Name: Birth of the Fae: Locked Out of Heaven
Rating: 3.5 (4 reviews)
ISBN: 9781734764529

Danielle Marie Orsino

Abandoned by their creator, two groups of angels remain on earth after the Great War. These Angels struggle to comprehend their Creator's plan while their wings, painfully decay. Unaware of one another, they must learn to survive. With no hope of returning home both groups denounce their lineage, calling themselves the "Fae."

Birth of the Fae: Locked Out of Heaven

** spoiler alert **
           This is exactly what I needed to get thru this stressful academic week. The angelic aspect was so emotional! This is the story of angels being casted out from heaven after losing a battle. I was captivated by the plot and the imagery. I loved the inclusion of fae along with the powers and virtues of the angels. The simplicity of the ruling without any complicated additions...light and dark immediately grasped my attention! The details in the book leading up to the building of the world were imaginative and captivating. 

The addition of multiple supernatural creatures was perfect. Aside from fae and angels, we see gnomes, dryads, merfolk, and dragons. I loved the talking animals! The story was filled with dreamy and intriguing scenes that kept me wanting more. I tend to gravitate to fae stories but hardly ever read angels stories, this was definitely a pleasant surprise! The pace was a little bit slower than I would have liked but it didn't take away from the fact that I was still loving the story! 

Another detail I liked were the names of the rulers! Court of light belonging to Aurora and Court of dark belonging to Jarvok. Both former angels, so interesting to see them acclimate to their new life integrating with humans. The religious aspect of the story was very interesting, the former angels find themselves struggling to come to terms with their new life along with the questioning of what they have always believed in. 

Thank you so much to the author for sending this my way! I look forward to learning more, this was a great start of the courts!

Danielle M. Orsino

Birth of the Fae

Maria Elena Vitale Zelaia

Locked out of Heaven is one of the biggest surprises of the year, if not ever. Despite the series is called Birth of the Fae, I wasn’t expecting for the story to open with the fall of Lucifer, or that we would be following outcast angels exiled on Earth, thus seeing their transition to fae. It’s such an original idea!

The story follows different characters, but the main protagonists are the Virtue Xi, and the Power Jarvok, who in time become Queen Aurora of the Court of Light Fae and King Jarvok of the Court of Dark Fae. The story covers centuries and focuses a lot on the worldbuilding: the fall of the angels, the forming of the first fae factions, Aurora being chosen as queen, the governing of all the different species, the first interactions with humans and so forth. Amidst it all, we get to know some key players, see their motivations, their core values, and see them transform from scared, outcast angels abandoned by their Father, to powerful beings carving their own path. 

Despite it could be easy to fall into misconceptions given the nature of the story and the characters, I appreciated that not everything was black and white. The Court of Light is undeniably virtuous and Queen Aurora is a fair leader, but we see veins of power play and corruption within her court. The Court of Dark is made of former angels who were nameless soldiers for the Creator, so they’re tough, strong, and their society is built with military discipline, but King Jarvok isn’t evil. None of them are. They look out for their own and feel like they’re owed everything they were denied in the past. There was a beautiful passage were Jarvok explained the concept of darkness and how it’s not bad. 

My favorite part was when we got to see the first interactions between the two Courts, which aren’t very friendly. I loved seeing both perspectives, which made the political intrigue much more fun. I do wish there had been a bit less worldbuilding at the beginning, where we’re given a lot of details about the Court of Light. It was genius work, but I would have preferred to see more character interactions and figure things out on my own. 

Thank you to the author for gifting me an e-copy. Opinions are my own.

Danielle M.  Orsino

Shelby Goodwin

“Merry meet,” my literary faeries! Huge thanks to the author for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts below belong to me entirely!

So, the best way I can describe this little treat of a novel is a Silmarillion for the Fae, with definite nods to both fathers of fantasy literature--Tolkien and Lewis--and fascinating theological undertones.

The overall concept of the story is what I enjoyed most: an early rendering of our world, complete with every fantastical creature you can imagine--angels, mermaids, faeries, and more. It was SO cool to see Orsino’s brilliant unfolding of how we (yes, even humans!) came to be, from a fantasy perspective. I could immediately tell this author grew up in Middle Earth and Narnia--later taking up residence in Westeros--just like me.

Ultimately, Birth of the Fae proved a short, fast-paced fairytale-style read with feminist badassery and dark, fiery fae males thrown in. I highly recommend this one to fans of epic fantasy and faerie stories! To quote Serena: “Later, trolls”!

Danielle Orsino

What would you do if all you knew had abandoned you?Abandoned by their Creator, two factions of angels remain on earth after the Great War with Lucifer. These Virtues and Power Angels struggle to comprehend their Creator's plan while their wings, a symbol of their angelic lineage, slowly and painfully decay. Unaware of each other at first, the angels learn to survive and reinvent themselves. With no hope of returning to the Shining Kingdom both groups denounce their angelic lineage and develop into their own factions. They call themselves the "Fae". This is their story.The Fae world is ruled by two distinct courts: The Court of Light, led by Queen Aurora a former Virtue Angel, and The Court of Dark commanded by King Jarvok, a former Power Brigade Angel. The one belief they agree on is human worship equals power. Ride on the backs of dragons with the Dark Fae and watch the Light Fae play in the shadows of primitive humanity, as they build their Kingdoms. A fantastical epic adventure of heartbreak, hope and rebirth, which examines the bonds of family, friendship and love. What would you do if you were abandoned? If you were forced to reinvent yourself? If your core beliefs were challenged? Do you ignore your own pain and channel it into caring for those around you? Do you lead by example and rise above it all? Or do you become ferociously protective of those by your side? Consolidating power to ensure nothing will ever hurt those who have sworn loyalty to you? Would you do this by any means necessary? Two individuals must face these choices when they are thrust into the roles of monarchs, each one choosing a path which will guide them toward an unknown future. They are no longer angels, no longer bound by their creator. They are masters of their own destiny. They are Fae.

