"Angels, vampires, lust and passion combine with one wicked reason to save the girl."
Reviewed by Amber Keller
Posted July 5, 2013
Romance Paranormal | Fantasy Urban
Azrael descended to earth along with three other archangels
in order to search for the four female angels that were
created for them. As they fell, Azrael was transformed into
a vampire. Today he is the lead singer of a popular rock
band and hides his true identity. He constantly searches for
the angel that was meant for him. When he sees Sophie Bryce
at archangel Gabriel's wedding, he knows she's the one. Only
she doesn't know it. Unaware of her real angelic self, she
begins to be the target of dark supernatural forces, leaving
Azrael as the only one who can save her. In order to do
this, he must sacrifice his cover and reveal who he truly
is.
Angels as vampires? Vampires as angels? Hang on, hang on.
Let me tell you a little bit about it first. Intensity
doesn't begin to describe this book. The third book in the
Lost Angels series, DEATH'S ANGEL gives us Azrael's
story.
As he searches for his soul mate, he finds her at archangel
Gabriel's wedding. Sophie is beautiful but the twist is she
has no idea that she was made for Azreal. This sets the
stage for an emotionally packed tale filled with steamy sex
and passion. Heather Killough-Walden's ability to write
characters with such emotion surpasses most of the pack. We
feel what the characters feel, we are sad, we are happy, and
yes, we are definitely worked up sometimes. Azrael, being
the angel of death, is magically transformed into a vampire
by way of a curse when he fell to earth two thousand years
ago. This is one of the most unique aspects of this story, a
real eyebrow archer if you will, and Killough-Walden writes
it immaculately. If you get nothing else from this review,
please take from it the author's immense talent. Her gift
for the craft is steady and constant. She makes you believe
the story in such a way that you feel that you're right
there. She's one of the few authors that you can pick up
their newest book and know that you're going to get the
quality you expect. So go ahead and check this one out to
fulfill your urban fantasy and romance needs. Quality,
quality, quality right here, folks.
SUMMARY
Since the beginning of time, the archangels have longed to
know true love. When four female angels were created for the
four archangels, Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, and Azrael, a
chaos spurred by jealousy erupted, and the archesses were
secreted away to Earth. The four favored archangels
followed, prompting a search that has lasted millennia... As the Angel of Death, Azrael could never be like his
brothers. While the others fell to Earth in human form,
Azrael descended as a vampire. Today, as the lead singer of
a popular rock band, he keeps his true nature hidden-a
powerful darkness constantly at odds with his angelic self.
Beneath his mask, Azrael holds onto the hope that he will
one day find the archess who will complete him. At his brother Gabriel's wedding, Azrael set his golden eyes
on Sophie Bryce, the maid of honor. He is certain she is his
destined mate, and will do anything to make her his. But
Sophie is unaware of her archess identity, and is haunted by
unspeakable demons of her own. When supernatural forces emerge from the shadows,
threatening Sophie, Azrael is the only one who can protect
her. But to do it, he must reveal his true, savage self.
ExcerptAzrael smiled, flashing perfect white teeth that sported
incisors slightly longer than the norm. Some people
naturally looked like that, he knew, but on him it looked
different enough that he didn't smile often. On him, it
seemed to fit too perfectly and only served to reinforce
the otherworldly impressions people often had when looking
at him.
He was a starkly charismatic individual. He was taller
than anyone he knew, save perhaps Samael. His voice could
literally mesmerize. He was also uncommonly, almost
painfully handsome. He wasn't certain why the Old Man had
seen fit to bother with such a thing while simultaneously
making him a vampire. It was like the curse of Beethoven,
who created the most beautiful music in the world and
couldn't hear it. What good was a beautiful face when
placed on a monster?
But Sophie didn't seem to mind the hint of fang he
exposed. In fact, as he brushed her mind, unable to help
himself from drawing nearer to her in any way possible, he
was surprised to find that she found it attractive. My God,
she thought. He really does look like a vampire.
This was the second time she had thought such a thing.
If he'd been capable of choking, he would have done so the
first time her mind had muttered the impression. Hearing it
now had nearly as strong an effect on Azrael. Sophie wasn't
repulsed by vampires. And the idea that he resembled one
was appealing to her.
Of course, Azrael was no fool. A lot of girls believed
they would enjoy the company of a vampire � if vampires
existed. In reality, he knew they would cower or scream or
run, or most likely all three. Still... he found himself
hoping.
"Sophie Bryce, right? The maid of honor?" he asked, his
smile utterly disarming. He'd had millennia to practice.
Sophie blinked and he read her thoughts. She was
desperately trying to find her head in the wake of his
sudden presence. She'd been torturing herself over the last
few days, and he knew it. He'd watched her every night.
Listened to her. He knew damn well that she was drawn to
him � and that she hated herself for it.
He sensed it when a slight pain twinged up her arm and
Sophie realized that her friend was holding her tight.
Taylor's fingers curled into Sophie's forearm in utter
distraction, her hazel eyes glued to Azrael. He knew she
couldn't help it and wasn't aware of what she was doing,
but the fact that she'd brought his archess even the
slightest discomfort was difficult for Az to ignore. It
upset him.
And with practiced control, he tamped down the anger.
