I am not normally to keen about angels in my reads-but I cant resist it after reading this:

"Pitched as "Alice in Wonderland goes to hell"

Sounds unusal enough ;)


Anne Stokes "Magic Mirror"

Full review at: http://emmamaree.com/reviews/emma-maree-reviews-blood-and-feathers/

The hierarchy laid out in Lou Morgan's universe is gloriously detailed, with angels split into choirs under each Archangel with powers related to their choir. As a lady who's spent far too much time with her nose in books about angelic mythology, the amount of effort put into Blood & Feather's worldbuilding was great to see.

I had trouble empathising with the leading lady, Alice. She seemed to make a lot of decisions without even hinting at her motivations beforehand, leaving me to follow behind her in the dark without a clue what she was up to. But the other characters more than made up for this. The flawed angels are a world apart from their biblical counterparts, with kind-hearted but battle-hardened alcoholic Mallory, a disgraced angel, being the closest to human while cold, aloof angel Gwyn is his apathetic opposite. The conversations between Alice and the angels were sharp and witty, keeping the story going at a great pace.

I loved the world created here, and I'm excited to see where else Lou Morgan takes this story in the sequel. ( )

I loved this book! The first chapter drew me in and the pages just kept turning. The story was fascinating, as were the characters. Can't wait to read more by this author! Highly recommended. ( )

Really liked this book. Lou Morgan did a wonderful job with the character development and keeping the plot moving. Her depiction of the Angels as soldiers with much blood on their hands was spot on and very refreshing. Looking forward to book 2. ( )

You may also read my review here: http://www.mybookishways.com/2012/07/early-review-blood-and-feathers-by-lou-morg...

When Alice comes home to find two strange men in the house with her father, she doesn’t know what to think. When a pair of hands reach down from the ceiling and snap her father’s neck, all hell breaks loose. Something is coming. Something big. And it wants Alice. Luckily, she’s got Gwyn and Mallory on her side. They insist she’s in danger and can trust them, and when she sees the spread of their wings, a new reality comes crashing down on her. There’s a war brewing in the realm of the angels, and the Morningstar is at the center of it. Turns out Alice is a half-born (half angel, half human), which makes her a hot commodity (in more ways than one) to the Fallen. Gwyn is an Earthbound, which means his wings have been clipped and he’s been exiled to Earth to carry out his sentence. His crimes aren’t detailed at first, but suffice it to say he made a few bad decisions. Mallory is a Descended, which any angel that comes to Earth is called. Gwyn is assigned to watch over Mallory, much to Mallory’s chagrin, and Mallory is in charge of Alice. It’s becoming increasingly obvious that Alice will need all the help she can get, and with a team of angels in her corner, what can possibly go wrong?

For years, the Fallen have been opening hellmouths and taking thousands of people, whole families, down into the depths of hell. This overabundance of souls has tipped the balance in hell’s favor, and it’s all about balance. Alice is the key to restoring balance and Mallory, Gwyn, and Co. must train her to use her powers as a half-born in order to stop the hellmouth machine and bring order back. Little does Alice know, there’s more at work here, and revelations about her mother, Lucifer, and the rest of the angels will soon come to light, and it will change the stakes. Alice won’t be going to Wonderland. Instead, she’ll be descending into the freezing depths of hell alone. A clash of fire and ice is coming, and a war will be waged at the bone gates of hell, while Alice struggles to come to terms with her power, and her destiny.

I’ll be the first to admit that so far, with the recent popularity of angel themed books, I haven’t been all that impressed with some of the offerings, but I loved this book. Mallory is a slovenly, hard drinking, gun toting, smart mouthed angel with plenty of attitude, and I loved him. Vin, her angelic bodyguard, follows a close second, and Alice is a strong, brave heroine who’s had to deal with plenty of backlash in her life because of her otherness, and has always blamed herself for her mother’s abandonment. Can you imagine the news that you will have to go to hell and use your newfound powers to restore the balance in order to save humanity? If you’re a fan of Mike Shevdon’s Courts of the Feyre series, you’ll find much to love in this wonderful debut. Lou Morgan has a gift for visuals, and the final battle with the Fallen is something to behold. She expertly weaves fantasy and horror elements into a creepy, exciting, roller coaster ride of a book. Lou Morgan’s angels aren’t warm, fluffy, and halo’d, either. They’re fiercely beautiful warriors, and distinctly “other.” The angel mythos is fascinating and rich, and the author has laid the groundwork for what promises to be an explosive sequel. Luckily, Blood and Feathers: Rebellion is out in 2013, and I’ll be the first in line for it! ( )