RAZIEL (THE FALLEN) is the sexy, intriguing first book of a
new trilogy by Kristina Douglas, new pen-name for fan
favorite Anne Stuart.
When Allie Watson, a headstrong, biblical thriller author,
gets smacked by a bus, it's Raziel, the flame-allergic, sexy
Fallen angel's job to escort her on to her next life. It
starts as a routine mission of soul retrieval and deposit,
but then at the last minute, something feels different,
almost familiar and he balks at tossing her into the fiery
flames of hell. Raziel has a choice, risk his life and
alter the course of Allie's destiny or stay on the path as
designed by the unforgiving, dictator-esque archangel Uriel.
The plot rapidly proceeds from that point to tell the story
of the Fallen, a host of blood-sucking, disobedient angels
living on borrowed time while awaiting their divine
punishment at the hands of the Attila-like archangel Uriel.
The chemistry between Raziel and Allie is palpable and
intense and while they fight the mounting tension, it is
clear from early on that they are each others, "bonded mates."
There are several secondary relationships in the book that
do not distract from the main story, but gently add to the
tension and help flesh out the sub-world created by Douglas.
Pleasurable, sexy, and tightly written, RAZIEL (THE FALLEN)
was an enjoyable read that ran somewhat contrary to
traditional Judeo-Christian teaching, lying somewhere in the
valley between Biblical Apocrypha and the paranormal world
established by the Twilight series and Charlene Harris' True
Blood series. Fans of both series will sink their teeth
into this story and happily await the second offering in
June 2011.
"You're dead" is so not what Allie Watson wants to hear.
Unfortunately, it explains a lot. Like the dark,
angelically handsome man who ferried her to this strange,
hidden land. The last thing she remembers is stepping off
a curb in front of a crosstown bus. Now she's surrounded
by gorgeous fallen angels with an unsettling taste for
blood—and they really don't want her around. Not exactly
how she pictured heaven.
. . . until death catapulted her into a seductive world
she never imagined.
Raziel is unsure why he rescued Allie from hellfire
against Uriel's orders, but she stirs in him a longing he
hasn't felt in centuries. Now the Fallen are bracing for
the divine wrath brought by his disobedience, and they
blame Allie for the ferocious Nephilim clawing at the
kingdom's shrouded gates. Facing impossible odds at every
turn, the two must work together to survive. Raziel will
do anything to defend his spirited lover against the
forces of darkness—because Allie may be the Fallen's only
salvation.
RAZIEL is the first book in Kristin Douglas' debut series, The Fallen. The Fallen are a group of angels long ago cast out of heaven and now living in the hidden world of Sheol. They have been cursed to drink human blood, outlive their mates and never bear children. Their only job is to escort the souls of the dead to their destiny. As one of the original Fallen, Raziel has grown tired of watching the women he loves die and has sworn them off. When he realizes one of the souls he was sent to ferry is heading to hell, he pulls her back from her fate. Now he's in trouble with Uriel, the only archangel who hasn't fallen, and his growing feeling for the human are becoming impossible to ignore.
Everything was going just fine in Allie Watson's life, until she steps in front of a bus and meets her untimely demise. Then a gorgeous stranger shows up to take her to the afterlife and things really start to get strange. Instead of enduring the flames of hell like she was supposed to, she instead ends up in a strange land with blood-sucking angels who question her presence and evil monsters trying to attack. The only thing that makes it bearable is Raziel, the angle that saved her. All she wants to do is ignore the heat building between them and go back home, but with no way to return and a war building in Sheol, Allie's future I is anything but certain.
With RAZIEL Kristina Douglas has created a new world of sensuality and danger. The back-story is well laid out as it should be in first book of a new series. It is clear nearly from the start who the Fallen are, how they ended up cursed in a hidden world, and who their enemies are. In fact, I found the back-story so interesting that I hope one day Douglas will write a prequel. The book does seem a little slow moving at first, but I think it was necessary to set the background. As the relationship between Raziel and Allie builds and the war with their enemies comes to a head, the story definitely picks (Lisa Watts 4:44pm March 5, 2011)
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