So this book was scheduled to release on Feb 20th, 2021 and that date was kept all the way up until ---Feb 20th, 2021, when it wasn't released and it wasn't listed as having a specific date in 2021. How does this happen? How does a release date get set, then pushed back on the actual date it was set to release? Seriously? You wait until the actual date it was supposed to be released and then decide to not release it? IF it isn't done, then say it isn't done, don't put some arbitrary date that you HOPE the book will be done by and then when that date is actaully HERE and the book isn't done, THEN you change the date? Nope. I prefer not having a specific release date to one that gets pushed time and time again. I should have known that this would happen when Amazon didn't have any pre-orders or listings of any upcoming new books

September 2021
Ok, So I have the book, now I am trying to decided if I want to read it by itself, or re-read some of the previous books. Seriously, I have all the books, but how far back to read? They take FOREVER to finish. ( )

This is an all-new universe setting and has the usual first book in a series feel to it. Zaniel Havelock is a police officer that works on crimes that have a supernatural bent. In this world there are devils and angels in the world. Zaniel used to be at the College of Angels and was trained to speak to and for Angels but something happened and now he is no longer there and had become a cop after being in the army. There is a lot of infodumping for worldbuilding and the idea is interesting but there is almost too much of it . The background of the school, Havok trying to work things out with his wife in therapy, backstory for almost everyone you meet on the page. I’ll be interested to see what happens in future books but hope for more show and less tell.


Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss
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Daniel has led an interesting life — first the College of Angels, then the Army, now he is in the preternatural branch of the police. The balance between Good and Evil is kept by treaty but a demon has found a loophole. Nice new take on Angels, demons, guardians, totems, magic. It’s just disconcerting to hear Havoc sounding so much like Anita. Worth checking out the next one, though. ( )

A Terrible Fall of Angels intrigued me due to the focus on angels and demons, and I was interested to see what this author would make of the subject matter in a new, and different, series. And while I was intrigued by the world she is building, I did have mixed feelings about the characters and the story line as well as the way it was written.

Zaniel "Havoc" Havelock is an experienced detective who spent his formative years at the College of Angels; this gives him a unique perspective in his job as he battles both normal, and paranormal, foe. Having left the angelic life, he spent time in the military then became a police officer, using his unique skills to solve cases that involve paranormal beings. The current case in this novel actually forces him to finally confront his past as his former world and his current world are now colliding and he can no longer avoid the memories nor the people with whom he grew up. I like this exploration of the past, and the trauma that Zaniel has to confront as I think it is realistic; you can only avoid the past for so long before it catches up with you and I found this aspect of the novel interesting. However, I have always loved psychological stuff like this.

I was not a fan of some of the characters however, and was indifferent to their plights. Is this due to poor character development, or does the author just not see how some of these characters are seen by her readers, I just don't know. But I was not a fan of Zaniel's wife. Zaniel's job as a detective puts him in danger and she could not deal with that fact, so the two of them are separated. Zaniel spends a lot of time ruminating on his marriage, and the conversations between him and his wife were my least favourite parts of this book. Sorry, but she was just a poorly written character, and I didn't like her. When Zaniel didn't look at her, she was mad. When Zaniel looked at her, she was mad. And it went on and on. She controls everything, and he has to be so careful around her. Sorry, that is not marriage. When you can't be yourself around the person you love, then maybe it's time to move on. Luckily, he tends to stick to who he is and is not necessarily willing to compromise what he has worked so hard for, and his own job, just for her. But there is a child involved, and Zaniel dearly misses his son. I honestly hope this situation resolves soon so we don't have to read about it for books on end.

The early sections of the book were full of action, and I had high hopes the book would continue like that. Nope. The book got bogged down by overly long explanations and dialogues between characters that lasted for entire chapters and, to be honest, I got bored, and needed to read something else in between. I don't need overly long explanations, just give me the story. I had no issues with the religious elements in the story, in fact I found them quite interesting, and I am definitely looking forward to learning more about that world and some of the angels. And there were a lot of little side stories that I think will set up future novels if you paid attention, some of which I was disappointed over as they weren't explained or developed, so I do really hope they are in future books. And while I have nothing against political correctedness, there was an overabundance of it in this story. I like it when an author goes out of their way to be inclusive, but it has to flow within the novel not sound as if it thrown in to say, Look at me! I am being inclusive! And if the author was so worried about that, she wouldn't have mentioned Zaniel's abs on every other page and the way he stared at other women, but gosh, he was married so he shouldn't be doing that, and how he needed to slouch as women were just drawn to him like bees to honey!! Yes, I got it. He's good-looking.

Verdict
A Terrible Fall of Angels does have a lot of things going for it. There are a lot of mysterious elements that were introduced, but not fully explained; characters and their relationships that were not fully fleshed out; and, a new setting that is just being explored in terms of political structure, angels and demons, and humans, and how they are interconnect. The actions scenes were interesting and definitely got my interest, but there were a lot of times when things got bogged down through pages and pages of dialogue, and nothing really happened. There was enough in this book to make me interested in reading the next one when it is released. ( )

I used to like Hamilton's Anita Blake series but I've given up on them. The last few I read seemed sort of dead (no pun intended). This one, the first in a new series was just boring and I didn't like all the religious stuff and the gabble about faith and guardian angels, etc. Not my taste. I just wish there were more books in the Merry Gentry series. ( )