This is my second time reading this book, so I'm already coming at this review with a bias. The magic system, the setting, the characters, everything about this story is so fun and entertaining to read. From the very beginning we are gifted with Angel, our necromancer, who is incredibly powerful, capable, and will absolutely take no shizzle from anyone. He's a flare in the dark working against forces from past and present that don't want to see him succeed (or even live). In the midst of all this, he finds love with vampire Simeon and the two of them fit so well together. Fast-paced, this book doesn't let up and ends so perfectly with a set up for the next book in the series.



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


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



CHARACTERS: I adore Angel. He's my favorite human character (my official favorite character is Eroch, who only gets better and better throughout the series). Angel is tenacious, smart, incredibly determined, and protective of those he cares about, even when they don't give him the same in return. Ten years after losing his entire family except his brother (seven years his junior), he's still reeling from what happened, living as quiet a life as he can, when the world decides it won't be quiet for him anymore. And he fights back. It's impossible not to root for him. He's powerful and yet vulnerable and highly proactive. The perfect protagonist. Pair him with Simeon and we're set up for a deep bond that also ends up being a bundle of laughs and banter. I adore characters that can hold their own and Angel is one of the best. The side characters are just as fun (and that cast will grow as the series progresses). So worth it!



PLOT: Fast-paced, ten years after the Blood Wars that killed his entire family save his younger brother, Angel Salvatore is living a quiet life as a magical teacher in Boston's Beacon Hill. He's incredibly powerful and known for killing an entire army of vampires that day, a secret only he knows how he did it. As such, he's notorious both in the supernatural community and with the human community who have a bias against him (because they are allied with the losing side from that war). His quiet life is disrupted by a vampire intent on killing him and those close to him and with Simeon's help he takes on the challenge, refusing to back down or let this mysterious vampire live. All whilst navigating brand new and scary feelings that are very close to 'love' that he's having for Simeon.



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.

3:5/medium. Wonderfully entertaining with lots of action and high stakes.



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? 


90%. I always wish for just a little bit more when it comes to the immediate aftermath. However, the end does wrap up everything book one set up and leaves us on our way to solve more mysteries with Angel and his ever-growing found (and biological) family.