Zadekiel

Happy Monday! Today, I’m posting for the book launch of Zadekiel: Path of Angels Book 2 by Patricia Josephine. I received an advance copy in exchange for an honest review and a post for the release.

Blurb:

The path is lost.

With Michael gone, the mantle of leadership falls to Zadekiel. In this time of darkness, with tempers running short, Zade struggles to guide his brothers. Hope comes in the form of a green haired woman with a unique gift. She represents a way back to the path they lost when Michael disappeared.

Zephyr fills books with cryptic poetry, a powerful compulsion, which is more a curse than a blessing. With no control over her ability, she struggles to live a normal life. When she meets Zade, he insists her ability is a gift from God. Reluctantly, she agrees to join the cause–it’s hard to dispute a man with wings.

Now the path is found, but one question remains. Will it lead to further darkness?

Links

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VUBND3E

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25316684-zadekiel

Review

I read Michael, book 1 in the series, first, so I have a good grasp of this world and what’s happening. I think Ms. Josephine does an excellent job of world-building. She doesn’t waste a lot of time explaining every detail—she lets the story take care of it, for the most part.

The second book both builds on and improves on the first one. I felt much more connected to the characters this time around. I loved Zephyr from the moment she walked on the scene. She’s one of the most interesting characters I’ve read in a long time, and I loved her intriguing powers. There’s a scene at the end (which I won’t spoil for you) where I was taken up in the story and could picture exactly what she was doing. She’s incredibly well-drawn.

The only thing I have to say is that I would love to either understand why the love story parts of these books play out the way they do or else read the action parts without them. I’m not sold on how fast the angels seem to latch onto their partners and declare true love after one or two meetings, and there’s really no build-up to the sex. They just kind of launch themselves at each other. That’s ok, and I can forgive it pretty easily because the rest of the story is so interesting. I’m just wondering if that’s some kind of angelic superpower thing—like animal shifters finding their mates or something.

I still love the relationship between the “brother” angels. It’s definitely well-developed, and you can feel their connection. I’m also a big fan of some of the complexities and exploration of gray areas—for such short segments, there’s a lot of depth. The cliffhanger at the end left me excited to read the next installment! On the whole, despite any other concerns, I really like this series and I’m anxious to see where it goes.

Thoughts from Patricia Josephine about Zadekiel:

Zephyr is one of my favorite characters in the series. She’s smart, strong, and likes to dye her hair fun colors. But my favorite aspect of her is she’s an atheist. I thought that was an interesting dynamic to throw at Zade. He sees her gift as divine and she thinks it’s annoying. I don’t blame her when it likes to butt in. Kind of like my muse.

The thing I refused to do with Zephyr is have her instantly convert. She knows Zade is an archangel and that shakes what she knows, but she decides she’s not about to blindly roll over and throw all her faith in God. Especially after some of the mess-ups she’s seen. If anything, she’s more skeptic of an all-knowing God and has no qualms questioning Zade’s path.

About the Author:

Patricia Josephine never set out to become a writer. In fact, she never considered it an option during high school and college. She was all about art. On a whim, she wrote down a story bouncing in her head. That was the start of it and she hasn’t regretted a moment. She writes young adult under the name Patricia Lynne.

Patricia lives with her husband in Michigan, hopes one day to have what will resemble a small petting zoo, has a fondness for dying her hair the colors of the rainbow, and an obsession with Doctor Who.