Wistful Wednesday

Review: Nephilim by Mary Ann Loesch

Blurb:

Don't let him brand your soul.....

Tattoo artist Nathan Ink—an angel secretly living on earth—forces his clients to face their flaws by tattooing images of their sins on their bodies. In the urban fantasy, Nephilim, this little glimpse into the soul often results in his client’s death. Though Nathan shuns the other angels, when he is asked to keep an eye on Faye, an attractive nightclub singer being stalked by a malevolent being, he reluctantly agrees.



Faye is a nephilim (half angel/half human) and unaware of her stalker. She believes the other angels have asked her to investigate Nathan because of the high mortality rate of his clients. Despite her distaste for his methods, Faye discovers that Nathan is not a rogue and is forced to question her mission. Unwittingly she learns her stalker’s secret: he’s also a nephilim whose twisted plot is to exterminate the angels and breed a new race of beings with Faye. Knowing this, she realizes that teaming up with Nathan and using his unique artistic abilities may be the only way to stop this nephilim’s hellish plans.

(From the author's website)

The Review:

I have a special place in my heart for angels. I write about them myself (Nora's Soul), I believe in them, and I like what they symbolize. So when other authors use angels as their protagonists, I like to read their stories to get their take on them - and believe me, they're all different! For this reason, I was very interested in reading Mary Ann Loesch's book, Nephilim. Just reading the blurb above was enough to entice me, even if I didn't already have a thing for angels. But I have to say, I'm feeling kind of ambiguous about this book. I'm not sure what I think about it. There are many things I  liked about it, but there were also some things that I didn't.

What I liked about it was the cast of angels, namely Azal, Nathan and Raphael. They are all interesting, well-rounded characters, each providing a reason to root for them. But I do have to admit that with the way the book was set up, I was a little confused at first about who was the actual protagonist of the story. Even though the blurb says Nathan Ink, in the beginning I actually thought it might be Azal. First, he was center stage with Faye and there were several references to their past that made it seem like he might be her hero. But then the story introduced Nathan and the confusion built a little bit until Azal suddenly took a step back and Nathan took center stage. It wasn't until Faye and Nathan's first romantic encounter that I truly believed they were the two protagonists in the story, that it was their story. But I guess that's what can happen when you have such fully-fleshed secondary characters - sometimes they just demand to take center stage themselves. (Hint, hint, Mary Ann: Give Azal his own story! And then invite me to the party because I just love, love, loved him!)

What I found difficult about the story was the grittiness of it. There's a lot of coarse language in it - even God swears at one point - and at times, I did find it a little offensive (the idea of God swearing really put me off). Call me old-fashioned, but I don't like the idea of angels behaving in such a coarse manner. For many of the secondary characters and the villain, the language seemed appropriate, but it didn't sound right coming from others. But that's just me. Still, I didn't let that one sour note prevent me from finishing the book and I'm happy I did because after what the author put her main characters through, I had to make sure the villain got his due. And although the book concluded with a somewhat ambiguous ending, I was still satisfied with it.

So all in all, I would have to say that Nephilim is an intriguing story that will have you staying up at night, eagerly reading to the thrilling conclusion to discover for yourself how Faye and Nathan could possibly overcome such a powerful foe. I would definitely recommend this book to lovers of urban fantasy as well as the paranormal genre.