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Angelbound, Angelbound Armageddon, Angelbound Scala, Angels, author, book, book reviews, books, characters, Christina Bauer, Demons, fantasy, fiction, Netgalley, novel, read, reader, review, romance, sassy, Scala, tails, writer, YA, young adult
(I included the back cover too, because the artwork is so awesome!)
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Demons & Angels
Pages: 532
Point of View: First (Myla)
Released: December 17, 2013
Predictability: 5 out of 5 (Where 1 is George RR Martin (If the characters make a plan or think about the future I know it isn’t going to go that way.) And 5 is Cinder (where I guessed what was going to happen long before it did, but it was still a great book.)
Source: Funny story, I saw this book on sale for .99, but when I went to buy it, it wasn’t on sale anymore. I contacted the website, not because I really wanted the book, but because I thought they should know Amazon messed up. Well turns out it was my mistake and it had been on sale yesterday. The publisher Ink Monster sent me a free copy of the book anyway! (Which of course didn’t affect my judgement of this book at all.)
My Rating: 7/10 Stars
Age Rating: Older YA, due to one make out session. (Not sex, but parts are named.)
This was actually my first ever review! I’m reposting it before my review of Angelbound Armegeddeon for those of you who haven’t read the first book. (And since only one person was following my blog back then, I don’t think anyone else has read this review. Hi Kat *waves at first follower*)
My Summary: [Sorry my summaries used to be a little longer winded]
Myla is a quasi demon (meaning part human) living in purgatory. Around twenty years ago demons invaded purgatory and left ghouls running things. Myla’s mom is super over-protective and won’t say anything about her life before the war with the demons or even about Myla’s father.
Myla spends most of her time at school, but every so often she’s called to duty. When a soul enters purgatory they can choose trial by combat. Since she was twelve Myla’s been required to fight to the death in the arena against theses souls. As the best fighter they save the nastiest ones for her, but she’s not your typical almost eighteen year-old. She enjoys her battles in the arena, particularly when it’s against a demon and she keeps extensive notebooks on how to beat the various demon races.
Myla’s best friend Cissy (who has the tail of a golden retriever, yes it does wag when she’s happy. Okay, enough about tails…) has a huge crush on a boy at school, so when said boy invites Myla and a guest to his party she can’t say no. At the party, abandoned by her friend, Myla meets the frustrating prince Lincoln. He’s a demon hunter who thinks all quasis are evil, but Myla can’t stop thinking about him and not just about punching him. Well, that too.
My Review:
I don’t know what it is about me and tail fascination. I’ve just always wanted one. So naturally the reason Angelbound caught my eye is the main character has a tail. (The author actually uses her tail to show emotion and humor too.)
The Good:
Angelbound is told in a fun voice with plenty of humor and I liked the strong sassy heroine, Myla. It might just be me, (because I couldn’t pry the book out of my fingers to go to bed.) but this book was a quick read.
Romance is a strong part of this book and it’s well done. Though the conversation where they got to really know each other is only told about afterwards.
Angelbound has interesting characters and good world building. The author takes her time to really make us care about the characters and to establish the world.
The Bad:
There are a few slow spots towards the beginning, but I’m glad I kept reading, because it quickly picks up. (This is the author’s first novel so she makes a few mistakes like repeating things that didn’t need to be repeated.)
I did notice several errors, but I’m very nit picky about that sort of thing and often find such in books. There weren’t many and they didn’t take away from the book.
I didn’t review Angelbound, Scala because it was really more of
a novella (150 pages) than a sequel. It was good, but I wanted more!
Angelbound Armegeddon
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Demons & Angels
Pages: 250
Point of View: First Present (Myla)
Released: October 12, 2014
Predictability: 4 out of 5
Source: Netgalley
My Rating: 7/10 Stars
Age Rating: Older YA due to one make out session, and swearing.
Warning: Skip the summary if you haven’t read Angelbound!
My Summary:
It’s been five years since the events of Angelbound. Myla and Lincoln are now married with a three year old little boy, Maxom.
The king of hell, Armegeddeon (No the subtitle isn’t referring to the end of the world) has been plotting his revenge against Myla since she sent him back to hell. And what better way to get back at her than by threatening her son?
My Review:
The overall story isn’t quite as good as the first one, but the writing has drastically improved. (No repeating of information or unnecessary scenes.)
The Good:
We finally get to see some of the other realms. With so many beautiful and dark settings there wasn’t time for more than a quick tour, but I enjoyed seeing more of the world. We also learn more about the history of the first two large scale wars, the first against Lucifer himself.
The pacing picked up as the story progressed and by the end there was no place to stop where my characters were safe.
I liked all of the relationships. Myla’s marriage felt true as did her love for her son.
Maxom feels like a real little kid. (I could definitely tell that the author is a mom.) I liked his kid-logic and I loved the tail snuggling!
A couple of new characters were added, I particularly liked the spunky Hildy. (and the magical monkey Kiya was adorable!)
