Review:
*I received an ecopy of this book via NetGalley. This has not influenced my review.*
I have mixed feelings about this book. It started off really strong—I must’ve laughed at least ten times within the first 3%—but then it quickly started to disappoint me, but there’s still a part of me that wants to continue the series.
The first issue I had was that it didn’t make sense to me that the guardian angels were sent back to earth in a corporeal form. (Technically it was just a manifestation of their body, but people could see them, touch them, etc.) What if one of them runs into someone who knows them and knows they’re dead? Or, like in the case of one character, they purposely go and reveal themselves to people they knew?
Secondly, the topic of suicide attempts was handled too frivolously. I know this book was meant to be humorous, not serious, but suicide is still a serious topic. I’m not ok with it being used for humorous purposes, and I just couldn’t suspend my disbelief enough to accept the way the hospital treated suicide attempts.
Third, the guardian angels’ first task to fix their charge’s life was to break up a couple and then manipulate the girl into a fake rebound relationship before manipulating her into a real relationship just so Charlie (their charge) could be with the girl he was pining over? I have numerous issues with that. Number one, they didn’t even have proof that her boyfriend was a jerk before they decided it was ok to break them up (it turned out he was a jerk, but that’s beside the point). Number two, if a woman is not interested in a man, that doesn’t mean she’ll automatically be interested once she’s single. Number three, manipulating people is not ok. Number four, relationships don’t fix people’s inner problems. Getting Charlie a woman wouldn’t have done anything to fix his low self-esteem, his defeatist attitude, and his possible mental illnesses (I mean, he did want to commit suicide). In fact, his low self esteem and attitude would’ve likely ended up inevitably sabotaging the relationship. In the end, they did help him gain more confidence by helping with his job situation, but I was still bothered that they weren’t more focused on helping Charlie fix his inner problems from the start.
Fourth, Herman’s transformation was too quick to be believable. Even if I were given a new face and body, I still wouldn’t know how to act like a different person, but somehow Herman instantly became a suave, confident, flirtatious stud.
Fifth, I didn’t like the implied stereotypes about what makes someone desirable. For example, a man who works in the mailroom or in engineering can’t sweep a woman off her feet? Why not???
Sixth, the way Herman wooed Mary was creepy. I’d be weirded out if someone started coming into the place I worked every day just to see me just because he thought I was pretty. And his confidence came off as pushy cockiness. And despite her claims to the contrary, it seemed to me that she only agreed to a first date because she was coerced.
But, despite all that, I dutifully kept reading because I don’t like DNFing, and I will say that I really liked the side plot about Ariel (an archangel) and Lucifer and Herman’s wing color. That was unique and interesting. And it seems as though future books in the series will be more focused on that (which is what makes me tempted to continue).
There was one more thing that bothered me though. Herman was straight. He said himself that he wasn’t into guys. All the sex scenes were m/f. The only reason he was turned on by *SPOILER ALERT* Lucifer *END SPOILER ALERT* was because the guy had magic/powers that made Herman turned on. But as much as I LOVE the idea of that particular character as a love interest (another reason I’m tempted to continue), it would make me really uncomfortable to know it was only because Herman was influenced by some sort of magic, not because it’s what he actually wants. I’m ok with a gay-for-you romance, but if I’m going to be ok with this, I’ll need the magic to be taken out of the equation and the two men to get to know each other so that I can see that Herman’s feelings are genuine.
So, overall, I think I could’ve dealt with some unrealisticness, especially since I really did enjoy the parts involving the archangels and their plots, but I couldn’t deal with the problematic stuff. There was nothing wrong with the writing though, so anyone who knows about the problems going into the book and is ok with them would probably enjoy this more.
Recommended For:
Anyone looking for a quirky story about guardian angels who doesn't mind the problems I mentioned.
You find the most eccentric books, Kristen! Would be curious to see the process through which you pick what to read next. Is it just by feel or do you try to vary it by genre or topic? I’m sorry the book went downhill, though. 🙁 Here’s hoping the next one is better!
My secret is that I have no process, haha. I love indie/self-pub books, so I find a lot of books just by kind of browsing around Amazon/GR, looking through the related books it suggests and saving ones that look interesting. Sometimes I find them when they’re offered for review, like I found this one I found on NG. And then to decide what to read next, I’m a mood reader, so I try to figure out what kind of book or story or mood or genre I’m in the mood for or glance through my books and see if anything jumps out at me. I keep a spreadsheet with review copies, so usually I’ll look there first to try and make sure I hit deadlines. That’s about it. Thanks!
Oh dear. What a shame you could pick so many plot holes because I thought the cover was great. Let’s hope it picks up if you decide to continue with the series.
Yeah, it was a shame that it had so many issues since there were some things I really liked. But they seem like things that might be specific to this book, which means maybe the next would be better… so I might give the next one a chance. Thanks!
