If you like a strong female MC a la The Hunger Games, this is for you.
If you like magic, enemies to lovers, a la A Discovery of Witches, this is for you.
If you like working together and overcoming trauma a la Blood and Ash, this is for you.
having to fight through bad deals made in desperation a la Addie LaRue, this is for you.
If you like the Thor movies, this is for you.
If you like sisters who care about each other a la Lilo and stitch, this is for you.
If you like unexpected twists, a la the last thing he told me, or the guest list, this is for you.

3.5 stars
Mixed emotions on this book... the beginning was super slow for me, took me 30% of the book to be fully interested in the plot. The characters were super dull at the beginning as well. However, as the story progressed I did start to like some of the characters and the story. I hope book two gives us more information on Unir and maybe Dianna will finally catch a break.

<b> Thank you so much to Net Galley and to the publisher, Rose & Star Publishing, LLC, for providing me with a free copy of <i> Book of Azrael </i> by Amber Nicole in exchange for an honest review. All of the following opinions are formulated on my own. Any quotes in this review should be cross-referenced with the final copy for any possible edits. </b>

<b> Overall rating: </b> 4 out of 5 stars

<b> Favorite Quote(s): </b> "It was a moment of peace until the dreams that threatened to shred my soul shattered it."

<b> My favorite elements: </b> We start off the book with Diana who has sold her humanity to a monster to save the life of her sister. Diana is assigned to find the Book of Azrael, a book that can open doors between realms. Liam, the World Ender, on the opposite end of the spectrum is a king of gods and he is thrown back into the land of the living after his friend dies. The bickering between the main couple, Diana and Liam is what kept me holding on. I enjoyed the mortal's cultural aspects and watching ancient beings interact with cars!

<b> My criticisms: </b> The worldbuilding was a smidge confusing with gaps on subjects where they would not make sense. At times, the book dragged on.

<b> If you liked the following, you will probably like this book: </b>
<i> -Greek mythology
- City of Gods and Monsters
- Crescent City

</i>
<b> Will I finish the series? </b>
Most likely yes!

<b> Tropes: </b>
- Anti-heroine
- Fated Mates
- Enemies to Lovers
- Mental Health Representation
- Complex Magic System
- Morally Gray MC
- Ancient meets Modern

This book blew me away. If there was ever one book that encompassed EVERYTHING I want in a book... this is it! The Book of Azrael is Fantasy book, made up of incredible world building, equally incredible character development, fantastic storyline, BELIEVABLE relationships between characters, AND some romance??? THIS BOOK HAS IT ALL!

Every character you get to know in the book is phenomenal. Their struggles are relatable and you can see everyone of their personalities. There are no cardboard character plot fillers in this book. You are introduced to Gods, Beasts, Celestial beings, human characters. The villians of the story... Kaden and Tobias are two characters I kind of love to hate. You get just enough of them to get you hooked... needing to know what kind of evil deed they'll perform next. Then there are Dianna and Liam... the MC's of the story. Dianna is a fierce FMC; loyal and protective to her last breath, and you can't help but to love and root for her, no matter what she's done. Samkiel (Liam) is... well, besides swoon-worthy, is also amazing as the MMC. Tortured by his past, he has separated himself from the worlds for centuries... Until Dianna stirs up trouble. Their relationship is SO GOOD!!! Their dynamic is ADDICTIVE.

I could barely put it down once I started, and had more than one all nighter reading this book! This is honestly the start to a series I KNOW I will finish and probably own copies in multiple formats. I can not wait for the next book. I came close to not finishing it... but I did... it almost killed me... but I finished! I'll be stuck on edge of my seat waiting on the next book to come out.

This book actually lives up to the hype. There was much chatter about this upcoming release on BookTok and it delivers. Such a great fantasy world with tons of interesting characters. Really fun fantasy read.

Okay so… WOW- what just happened. This book will throw you in for a loophole with that ending. Now I’m not the type of reviewer to write a summary of what the book is about (there are so many reviews that already do that) but I will tell you my thoughts.

