Book Review of Angel of Darkness by Cynthia Eden

Title: Angel of Darkness

Author: Cynthia Eden

Genre: Adult Paranormal Romance

Release Date: November 29th, 2011

As an angel of death, Keenan’s job is to collect the souls on his list. He’s carried out his duty for two thousand years and never faltered once. Until he meets Nicole St. James. When the moment of death comes, Keenan hesitates, and instead of taking Nicole, Keenan touches the vampire who’s attacking her.

Cast out of heaven for disobedience, Keenan plummets to earth. Six months later, he finally manages to track Nicole to a bar in Mexico. He’s stunned to discover that the woman he remembers has undergone a dramatic change—she’s become a vampire. And when he realizes that she’s the target of all manner of enemies—other vampires, demons, even shifters—he’ll do whatever it takes to protect her, even if all hell breaks loose…

Summary from Goodreads.com

My Review: Cynthia Eden has quickly become one of my favorite adult paranormal authors and Angel of Darkness just reaffirms why I love her books so much! It was filled with all the elements we have come to expect from her, fast paced action, intriguing mythology and an alluring romance that will leave you craving more.

We enter this story with how Keenan meets Nicole for the first time. She is marked for death and he is the angel that is supposed to lead her to the next life. However, he has been watching her for a couple of weeks and has formed an attachment to her, which is a problem because angels are not supposed to feel anything. No emotion, no pain, no pleasure, nothing, but with Nicole his senses start to awaken and when the moment comes to let her die he can’t do it. As a result, he is cast out and sent to Earth and becomes a fallen angel. The only thing that gets him through it is the thought that he saved Nicole. When he finally finds her six months later he is crushed to discover that she has become a vampire. Even though she has turned into a creature he has always despised, he still has feelings that he cannot control around her and he can’t seem to stay away from the one woman he should have already let die.

One of the reasons I have come to enjoy Cynthia’s books is her ability to blend the action and the romance. Each of her books has enough danger and mystery to keep you interested and plenty romance to leave you swooning. Her males are always alpha in nature and Keenan was no exception. He protects Nicole with a fierce passion while trying to sort through all these new emotions that are assaulting him constantly. Nicole on the other hand is just trying to adjust to being a vampire and not kill people when the thirst for blood overwhelms her. She knows Keenan is just trying to protect her and she longs to have someone in her life that will remain by her side, but she fears once he discovers everything she has done since becoming a vampire, he will detest her and leave her lonely once more.

Cynthia also weaves a fantastic mythology that overlaps from previous series to combine into one all engrossing world. Many of Cynthia’s previous books plots are referenced in this world which just adds more knowledge to the ever evolving mythology. You do not need to read her previous books to understand this one by any means, especially since it is the first in a new series, but it did excite me to hear about previous characters and how all the lives intertwine with one another.

While the obstacles that stand in Keenan and Nicole’s way seem to be endless at times, the drama never felt forced. Every barricade erected in front of them was faced realistically and was not thrown in just to add more tension for the sake of an interesting plot. Cynthia’s writing style continues to be intriguing as she weaves stories filled with interesting plots, addicting mythology and dynamic characters.

As for the secondary characters, there were not too many, but the one that stood out most for me was Sam. He is another fallen angel who fell centuries ago when he killed hundreds of people that were not destined to die that day. He is painted in the worst light among angel society and is thought to be evil to his core. Sam was a question mark for me for a majority of the book. I started out thinking he was the bad guy, but as the plot unfolded his motives became unclear and I was not quite sure which side he was even on. He plays they villain angle, but I am wondering if that is just a facade. I am hoping that Sam will be the focus of the next book since his “heroine” has already been alluded to. Well, at least I hope she has. I know this is going to be a series, but the direction for the next book in unknown so I will have to keep fingers crossed that Sam gets his time in the spotlight.

Overall, this is another fantastic book from Cynthia. She continues to wow me again and again and her books never have a dull moment. They will keep you fully engrossed from the very first page and you will not be able to come up for air until the last sentence. I am very excited to see where this series will go and can’t wait to see what Cynthia has waiting in the wings for us.

FTC: A big thank you to the publisher for sending me the ARC!