Title: Death Sword
Author: Pamela Turner
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Sensuality Rating: Steamy
Source: review copy from publisher
Published: January 2011 by Lyrical Press
The only thing more dangerous than an angel of death is one obsessed with vengeance.Karla Black has always known she’s different from other people. She learns just how different after she's fatally stabbed and brought back to life as a half-human angel of death.
With newfound power comes a newfound boss.
Samael despises her. He considers Karla impure and resents her relationship with her partner Xariel…who also happens to be Samael's ex-lover. When he takes that hatred to a higher level, Karla vows vengeance - a task easier said than done.
With the loss of their angelic powers, Karla and Xariel face a dilemma – how will they defeat an unstoppable Samael, whose poisoned rapier can kill human and angel alike?
If Karla doesn’t awaken to her true identity, both heaven and earth are in danger of annihilation.
Reviewed By: J9
In a Nutshell: Really enjoyed the hot angels of death fraternity world building but the romance was meh and the plot had too many strings dropped.
The Set Up: Karla has always been different but until she’s killed and resurrected as an angel of death, she didn’t know how different. Now she’s got Xariel as a partner but his former lover and their boss, Samael, hates Karla and wants her dead. Will Karla and the other angels be able to outsmart the evil Samael?
Why I Read this Book: Paranormal romance is my PB&J comfort genre and I’m always looking for new reads. This synopsis and beautiful cover captured my attention.
What I Liked: I adored the angels of death. Metatron, the CEO, has the beleaguered charm readers like me adore (think Acheron from Kenyon’s Dark Hunters series). Each angel introduced has an interesting personality, for instance, Gabriel is the cool, remote angel of vengeance but shows slivers of caring. Even the villain, Samael, was a fascinating character. Sure, he decimates the human population in an attempt to win back his former lover but he’s got this charisma that had me hoping he could be redeemed somehow. This group of hot men had such personality that they made Xariel, the hero, seem almost bland in comparison.
What I Didn’t Like: I wanted to like this novella a lot but I have issues:
The romance was meh. Karla was young (barely 21) and acted it. Xariel seemed to have more attraction to his dead wife and Samael than to Karla. Sure, they have sex but the emotional attraction was nil, in my opinion. Plus, Xariel makes mention a few times how much he misses male-male sex and how denying that would be to deny a part of himself but the couple doesn’t even discuss this at novella’s end. As a reader I got the impression this was pretty big and now nada!? Nut-uh, not buying this HEA romance one bit.
The plot showed such potential at novella’s onset but then the strings were just dropped. For instance, Xariel is fighting a few curses that should make a sexual relationship with Karla impossible and there is big tension about this early on. But then, poof, have sex and wouldn’t you know it, no one knows how his curses aren’t activated, they just aren’t—c’mon, now, of course that explanation ain’t gonna fly!
The end felt rushed. So much was going on with the characters as they tried to prevent Samael from destroying both earth and the heavens that it all went by at light speed to a very quick finish. I felt like the author had built up this great story with lots of pieces and then couldn’t figure a way to make them all works so she just threw it against the wall and whatever slid down was the ending.
IMO: I liked the angels of death so much that I will give the series a little rope and read the next one, unless it’s a continuation of Xariel and Karla’s “romance” in which case I won’t.
J9’s Rating:
Nice review, but it certainly won't end up on my wishlist. That cover did catch my eye though.
ReplyDeleteThe cover is great, isn't it? This world and characters had such potential that I'm still bummed it didn't live up to it, IMO.
ReplyDeleteI liked the cover, but you review left me thinking it would be the only thing I would like.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the angels were great but the rest, not so much, IMO. It had such potential that I hated having the issues I did with it.
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