“The first chapter of this book is actually the last. What events have led to Evangeline Hollis fighting a demon dragon in the public restroom at Qualcomm Stadium in her flip flops? Well, I guess you will just have to read on to find out…
Six weeks ago, Evangeline Hollis (Eve) was an interior designer. She was called to Gadara tower for an interview with Raguel Gadara himself. After waiting patiently, Eve was informed that Gadara was too busy at this time and would have to reschedule their meeting. This is a power play he uses against the interviewees just like a football coach might use his time-outs to “ice” the kicker. She had been waiting for an opportunity like this and was disappointed. But she left Gadara tower with an air of confidence, not wanting Gadara to know he could throw her off of her game. On her way out, a hunk of a man (who bares a striking resemblance to someone from her past), shoved her into a stairwell and kissed her passionately. Pleasantly surprised by this mystery man’s suddenness, Eve allowed the tryst to continue and was shocked when he touched her arm with his palm and it burned. “Bear the Mark of Cain” were the words ringing through her ears as she looked up to see massive white wings enfolding her.
Alec Cain and Eve have met before. When Eve was a young woman of 18, she caught Cain’s eye. (Yes, that Cain…) For her safety, he left and tried to forget about her. That has since become impossible. His brother Reed, also known as Abel, has Marked her. Reed is now her handler and Cain has chosen to be her mentor in order to protect her. The stories are true. These brothers do not get along and this new working relationship puts them a little too close for comfort. Their supervisor, the Archangel Raguel, is the head of the North American firm. As there are seven Archangels, there are seven firms around the world.
Being a Mark means you are now a servant of God and employed in the fight against the Infernals. Eve, being and agnostic, is having a little trouble with her new assignment. She has yet to be trained and is thrust into the field where many dangers await her. The brothers have to work together to keep their love, Eve, safe and keep the Infernals from taking over and starting the apocalypse.
What I liked:
I really like the characters Cain and Abel in this book. They provide a different story line which I find refreshing. I read alot about Vampires, Fairies, demons and Werewolves, so reading about Angels is a nice departure. Not that the Angels are any kinder than the aforementioned monsters, but just different.
The Angels are still jealous of Jehova’s fondness for humans. They now serve him here on earth and to fit in with the humans they are stripped of their powers for most of their tenure. Once a year they are allowed to use their powers to train new Mark’s, but they must rotate the training, leaving only one Archangel with their powers at a time. The rest of the time they are acting as businessmen/women running corporate fronts to raise the cash to keep their firms running smoothly. Imagine Archangels acting as CEO’s. It’s like heaven has gone corporate and the results are not flattering.
What I didn’t like:
I don’t know if this falls under the category of “didn’t like” because I still can’t decide if I liked this part or not. The Archangels doing the nasty kinda freaked me out a little. I mean, do I really need to hear about how Sarakiel can sound like a porn star when she is getting freaky with Reed (Abel)? I see where this is going, with the Archangels being jealous of the humans over Jehova’s favor, and their steady decline from grace. But their hunger for power would have been enough to express their discord without the explicit sexual trysts. This book is filled with plenty of equally explicit sex on the human level. On the other hand, when do you ever read about angels doing anything beyond their station? These angels definitely have human qualities and this is very different from the norm. I like the ingenuity.
Last word:
Ms. Day takes on the classic good vs. evil story from a new and exciting point of view. I really enjoyed reading Eve of Darkness and I am looking forward to the next book in this series, Eve of Destruction. Lucky for me, there are 3 of these books coming out within 3 months, so I won’t have long to wait for Eve’s next adventure.”
Christel wrote this review Monday, August 10 2009.
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