Tagged: heaven

Sins of the Lost by Linda Poitevin

Sins of the Lost by Linda Poitevin(Cover picture courtesy of the book tour a couple of months ago.)

From the author of Sins of the Angels and Sins of the Son comes the newest novel in the “electric, thrilling and extremely intelligent” (Ex Libris) Grigori Legacy series.

Heaven and Hell are on the brink of war as Lucifer builds his Nephilim army and waits for his new agenda to become a reality — that of having a Nephilimchild of his own bloodline to lead his forces to cataclysmic victory.

With rumors of the pending war rampant on Earth, Alex fights to save humanity from its own panic –­ leaving little time for her fledgling
relationship with Seth, the man with heavenly origins who has captured her heart. But when Nephilim children begin to disappear, along with Alex’s own vulnerable niece, the inevitable war between Heaven and Hell becomes as personal as sin.

Heaven has its own plans to fight the coming apocalypse, but first it needs Seth back. Asked to betray the man she loves, Alex must turn for help to the soulmate she thought she’d given up — the Archangel Aramael, who may be her last chance to save her family and humanity from the ashes of Lucifer’s Armageddon.

[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy through the blog tour a while back in exchange for an honest review.]

The phrase ‘action-packed’ is bandied about quite carelessly when it comes to describing books, but let me tell you I’m dead serious when I say that Sins of the Lost is action-packed.

Not only is poor Alex trying to stop the oncoming apocalypse, she’s lost her soulmate and is trying to love another (who just happens to be the possible catalyst for said apocalypse).  To say that there’s a lot of drama and tension in this third book in the Grigori Legacy is an understatement.  It never gets into soap opera ridiculous drama levels but it really is the kind of book that will keep you on the edge of your seat.  That’s why I ended up reading this book until four in the morning when I had to work at 8:00am; I just couldn’t stop no matter how much I tried to exercise my self-control.

Alex is of course my favourite character, just like in the previous two installments.  This time she’s dealing with even more psychological scars and although some readers may be frustrated with her I believe her reluctance to join in the fight between Heaven and Hell is more realistic than if she were gung-ho about the whole thing.  Let’s face it, she’s gone through a lot and it’s all because of their idiotic war that could have been prevented.  While Alex is my favourite character, Seth is the one with the most surprises up his sleeve.  His character arc, looking back, is very realistic but at the time you really don’t know where his character is going to go.  He’s wonderfully ambiguous which ratchets up the tension even more.  As for Aramael, I can’t really say much without giving away some major spoilers but let’s just say that his fans will be pleased.

As for the concept, I believe that some would call it ‘blasphemous’ or ‘heresy’ but I love how Linda Poitevin has arranged her versions of Heaven and Hell.  God being a woman doesn’t even touch some of the other unique spins on classic Christian theology.  I won’t go much further into it because I don’t want to bring my personal beliefs into things but if you’re reading this series, take it for what it is: fiction.  It’s not intended to offend or harm and Linda Poitevin does an amazing job at world-building.

I can’t believe it took me so long to finally get to Sins of the Lost but I’m really glad I did.  The only bad thing about it?  Because of that insane cliffhanger I’m now desperate for the fourth book to come out.  I guess that’s just the mark of a great book.

I give this book 5/5 stars.

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Ignite by Erica Crouch

Ignite by Erica Crouch(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)

Penemuel (Pen) fell from grace over a millennium ago, yet there are still times she questions her decision to follow her twin brother, Azael, to Hell. Now that the archangel Michael has returned, threatening Lucifer’s vie for the throne, she begins questioning everything she has always believed.

As Hell prepares for war – spreading a demonic virus and pilfering innocent souls to build an army – the lines separating the worlds blur. Fates erase and the future is left unwritten. Azael is determined that he and his sister will continue to serve as demons together, but for the first time in her life, Pen is not ruled by destiny. She has the freedom of choice.

With choice comes sacrifice, and Pen must decide which side she’s willing to risk everything fighting for: the light, or the dark.

[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]

I had mixed feelings about Ignite.  On one hand, Erica Crouch overturned many old YA tropes in the course of her novel, especially ones about Heaven and Hell.  On the other hand, she used a trope that I’m really starting to get tired of: immortals behaving like awkward teenagers.

Okay, so Michael is the archangel who comes back to life after being killed and having his soul trapped in Hell for a long time.  Pen is a demon who is tasked with keeping him busy while her brother Azael helps Lilith start the apocalypse on Earth.  Naturally, this leads you to assume that Pen and Michael will fall in love with each other and I don’t think it’s that big of a spoiler to say that yes, they fall in love.  And yes, I know it’s okay for Michael to be so awkward because he has no memories of his past life but there’s no excuse for Pen.  Yes, it’s her first time in love, but she’s thousands of years old!  You would think she’d be a little less naive.

So other than the whole unbelievable forbidden romance angle, Pen was a decent enough character.  She’s flawed but her love for her brother makes her sympathetic, even if her naivete is frustrating at times.  I would have liked to see her struggle more over her changing views of Heaven and Hell, but I think that’s more of a personal preference than anything.  Her backstory and her actions make her reasonably believable, though. 

What I really enjoyed about Ignite is how Erica Crouch dissected some of the old Heaven and Hell tropes, particularly about the nature of the battle between the two.  She raises questions about what led to Lucifer’s rebellion without really taking one side or the other, which was a nice change.  She also managed to write about the looming threat of the apocalypse without making it feel like one of the many terrible documentaries the History Channel airs regularly about the apocalypse.  For that alone, I love her writing.

I give this book 3.5/5 stars.

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Memnoch the Devil by Anne Rice

(Cover picture courtesy of Midshelf.com.)

In Anne Rice’s extraordinary new novel, the vampire Lestat—outsider, canny monster, hero-wanderer—is snatched from the world itself by the most dangerous adversary he has ever known: Memnoch, a mysterious being who claims to be the Devil.  He is invited to be a witness at the Creation.  He is taken like the ancient prophets into the heavenly realm and is ushered into Purgatory.  Lestat must decide if he can believe in the Devil or in God.  And finally, he must decide which, if either, he will serve…

I really didn’t see why so many people were upset about this novel until I actually read it a few times.  Now, however, I can see why it has been deemed offensive—or even blasphemous—and why Anne Rice, now a born-again Christian has repudiated her Vampire Chronicles.  Especially since this one.  Memnoch the Devil doesn’t tell the conventional church-approved story of Satan’s fall from heaven.  No, it is Satan, or Memnoch, who tells his side of the story.

From a theological perspective, this is a very interesting book.  In it, Anne Rice has combined both old and new Christian ideas from many denominations with a bit of Jewish theology.  Memnoch’s justification for his rebellion reminds me very much of the character of Satan from John Milton’s Paradise Lost.  Without getting into all of the nasty little details, let’s just call this novel experimental theology and leave it at that, shall we?  I’m not going to bring my personal beliefs into this review.

From a less biased, more literature-focused perspective, Memnoch the Devil is not exactly the greatest novel ever written.  Lestat is a cardboard cutout by now, the plot is slow and predictable and Memnoch is the only redeeming thing, character-wise.  Memnoch is complicated, yet sympathetic in a bizarre way if you put your religious beliefs aside while reading this.  But other than Memnoch, this novel doesn’t have much going for it.

As usual, my warning: Memnoch the Devil contains mature content including bad language, explicit sex scenes and violence.  Personally, I would not recommend it for anyone under the age of 14, but it really depends on the reader’s maturity level.

I give this book 2/5 stars.

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