Black Wings (A Black Wings Novel Book 1)

I found this book to be a promising start of a new book series for me to read. After my disappointment with Thunderbird Falls I think that series has fallen off my to-read list and I was looking for another Urban Fantasy series to read instead. This might be it.I quite enjoyed the book. Christina already knows that there are things that go bump in the night. She already has magical powers. What she does not know is that she has only seen the surface of the iceberg, both in terms of things that go bump in the night and in terms of her own powers.The world building is not at all bad. Madeline is an enjoyable character and so is her grumpy Gargoyle as well as a lot of the other characters in the book. Madeline is not the wining and dumb brat as the "heroine" in some books is. She is both reasonably clever, sharp tonged and serious. She is hampered by her inexperience in the world she is about to be thrown into though. A fact that is pointed out to her several times throughout the book. Both verbally and by other, more physical, means.The book is fairly fast paced with a fair amount of action. Madeline posses "true" magic, you know the throw fireballs and stuff around kind of magic. Unfortunately for her so does most of the not so nice characters in this book. The author makes her own take on fallen angels, hell and heaven etc. I liked her take on it.As we progress through the book Madeline is thrown as few twists her way and by consequence the reader is thrown a few twist his way. Not all bad guys are bad guys and some good guys are actually a bit naughty etc... To cope with everything Madeline is forced to learn quickly. I definitely liked the discover and surprise parts of the story.This is the first book in a book series and despite being a bit of an initial world builder kind of book it never felt dull. Yet it managed to do a fairly good job of the world building and, at the same time, it avoided going way to fast and gloss over important events for Madeline.I will certainly read at least the second book in the series to see if it can keep my interest up.

As an Agent of Death, Maddy leads a very lonely life filled with only the constant companionship of her pet gargoyle, Beezle. But when her best friend gets killed one night to lure her out, Maddy gets thrown into a world where she’s not just a soul collector but a being with an exceptional amount of abilities with a father who’s apparently very powerful and a new bodyguard to keep her safe from the target she seems to have on her back. With demons constantly trying to kill her, can Maddy figure out why her best friend and mother’s soul never moved on and get used to the new responsibilities, she seems to have now?This was quite an interesting story! Considering the length, I was very surprised at how fast-paced this novel read with a lot of suspenseful moments that kept me intrigued with the book. Maddy, as a character, is very naive. She had no idea that she was the daughter of an angel and very shocked when her powers start to emerge, especially since she can’t seem to control them. On top of that, she’s got the hots for her bodyguard, Gabriel. I loved Gabriel because he was the aloof, silent but deadly type. Maddy and him could never have a relationship because Gabriel is just a servant while Maddy is the heir to her father’s considerable throne. It’s sorta sad but I still liked the push/pull of their connection.My biggest issue with this book is with Maddy. I felt like she was a very contradictory character. I liked her but I didn’t really like how she commented on every hot guy that she came across (which coincidentally turns out to be her love interests). I also didn’t like that she never seemed to think about what she was getting into until she ended up in bad situations. The phrase “too stupid to live” could have described her at times. It grew a tad annoying. Beyond that, I found the author’s constant need to describe just about every little thing Maddy came into contact with very excessive to the point that I ended up skimming at certain points; it was a lot of unnecessary information.In the end, I really enjoyed this one. Besides the fact that Maddy had a lot of hot men in her life and liked to jump into bad situations without thinking, I still liked the premise. It’s an interesting one and definitely has a few twists and turns throughout the book. I wouldn’t really consider this UF but, as a paranormal story, it has a good pacing and concept. I’ll definitely be reading more in the series to see where things go from here.

A friend and I were talking about books and authors recently, apparently we've both been in somewhat of a slump. So we both ended up buying older books by authors whom we have never read. This was my pick.As always, I never go through and give a summary of what the book is about- too many people decide to regurgitate the book synoposis.So my take: what a very, very strange world that Maddy has found herself. I'm still not really sure I understand the world that the author's created- mainly because so much happened in the span that this book took place in. And goodness knows I almost want to have a family tree going on so that I can try to keep track of everyone.The characters: Maddy- pretty interesting character, I didn't feel that she had many TSTL moments. She did manage to find herself in some interesting situations where her mouth could've gotten her tortured.Gabriel - *drool* I love his character. I really feel for his circumstances. I'm definitely reading the rest in the series, if only cause I totally want to know more about this man.JB - don't really have much of an opinion. Apparently he's hot, but he's a butthead.Beezle - love his character! And wouldn't mind having my own version of him.Will I continue with this series? Yes, I will. I was just checking out how many books are in it. I am kind of glad that I have managed to have 5 more books and I don't have to wait. Although I'm not going straight into the next book with this series (I rarely do that.)Would I recommend this book? Sure. I'd recommend it to someone who likes urban fantasy. I would not recommend it to someone who wants a happy ever after ending.

The first couple of chapters were good but did not grab the attention like her Alice books or Lost Boy but then it kicked in and I thoroughly enjoyed it.The politics of Lucifer’s Kingdom and the ideas behind the soul collectors put a good spin on themes that are not new but not being based in the worlds of well known books, as the afore mentioned works were, gives her more freedom to create the world from scratch - which she does with the skills of the great storyteller she has already shown herself to be.Fast moving; some plots are guessable but others catch you out.Definitely recommended if you like a fast paced adventure with a good cast of heroes and villains.

The supernatural romance sector is a pretty crowded one and to stand out requires new ideas and characters or at the least a reordering of the standard tropes. This doesn't provide that. It's not terrible but Black Wings had a 'been there, read that' feel for me. All the cliches were present - female lead with a secret; the supernatural critters either want her or want to kill her; she's got hidden powers. The cliches go with the territory and the best writers in the genre - early Laurell K Hamilton comes to mind - make you suspend disbelief. Some of the dialogue in Black Wings, especially from the bad guys, was a little ripe - you almost imagined them leering and twirling a waxed moustache or two. One twist is that the author casts something of a sympathetic light on fallen angels and the like. If you want a much better written and sharp take on that go to Richard Kadrey's generally excellent Sandman Slim series. Anyway, not terrible but it didn't grip or convince me.

Maddy is an agent of death; a job description that entails escorting souls to 'the door' (otherwise known as the afterlife!). As if things weren't strange enough in her life, it gets a whole lot weirder when demons that she never knew existed in the first place begin hounding her. Powers Maddy never had before are suddenly at her fingertips and just to make things more complicated, Maddy becomes the focus of the monster that killed her mother when she was a child.The only perk in her life is her new, jaw-droppingly handsome tenant, Gabriel Angeloscuro. But even he isn't without his secrets, and as Maddy races to discover his intentions, control her new powers, and keep herself from being killed, she begins to realise her life will never be the same again.Maddy is a fantasic heroine, with a sarcastic sense of humour and irony to spare. She is strong-willed and stubborn (with just enough vulnerability thrown in - to make us readers feel better, I'm sure!) Maddy absolutely makes this novel, although Gabriel may have helped a little bit too! and I am definitely going to be getting the next in the series.

Enjoyed this one. Maddie is a reaper. There is a definite frisson with her boss. Want to see that develop. She rents flat to Gabriel who turns out to be mad for Maddie and not your average downstairs neighbour. Mind you Maddie isn't your average reaper supposing there is such a thing and revelations about her parentage bring her into contact with a whole new world. Demons nephilim abound. And there is a cute gargoyle.

excellent series of books. Story line keeps you hooked wanting to know more. Maddie black an agent of death, can not stay out of trouble for the greater good is always at risk. Love this book and author.