First of all let’s talk about characters. I absolutely fell in love with the two MC’s relationship! I need more!!!! I love that this book didn’t hold back with the fluff like so many other fantasy books do. I felt that in this book that characters had real chemistry and that’s really important to me. I also loved individually all the characters. The MC, Dianna, stole my heart. Normally in books we only see an morally grey MC in the form of a man, but in this book it was not the case. Dianna’s character packs a punch. She sassy, dangerous, and has just a touch of seduction about her. She reminds me a bit of Aelin in the first two thrones of glass with a bit of Amren and Rhys from ACOTAR, but she is still her own individual character that doesn’t seem to copy off of anyone else. The male MC, Liam (also thank the author for using names I can pronounce), definitely wasn’t my FAVORITE at first but he grows on you. By the end of this book I was in love.

Also let’s talk about the writing style- Think about everything in your favorite book that you wish the author would have had, (eg. Battering, Inside Jokes, Little Funny Deadpan moments, etc.) this book has them. One thing I wish could have gone a little better is I feel like the writing (especially the more dramatic moments) can be a little bumpy at times, but nothing but another round of editing cant fix. For this author’s first time writing, it sure as hell is a good attempt and kept me engaged and entertained.

Overall I’m going to give this book 4 stars. It was really good and had a really good plot as well as characters. It was balanced and didn’t seem to plot/character heavy. It was a really good mix. If the author by chance is somehow reading this I need the next book now!!!! I NEED TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS.

3.5 stars (not 3). I had a love/hate relationship with this book, but ultimately devoured it in the span of two days. So I guess that's positive?

Love:
• Enemies to lovers
• Multiple worlds
• Back and forth POVs
• The overall premise and storyline was really interesting and captivating

Dislikes:
• Grammar and spelling. I'm not normally one to notice, but there were multiple times in the book when something was spelled incorrectly enough that I had to re-read, or a few passages that were duplicated. It just didn't feel very edited or polished.
• Diana had very little depth as the main character. She was kind of all over the place emotionally, and went from being a rage-demon one second to fawning and in-love the next. There was no development or progression from her.
• Liam didn't act like a centuries-old God, so I had a bit of a hard time with believing his character as well
• World-building wasn't great - there wasn't a lot of description or backstory, half the time I didn't know where I was as the character within the "realm", which was confusing at times

Ultimately, it wasn't bad enough to put down, but I can't say that I'm chomping at the bit to get my hands on the second book.

Wow. This was really good. It was a little hard to get into in the beginning but 100 pages in and I was fully in. I loved the world, and all of the characters were so well done. I loved the slow burn romance so much! That ending what the hell! I need the second book now

The Book of Azrael follows Dianne, a creature from the outerworld, and Samkiel (who goes by the name Liam in the modern world), a fallen king, a God, feared and known as the world ender. Dianne traded her life for her sister and has worked for Kaden ever since. As they searched for an ancient relic, their original plan to keep the search a secret failed, and when one of the Hands working for Liam died, the king isolated himself for a millennium and was forced to turn back and end his exile. What Liam initially thinks is a minor problem turns into a relic hunt that may or may not end the world.

This book consumed my life in a way that every free minute was spent reading it until I completely devoured it. To say it was highly addictive will be the understatement of the year. One of the best things about this book was the characters and how fearless and unapologetic they were, especially Dianne. She stood her ground even when she was falling for the man who was raised to hunt her kind. Dianne has little to no issues in saying she will do everything, thousands of times over to keep her sister safe. And I like her for that. Dianne is brave, fearless, bold, sassy, and fierce. Her relationship with Gabby was beautifully written.

Liam is everything worth fighting for. He is caring, kind, brave, a born warrior, and above all, loveable. His PTSD and depression have been explored throughout the story through terrible nightmares because of which he avoids sleep and has an eating disorder. I am not the biggest fan of the ‘Love conquers all’ storyline, so to see him practically struggle with his mental health, and Dianne trying to help him through it is commendable. I am also excited to see his relationship with his friends which I hope is explored more in the next book as found families is one of my favorite tropes.

The love story was beautiful. Dianne and Liam explore their relationship over the time they spend together and the build-up is so good. True enemies to lovers, where the characters initially intend to kill the other, are more than willing to burn down the world for each other. A true star-crossed lovers romance, between a guardian of the realms and a monster destined to fight until the skies bleed and the world shakes. The ending only makes it more passionate.