There were many times I was afraid it was going to be too easy for our main characters or they were going to make stupid mistakes, but the action in the end was well done with just the right amount of unpredictability.
Myla’s still the same strong heroine from Angelbound, but she’s grown up a bit in the years since then. (Okay, only a little bit.)
The Bad:
The mood of this book was darker, which makes sense given the circumstances, but I missed the funny sassy Myla. There were still a couple humorous instances, but overall she was all business.
I also missed some of the supporting characters from the first book. Both Myla’s best friend Cissy and her mom are barely in this book at all.
Would I recommend this book? Yes, but I recommend starting with the first in the series. There’s too much world building for this one to make sense on its own.
I kept thinking that she was hinting at a sequel with Maxom and I was right. The next book in the series, Maxon, will be released on May 12, 2015!
How do you feel about time jumps between novels? I personally hate them, because I always feel like I’ve missed something in the time I wasn’t with the characters.
I am NOT a fan of time jumps. I agree with you completely- I feel like I’ve missed something. And five years is a HUGE gap. I was reading this series once and there was a time jump of like, 20 years. I had no clue what was going on! The world can change SO much if years have passed, and I feel like sometimes, those changes are not accounted for.
I also love that this was your first review! And I also kind of love that you want a tail 😉 I am fascinated that we start out with “tails” in the womb! Great reviews 🙂
I know, how dare my characters go of for years without me! Yeah, 20 years is way too long for a story to jump! Or worse, it’s been 20 years but nothing’s changed.
Thank you! 🙂 hehe yeah, I know I’m a bit of an oddball. If only we got to keep our tails!
I’m glad you had a good time with these two. I haven’t tried the series yet but I have the first one (or I think so), and I remember good reviews about it. I really need more time lol. But it’s nice to have a story such as this one and It’s been a while since I read time jumps. Maybe. Too bad for the predictability though
Thanks. 🙂 Yeah, Angelbound has been free a lot lately because the third book was coming out. I know, I never have enough time to read all of the books I want. Predictability doesn’t bother me if the story’s good and not everything is predictable.
Lol, tail fascination!!!! I’ve seen the first book around and I have a sneaking suspicion that I may just have it on my Kindle! I’ll have to check it out because I love the sound of the series. Great review and I have to say since its one of your first, it’s well written!! My first reviews are so bad and I shudder to read them 😉
hehe yup I’d love a tail! The first book, Angelbound’s been free lately, so you might have it. I really liked it! Thank you! 🙂 I only wrote it like six months ago, so that’s why it’s not so bad. (I also organized it into my current format 😉 )
Still want a tail! But glad to know there’s a sequel now.
hehe me too! Yeah,there’s 3 books now and one more on the way, she’s fast!
Tales are strange. I wonder if a tail would be attractive? Then I wonder why I am wondering such strange things.
Tails are strange, but oh so cool! I think a tail would be attractive, like we don’t check out butts anyway. hehe I’m glad you’re wondering such things. I’ve gotten to you!
Angelbound sounds interesting! I might check it out 🙂
I really liked it! Even though there were spots where there was too much everyday stuff I enjoyed the narrators voice enough to be entertained. 🙂
Ehhh, time jumps? I hate them. A few months or weeks is fine but anything more than that…just, no. I too feel like you miss a lot when it jumps like that.
However, you sold me on the first one at the mention of tails…because that sounds awesome. I don’t think it’s very weird that you wish you had I tail, I’d like a nice tail too. =)
Anyways, despite this time jump I may have to pick up the first and give it a try. =)
I agree if it skips a little I feel like I missed something good, so I hate it when they skip years! I just know they had adventures without me!
hehe I’m not the only one! 😀 I loved that the tails were actually used in the book too, they weren’t just for looks.
The time jump doesn’t happen until book 3, so you’re good with book one and I think that one’s the best!
I love these covers! Very cool art, and well-done.
I have a mixed opinion on time jumps! Sometimes I like them because they allow for a quicker progression in the story (especially if nothing interesting happened in those months), and other times I really don’t like them because I feel like you lose a LOT of information. The time jump between Divergent and Insurgent by Veronica Roth was non-existent and that was good because it kept the action going, but if you hadn’t JUST read Divergent it would’ve been a little jarring. So basically: I’m a bit meh on time jumps.
I feel like I’ve heard of these before so I’ll definitely check them out. 😛 Books with tails definitely grab my interest; that’s rarely put into any books I read.
I was totally attracted to these books because of their covers!
Yeah, I hadn’t thought of that. I suppose nothing interesting could’ve happened in the time that was skipped, I just always feel like I’ve missed something.
I haven’t read very many books where the people have tails and I loved how the tails were actually used for humor and emotion, more than just a prop.
I got it as a freebie, and well gonna give it a go. Hopefully I will enjoy it .)
