Title: Archangel’s Assassin
Author: Barbara Elsborg
Publisher: Self-Published
Length: 209 Pages
Category: Fantasy, Angels/Demons
At a Glance: The first half or so of the book is pretty slow, but the rest is packed with fast-paced action that will keep your attention. I liked the story and the author’s imagination. I’m rating with 3.5 stars.
Reviewed By: Ky
Blurb: He wants to forget
West is an archangel’s assassin delivering justice to supernatural creatures who break the law. Not a straightforward job because he also has to absorb the memories of those he kills. Even worse, West is breaking the law himself in an attempt to free his brother from hell. If he doesn’t succeed before his archangel boss finds out, West will be joining his sibling.
He wants to remember
A young guy wakes in a London park with his memories gone. He has no idea who he is, or where he comes from. A bracelet engraved with the single word Tao is the only clue to his identity. With no sign of his memory returning, he drifts into a life on the streets. Begging is his only way to survive.
Two worlds collide
When Tao returns West’s stolen wallet, West offers to buy him a coffee. Tao delights in the chance to sit down with a good-looking guy until his instincts tell him to run away. Fast. West is surprised when Tao flees, considering how much he’d been mentally urging him to stay. Is he losing his touch or is Tao more than a scruffy young man down on his luck?
Only one way to find out.
Review: Let’s start with a little tip. If you start reading this book and the story can’t hold your attention, please don’t give up. It took a while for me to get into the story, and to care about what happened to the characters, but after the 40% mark, I couldn’t put the book down.
The world building is a bit slow, and it takes a while to fully understand what’s happening. The story takes place in a world like ours, but with supernatural elements in it that most humans aren’t aware of. The explanation of how this world worked took a while to develop fully, and there were a lot of things that happened and, at the time, didn’t make any sense. It was confusing at first, trying to understand how this society worked, but with time everything fell into place. If you have the patience to give this story a chance, you’re going to be swept away in a world of magic. In a reality where there are angels, demons, vampires, shifters and gargoyles, there are portals that can transport you from one place to another. There are different realms and there are faeries. There is evil and there is good.
The characters traveled between realms, though the majority of the book was spent on Earth and, specifically, in London. Magic plays an important part in this story, and everything has something to do with it. There is a fair amount of mystery as Tao didn’t know anything about himself for a big part of the book. We got clues about who, or what, he is, and in part it was easy to guess at least some of the truth. Still, the surprises kept coming, and I kept turning the pages to see what new thing would be revealed next.
The first half or so of the book is pretty slow, but the rest is packed with fast-paced action that will keep your attention. The last chapter absolutely broke me, and since this is a paranormal book, I really couldn’t guess what the author would come up with next to make everything all right again.
Tao was sweet and nice from the start. He was a likeable character, and he stayed like that till the end. He had a big heart and saw the good in everyone. West transformed through the story. He started as a cold-hearted loner; he was harsh and distant from everyone. After he met Tao this facade started to crumble, and he showed his true self. The banter between those two was amusing, and they both had a unique sense of humor. It didn’t always fit with the situations they found themselves in, but they always managed to make the other laugh and lighten the mood.
After I finished the book my overall thought was that I liked the story a lot, but at the same time, the plot was a bit over the top at times. There were enemies everywhere, and evil was surrounding our protagonists. They didn’t know who was a friend and who was an enemy, what was real and what was a lie. Nothing was as it seemed, and even though that made for an interesting read with a lot of suspence, at the same time it was a bit tiring. I’m not making much sense, I know. What I mean is that while the story kept me glued to my screen, after I finished the book and thought about it, the plot was kind of overwhelming.
Because of all that, and because I liked the story and the author’s imagination, I’m rating with 3.5 stars. My advice when you start this book it to have patience and keep reading even when not everything that happens makes sense right from the start.
You can buy Archangel’s Assassin here:
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