I won this book through the GoodReads First-Read program.

I... really didn't like this book, unfortunately.

It was very clear that the book was written with great passion. It was also obvious that the author had put a great deal of work into fleshing out the universe that the characters inhabited. She worked out various hierarchies and built upon a good deal of old mythology to do so. She knew her history (nice shout out to medieval German beliefs!) but that wasn't quite enough to save the book in my eyes.

I can't understand the weakness of female characters. Yes, she was strong in that she was willing to sacrifice herself to save the man she loved. But... she also was killing a lot of other people to save that man when he was her mortal enemy... and when she was a trained soldier and had put all that behind her... and she kept forgiving him for unforgivable acts. I've a problem with this.

Furthermore, why exactly wasn't there more urgency felt in the book itself? You have an army being raised to destroy all of creation more or less. You also have a "seer" going unaccounted for and both poorly hunted and poorly protected.

I just... wasn't feeling this very much. The kicker was the switching of first person perspectives and a failure to differentiate the voices very clearly.

The premise itself holds promise, and the worldbuilding holds promise too. It just needs better execution. ( )

Hey guys and gals!
When I first started reading Lacrimosa, it was weird at first because of the style of writing.
BUT, as the story unfolds, I totally saw the need of that type of writing style. It is absolutely perfect for the story line and I love the way Nesy (The Main Character) plays her role in the book.

Expect Warrior Sentinels of Angels, expect suspense at every single page and expect the beautiful love story of Aydan and Nesy to unfold.

I love the way the story was told in different perspective and making the angels sound and look human too.

It was definitely a thrilling ride and the sudden shocking ending at the end really really made me want to know what happens in the next book.

I feel so sad at the end but if you really want to find out what this book is about, you gotta read it.
Its Seriously Damn Good. Period.

Sincerely,
Selina. :D
www.booksandsweetepiphany.blogspot.com ( )

Lacrimosa opens with our main character Nesy in a club, trying to acquaint herself with the hormones, emotions, and sensations of being a teenage girl -- again. You see, Nesy is actually a 500 year old angel warrior disguised as a human to carry out one of her many assignments: hunt down the UnHoly, Aydan, and vanquish him to the Abyss. Simple enough, right? Well, not so much.


We're immediately dropped into the story. No beating around the bush. Within a few opening pages we discover that Aydan has a certain kind of pull on Nesy that she just can't fight. Not even with her centuries of Sentinal training. From here on the action is non stop.


I really liked Nesy, but I wish I got to know her a little better. I feel like the story, and especially her character, would have been a little more believable if it had opened with a scene where she kicks some demon butt. But instead, we're just constantly reminded that she's kick-ass. I'd much rather be shown than told. For me it didn't seem like Nesy was as intimidating as she was supposed to be. But that's okay! I really loved her vulnerability, and the way she couldn't control her emotions.


Aydan was by far my favorite, though. Throughout the story you can really sense his internal struggle. He's fighting against his nature. His growth and transformation from beginning to end are palpable, and while at the beginning I wasn't a fan, by the end I was really rooting for Aydan. The whole story centered around his impending death, and it really scared me!


I love the way human emotion is shown in Lacrimosa. Emotions and feelings are treated like physical things. Things that have a mind of they're own, but can be herded and controlled -- sometimes. Shifting into a human form causes and angel to experience things that us mere mortals take for granted. Rising heart beats, flushed cheeks, daydreams. I thought this was a really interesting and original way of looking at the human condition, something I had never thought of before.


I had a minor problem with the writing. The story and the overall arc of the characters was wonderful, but sometimes the writing was too dramatic. Every other page we would read something like this:


Rescue Lori
-condemn Nesy
Kill Azza
-condemn Nesy
Kill myself
-condemn Nesy

If that style had only been used once, to really showcase the inner turmoil the character in focus was going through, it would have been perfectly fine. But I swear it happened every three pages or so, and once it happened two times on the same page. Also, there were paragraph breaks for dramatic emphasis, and ellipses for the same reason. These devices, especially when they're used every singe paragraph on every single page, really take me out of the story. I understand some people like it, but I think it really takes away from the drama that it could represent, and instead made everything a little less intense.

The ending of Lacrimosa was awesome. I really didn't expect it coming. The last battle scene in particular was epic! This is where Nesy really shines. The very end, while sad (I got a little misty, I'll admit) also offered some hope. There wasn't one of those crazy cliffhangers where you feel like you got ripped off. Instead the ending of the book was open and leads beautifully into the next chapter of the series. ( )

Lacrimosa opens with our main character Nesy in a club, trying to acquaint herself with the hormones, emotions, and sensations of being a teenage girl -- again. You see, Nesy is actually a 500 year old angel warrior disguised as a human to carry out one of her many assignments: hunt down the UnHoly, Aydan, and vanquish him to the Abyss. Simple enough, right? Well, not so much.


We're immediately dropped into the story. No beating around the bush. Within a few opening pages we discover that Aydan has a certain kind of pull on Nesy that she just can't fight. Not even with her centuries of Sentinal training. From here on the action is non stop.


I really liked Nesy, but I wish I got to know her a little better. I feel like the story, and especially her character, would have been a little more believable if it had opened with a scene where she kicks some demon butt. But instead, we're just constantly reminded that she's kick-ass. I'd much rather be shown than told. For me it didn't seem like Nesy was as intimidating as she was supposed to be. But that's okay! I really loved her vulnerability, and the way she couldn't control her emotions.


