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.