A series start with all the trademarks of an Ariana Nash book. Overall, this book feels epic, with sweeping themes and a massive battle that's been raging for centuries serving as the backdrop to this tale. Within this battle are an angel and a demon who shouldn't have feelings for each other, but that's what happens, completely accidentally. We're gifted with the negotiation of their feelings and changing relationship even as the tides start to turn in the battle. Meanwhile, their love/hate is at one point on opposite sides. Truly the most fascinating part is watching them battle their inner demons (pun intended) and figure out what to follow, how to work with emotions, what's right, what's wrong, and how they can actually change the tide of battle for good. The setting and world-building feel a little sparse, giving a nebulous quality to the story which in a weird way lends weight to the epic nature of the tale. I do wish we'd had more grounding in actual surroundings so the story felt more solid, but overall, this is just a small wish! Well worth the read. Be aware, though, if you're not into miscommunication tropes and internal relationship issues, this may not be the book for you, especially with how it ends.



Knowing what I know now about this book, would I still read it if I went back in time?
Sure!


 See below for the four criteria I use to decide whether and when to read a book



CHARACTERS: The characters are fascinating, which is the in that kept me wanting to read them. Severn has a deep hatred for Mikhail, yet he's been his right hand man for a decade, so the situation is instantly intriguing, especially because of all the secrets he keeps. Mikhail as a guardian angel (note: similar to archangel Michael, I believe), is immensely powerful and the leader who has kept Aerie (the angel city built above London). His success hinges on his inability to feel emotions (which definitely changes as part of the conflict). Somewhere within their decades long relationship, the strong emotions (heh) between them are muddled and neither can correctly identify which it is: love/hate/etc. But after a mate bond between them, they're forced to contend with this new complication in the midst of the epic battle that's been raging for ages between Angels and Demons. They're surprisingly complex, as characters, and watching Mikhail contend with emotions when he has no emotional propensity is utterly fascinating to read.



PLOT: The main plot is definitely the friends/(secret)enemies-to-lovers between Severn and Mikhail, nestled within an overarching epic ongoing battle plot between angels and demons that's taking place in/above a war-torn London. With dual POV, we get a chance to see how the two characters tick, and how they come to grips with the allyance (mate bond) between them and all the scary feelZ(TM) that come with it. Deception wars with trust, love wars with hatred, morals are fast and loose and the steamy scenes are incredibly steamy (Ariana Nash is a master at these). I did feel sometimes that the plot bogged down a little bit with those steamy scenes, however, because it messed up the pacing as the tension racked up towards the end. Ultimately, it felt like by the end of the book we ended up right back where we started, except with the trust/hatred position flipped between the MMCs and a battle between 'good' and 'evil' that desperately wants to take center stage and hopefully will do so by book two!



EMOTIONAL INTENSITY: There is no good/bad here. Sometimes I just want a low-investment entertainment read whereas other times a high-stakes 'I need a therapist to recover' is what I need.



CATHARTIC FULFILLMENT: Is the emotional journey worth it? Do I finish this book feeling that I've crested the wave of the climactic moment and everything has been settled, leaving me settled and fulfilled? 

50%. And this is likely due to personal preference. This is a series that ends with the main pairing as enemies due to miscommunication and refusal to talk/have a sit down and listen, which means the second book will focus on them getting back together before we go back to the overarching plot of the story. The climactic event centered around secrets coming to light as well, which for me meant the climax didn't feel as fulfilling as I'd like. I'll probably eventually read the rest of the series, but knowing book two will center around them being enemies getting their s*** together leaves me less excited to read book two. But if this type of drama is up your alley then read on!