Dreamspinner Presents
http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6776
Blurb
The freedom to love comes with a cost.
As a guardian angel, Drake’s destiny is written in the stars. Choice is not part of an angel’s life. Drake never thought twice about it until he’s unexpectedly thrust into watching over Grey, who inspires passion in Drake but endangers his very identity as a guardian angel. Grey is more than just another human—he can see angels. When he discovers that unlike his previous angel Drake will talk to him, Grey becomes determined to pull Drake off the sidelines and into life. Attraction flares between them from the beginning and causes Drake to question his purpose for the first time. His distraction results in a decision that changes everything—and not just for him and Grey.
Review
Drake is a guardian angel, who despite protocol, feels compelled to “remember” each and everyone of his charges, even after they’ve passed. He gets placed on a case mid-stream when one of his fellow angels “goes corporeal” (turns into a human and gives up being an angel).
Grey is a human who has always been able to see guardian angels, but Drake is the first he’s gotten to talk to him and even touch! Grey acts as his own sort of guardian by patrolling his neighborhood streets to keep things as safe as he can for his people.
Drake and Grey are attracted to one another, though Drake knows absolutely and literally nothing about such physical and emotional things. Grey delights in showing him the wonders of “being alive” and experiencing life rather than just observing.
When things get very “real” and Grey gets hurt while Drake is on the job, Drake decides it’s too much to risk and asks to be pulled from Grey’s guard duty, though they’ve both admitted their love for the other.
However – it’s too much for them to take AND there’s something brewing among the angels that has Drake’s friends getting involved to bring Grey and Drake together in the hopes that their relationship will serve a higher purpose.
**
First let me say that I’m a Diane Adams fan. I really enjoyed her series “The Making of a Man” and was really excited about a paranormal book from her.
I’m not sure the order of writing, but I do know this is a re-print of an earlier title. That being the case it may have been one of her earlier books, I don’t know. But what I do know is that it lacked some of the tightness her other stories had and that there were some basic flaws that made enjoying the creativity of this story a harder for me.
The premise and the world-building were great. Angels aren’t vehicles of heaven – they just “are”. They don’t have an agenda, they just protect. They don’t judge don’t necessarily even care about what they see, they just observe. This has some consequences and in the past has led to some rebellion. Currently, there are angels worried about another rebellion. I liked this take on the angel theme, and was glad to see a departure from some of the more historical/religious way angels are usually portrayed.
I also loved the idea of a guardian angel falling for his charge. Sure, it’s been done before, but it’s a lovely idea and in this case has some interesting twists.
What I found difficult was all the inconsistencies around what angels were to do, why they would “go corporeal” and how they would come to that decision, what happens when they cross over, why Drake was so fixated on memories, what roll Grey was to play in the end and what the other pair of lovers had to do with things. It felt kind of vague in some ways and didn’t seem to follow a discrete set of “plot rules” in a way that made me understand character motivation well at all.
Though it may sound silly, it was hard having two MCs with names like Grey and Drake. They were so similar I kept forgetting who was who and had to re-read passages over and over because I’d gotten confused.
The gang stuff really didn’t work for me and the attack on Drake just felt awkward and strange for a modern story.
By the end I wasn’t sure what exactly was happening with Grey and Drake and just who they were and what they were going to be doing for the foreseeable future.
So… though I really liked parts of this story, the fact that felt so rough around the edges had me giving just a bit lower rating.
3 of 5 hearts
