Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Breath of Angel by Karyn Henley ~ 4 stars

Breath of Angel
Karyn Henley
The Angeleon Circle series #1
WaterBrook Press
About the book:
Melaia, a young priestess, witnesses the gruesome murder of an emaciated stranger in the temple courtyard. Just after she discovers wings on the stranger, the murderer enters the temple, and what Melaia has known only through song and story suddenly takes on flesh. Angels and shape-shifters were myths and stories . . . until now.

Melaia finds herself in the middle of a blood feud between two immortal brothers who destroyed the stairway to heaven, stranding angels in the earthly realm. When the feud turns violent and Melaia becomes a target, she finds refuge with a band of wandering angels attempting to restore the stairway. But the restoration is impossible without the repayment of an ancient debt, the “breath of angel, blood of man,” a payment that involves Melaia’s heart, soul, and destiny.

My review:
Well, this will be a little bit longer than my typical review, but there are a few things that need to be addressed.

First, although this is sold as Christian Fiction, I would just label it as clean fiction. There are angels and talk of the “Most High” that the priestesses serve, but there is no active God in the book. It is also NOT an allegory, and it does not follow Biblical principles. Also, there are two mild curse words (that I noticed) used in the dialogue. I know these things will be a to-read-or-not-to-read issue for some readers, so I wanted to mention them first.

Apart from that, I thought the book was pretty good. There were lots of plot twists and it kept me interested. It was a little confusing at first, but I soon was able to follow along very well. I was a little frustrated with the lack of power and options given to the angels and followers of the “Most High,” and wished that it was a little more Biblical in that area. It IS a fantasy world, though, and since it isn’t an allegory there are unbiblical ideas, things, and circumstances that you wouldn’t see in a Biblical allegory/fantasy book. I still liked it, however, and I will be reading the rest of this series, and I am definitely looking forward to seeing what happens next! I would recommend this book, but with a warning that it probably won’t be what you expect.

Thanks to Blogging for Books for my free review copy of this book.

7 comments:

Bluerose said...

Did you get an ARC?
I read this one and didn't notice any curse words at all. I only ask, because that is something I make sure I point out to my readers in my reviews, and I don't want to lead them wrong. I try to keep a close eye on those words. I definitely pushed this one as a clean read that even non-Christian readers could enjoy.

Toyin O. said...

Sounds like a good book, thanks for sharing.

Maria Behar said...

I recently bought this book myself, and was just as puzzled as you were by its being labeled as "Christian fiction", when it obviously isn't. I found that out from the Goodreads plot synopsis.

Although I didn't like the opening of the first chapter (how can an angel be murdered?!), I'll still read and review it, because my curiosity was piqued.

Thanks for the honest review!! : )

♥ my diary♥ said...

nice post thanks for sharing....blessings...soraya

-b9 said...

Glory2God!! You're another Christian in this sinister, bawless world giving Glory2God!!! Kick.Some.Ass. That's what I wanna hear!!! Peeple today are so #@!! worried about the proper P/R bullshit, that it's quite a relief to 'see' you working for God's Kingdome. And I approve of this message HawrHawr Lemme fill-you-up withe epitome of epiphany of love, the avant-gardeness and wisdom necessary to achieve Seventh-Heaven, dear (if you have friends, but aint sure about where their thots lay, show'm this; you may become a Holy Rollin' Saint with my catalyst)...

If 'freedom lies in being bold' (Robert Frost), doesn't pushing-the-envelope result in the Elysian Fields? If I'm the sower, we plant the Seed; if I'm an artist, we RITE the symphonies heard Upstairs ☆IF☆ you accept His lead withe orchestra...

Wanna find-out the fax, Jak, in a wurld fulla the 'power of cowards'? Wanna wiseabove to help a 'Plethora Of Wurdz' [POW!] which are look'n for a new home in thy novelty?? Yay!

Q: But [gulp] can anyone tell me the difference between K2/IQ? A: Nthn. In Heaven, we gitt'm both for eternity HA! Need a few more thots, ideers, wild wurdz (whoa, Nelly! easy, girl!) or ironclad iconoclasms?

