If you love unusual paranormal worlds, then Juliette and Gabriel’s story will introduce you to enough unique characters to keep us both in agonizing anticipation of what will happen next in the LOST ANGELS series. Yes, there are more than cookies on the dark side!
A Novel of the Lost Angels, Book 2, available June 2012
ISBN-13: 978-0451237316 | Review Rated: 4.5 out of 5 Stars
Book and review courtesy of Romance Junkies.
Juliette Anderson is a struggling anthropology student working on her thesis for her PHD. When she’s given a financial opportunity in Scotland, she signs the contract without thinking. After her luggage is lost and one obstacle after another seems to be telling her to go home, Juliette can’t imagine anything weirder, but déjà vu is a hard thing to shake off, especially when she meets the angel from her dreams. Then there’s that discovery that she can now heal people with her touch, plus that pesky lightning she can generate. Has the strain of her studies finally sent her over the edge?
Gabriel Black lives a dual life. To those in Scotland, he’s Gabriel Black, son of Duncan Black in this century. To his brothers and his good friend Stuart, he’s Gabriel, the Messenger Archangel. Living for centuries has its advantages, but secrecy is harder to keep if you continue to come back to the same location. Gabriel takes that risk for his beloved Scotland, hoping to someday find his own archess, just like his brother Uriel found his Eleanore.
It’s instant sexual attraction when Juliette and Gabriel meet, but Gabriel isn’t exactly subtle in his approach, and Juliette would rather run than wait for explanations. After all, her life is weird enough at the moment without having an angel lust after her. Even though I knew Juliette and Gabriel were perfect for one another, I continuously doubted whether fate would allow their relationship to blossom in this century. Everyone wants Juliette. Can she realize her potential before it’s too late? I love it when I doubt and worry about a couple, especially when it’s as action-packed as this book.
In the beginning, I wasn’t sure that I would be able to read MESSENGER’S ANGEL, book two, without reading AVENGER’S ANGEL, book one. This novel didn’t grab me until page seventy-five, which happened to be chapter ten, and I was enthralled from that moment until the end. Once I finished, I did go back and re-read the first seventy-four pages and understood them completely, but by that time, I had adapted to the world and the characters. That leaves me to believe that for me, starting a paranormal series in the unintended order often has its consequences. If you read book one, you will probably sail right through without a hitch.
MESSENGER’S ANGEL has plenty of action, vivid descriptions of Scotland, magic and sensuality scattered throughout, which is expected when you’re dealing with immortals who have been looking for two thousand years for the “one” who completes them. I really couldn’t read fast enough and I thought about the book when I wasn’t reading it, which made me feel a bit obsessive about it.
I can’t say that I’ve ever thought of angels as being sensually attractive before, but Heather Killough-Walden has created a world of good and evil where those who love the bad boys will get as much enjoyment as those who love the good guys. I don’t want to say too much so I don’t spoil the fun, but I think there’s enough variety to go around so that every reader will find someone to dream about. And for those dark paranormal lovers, there are beings to satisfy your craving too. Whew ‒ hot!
MESSENGER’S ANGEL is filled with some very creative world-building that captivates at a faster pace as you delve deeper into the book. Four archangels are trying to find their mates who are four female angels, the archesses, who were made specifically for the “favored” archangels. The archesses’ special supernatural abilities aren’t known to themselves or their archangels, so the reader is teased with the suspense as it unfolds. Then there are the Adarians, another group of archangels, who want the archesses as much as their intended archangels do, but for different reasons, which pitches the suspense upward once again. Of course, the archangels and the archesses try to live normal lives on earth, so it’s fun to discover their human-like identities which add to their allure. And then there’s Samael, the “Fallen One,” one of the original Adarian archangels, who seems to be someone we’re going to have to stew about for several books to come. Dangerous and enigmatic, he’s hard to ignore. Nice touch, Ms. Killough-Walden – I’m definitely intrigued and anxious for DEATH’S ANGEL, book three.
If you love Scottish history and life’s mysteries mixed with a variety of paranormal and fantasy elements, then I recommend MESSENGER’S ANGEL as a unique twist of rapid-fire entertainment in novel form. MESSENGER’S ANGEL has an inkling of a super-hero feel to it, as well as a gothic eeriness to rev up your anxiety, while you waver on tenterhooks for the villains’ demise. And for those who love wicked villains? I don’t think they’re done with any of us yet!
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