Tagged: muse
Novella: Wings of Hope by Pippa DaCosta
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
“I am his muse. But not for long…”
When Mammon, the Prince of Greed, ‘acquires’ a half-blood slave known as ‘Muse’ for three nights, and bespells her with tales of a world where people live like kings and queens among towers of steel and glass, the seed of hope takes root in Muse’s soul. But hope, for a half-human half-demon creature like her, is a dangerous thing. Especially when that tentative hope springs from the honeyed words of a Prince of Hell. What is Mammon’s price for freedom?
Meanwhile Da’mean, her ruthless owner, would rather see her dead, than free. She belongs to him. She is his muse. And no beast will take her from him.
The world of the elemental demons is harsh and violent. Muse’s kin are merciless, blood-hungry beasts, but little do they know, Muse has something far more dangerous coiled inside her, desperate for a taste of freedom.
Her humanity.
After reading the first book in The Veil series, I found out I could get a free copy of this prequel novella, Wings of Hope, through signing up for DaCosta’s newsletter. Obviously I did and got this novella for free. I devoured it in less than half an hour.
Muse here is a very different character. She’s terrified of her master, who heaps every sort of abuse possible on her young body. At the same time, she’s very stubborn and refuses to unleash her demon side when Da’mean provokes her to anger. She doesn’t always win when it comes to controlling her demon side but she desperately tries. That’s when Mammon strides in and changes everything.
Let’s get one thing straight: Mammon isn’t doing this out of the good of his heart and Muse knows this. She’s constantly looking for an angle with him as he tells her of Earth and humanity, painting a happier picture than she could have ever imagined on her own. Mammon is, first and foremost, a demon and when Muse gets into trouble, he’ll do some things to protect her but he’s not going to go out of his way to be the hero. That makes for an interesting dynamic in their relationship in the beginning and you can sort of see that dynamic later in the first full length book of the series, Beyond the Veil.
The pace is quite fast as this is a novella but it does have quite a bit of character development packed into those few pages. Muse goes from terrified, abused creature to a human being that longs for so much more out of life, even if it costs her everything. She’s not the Muse that readers will recognize from the rest of the series but her characterization here explains a lot of her trust issues in the main series. Despite that, you don’t even need to read the series first. This can be read as a standalone novella to give you a taste of Pippa DaCosta’s writing style and I’d highly recommend it for The Veil series fans and people who have never read her work before. Wings of Hope gives us a great feel for how much Muse has really come, what sort of a man (demon?) Mammon is and a bit of a clearer picture of the netherworld, something Muse mentions only in passing.
Basically, whether or not you’ve read the main series before reading this prequel novella, you’re going to love it. There’s great world-building, character development and pacing jammed into these 58 pages. I highly recommend giving it a try.
I give this novella 5/5 stars.
Amazon Barnes and Noble* Goodreads Powell’s*
*Unavailable.
Beyond the Veil by Pippa DaCosta
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
“They say I’m half a demon, but I like to think of myself as half human, especially as the demons want me dead.”
Charlie Henderson is living a lie. Her real name is Muse and her attempt at a normal life is about to go up in smoke.
When a half-demon assassin walks into her life, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake, Muse must return to the one man she hoped never to see again and ask for help. The Prince of Greed isn’t known for his charity. The price is high and the cost could tear her apart.
Trapped between the malevolent intentions of a Prince of Hell, an assassin with ulterior motives and her bloodthirsty demon-kin, Muse must embrace the lure of chaos at her core; the demon inside her, in order to survive.
If your ex is the Prince of Greed, you’d better be ready to raise hell.
[Full disclosure: I requested and received a free ebook through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]
I’d only read one of Pippa DaCosta’s other books, City of Fae, before trying out Beyond the Veil. City of Fae was a book I absolutely loved in part because of the many, many plot twists and surprises. Beyond the Veil is very similar in that regard: I had no idea what to expect next. In urban fantasy, that’s kind of a rare luxury and I absolutely treasured it in this book.
Muse is a half-demon that was born in the netherworld and sold into slavery, as is the normal treatment for ‘half-breeds’ if their demon parent does not have them killed. She spent years being abused before Akil, one of the seven princes of Hell, rescued her for his own reasons and began a relationship of sorts with her. Then, five years ago she left him to try to live life as a human. Fast forwardto the present day and things aren’t necessarily working out the best in that regard, especially when the half-demon Stefan walks into her life. Poor Muse is then forced back into a world where she really can’t trust anyone—particularly anyone who says they’re trying to save her. And yet she learns and grows despite the hidden motivations of those around her. She finally becomes stronger and learns to deal with the demon side she has been so afraid of for years.
Muse is of course a fascinating character in her own right but even the secondary charcters in Beyond the Veil are well developed. Akil certainly is a compelling character; he’s a more terrifying, smarter version of your stereotypical bad boy. Stefan seems to be a rather horrible character before Muse really gets to know him and learns about his horrific past. And Nica, Akil’s secretary, has motivations and secrets all of her own despite being completely human and working for a powerful demon who has a penchant for killing liars. I’m oversimplifying here but I can’t go into detail without spoiling some of the great surprises DaCosta worked into the narrative. Needless to say, you’ll appreciate the character development that went into all of the characters, not just Muse.
As I said, the plot is incredibly fast paced but it’s also very unpredictable. There are lots of twists that I didn’t see coming, despite being quite familiar with the urban fantasy genre. Thankfully Pippa DaCosta once again departs from the expected formula and that makes the story all the more enjoyable. Trust me when I say that things are almost never what they seem when it comes to her writing. She’s also created such a rich, well-developed fantasy world that even if the plot were boring, Beyond the Veil would still be a very enjoyable book. It’s nice to see someone depart from the typical Heaven and Hell version of demons and make them more terrifying than they usually are because of it.
If you love great characters, so many plot twists you’ll be guessing until the end and some incredible world-building, you’ll love Beyond the Veil as much as I did. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
The Surprising Benefits of Book Reviewing
A muse descended on my shoulder and I couldn’t stop typing, so guess what? I posted over at We Heart Reading, which has recently received a lovely new make-over. Go on and check out The Surprising Benefits of Book Reviewing, in which I reflect on posting one review per day for nearly 6 months.