Where did you get the book: Netgalley
Publisher: Ace/Penguin
Release Date: Out now
A detective with a secret lineage. An undercover Hunter with a bullet-proof soul. And a world made to pay for the sins of an angel…
Homicide detective Alexandra Jarvis answers to no one. Especially not to the new partner assigned to her in the middle of a gruesome serial killer case—a partner who is obstructive, irritatingly magnetic, and arrogant as hell.
Aramael is a Power—a hunter of the Fallen Angels. A millennium ago, he sentenced his own brother to eternal exile for crimes against humanity. Now his brother is back and wreaking murderous havoc in the mortal realm. To find him, Aramael must play second to a human police officer who wants nothing to do with him and whose very bloodline threatens both his mission and his soul.
Now, faced with a fallen angel hell-bent on triggering the apocalypse, Alex and Aramael have no choice but to join forces, because only together can they stop the end of days.
*Blurb taken from Goodreads*
When I first came across the Sins of the Angels a few months ago, it perked my interest because I am always a sucker for dark avenging angels which this series encompasses. But I was also intrigued because it combined dark urban fantasy elements, and a police procedural mystery and the main characters were also engaging. The heroine, Alex Jarvis, is in the midst of a brutal serial killer case where there is no correlating common factor amongst the victims. The case also reminds Alex of her painful past which makes her questions her grip on her sanity as she is paired up with her new partner, the enigmatic Jacob Trent, who is really a powerful angel in disguise, called Aramael, sent from heaven to guard Alex from the serial killer who is on the hunt for the Nephlim (the descendants of angels and humans) which Alex descends from. It also turns out that serial killer is Aramael’s fallen angel brother and is slaughtering innocent humans due to his search to find a Nephlim because he wants to find a way to ascend back to heaven.
I have to admit, I did find the opening of the book a bit slow to get into even though it opens up with a grim murder scene and the intense meeting between Aramael and Alex. But the book settles down with a taut and tense pace as the hunt intensifies for the Caim, Aramael’s fallen brother who is bitter with his exile from heaven and his brother’s betrayal and is the reason why he was cast out. The police procedural elements was detailed, and added a gritty layer to the story and the murder scenes, and how Alex coped and dealt with these cases was realistic. I also felt that this element really gelled well with the world-building with the angel hierarchy, which consists of different types of angels who help run heaven and guiding humans. There was also hints of political intrigue which will definitely expand in future books.
Nonetheless for me, my favourite aspect of the book was the relationship between Alex and Aramael in which they both feel reluctant to explore. The tension between them was wonderfully built-up and Aramael’s confusion about the strength of his feeling for a mortal human conveyed really well. Although it was also very frustrating because whilst the romance was pretty subtle which I didn’t mind at all, because the emotional intensity was bubbling nicely throughout the book. I did get tired of the constant antagonistic wrangling between Alex and Aramael over the case and their personal feelings which is spurred on by fear of her visions of seeing him in his true form which makes her question her sanity. And for Aramael, the frustration and lost of control he has over her which for an angel like him is unheard of. I did think that this factor dragged on for too long and kind of bogged the story down especially in the middle of the book, which affected the pace.
However the book does pick up, and the ending is a taut and tense ride to a shocking and bloody conclusion, although I have to warn you the ending is a bit of a cliffhanger that leaves you hankering for more. Sins of the Angels is a great start to a brand new series which has an appealing gritty setting, and well drawn out characters. I will definitely look out for the sequel.
I give Sins of the Angels a C+