Karina Espinosa

{my thoughts} – Max Taylor is an average seventeen year-old boy, he has two main friends Jones and Angela and a loving mother and father. His father is mostly absent through out his upbringing and his mother is his primary caregiver. His two close friends Angela lives next door and Jones lives with some foster parents that always appear to be out of town.

Max has a secret but he isn’t able to remember just what that secret is. His dad keeps having Jones his {so-called} best-friend wipe his memory so that he can’t remember anything in regards to the paranormal world that he is actually a part of and living in. Jones takes Max to a party with some twins and they come to find out that the twins are just one person a succubus. The succubus has the ability to suck the life force from someone and double their appearance. The succubus fools Jones and the double that isn’t real takes him up into a room with ulterior motive and the actual succubus kidnaps Max.

Max is missing for a few days, but eventually Angela is able to find and locate him with her mind reading abilities. She goes in and saves his life and this is about when his dad finally sees that he has been wrong all these years to protect him from all the unknown variables. Instead he begins to understand that he should have been training him and preparing him.

Max just wants to know what is going on and why his life no longer is making any sense. What high school boy wouldn’t want to know such things. His world went from nearly perfect to nearly if not almost completely upside down. That’s something it is hard for anyone to digest let alone a teenager that has been having their mind wiped for more years then they can remember.

It seems that Max’s mom knows about Max and that when he gets angry he has a special power. He can create blue fire, the fire of heaven. Max and Angela eventually go and seek guidance from a close friend of his dads named Jeremiel and he is able to tell them that Max is Nephilim. This is news to both Max and Angela but mostly to his dad who always wanted his son to be nothing but a normal child growing up. Max’s dad also has a secret that Max didn’t know – he is a fallen angel from heaven. He is this because he chose to have a baby and fall in love with Max’s mother which was forbidden. He had the option to spend the rest of his life in heaven and never she the woman he loved and his baby again or to fall from heaven and live the rest of his life with them. Because he chose to fall from heaven and give up everything he and Max’s mother were cursed and unable to ever have another child again.

Eventually Max figures out that Jones and Angela are a couple and that they really aren’t friends but his Guardians. This blows Max’s mind and because of it things are really rocky with Max, his dad and his friends. Max seeks out some normalcy in his life and starts dating a new girl in town named Melanie — however even though he cares deeply for her, in the end he is forced to part ways.

There are so many ground breaking developments within the pages of this book, that it is difficult not to want to keep reading. I urge you if you haven’t picked this book up to do just that. You won’t regret it! It’s a wonderful read and one that I highly recommend!

{liked quotes} –
01} The feeling of not always belonging got to me. Even though I’m seventeen and this is what I’m suppose to be doing, I really don’t want to. The thought of being home was more of my liking. The alcohol, the partying and the supposedly sleeping around is just what I’m required to do – you know the high school experience.

02} Max what happened earlier was a mistake. You don’t understand the rules and consequences for us. Just stop whatever it is that you’re feeling because it will never happen again.

03} No. I’m not going to turn off my emotions that easily. What are you a robot? People can’t just do that,” I argued.

04} A Nephilim? That’s a myth. Anyways, weren’t they all destroyed during the flood?” Angela asked. I was at a loss. The flood? Like Noah’s Ark?

05} The Nephilim are the sins of the fallen, it’s only right for each of you to represent a sin. They were born from sin, an abnormality in our race. What your parents did was not right Max.

06} We humans like to party and if I recall there was a certain angel who was a wannabe human that used to party a lot too. Just saying.

07} “You know Mister Taylor, everyone has a purpose in life, whether it’s to lead, follow, create, etcetera. But we tend to let anger, heartache, and even ignorance – as well as other emotions – stand in the way of fulfilling our destiny has been paved for us, all because of fear the unknown. Yes, the unknown variable is frightening.”

08} “And yes, it is much easier to stay away from this all, but when we are destined for remarkable things, we are caught in a crossroad of choices and sometimes the dangers outweigh the reward. It’s never easy, but it’s a choice none the less and one that is quite the burden.”

09} Moping isn’t going to bring mom back or even my old life back. I can’t change the things I can’t control, but I can start with the things that I can.… (más)

{my thoughts} – Max Taylor is an average seventeen year-old boy, he has two main friends Jones and Angela and a loving mother and father. His father is mostly absent through out his upbringing and his mother is his primary caregiver. His two close friends Angela lives next door and Jones lives with some foster parents that always appear to be out of town.