Okay this cover I like, with him sitting on a suitcase and a Heaven/ Hell signpost lol. And I must say I don’t think I’ve ever read a guardian angel type/ afterlife story. I’m surprised there aren’t more! after all the afterlife would seem to be rife with possibilites. All the stuff you mention does sound problematic, though, absolutely. Making light of suicide and relationships not fixing problems- especially agree there. I think the archangel angle would be interesting, in a story like this I’d definitely want to see some afterlife drama you know? Play with that, like I said there’s o much potential there.
I love how it says “life sucks” on the suitcase. 🙂
I hadn’t ever read a guardian angel story either. You’re right, it is kinda strange that there aren’t more. But yeah, there was definitely some problematic stuff in this one that I just couldn’t overlook. Which was disappointing because I did love the archangel stuff. I’m thinking I’ll probably continue since the problematic stuff is mostly specific to this book and maybe the next would be better… one can hope anyway lol.
It is kind of a cute cover! This character’s afterlife did seem a lot more exciting than his real life was, so I can’t blame him for the sticker 😛
Oh yeah, I for sure would’ve had problems with, “I’m straight, but magic made me want to get busy with the same sex.” There’s something that feels a bit nonconsensual about that…
Exactly, you get what I’m saying. There’s a still a chance for it to be fixed and handled better though, so I guess I’ll see if I decide to read the next book.
Not sure. *eyes TBR pile* I think I will wait to see how book two works for you..LOL
Lol can’t say I blame you!
I actually love the sound of this. Sorry you didn’t enjoy it, Kristen. I hope your next read will be better. 🙂
If you’re still interested, then yeah, you might like it more than I did! Thanks 🙂
I have read so many negative reviews on GoodReads! But great review! Suicide is a really tough topic, but I don’t think I would like how it is portrayed here. Guess I will just pass this book #noregrets.
Thanks! Yeah, suicide just isn’t funny and shouldn’t be used lightly in books.
I love the cover of this! But…gay because magic? Naaaah.
This sounds a wee bit silly, but I’m finding it hard to judge because I watch Supernatural every week; and this sounds like it could be in a similar universe lol I might add it to my ‘I probably could read this’ pile 😛
Exactly, if he’s gonna end up in that romance in later books, I’ll need it to be for real, not because magic.
Lol I suppose I could see a bit of similarity to Supernatural. If you want a book that’s really similar to that world, you should check out Incubus by Amanda Meuwissen.
I can see where the book went wrong. I think the way suicide attempts were handled, sounds a bit…wrong… I don’t find it a laughing matter, so just to shrug it off..blah
Sorry this didn’t live up completely to what you wanted. Too bad, cause the book sounds like it could be a lot more fun. There is nothing wrong with having some heavy stuff mixed into the humor, as long as the emotion is kept separately.
Exactly, it’s fine to have a book that has both humor and heavy stuff, but the heavy stuff shouldn’t be part of the humor. Thanks, it was too bad since yeah, there were definitely some things I liked.
I was intrigued from the summary but then you pointed out all the issues and now I’m disappointed. I mean, the corporeal thing could have been resolved if it was like Dead Like Me (you know the TV series) and they are in corporeal form but they don’t look like their old selves except to other people like them. And then a poor handling of suicide in the book isn’t ok either. Even if the book is humorous, some subjects just have to be handled with care. And then the rest of it… well… I mean… what the hell? breaking up a relationship and thinking a person will fix someone else’s problems? All of that is just wrong. I just, igh, I’m sad for books with good ideas and poor execution.
Yeah, that’s how I felt when I read it :-/ I mean, they *could* change what they looked like if they wanted to. Herman eventually did. So I could’ve dealt with that at least. It was mostly the other stuff that got to me.
I think it’s entirely possible to tackle a serious topic with humour, especially something like suicide. I can see the elements that made you continue reading, but I wonder if the way the suicide is handled might’ve turned me off it.
I mean, I think it’s possible to tackle serious topics in a humorous book, but this just wasn’t… the right way to do it. And it wasn’t believable.
Hmm, I think I’ll reserve judgement about reading this one until after you read book #2. There are a lot of things that bothered you about this, Kristen, all of which I completely agree with you on. The side plot must be really strong to outweigh all your issues…or at least make up for them in some part. I’m glad it wasn’t a total bust for you. And I really am eager to see your thoughts on the next book.
That sounds like a good plan. The problems I had seem kinda specific to this book, as long as the potential love interest thing is handled well, so the series might get better. The side plot was good, but I feel like it has A LOT of potential to get *really good*. Fingers crossed!
Sounds like a big jumble to me! I like books that came make me laugh, but if it doesn’t carry throughout the book, it really doesn’t feel right. Sorry, it didn’t turn out good for you. ~Aleen
Yeah, it definitely had some issues, and it was kind of odd that the beginning was so funny but then the rest of the book lost a lot of that humor.