One of the best things about having an ereader is the freebies! I hope you like it. 🙂
I received this as an ARC from Netgalley, and I’m trying to remember why I DNF :S. Oh, I gave it 3 stars. I think it was confusing, and it might have had elements of insta-love? I don’t mind a complicated read, and I can even tolerate angst, but I can’t tolerate a really long read alongside it. Or maybe it was because I had 4 ARC’s at the time..I also mentioned that I did not like her best friend…
Yeah it felt like instant love because the part where they talked and got to know each other was just told about after the fact. When the author showed everything else in the book I felt jipped not to get that part. I liked Cissy, but yeah I can see how she was annoying at times with her jealousy demon. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. 🙂
Awww sucks that I had to skip the second review 😦
I love the back of that first cover though! It looks super cool, especially with the tale and all. Oh I’m tempted by this one. I love a bit of fantasy and have a soft spot for a demon/angel tale (hahaha no pun intended). I love sassy voices so I’m glad that this one has this. It just makes a story lighter and adds a lovely humour touch which is my absolute favourite thing. Great review!
The cover’s the reason I read it too! lol nice pun! I don’t usually like angels much, but I’m a fan of demons. They’re all just mythological creatures here. I agree, a sassy voice makes it so much more fun. Thanks! 🙂
These do sound good! And goodness knows I adore my angel/demon books. hehe. Cassandra Clare fan right here. (I just finished book #4 of Mortal Instruments, like…two minutes ago!) So I definitely need to check out these one of these days. 🙂
I’m glad that I made them sound good, since I really enjoyed them. I don’t mind angels (when they’re not religious) but I love demons! (so much more fun!) I look forward to your Mortal Instruments review. I didn’t like the Clary and Jace parts as much in the second ‘trilogy’ but I loved Magnus and I liked Simon more. If you find time to read Angelbound I hope you like it! 🙂
Hmmm, I’ve seen these books around before and am preeeetty curious. I am definitely adding these to be TBR–I really hate slow starts to books but if I know it before hand, then it’s easier to plow through, especially if it’s really good after that!
Lovely reviews, Molly! <33
I’m glad I made you curious! 🙂 I hope you like them. Yeah, I’m not fond of slow starts either, but the narrator is amusing enough that I didn’t mind this one as much. Thank you! 🙂
Sounds like interesting titles!
They were. Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
I have not read any of the books in this series- but I do love the colors in the cover. They really pop! How awesome that you received a free copy of the first one after inquiring about the sale. 🙂 Sounds like it is a good series overall. Thanks for sharing!
I love these covers! You’re right about the colors, I hadn’t noticed that. hehe yeah, I thought that was really nice of them to send me the book. Thanks, I hope you enjoy the books too! 🙂
I’m really tempted to give this series a whirl because I’m currently addicted to this author’s partner in crime’s New Adult werewolf books, but the angel angle has kinda thrown me off a bit. It gives me hope that Bauer’s writing has improved between installments, however the fact that the story did not has me still on the fence.
I’ve been thinking the same thing about Aileen Erin’s books. I just read her Cipher and really liked it too! Yeah, I’m not a big fan of angels either, but they’re really just mythological beings in this book. I just liked the first one better story wise because I like lighter funnier books, the plot was better in this one. I hope that makes sense.
This whole series sounds interesting. I have to try it out.
I’m glad you think so, I really enjoyed it. I hope you like it too! 🙂
気分転換に仙台へお出掛け♪買い物やカフェ楽しみます\(^o^)/ 訪問者、表示されてなかったはずの人が表示されてたもんなぁ。
定型文のお断りメールも来ないのはちと、凹む 関西人がいるとウルサイから3万。 ハリーウィンストン 結婚指輪
暑苦しいスーツを着た頭の悪いデブ上司にネチネチ嫌みを言われるより、厳しい親方に鍛えてもらった方が立派な社会人になれそうな気がします。 私は宝船体位で彼にイカされ続けました。 カルティエ ペアリング
見た目も中身もまともな奴は、かわいい度に星4つ以上つけたりしないよ 先生の中には憎しみの気持ちはありません。
Thank you for leaving a comment, unfortunately I don’t read Japanese. (I speak a little, but languages are really hard for me.)
コメントを残すいただきありがとうございます、残念ながら私は日本語を読んでいない。 (私は少し話せますが、言語が私のために一生懸命実際にある。)
半年でAKBに追いつくコンセプトなのに3年かかっても足元にも及ばない乃木坂
どう考えたってライバルなわけないだろ。AKBを超すとか幻想もいいとこ。
「イケメン・有名人との合コン他の出会うチャンス」が殆ど無くなるからね
Thank you for coming to my blog. I can’t read Japanese. I tried Google translate, but it didn’t work. I appreciate your comment. 🙂
私のブログに来ていただきありがとうございました。私は日本語を読むことができません。私は、Googleが翻訳しようとしたが、それはうまくいきませんでした。私はあなたのコメントを感謝しています。
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