Locked Out of Heaven Book One Vol. I

This is exactly what I needed to get thru this stressful academic week. The angelic aspect was so emotional! This is the story of angels being casted out from heaven after losing a battle. I was captivated by the plot and the imagery. I loved the inclusion of fae along with the powers and virtues of the angels. The simplicity of the ruling without any complicated additions...light and dark immediately grasped my attention! The details in the book leading up to the building of the world were imaginative and captivating. 

The addition of multiple supernatural creatures was perfect. Aside from fae and angels, we see gnomes, dryads, merfolk, and dragons. I loved the talking animals! The story was filled with dreamy and intriguing scenes that kept me wanting more. I tend to gravitate to fae stories but hardly ever read angels stories, this was definitely a pleasant surprise! The pace was a little bit slower than I would have liked but it didn't take away from the fact that I was still loving the story! 

Another detail I liked were the names of the rulers! Court of light belonging to Aurora and Court of dark belonging to Jarvok. Both former angels, so interesting to see them acclimate to their new life integrating with humans. The religious aspect of the story was very interesting, the former angels find themselves struggling to come to terms with their new life along with the questioning of what they have always believed in. 

Thank you so much to the author for sending this my way! I look forward to learning more, this was a great start of the courts!

Tatiana Alvarez 

Wow! I was not expecting to like this book as much as I did. I think it is because there is only so much you can do with the fae and I felt like I have read all of those storylines. I was so happy I was wrong!

Birth of the Fae answers the question I have always wanted to know, where have the fae come from? Orsino does an amazing job to creating this backstory. Former angels, known as either Power angels or Virtues, had been locked out of heaven after the great war with Lucifer, despite having one. They had all felt as if their creator had turned their back on His children, leaving them feeling lost and hopeless.

The former angels, once realizing that He would never come back for them, completely turned their back on him. They renamed themselves and took different forms, thusly creating the court of light and the court of darkness. Within both courts, the former angels took on many different appearances, from fae, to mermaids, to dragons. And everything in between!

To say that this story is extremely original would be an understatement. Orsino crafted this beautiful world, weaving in biblical elements, along with various mythologies. I had such a fun time reading this book. It also did not feel like a heavy world building book, even though this entire book is setting up the new world the courts have made. Orsino crafted the story beautifully and found a way to tell the story without overloading the reader with information.

There were a few slow parts and things that seemed a little to obvious, but those were far and few between. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a new fae book that tells a new story!

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this book from the author for a tour I’m apart of run by @hiltonjenkin. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Birth of the Fae: Locked Out of Heaven

Author: Danielle Orsino

Book Series: Birth of the Fae Book 1

Rating: 3/5

Recommended For...: angel/fae books

Publication Date: June 29, 2020

Genre: Fantasy

Recommended Age: 15+ (locked out of Heaven, angels, slight religious tones)

Publisher: Icon

Pages: 230

Synopsis: What would you do if all you knew had abandoned you? Abandoned by their creator, two factions of angels remain on earth after the Great War with Lucifer. These Virtues and Power Angels struggle to comprehend their Creator's plan while their wings, a symbol of their angelic lineage, slowly and painfully decay. Unaware of one another, the angels learn to survive and reinvent themselves. With no hope of returning to the Shining Kingdom, both groups denounce their angelic lineage and develop into their own factions. They call themselves the "Fae." This is their story. The Fae world is ruled by two distinct courts: the Court of Light, led by Queen Aurora, a former Virtue Angel, and the Court of Dark, ruled by King Jarvok, a former Power Brigade Angel. The two monarchs have opposing views on how to govern their kin and, more importantly, the way humanity plays into their survival. The one belief they agree on is human worship equals power. Exactly how the two go about capturing and maintaining power is a very different story. Ride on the backs of dragons with the Dark Fae and watch the Light Fae play in the shadows of primitive humanity as they build their kingdoms. A fantastic epic adventure of heartbreak, rebirth, and hope that examines the bonds of family, friendship, and love. What would you do if you were abandoned? If you were forced to reinvent yourself? If your core beliefs were challenged? Would you ignore your own pain, instead channeling it and acting benevolently? Or would you become ferociously protective of those by your side, consolidating power to ensure nothing would ever hurt your kin, even if it meant acting malevolently? Two Fae must face these choices when they are thrust into the roles of monarchs, each one choosing a path that will guide them toward an unknown future. No longer angels, no longer bound by their Creator. They are their own beings and masters of their own destiny. They are the Fae.

Review: This was a really good book in my opinion. I've not read a lot of angel books in awhile and the return was pretty well done. The book had some interesting character development and world building. I thought it was a great story overall as well.

However, I do feel like the book was a bit wonky in pace, like slow and then fast and then back to slow, and the plot was a bit dry in the middle of the book.

Verdict: It was pretty good!

Manon van Heumen

Birth of the Fae basically tells the story of how the fae came to be. It is a very informative book, and I absolutely loved the writing style! Although it is a rather thin novel, it was quite hard for me to get through, since it was so informative. I must admit that was definitely a downside for me.

Birth of the Fae: Locked Out of Heaven

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