Keith B. Darrell

A demon (Lucifer) and an angel (Gabriel) are sent to Earth on a mission by their respective masters. In the first chapter they appear to bungle this mission so they go into hiding in Las Vegas where they open a Private Investigations business under the guise of Lou Cypher and Gabe Horn. The story follows their adventures as they deal with numerous supernatural characters and events. As the story goes along it appears to lose the original mission for which Lucifer and Gabriel were sent to Earth, but all comes together at the end and sets up a continuation of the story.

The chapters read almost like a bunch of short stories that have some connecting threads. It reminded me of a TV show where each episode is mostly a story in itself but is all leading up to the season finale when the details start to come together and a few loose ends get tied up, but mostly it leaves a cliffhanger for the next season’s story.

When I first saw this book and read the blurb, it reminded me a bit of Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman -- a comic fantasy involving a demon and an angel on a good vs. evil mission with a cast of quirky characters. Well, you do get some of that but it is not at all like Good Omens. The feel of story was very different and it didn’t have the same funny factor or sense of satire. The best chuckle for me was on the first page and though it didn’t really give me the LOLs I was expecting, it doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy it.

On the technical side, there were more than a handful of typos in the print version...don’t know about the digital version. There was also a scene that had what I feel was a continuity issue. The other issue I had was the relationship between Lucifer and Miss Twitch. This might be a small spoiler, so fair warning...

Start spoilerage...This is not a romance book so I don’t expect a big romantic build up or a lot of emphasis on a romance, but the relationship between Lucifer and Miss Twitch seemed to happen by osmosis...it was just there. One minute they are showing only the slightest clues of attraction and the next minute they are in love. This relationship actually has some significance to the overall story...End spoilerage.

Likewise, the discovery between Lucifer/Gabriel and Miss Twitch that the other was of a supernatural nature was another osmosis moment for me. It just seemed to happen without much more fanfare than choosing which cereal to have in the morning. Not even a simple Oh, you’re a demon! or Oh, you’re a witch! to be had. It seems to be simply accepted without any outward acknowledgment.

So yeah, I had a few issues with the story, but overall the writing style was comfortable and I enjoyed the back and forth between Lucifer and Gabriel even if it wasn’t as funny as expected. This book wasn’t a page-turner for me but it kept my interest. It was a quirky read and I quickly grew to like Lucifer, Gabriel, and Miss Twitch. I am interested in knowing what happens to them, which might have something to do with that darn cliffhanger! :)

Rating: 3 (I Liked It) And a few extra brownie points for the Harry Potter spoof!

http://indieparanormalbooksreviews.blogspot.com/… (mehr)

When I first read that this book involved the story of an angel, Gabriel or Gabe Horn, and demon, Lucifer or Lou Cypher, in Las Vegas, I thought "no way." Then I began reading and thought "okay this might work." Keith Darrell has provided a tongue-in-cheek, humorous read about this angel-demon duo in Paved with Good Intentions. They are both sent to earth to fulfill a mission and fail. Rather than dealing with the possible repercussions of their failure by returning to Heaven and Hell, they decide to stay on earth and head to Vegas.

I laughed while reading about the exploits of this dynamic duo. Their sexcapades result in Cory Evian and Violet Adams, a few others, being expelled from their dormitory, Eden Hall. Yes, that's Adams and Evian being expelled from Eden. This is the action that causes Gabe and Lou's decision to stay on earth and relocate to Vegas. While in Vegas their exploits continue, but this time Gabe and Lou are playing at being private investigators. They meet shamans, dreamwalkers, vampires and trampires, witches - Morgana le Fay and Samantha Twitch, and warlocks - Perry Hotter, Merlin and Mordred.

I can appreciate any novel that makes me laugh and this made me laugh. Even better, Mr. Darrell evoked the desire to want to learn more about the characters and cheer them on during their exploits. The story slowed a few times with all of the action and subplots going on but it usually picked up again after a few pages. I may not be sure of how to classify this in terms of genre but I can definitely say I liked it.
(I received this book for free from the author for review purposes.)… (mehr)

Cover

The picture of the sky on top and fire on bottom are pretty literal symbols of what people think of when thinking of Heaven and Hell. I like the devil's tail wrapped through the halo ... I think it'd make a good tattoo if you were to design it out a little more.

Plot

The concept of the book was definitely original: An angel and a demon coming together and forming a partnership on Earth, unexpectedly helping each other out during the entire process. Because of this, I really wanted to like this book. Anybody who thinks outside the norm is worth a shot in my book.

However, I did have some issues. Thinking outside the norm can be good (i.e. an angel and demon working together), but if you take away the fundamental aspects of two beings that people expect ... it can get kind of iffy. For example ... oh ... wait a sec ... let me do this first ....

*Slight Spoiler Alert*

Okay, now you've been warned ... back to what I was saying ...

An example of taking away the fundamental aspects of a being people know is when the author had the angel (Gabriel) have sex with a college student ... I'm sorry, but when people think of Heavenly angels, they think of goodness and purity. They don't think of them as having human weaknesses, like sexual temptations.

On the flip side, when people think of demons (particularly Lucifer), do they imagine a demon falling in love and behaving well? They become lustful, definitely, but falling in love ... ??? That was sort of a stretch for me.

As for the flow of the book ... I'm sure the author wanted this book to read straight through like a novel. It did not read that way to me at all. The characters experienced so many people, places and things that it read ... jerky ... I almost felt like I had mental whiplash in some parts.

Main Characters

Gabriel - One of God's angels sent to exile on Earth. He forms a partnership with Lucifer in Las Vegas as private detectives.

Lucifer - A fallen angel a.k.a. a demon from Hell. Gabriel's partner in their private eye business.

Miss Twitch - A several hundred year old witch straight from Salem ... mmhmm ... she was involved in the Salem witch trials. She has a cat who is actually a warlock trapped in the cat's body. There is a spell on him that will not allow him to change back into a human.

Overall

I'm sorry to say I was disappointed in this book. The concept grabbed me and I was anxious to read it, but it just fell flat for me. However, that is just my opinion and, if you're interested, you should read it for yourself ... Perhaps you'll enjoy it. =)… (mehr)