This was an entertaining read. I can’t say that it was very original, as I saw many familiar elements mixed together, but that’s not something I require for every read. What matters most is that the author took the world and tweaked it enough to make it her own. The world rules occasionally felt a bit complicated and bulky, but the author explained it all well and kept me from getting confused. I liked the unique spin Day gave on the reason lycans and vampires existed in the world. I, unfortunately, felt that some of the elements she featured were not given the weight they needed, but I’ll get into that more shortly.
I was uncertain about whether or not I would like this book in the beginning. It felt a bit overdone and I got tired of the overuse of adjectives and the fawning adoration of how hot the angels were. I was surprised by how modern the ancient angels felt, as well. I had to adjust mindsets and shed the expectations I had for a more serious, intense PNR, so I could enjoy what the book actually was.
I thought the premise of this book was pretty interesting. I’m not much of a fan of reincarnation, but I didn’t mind how the author handled it here. I originally got the impression that the author was just going to throw it in there without delving into it much but she surprised me at the end. I wasn’t too keen on Adrian punishing others for the same transgressions he was committing, but I understood why he thought it was necessary. It did make it a bit ridiculous, though.
I liked the angle about Shadoe dying again and again throughout time as a punishment for Adrian. But after getting a peek at Shadoe’s core personality I thought Adrian wasn’t missing much with her gone. She seemed very unlikable and it was hard to see what inspired the love that drove him to reunite with her again and again. Lindsay, on the other hand, I liked. I felt her character occasionally lacked nuance, but she stood out as thoughtful, considerate, strong, and a fighter. She was completely unlike the previous incarnations of Shadoe and we got to see Adrian fall for Lindsay instead of just falling for the girl housing Shadoe’s soul.
I thought the attraction and the desperation to be together before time ran out was really well done. Lindsay finds herself unable to resist Adrian without knowing why. Finding him attractive would be normal, but she feels a compulsion to touch him, to claim him. She’s a straightforward girl and is willing to act on those feelings—which I liked—but she also finds herself “falling” for him within just a few hours of knowing him—which I didn’t like. In addition to that, she has no problem sleeping over the first night (not for sex) despite barely knowing him and having already heard him proclaim that she couldn’t leave. Once we got into the thick of the romance I liked it, but I winced over how unrealistic I found some of the beginning stages, before that point.
Although I liked the world Day created, I thought she played with things that I felt needed to have more weight to them. For one, she linked the angels to God and by extension, religion, instead of going the usual route and casting the angels as removed from religion. Souls were mentioned frequently, but they didn’t seem to be an important factor in the world (other than to create a line between angels, lycans, and vampires) which surprised me because God/religion was brought into play, and souls are definitely important in that. And reading about the actual transgressions that made the angels lose their wings led the reader to regard God as the villain more than anyone else. Added to that, the way the lycan slavery was treated made me uncomfortable. Lindsay, a girl from the regular world, didn’t like it, but she didn’t really make a stand against it either. Even though her friend/guard, Elijah (loved him), was directly impacted by it and was in a particularly dangerous situation for a lycan. I just needed more focus placed on these things so I could feel more comfortable with it.
I’m curious to see where Day is planning to take us in this trilogy. I’m a bit nervous about the punishment that might eventually come down on Adrian, but I’m trying not to lose my HEA high by dwelling on it. I’m eager to get my hands on the second book so I can delve into Elijah’s story. He ended this book in a tight spot and it’ll be interesting seeing him try to wiggle out of it.
Favorite Quote:
“I’m yours.”
Lindsay shook her head. “No.”
Adrian’s features lit with a glorious smile. He twisted swiftly and she found herself beneath him, filled with him.
“I know what it means when you say that,” he murmured, hooking his arm beneath her leg and drawing it up, opening her so completely he hit the end of her.
Panting in exquisite torture, she managed, “It means run. Save yourself.”
“All of which says, ‘I’m falling for you. Adrian.’”
Rating: C+
A Touch of Crimson by Sylvia Day
October 4th 2011 by Penguin
Paranormal Romance
Series
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About Catherine
See, I’m still not entirely over the fact that Sylvia Day (aka S.J. Day) abandoned her ‘Marked’ series after just three books (and right when the Cain and Abel romance was steaming up). And didn’t really give readers a satisfying reason as to why she wouldn’t be continuing the series …
I don’t think I trust her to start (and commit) to this new ‘Renegade Angels’ series.
Really? I didn’t realize that. That sucks. Was any reason at all given for not continuing?
Catherine,
Thank you very much for the review! I appreciate it.
Sylvia
No problem. I’m really happy I enjoyed the book.
Jumping in here…
The Marked series wasn’t continued because negotiations broke down between my agent and the publisher. Although we discussed continuing with the series at another publishing house, none of them wanted to take on a series that required readers to read three books from another publisher to “get it.” The series was then orphaned and I had to begin new projects to keep working. It was heartbreaking for me and still is. I love that series madly and had hoped to be writing it for years to come.
The Renegade Angels series is a trilogy–one story arc told across three books–and the publisher bought all three books straight out of the gate. (It’s also set in the same world as the Marked series, so there are familiar faces for Marked series readers)
I hope this information is helpful.
Sylvia
Ah, that explains it. That sounds like a tough situation. Thanks for the info.
I haven’t read this one, I did read the Kindle freebie short from this series and it was just okay. I enjoy paranormal romance series, but I like this particular author best when she’s writing historicals. Looks like she has pretty much abandoned those for now, though.
I didn’t know there was a freebie. I’ll have to see if it’s still available.
Hi, Sophia.
You can find the download links for A Dark Kiss of Rapture here. If you try it, I hope you enjoy it!
Sylvia
Hi, Linda.
I’d never abandon my historicals! I love writing them too much.
I released two new historicals just this year (Pride and Pleasure in Feb. and Seven Years to Sin in Sept.) and I had another scheduled for 2012, but the publisher shuffled the book to early 2013. There’s nothing I can do about that. I work with three editors at three different publishing houses, so when a publisher moves a book, they have to work around my other commitments.
I try hard to schedule my releases so that there’s a steady release schedule for each genre, because many of my readers don’t crossover (they like the way I write one genre and not another). So it’s my goal to give everyone a steady schedule for each genre, but with so many fingers in the pie, it doesn’t always work that way. I do try, tho! And there are more historicals coming.
Sylvia
I’m glad to hear you enjoy her HR’s as well. I love that genre so I might have to check her books out.
I thought I was the ultimate obsessive reader (I will follow an author I like in most any direction), but somehow I missed Seven Years to Sin. I’ll be wandering back to Amazon to pick that up! I really loved Pride and Pleasure and I’m happy to hear that more will be coming.
Thanks for sharing the publishing info!
You’re welcome, Linda.
I hope you enjoy Seven Years to Sin. I absolutely loved writing that book.
I can never make my mind up with PNR, I usually wait until more books are out
At least with a trilogy you won’t have to wait long.