Max has a secret but he isn’t able to remember just what that secret is. His dad keeps having Jones his {so-called} best-friend wipe his memory so that he can’t remember anything in regards to the paranormal world that he is actually a part of and living in. Jones takes Max to a party with some twins and they come to find out that the twins are just one person a succubus. The succubus has the ability to suck the life force from someone and double their appearance. The succubus fools Jones and the double that isn’t real takes him up into a room with ulterior motive and the actual succubus kidnaps Max.

Max is missing for a few days, but eventually Angela is able to find and locate him with her mind reading abilities. She goes in and saves his life and this is about when his dad finally sees that he has been wrong all these years to protect him from all the unknown variables. Instead he begins to understand that he should have been training him and preparing him.

Max just wants to know what is going on and why his life no longer is making any sense. What high school boy wouldn’t want to know such things. His world went from nearly perfect to nearly if not almost completely upside down. That’s something it is hard for anyone to digest let alone a teenager that has been having their mind wiped for more years then they can remember.

It seems that Max’s mom knows about Max and that when he gets angry he has a special power. He can create blue fire, the fire of heaven. Max and Angela eventually go and seek guidance from a close friend of his dads named Jeremiel and he is able to tell them that Max is Nephilim. This is news to both Max and Angela but mostly to his dad who always wanted his son to be nothing but a normal child growing up. Max’s dad also has a secret that Max didn’t know – he is a fallen angel from heaven. He is this because he chose to have a baby and fall in love with Max’s mother which was forbidden. He had the option to spend the rest of his life in heaven and never she the woman he loved and his baby again or to fall from heaven and live the rest of his life with them. Because he chose to fall from heaven and give up everything he and Max’s mother were cursed and unable to ever have another child again.

Eventually Max figures out that Jones and Angela are a couple and that they really aren’t friends but his Guardians. This blows Max’s mind and because of it things are really rocky with Max, his dad and his friends. Max seeks out some normalcy in his life and starts dating a new girl in town named Melanie — however even though he cares deeply for her, in the end he is forced to part ways.

There are so many ground breaking developments within the pages of this book, that it is difficult not to want to keep reading. I urge you if you haven’t picked this book up to do just that. You won’t regret it! It’s a wonderful read and one that I highly recommend!

{liked quotes} –
01} The feeling of not always belonging got to me. Even though I’m seventeen and this is what I’m suppose to be doing, I really don’t want to. The thought of being home was more of my liking. The alcohol, the partying and the supposedly sleeping around is just what I’m required to do – you know the high school experience.

02} Max what happened earlier was a mistake. You don’t understand the rules and consequences for us. Just stop whatever it is that you’re feeling because it will never happen again.

03} No. I’m not going to turn off my emotions that easily. What are you a robot? People can’t just do that,” I argued.

04} A Nephilim? That’s a myth. Anyways, weren’t they all destroyed during the flood?” Angela asked. I was at a loss. The flood? Like Noah’s Ark?

05} The Nephilim are the sins of the fallen, it’s only right for each of you to represent a sin. They were born from sin, an abnormality in our race. What your parents did was not right Max.

06} We humans like to party and if I recall there was a certain angel who was a wannabe human that used to party a lot too. Just saying.

07} “You know Mister Taylor, everyone has a purpose in life, whether it’s to lead, follow, create, etcetera. But we tend to let anger, heartache, and even ignorance – as well as other emotions – stand in the way of fulfilling our destiny has been paved for us, all because of fear the unknown. Yes, the unknown variable is frightening.”

08} “And yes, it is much easier to stay away from this all, but when we are destined for remarkable things, we are caught in a crossroad of choices and sometimes the dangers outweigh the reward. It’s never easy, but it’s a choice none the less and one that is quite the burden.”

09} Moping isn’t going to bring mom back or even my old life back. I can’t change the things I can’t control, but I can start with the things that I can.… (más)

This book gave up on everything that made the first one different from all the other generic urban fantasy drivel.
The jaded addicted aspect of the MC is demoted to a token quirk that doesn't fit with her other behavior at all anymore.
The addiction problem changes from an interesting conflict into this annoying side thing that just kind of gets fixed willy nilly.
The stakes inflate from a personal story to literally saving the world.
The characters act completely contrary to their previous characterization and even outright contradict their own statements just because it is necessary for the plot to proceed. No consistency or common sense is to be found in the main cast.
This is just lazy and artless.
Returned the audiobook. Thank god for audibles return policy.… (más)