: you read anything by Ilona Andrews (a story is usually best but cereal box blurb works, too).

►► And this, ladies and gentlemen, is how you get your reading mojo back!



Now. I definitely would have given this story 4+ stars had it been less PNR-ish. But as recent traumatic experiences have proved, PNR and me were not meant to live happily ever after. The beginning of Alphas: Origins is tropey as hell. So much so that I checked whether I was actually reading the Ilona Andrews piece and not one of the other stories in this anthology. I mean, the heroine is more or less forced to agree to be kidnapped and be used as [BEEP] for some freaky beast. Yes, [BEEP]. Don't know what it is? That's great, you're not supposed to! Because that's me being kind and thoughtful and not telling you what she's going to be used as. You're welcome.

Anyway, we get the whole "my abductor/jailer/whatever is an enraged/scary/vicious/dangerous beast and I hate him but he's kinda hot and he can be kind sometimes but no-no-no I shouldn't think along these lines, he is only using me and could kill me in the blink of the eye blah blah blah" bullshit. But you know why this story worked for me? Because Ilona Andrews. What can I say? These two can work miracles. About halfway through this story goes from PNR trope heaven to awesome world building and kickass action paradise.



Yes, it turns out this story is pretty cool after all. Karina, the heroine, is your typical IA badass, albeit in a sheep's clothing at first. Lucas, the hero, was a bit too stereotypical for my taste but he grew on me as the story progressed. Was it because I kept thinking "Curran" whenever I read "Lucas"? Hmmm, that might have had something to do with it. Might. But I digress. What's really cool about this story is the world: very original, complex, with giganormous potential. Weird powers! Weird creatures! Weird [BEEP]! (view spoiler)[muhahahaha, got you again! (hide spoiler)]  Weird everything! It might be fantasy…or it might not. What might it be then? Hahaha, wouldn't you love to know?! Well I'm afraid you're going to have to read the story to find out. Time to throw another muhahahahahaha in. Damn, how I love doing that.

►► And the moral of this story is: this shouldn't be so short!! This should be a full-length novel!! This should be a series!! I want to know more about this world! The Andrews better get to it the minute they finish writing the last Kate Daniels instalment. I might retaliate if they don't.





③ Nocturne by Sharon Shinn : ★★★

Oh man, I almost gave 4 stars to a freaking Fantasy ROMANCE involving freaking ANGELS. What the hell is wrong with me??!! That's it, I must have reached the final stages of alcohol psychosis. Either that or the end of the world is near.



Thank C-3PO the ending was way too HEA and fluffy bunnies for me, which means I regained sanity before doing the unthinkable. What makes this OMG-I-almost-rated-this-4-stars episode even scarier is that there isn't a lot going on in this short story. Little action, lots of blah blah blah blah. But I still liked it *gasps* It was a nice story *shudders*

I really liked Moriah's character and actually wouldn't mind reading her backstory. The angel…Well for a start, he's a freaking angel which works against him. I mean, apart from S.M. Reine's deliciously nasty angels, they're all a bunch of sissies. And Corban here, with his constant wallowing in self-pity, is no exception. He'd still be there, brooding and miserable, had Moriah not bugged him to death with her delightfully irritating ways.



My 3-star ratings are usually the meh kind but this one was surprisingly enjoyable. Not that it makes me want to read Shinn's Samaria series, though. Because: 1/I haven't completely lost it yet and 2/Have you seen those covers? They're probably some of the scariest I've ever seen.





④ Ascension by Meljean Brook : ★

► Badly written PNR crap. No thank you.



► I actually read this one to the very last page. So I'm patting myself on the back AND giving myself an award. Go me.

Angels of Darkness

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