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A review by liinukka
Blood and Feathers by Lou Morgan
4.0
It's definitely one of the better angel novels I've read.
Things I liked:
- Angels are enmeshed with hierarchy and politics. I always look for this in angel novels, and this was definitely the most developed version I've seen so far. There are Archangels (leaders of their respective choirs). Under them are the Descendeds, or angels who visit Earth. Then come the Earthbound, angels who have somehow failed in one way or another and have had their wings clipped. Then are the half-angels (I don't remember if they were named anything specific, though sometimes they're called half-breeds). There's also a type of angel who lives temporarily as humans, and report back to their superiors once their stint is up. And then of course, there are the Fallen, who used to be angels but then did something very bad or got cast out (or chose?) to fall. I really enjoyed reading about these differences and the various bickering and so-on that goes on between the ranks.
- Angels are ruthless. Love this idea that angels are warriors first and foremost. They're not these haloed compassionate things full of love and mercy, but rather weapons of war. Mallory repeats this a lot and has the skills to back it up. Angels are ambitious, deadly, and calculating. The archangel Michael
- Angels are flawed. I liked how there was always the possibility to "fall" and that the Fallen are considered their brothers. (Or sisters? There were a few female angels).
Stuff that could use more work:
- Plotting was a bit awkward. There was always something happening, but I didn't really feel like it flowed naturally. It lacked focus and cohesion.
- Things took a long time to get explained, if at all. I'm still not sure why she's so powerful, though I think I know? It just irritates me that it's not made clear, since super special awesome powerful lead characters always annoy me when they're just born that way. What's interesting about that? Plus, I'm not sure why it was so important to keep Alice (and therefore the reader) in the dark about her purpose or her past.
- POV jumped around a lot. It wasn't an egregious error, like head-hopping, but I wonder sometimes whether 3rd person omniscient narrator is now a lost art.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and the potential for it. Could've been better, but compared to so many crappy angel books I've slogged through to get here, I say it's not bad at all.
Things I liked:
- Angels are enmeshed with hierarchy and politics. I always look for this in angel novels, and this was definitely the most developed version I've seen so far. There are Archangels (leaders of their respective choirs). Under them are the Descendeds, or angels who visit Earth. Then come the Earthbound, angels who have somehow failed in one way or another and have had their wings clipped. Then are the half-angels (I don't remember if they were named anything specific, though sometimes they're called half-breeds). There's also a type of angel who lives temporarily as humans, and report back to their superiors once their stint is up. And then of course, there are the Fallen, who used to be angels but then did something very bad or got cast out (or chose?) to fall. I really enjoyed reading about these differences and the various bickering and so-on that goes on between the ranks.
- Angels are ruthless. Love this idea that angels are warriors first and foremost. They're not these haloed compassionate things full of love and mercy, but rather weapons of war. Mallory repeats this a lot and has the skills to back it up. Angels are ambitious, deadly, and calculating. The archangel Michael
Spoiler
appears in the end, and he's probably the most ruthless of them all. And why shouldn't he be? He's the most powerful and ought to be the most terrifying. I was more scared of him than Lucifer!- Angels are flawed. I liked how there was always the possibility to "fall" and that the Fallen are considered their brothers. (Or sisters? There were a few female angels).
Stuff that could use more work:
- Plotting was a bit awkward. There was always something happening, but I didn't really feel like it flowed naturally. It lacked focus and cohesion.
- Things took a long time to get explained, if at all. I'm still not sure why she's so powerful, though I think I know? It just irritates me that it's not made clear, since super special awesome powerful lead characters always annoy me when they're just born that way. What's interesting about that? Plus, I'm not sure why it was so important to keep Alice (and therefore the reader) in the dark about her purpose or her past.
- POV jumped around a lot. It wasn't an egregious error, like head-hopping, but I wonder sometimes whether 3rd person omniscient narrator is now a lost art.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and the potential for it. Could've been better, but compared to so many crappy angel books I've slogged through to get here, I say it's not bad at all.