Tags
Angelbound, Angels, author, book reviews, book, books, characters, Christina Bauer, Demons, fantasy, fiction, literature, maxon, new adult, novel, plot, Portia, Portia By Christina Bauer, read, reader, review, stories, story, write, writer, writing
Genre: New Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 250
Point of View: First Present (Portia)
Released: October 27th 2015
Series: Standalone set in Angelbound universe.
Predictability: 4 out of 5 (Where 1 is totally unpredictable and 5 is I knew what was going to happen way ahead of time.)
Source: Netgalley
My Rating: 7/10 Stars
My Summary:
Portia’s the opposite of her family (and the other protagonists in this series) She’s not a fighter or good with weapons, but she is smart. She’s a top class sorceress.
Everyone is afraid of her though, because she was born Marked by the void. Meaning one day she’ll turn into a void demon.
My Review:
A lot of the good was in the last 20%, so I can’t tell you about it, but you’ll have to trust me. The end is great!
The Good:
Standalones in an already established world are tricky, but Bauer did a fine job of explaining things for new readers without boring those of us who already knew about things. I’m always impressed how this author can continue to build on the world she’s created. The Firmament and the Dragon scale markings were nice additions.
All of the old characters were back, if only briefly. Portia’s family was so sweet and understanding towards her, but when trouble started they completely ignored her. (Weren’t they just saying she was so smart and an expert on all this?)
Portia was a nice protagonist. She could’ve used some of her mother’s snark though. (That’s what made this series fun!) She was hilarious when she got drunk though! Best part of the book.
Tempest was a complex new character. I had a feeling when he appeared in Maxon that he’d be back and I’m glad he was! I wish we got the chance to be inside his head for a couple of chapters.
The romance was sweet, but
The Bad:
Tempest is the first guy to speak to Portia, so naturally she falls for him. It was too hard and too quick for my taste though. I can see her liking him, but thinking of him as hers after one meeting? Not so much. (That one scene was my main problem.) After that it slows down a bit, but it was still too quick for me. (I suppose she only had 250 pages to get them to fall in love.)
Being so short it’s really fast paced. Things happened a bit too fast at times. I wanted more explanation about Portia’s quest. I know Portia did too, but I hate being confused! (Even if the main character is.) Portia did seem to know more than we were told though. How did she know she had Firmament magic and how to control it all of a sudden?
Do I recommend this book? Yes, but if you’re curious about this series you should start with Angelbound or Maxon. Not because of continuity or anything, but because they’re better. (Click the titles to see my reviews.)
Best Quote:
“He’s smarter than he looks. If he hasn’t killed you by now, he’ll go after someone you care about.”
I can’t help but chuckle. “Then good luck to him. My family is a bunch of fighters who would like nothing better than to go after a Class A demon.”
How do you feel about inaccurate covers? I hate it when what’s on the cover doesn’t match the book! This book has a lovely cover, but the dragon’s not what I pictured at all. Wrong color, and not big enough. I thought it was a winged horse at first! At least the main character isn’t wearing something skimpy, even if she’s only in a dress for one scene.
Woven Magic Books 
I love a good stand alone every now and then and even with the slow bits, it sounds like this was still a good read. Great review Molly!
Thanks! Yes, it was still a good book. I think I was only disappointed because I liked the other books in the series more.
This is a new discovery for me. I love the cover too, though it seems to promise a darker kind of story. I did recognize it for a dragon, but yes it does indeed look like a horse!
I’m glad you can see the horse. It certainly doesn’t look like a demonic black dragon though. It isn’t really a darker story, even though the subject matter could be dark. It’s all in how it’s told.
I did read book 1, so maybe if more are free one day
I wish I’d known that. Maxon was free when this one was coming out. I could always loan it to you with the Kindle loaning thing. I also bought Scala, so that one can be loaned too.
I do hate when I miss freebies, but I will keep that in mind
I do love the cover! But, it stinks if it doesn’t match the story. My solution? Look at the cover and do not read the story 😉 I mean, I think it’s fabulous that the ending was so good, but I don’t know if I could struggle through a whole book for only the last 20%. But I am glad that you enjoyed that part!!
The covers for this series are always really great! The dragon really doesn’t match though. A demonic black dragon that is not. The whole book wasn’t bad it just wasn’t as good as the previous books in the series. A case of too high of expectations I’m afraid.
Ah yes it’s difficult when it’s that fast but at last you had a great end too!
I really did enjoy the end! I wish the story had been a bit longer though. It’s hard to write a book in under 300 pages.
I really like the cover and it sounds great. I am curious about the last 20% of the book now! 🙂 Thanks for sharing.
Great review and I truly liked the way you highlight the strenghts and weakness of this book… Thanks so much for sharing… Best wishes. Aquileana ★⭐
Would you mind giving me an overview as to the age-appropriateness? ❤
Although these books are rated new adult, they are really young adult. There wasn’t anything inappropriate for a teenager, just some swearing and violence.
Great thanks! ❤ X