Book Review: Ashes of Angels by Michele Hauf

Ashes of Angels
Author: Michele Hauf
Series: Of Angels and Demons, book 3
Publisher: Harlequin
ISBN-10: 0373618646
ISBN-13: 978-0373618644
Buy it here:
Book Depository
Amazon

For more information visit Michele Hauf's website



Cassandra Stevens is a muse, a human woman who can be impregnated by a fallen angel and give birth to a heinous creature. She has been taught to defend herself against them at all costs but when her destined Fallen finds her, Cassandra can't stop the desire Samandriel stirs up inside of her. Sam has no intention of harming his muse. Instead plans to protect her against his brethren that are being called to earth by a vampire lord who will do anything to get his hands on a nephilim, offspring of the Fallen and muse. If Cassandra and Sam don't stop him soon it could mean the start of the apocalypse.

Cassandra has always known about the Fallen and what will happen if her's is called to earth. That hasn't stopped her inner romantic from fantasizing what it would be like to have her angel come to her and sweep her off her feet. When she finally meets Sam he is more handsome than Cassandra ever imagined but she doesn't let that distract her from fleeing and arming herself against him. Sam pursues her but will not force himself onto Cassandra. His ultimate goal is to redeem himself and be welcomed back into Above (heaven). As you can guess his meeting Cassandra changes all that.

There were things I liked and didn't like about both characters and their relationship. For Cassandra I liked that she defends herself against Sam, the other Fallen and the vampires and doesn't just sit around and wait to be rescued. What I didn't care for was how back and forth she was on her feelings for Sam. One minute she wanted him and the next she didn't trust him. I also found a few of her decisions questionable. For Sam I liked that he was considered an outlaw by his kind because he wanted to get to know a woman completely instead of forcing himself on her. His fighting skills were also impressive but no matter how many fallen, demons or vampires he defeated, I couldn't help feel like he was more of beta. I know not all male characters can have alpha personalities but when compared to the male leads in previous books, Sam left something to be desired. As for their relationship, it too left me wanting more. It was sweet in that Cassandra finally meets the man she's been dreaming about her entire life and Sam starts to think about giving up heaven for her, but it didn't have much more to it than that.

The Fallen are coming to earth at an alarming rate because a vampire lord is summing them. He plans to force a muse and Fallen together to create a nephilim for his own purpose. By doing this he is also on the verge of bring something more catastrophic upon everyone. Since the first book, the vampire's plan has been escalating and everything comes to a head in Ashes of Angels. The final confrontation with the vampires fell a little flat but I've found the vampire story line interesting since book one because they've made great villains. I hope they'll be making more appearances in future books. The side characters of Coco, Cassandra's sister, and her vampire lover Zane were both great. Their relationship felt solid and they were necessary to the story instead of feeling like they were placed in just to have more characters involved. I'm even tempted to buy their short story in order to find out more about them.

Ashes of Angels wasn't as great as the first book in this series but it was still a good read with a healthy dose of action and a variety of different paranormal creatures. Cassandra and Sam were decent enough but sometimes they were out shined by Coco and Zane. The climatic scene with the vampires was a little disappointing but I was glad to finally see what a nephilim looks like and people have been right to fear its birth. The story and characters had their faults but what I absolutely loved and is my favorite part of this series are the descriptions of the Fallen and Sinistari (demons). Each Fallen is different and looks to be made out of different materials and the Sinistari appear to be hand crafted out of metals. It's a very different take on angels and demons and I love how descriptive Michele Hauf is each time she introduces a new one. This is the 3rd book in the Of Angels and Demons series and if it's something you're interested in reading, go back and read Angel Slayer first. So far it is the best book in this series and an all around amazing read.
My Rating:


Reviews for other books in the series:
Angel Slayer