Memento Mori. Remember that you will die.
Blurb:
Bryce Quinlan had the perfect life—working hard all day and partying all night—until a demon murdered her closest friends, leaving her bereft, wounded, and alone. When the accused is behind bars but the crimes start up again, Bryce finds herself at the heart of the investigation. She’ll do whatever it takes to avenge their deaths.
Hunt Athalar is a notorious Fallen angel, now enslaved to the Archangels he once attempted to overthrow. His brutal skills and incredible strength have been set to one purpose—to assassinate his boss’s enemies, no questions asked. But with a demon wreaking havoc in the city, he’s offered an irresistible deal: help Bryce find the murderer, and his freedom will be within reach.
As Bryce and Hunt dig deep into Crescent City’s underbelly, they discover a dark power that threatens everything and everyone they hold dear, and they find, in each other, a blazing passion—one that could set them both free, if they’d only let it.
With unforgettable characters, sizzling romance, and page-turning suspense, this richly inventive new fantasy series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas delves into the heartache of loss, the price of freedom—and the power of love.
REVIEW
First off, I have to acknowledge this cover.
It's gorgeous! The details are just amazing and the red color with the gold accents...beautiful. When I bought the book I spent at least 10 minutes just admiring the cover and looking at all the little details in it.
Okay, now enough about me obsessiong over the cover and let's get to the review. To make it short... I love this book!
I have to admit though, it took me a while to get into it. I wasn't crazy about it from the start and the only reason was the information dump that was happening. Too many characters, names, hierarchies, history of the world the book is set in... just too much all at once. In my head I was like girl, slow it down a bit and lemme get used to things one info at a time, please. Not gonna lie, it dragged a bit in the beginning but once it hit about 40%, it started to pick up real fast. Suddenly there was one twist after another and I was glued to the pages, reading looong into the night, even though I had work the next day. I just couldn't stop! I flew through the second half of the book, not even stopping to highlight some quotes, which says a lot because I always highlight quotes when I'm into the book.
So the story starts a little bit before the main event, which is really the catalyst to set off a chain of events, bringing Bryce and Hunt together and pushing Bryce onto her destined path.
We learn that Bryce is a party girl, working all day and partying all night. She has a tight circle of close friends, her job and random hookups here and there and she likes it that way. She's living life on her own terms, not caring about anyone else's opinion, until that fatefut night when everything changes and Bryce suddenly finds herself alone. It's also the night when Bryce and Hunt's paths cross for the first time.
Fast forward two years and the murders start up again and Bryce gets thrust into the investigation, with Hunt assigned as her bodyguard/sidekick. Their banter is hilarious. There were a couple of scenes where I just laughed my ass off. Hunt thinks Bryce is just a shallow partygirl with no depth or emotions. Of course it was really fun to watch him learn that, in fact, the opposite is the case. There was no insta-love, which most of the time annoys me, but rather a gradual development of their relationship. They go from hating each other, to tolerating one another, to friendship and then to something more... which I find great. Their (potential) romance doesn't overshadow the main plot but rather enhances it as the story develops... if that makes any sense.
Sarah J. Maas has written this story with lots of layers for Bryce and Hunt and even the side characters are very well developed. There wasn't one character where I felt like It's totally unncessary for them to exist there.
I'm not really sure if the next book is going to be about a different couple or if she'll mix the point of views together but I do know that I cannot wait to read about Ruhn and a certain someone (*wink*)...
Every story layer has its own little climax towards the end of the book with the main plot's HUGE climax at the end which ties everything neatly together. I love that because this way it didn't feel overwhelming for me, you know, with too many revelations happening all at once. Plus I was also very satisfied with the ending, which didn't leave us with a major cliffhanger. I hate those with a passion, especially when I have to wait a long time for the sequel. The ending left me curious about what's going to happen next with just enough unanswered questions to keep me interested.
Do I think this could've been shorter? Definitely.
I mean... it's about 800 pages long and the first 300 are more or less backstory and for us to get to know the characters that are a part of this story... some have more prominent roles and others not so much...
That being said, this book is a sold 4-star-read for me and if you're a Sarah J. Maas and/or Fantasy fan, then I'd definitely recommend reading this one.
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