A Kiss Before the Apocalypse by Thomas E. Sniegoski

A Kiss Before the Apocalypse
Thomas E. Sniegoski
ROC
May 6, 2008
ISBN# 978-0-451-46205-3

Remy Chandler is a Boston P.I. with an amazing history. Once part of the Seraphim, the angel Remiel chose to give up his place in Heaven and live among the humans on Earth. Like most men Remy fell in love with a beautiful woman and married. Now Madeline’s life is approaching the end as she fights a deadly disease.

Hired to follow a cheating husband, Remy finds himself the witness to a murder/suicide, but the fatal wounds don’t actually claim their lives. His fears are confirmed when Nathanuel, accompanied by three other Seraphim, asks for his help in locating Israfil, the Angel of Death.

Souls are not being claimed, so those who should be dead are left to linger. Sacred scrolls are missing, and if opened they will unleash the four Horsemen and bring the Apocalypse. A battle rages, its instigators intent on destroying mankind for their selfish purposes. With one of the fallen by his side, and the power of an angel within, Remy becomes the planet’s only hope.

Blurring the lines between good and evil, A Kiss Before the Apocalypse will keep readers riveted until the very end. This is an emotional journey that’s sometimes filled with sadness, but once it begins you won’t want to walk away. Mr. Sniegoski defines the hero in a way that makes him very real and thoroughly human. While the supernatural plays a large and detailed role, much of Remy’s decisions come from his human heart as opposed to the angel’s intellect and strength that he keeps locked away. Fast-moving, well-written and wonderfully enchanting, this is one that fantasy readers won’t want to miss.

Kimberly Swan, Darque Reviews

Fallen by Erin McCarthy

Fallen
Seven Deadly Sins, Book 2
Erin McCarthy
Jove
April 29, 2008
ISBN# 978-0-515-14462-8

Given the task of watching over humans, the angel Gabriel is overwhelmed. When he falls into addiction and the woman he cares for is murdered, he’s punished for his sins and becomes one of the ‘fallen’, a demon. Bound to the city of New Orleans for the past 150 years, Gabriel has sobered up and is now looking for answers to the mystery of Anne Donovan’s death.

Sara Michaels has lost her mother in a brutal unsolved murder, and the man accused, her mother’s boyfriend Dr. Rafe Marino, has just been acquitted. Sara has always felt he was innocent, but she failed to stand by him through the trial while her grief turned her life upside down and sent her into addiction.

Gabriel has followed the news from Florida on the murder of Jessie Michaels, and contacts Sara to collaborate on a book showing the bizarre similarities between the deaths. With Sara’s forensics background she may be able to help solve Anne’s murder and finally release Gabriel from his self-imposed torture.

Both keeping secrets, some much bigger than others, Gabriel and Sara set out to examine every piece of testimony and evidence they can find. Their working arrangement brings them closer together, but if they cross the wrong line it could destroy them both.

Fallen is the second book in the Seven Deadly Sins series. Gabriel and Sara are engaging characters with interesting backgrounds, but both characters retain secrets throughout much of the story. Ms. McCarthy leads readers in a murder mystery that twists and turns its way to a surprising climax. With a sizzling chemistry that turns steamy, and the immortal ‘fallen’ to add a taste of the paranormal, readers should be entertained by this suspenseful tale.

Kimberly Swan, Darque Reviews