Aydan was by far my favorite, though. Throughout the story you can really sense his internal struggle. He's fighting against his nature. His growth and transformation from beginning to end are palpable, and while at the beginning I wasn't a fan, by the end I was really rooting for Aydan. The whole story centered around his impending death, and it really scared me!


I love the way human emotion is shown in Lacrimosa. Emotions and feelings are treated like physical things. Things that have a mind of they're own, but can be herded and controlled -- sometimes. Shifting into a human form causes and angel to experience things that us mere mortals take for granted. Rising heart beats, flushed cheeks, daydreams. I thought this was a really interesting and original way of looking at the human condition, something I had never thought of before.


I had a minor problem with the writing. The story and the overall arc of the characters was wonderful, but sometimes the writing was too dramatic. Every other page we would read something like this:


Rescue Lori
-condemn Nesy
Kill Azza
-condemn Nesy
Kill myself
-condemn Nesy

If that style had only been used once, to really showcase the inner turmoil the character in focus was going through, it would have been perfectly fine. But I swear it happened every three pages or so, and once it happened two times on the same page. Also, there were paragraph breaks for dramatic emphasis, and ellipses for the same reason. These devices, especially when they're used every singe paragraph on every single page, really take me out of the story. I understand some people like it, but I think it really takes away from the drama that it could represent, and instead made everything a little less intense.

The ending of Lacrimosa was awesome. I really didn't expect it coming. The last battle scene in particular was epic! This is where Nesy really shines. The very end, while sad (I got a little misty, I'll admit) also offered some hope. There wasn't one of those crazy cliffhangers where you feel like you got ripped off. Instead the ending of the book was open and leads beautifully into the next chapter of the series. ( )

WOW!!!! I don't even know where to start. I have been thinking all night and morning about it. I will come back and do a thorough review very soon!
I would like to send my sincere thanks to the author, Christine Fonseca, for allowing me to read and review this book. This review is also posted on the following sites:
http://thecovercontessa.blogspot.com/
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007...
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lacri...
Every once in a while, a book comes along and you are just floored. You are left without words. You're not sure where your emotions are. You have to sit and think, and think and think some more because it's too hard to formulate exactly how it made you feel; you are THAT blown away.
THIS is that book. If I can just say it made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me want to throw things, it made me sigh. The roller coaster of emotions brought on by this book was nothing less than spectacular. I am speechless, which really does not happen to me, and my ability to form a coherent thought about where to even start is really throwing me for a loop!
Nesy is an angle, a Sentinal, a warrior. She is sent to earth to ensure humanity is protected. She is sent to earth to vanquish the UnHoly. She doesn't waiver, she doesn't have emotion. She does her job and then advances to her next assignment. But, when she is sent to vanquish Ayden to the Abyss, all this changes. She is overcome with emotions as she slowly realizes that she and Ayden are connected from a prior lifetime. And with this information in her hands, her job becomes much more complicated than she ever thought possible.
First off, Fonseca is POETIC if nothing else with her descriptive abilities. The language of this book is amazing. The way Fonseca is able to wrap your head around the emotions of the characters is unbelievable. You feel every bit of pain, love, and fear that these characters are experiencing. It hits right at the core of your being, without fail, every single time. And the most amazing thing about it is that it is totally consistent from the beginning of the book through the end. I have not read many books that were able to do this. And the fact that she can do this while the book is being told from two different points of view shows that she truly knows how to write fiction. Usually, I am confused by which character is which in such novels. It takes me quite a few chapters to sort out each character's personality. Not with this book. I knew from the very beginning that Nesy and Ayden are two totally different characters and I was able to keep that separation throughout the book.
The characters are so well thought out. You can see their centuries old, despite the fact that they are teenagers. So, while this book is definitely billed as a Young Adult novel, I would say there is nothing young about it in the least. And this is not a bad observation. On the contrary, this is a tribute to how well Fonseca writes and how well she is able to pull her audience in. This is a tribute to how a book can take you on a ride that you never thought possible, no matter your age. And to watch their growth is amazing. You see each character go through changes that change their point of view. Even the ancillary characters are noted to change, and the focus is not even on them!!!
The book takes many twists and turns. Things you would not see coming. Things you were hoping would not happen but they do because without them happening, there is no story; you would be left with a bland, flat novel that has no substance at all. Fonseca uses that emotional roller coaster to keep you interested. There are also things that you want to happen, and you know they can't, but you are surprised. I love that. You think the characters have no way out of their pain, and Fonseca flips the story so that you cry, or sigh, or scream, or blubber. That is the mark of an excellent book. That is the mark of an author who is so into her writing, she knows exactly where she will take the reader and where she herself wants to go.
In the end, you are left with questions, yes, but you are also forced to rethink love. You question what it is, and whether or not it can stand the test of time, and the test of emotion.
This, my friends is a love story, filled with action. This is a romance which twists and turns and keeps you wanting to come back. I could not put this book down. I read it in one day, with work, and kids activities and everything!
Lacrimosa is by far one of my favorite books of 2012. I highly recommend it. If you put no other new release on your list this year, you must add this book, because I promise, you WILL NOT be disappointed. ( )