VERBUM SAT SAPIENTI (Latin: words to [the] wise): As an ex-writer of the sassy, savvy, schizophenia we all go thro in this lifelong demise, I just wanna help U.S. git past the ping-pong-homo'BOMBa-politixxx, the whorizontal more!ass! we're in...

"This finite existence is only a test, son," God Almighty told me in my coma. "Far beyond thy earthly tempest is where you'll find tangible, corpulent eloquence". Lemme tella youse without d'New Joisey accent...

I actually saw Seventh-Heaven when we died: you couldn't GET!! any moe curly, party-hardy-endorphins, low-hanging-fruit of the Celestial Paradise, extravagantly-surplus-lush Upstairs (aww! baby kitties, too!!) when my o-so-beautifull, brilliant, bombastic girly passed-away due to those wry, sardonic satires...

"Those who are wise will shine as brightly as the expanse of the Heavens, and those who have instructed many in uprightousness as bright as stars for all eternity" -Daniel 12:3, NJB

Here's also what the prolific, exquisite GODy sed: 'the more you shall honor Me, the more I shall bless you' -the Infant Jesus of Prague.

Go gitt'm, girl. You're incredible. See you Upstairs. I won't be joining'm in the nasty #@!! Abyss where Isis prowls
thesuperseedoftime.blogspot.com
infowars.com
-YOUTHwitheTRUTH
-------------------------------
PS Need summore unique, uncivilized, useless names? Lemme gonna gitcha started, brudda:

Oak Woods, Franky Sparks, Athena Noble, Autumn Rose, Faith Bishop, Dolly Martin, Willow Rhodes, Cocoa Major, Roman Stone, Bullwark Burnhart, Magnus Wilde, Kardiak Arrest, Will Wright, Goldy Silvers, Penelope Summers, Sophie Sharp, Violet Snow, Lizzy Roach, BoxxaRoxx, Aunty Dotey, Romero Stark, Zacharia Neptooh, Mercurio Morrissey, Fritz & Felix Franz, Victor Payne, Isabella Silverstein, Mercedes Kennedy, Redding Rust, Phoenix Martini, Ivy Squire, Sauer Wolfe, Yankee Cooky, -blessed b9... (mixNmatch)

God blessa youse
(trustNjesus)
-Fr. Sarducci, ol SNL

-b9 said...

Haven't HERD 'bout the WARNING? Again, the mainstream media won't touch it. Figures. Kontrol freeks.

The Warning from Almighty God WILL happen - dunno when - yet, it WILL effect the whole, wide, world precisely because Almighty God DOES NOT wanna lose any one of us: we all sIn, capital I. God loves all of us. Dats da fak, Jak. Why did sHe make us if He didn't love us? If you DON'T wanna be a part of His wild-Kingdome, child, He aint gonna force you. Remember? Up or down? Only 2 realms after our demise? And 1 of em aint too cool?

The Warning will be about 20ish minutes, showing a supremely ugly picture of Hell; Purgatory (a state of waiting for those who died in a state of grace - sorry, Protestants, now you know the Truth); Seventh-Heaven where, for all those who repent in the ••SIX WEEKS!•• will git a chance to reside in His eternally fruitfull, wild Kingdome where Im going.

What'll happen to those who DON'T repent in the six weeks? Jesus will say to them, hopefully not you, at their Divine Judgement (paraF), "Haven't I given you everything? Even six weeks to repent? And how do you repay Me? By living far from Me. Away from Me, evildoers, into the fire prepared for the Devil and his angels!" TheEnd. Roll credits...

Yes, dear, the Warning shall effect this sinfull mortal, too, for I'm not unlike you: I'm a sinner: born when John Travolta and Abba had their debut. See if cannot connect the dots <-to-> Seventh-Heaven.

Love you, girl.
Pray for me.
I'll pray for you.
Meet me Upstairs.

-b9 said...

ISLAM IS EVIL (as you saw in Orlando): the only religion whose theology explicitly denies Jesus' Divinity and, thus, a faith of antichrist (all demons know Almighty God exists - who put'm in the Abyss of Misery??) Exactly why the left loves Islam: they're lost. Help them, precious, precocious girly; help them to find their Way home. I have faith in you, too. Cya soon...