So I always love a good angel story. This one did not disappoint.

The different factions of angels and the way that they interacted was interesting. However, I think my favorite storyline was that of Arielle. I could really her feel her grow throughout the book, and even though there is some romance in her story, it wasn’t immediate. We got to really meet her and root for her before she met the man she spotted at the beginning of the book.

Very complex with lots of worldbuilding, we see both the Realm of Humans, the Realms with Heaven and Hell, and the Realm in between. There are a lot of characters as well but getting a feel for each of who they were and what they wanted was a beautiful part of the story even when it got confusing at times.

While the plot moves slowly at first to introduce us to the characters, it picks up quickly leading for a very engaging read. Even though this is a long book, the writing was so well done that the time flew by.

Recommended for all epic fantasy fans! ( )

Books written with lots of names meant to be expressed in an elvish or angelic sort of tongue are always difficult to navigate but just as with a book like “Lord of the Rings”, this sweeping epic is so good that you completely stop focusing on the names after a couple of eventful chapters. I loved the fast pacing, descriptive phrasing and solid characterizations throughout this 400 and something pages of Magi prose.

Here’s a really cool line, “Silence slid across the room with deft precision.” Here’s another, “He let the lesson settle in and find a home within him.” The author spent enough time on each character and event to make me want to keep turning the page as quickly as I could to find out what was going to happen next.

The fight scenes were so rousing they had me cringing with imaginary pain. I kept feeling like I was reading a story about elves but this was really an epic battle between Angels and Demons over the literal fate of humanity at “The Gates of Golorath” which lies between the ethereal world and the earthly one.

The writing was fantastic and I was particularly fascinated with the touching love story between Blademaster trainee, Arielle and the Magi, Angus. Their love was Romeo and Juliet-esque in so many ways.

Lastly, I was glad for the glossary at the back of the book. It was a great and helpful addition and I would suggest reading through it first. Thank you, R. M. Garino, for keeping the reader uppermost in your mind. I am honestly impressed that this is the first book you’ve wrestled to completion. Consider this a solid vindication that your writing addiction should definitely continue. ( )

This book was so good! I really think any fans of Sarah J Maas would be big fans of this as well. I highly recommend this and I can't wait to read more of this world and these characters! ( )