Sophie, on the other hand, appeared to be glad for the
pain. It shot through the dazed fog that Az's appearance
had caused. It also cleared her senses enough to allow her
to pull her arm out of Taylor's grip, clear her throat, and
say, "Yes." He tried not to smile when her voice cracked
halfway through the single syllable. She cleared her throat
some more and forced a smile to her lips. "That's me." She
was so fucking cute with half of her glorious golden locks
tucked up underneath that Penguins cap. Wisps of it fell
about her face, framing it and caressing it the way he
wanted to.
He chuckled softly, watching her carefully to gauge the
effect his laugh had on her. Sophie's gold eyes brightened,
her lips parted, and her cheeks flushed ever so slightly.
Az's monster reared its head and he felt his vision begin
to heat up. If he wasn't careful, his eyes would begin to
glow. "We never got the chance to actually meet the other
night," he told her, forcing himself to continue with the
charade.
"No," she agreed, relieved that she was finally finding
her voice. "We didn't."
He cocked his head to one side and slid his gaze from
hers to regard her friends. He needed to look away � just
for a moment. Long enough to get himself under control once
more. His gold eyes slowly scanned the faces of her
companions � and then stopped on the pair of men who sat
behind them.
A quick scan of their minds told him they were recent
graduates from Carnegie Mellon University. The one on the
right was the son of a wealthy factory owner here in the
city. His name was Richard. And he'd been thinking all
sorts of biblical things about Sophie that night.
Azrael grew very still and something dark flickered
across his face. He knew it was there; he knew he was
failing to hide his sudden fury. But he barely cared.
Richard fell back into the curve of his seat and
swallowed hard as the blood drained from his face. Below
him, Sophie cleared her throat, at once drawing Azrael's
attention. Sophie slowly stood and turned to face him. "Az,
these are my friends, Taylor and Emily." She gestured
toward them and they smiled nervously, but politely,
nodding in his direction.
Emily and Taylor's eyes were still a little glazed over
at his presence, so, Az allowed some of his vampiric
influence to snake around and through the girls, easing
them into a more comfortable state of relaxation.
It worked like a charm. Within seconds, Taylor was
smiling easily and standing to greet him properly. "It's a
pleasure to meet you," she said, extending her hand.
"Likewise," Az agreed, and with a slight bow, accepted
the offered hands of both Taylor and then Emily, who
quickly followed suit.
While he shook hands, Sophie's thoughts echoed through
Az's mind.
She couldn't believe that her friends weren't guessing
he was the Masked One. It seemed so obvious to her now that
she knew his secret. Everything about him screamed of the
kind of rock star charisma that it took to hold millions of
fans in sway.
Meanwhile, Sophie's gaze traveled over Azrael's form,
and he tried not to visibly crow with the triumph he felt
when she shamelessly took in the way the black
button–up shirt under his sports coat stretched taut
across the muscles of his chest. She was particularly fond
of the curve of his neck where it met his shoulder.
Azrael released Emily's hand, straightened again, and
heard Sophie's heart rate speed up.
He looked up to see that her sunshine eyes were glassy
with unabashed desire. And, as if it would hide the way her
mouth watered for him, she had pressed her bottom lip
between two perfect, white teeth. Azrael's gaze locked on
the plump lip. He quickly slipped his hands into the
pockets of his trench coat as they tightened into fists at
his sides, and his nails began to cut into his palms. He
imagined her pressing hard enough with her teeth to draw
blood.
If she did... it would all be over.
"Juliette mentioned you live in Pittsburgh," he said,
trying to break through not only his tension, but
hers. "I'd forgotten." His tone was gentle, personal. He
knew that to her, it was as if they were the only two in
the arena.
"For now," she told him flat–out. She didn't want
to bore him with the fact that she would only be there for
two more days, but he was well aware.
"But what are you doing here?" she asked, honestly
curious. It was quite a coincidence to her that she had
never seen him before in her life � and then, suddenly,
she'd seen him twice in the space of a week. She wasn't
stupid; she was wary.
That was okay with him. He had a story and he would use
it, but even this lie was too much of a secret for him to
share with her friends. Az glanced at Taylor and Emily and
smiled an easy, even somewhat shy smile. "It's a personal
matter actually," he said. "However..." he paused, turned,
and glanced up toward the private booths up above them. His
band awaited him in one of them; they had a bird's eye view
of the entire arena from their vantage point. He knew
because he'd been watching Sophie from it all night.
He also knew that Sophie had never been in one of those
suites herself, and he was hoping she'd be tempted enough
by what he was about to offer that he could pull her away
from her companions at least for a little while. "Second
period will begin in a few minutes," he said, looking back
down at her and scorching her once more with stark
eyes. "And there is plenty of room in our suite for another
guest." He chanced another glance at the men seated behind
Sophie � especially Richard � and was smugly satisfied when
the young man looked as though he wanted to piss
himself. "Perhaps you would care to join me?" he asked,
turning his gaze back on his archess.
He could hear her blood rushing through her veins. He
was scaring her and thrilling her at the same time. She was
finding it hard to think.
He wasn't opposed to working with that; he had no desire
to stand here and play the good guy much longer anyway.
A gentle push of his power, and it surrounded Sophie. In
a few moments, she not only found it difficult to think,
she found it impossible. Seconds ago, she'd had a thousand
reasons why she should keep away from Azrael. And the fact
that he belonged to � was destined to be with � another,
was the most powerful.
But just then, every reason she'd had, and in fact,
reason itself, fled from her consciousness and she found
herself saying, "Yes." She'd barely whispered it, but it
was enough.
Azrael's smile broadened.
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