Kaden and Tobis make interesting villains and I am excited for their stories to unfold. The plot twists that happen in the second half of the book kept me on edge all the time. There wasn’t a single dull moment in this book and it took me less than 48 hrs to go through 600+ pages and I have left craving for more.

I re-read the last three lines around ten times and it broke my heart into a thousand pieces. The cliffhanger is already killing me. And the next book comes out in 2023. In short, if you’re a fantasy lover like me and true enemies to lovers is something you love, The Book of Azrael is for you.

DNF - not in the right mindset for this right now. It is crazy long. Not my favorite...not clear on the hype

The Book of Azrael was the fantasy palate cleanser I needed after all of the romance I was reading. Unfortunately, I will not know a sense of true peace until the second book is released (because that ENDING) - but c'est la vie. 5 stars.

Thank you Netgalley + Rose Star Publishing for the ARC!

This book has been calling my name. Even though it's 841 pages and I was somewhat intimidated by it, I enjoyed every moment. This is the first book of the Gods and Monsters series and it's detailed in a way that makes the reader forget that they're reading. This was more like watching a movie than reading.

There are beasts, vampires and celestial beings; all wrapped up in an epic enemies-to-lovers magic battle, realms battling against realms and a clash of powers. The hunt is on for the mythical Book of Azrael which contains information that can be deadly if it lands in the wrong hands. The story is told from 2 POVs - Dianna and Liam - but there are side characters that add to the richness of the story.
The world-building is on point and the magic system and hierarchy are interesting.

The story has a slow pace but it's in no way boring. There are some spicy scenes, but the politics and the hunt for the book keep the reader gripped. This is a mix of enemies-to-lovers and forbidden romance, but the plot is well thought through and the twists are executed flawlessly.
If you are in the mood for a fantasy with magic swords, shapeshifting beasts with fire magic and the ability to raise the dead, a quest and blood bonds - read this book.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for gifting me this electronic copy in exchange for an honest review.

I would give this book more than 5 stars if I could. There was a roller coaster of emotions throughout the whole story. I was so fucking shocked by the ending that I was not sure which emotion to feel first.
I really loved the whole story from beginning to end though. It is such a great story with so much detail and emotions that I would LOVE to see this book turned into a movie or series.
At first I was a bit intimidated by the page count on kindle but now I wish there was more story! I really hope a second book is coming because this first one was too good to be a single novel! I loved it so much that I did buy it on Kindle and I plan to eventually buy a physical copy from Amazon!

Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶🌶/5
Let me first start off by saying, I absolutely adored this book once it got into its groove. Loved it so much I actually ordered the physical copy as I was reading the ARC I was sent!
That being said, the world building takes a little bit to get into and can be confusing at the beginning of the book, but once all the characters are introduced it all makes sense.
This is what I would consider a true enemies to lovers story- Dianna and Liam absolutely hate each other for a good portion of this book. But the payoff in that slow burn is so worth it! I cannot wait to see where their relationship goes in the next book.
Normal character tropes are turned on their heads in this book- Our FMC is the morally grey “bad guy” while Liam is the “good guy.”
The story and the relationship between Dianna and Liam reminded of Bryce and Hunt from Crescent City, so if that is your jam I highly recommend picking up The Book of Azrael.
I will be impatiently waiting for the sequel. Thank you NetGalley for my ARC of Tge Bolk of Azrael. ❤️

Started by struggling with the beginning of this book because it was hard to keep the world and information straight in my head but a bit of perseverance does pay off! The characters are so unique and I really enjoyed the lore because it was so in depth. Lots of action and I enjoyed the tension yet funny banter between Liam and Dianna!

3.5 Stars ⭐️

I will not know peace until I get the sequel.

There’s so much going on in this book. In the beginning it was hard to keep the info straight but man does it pay off. The characters are so unique (evil/grey FMC) and the lore so extensive. Honestly what it was like was if some described poetically a really well directed and filmed and acted movie. It’s cinematic. There wasn’t much spice (but it was good quality spice) but I didn’t even care because the story was so enrapturing. Oh and the banter was top tier. You get villains you get gods you get trauma with a side of trauma you get adventure. Just read it.

#TheBookofAzrael #NetGalley

It's rare for me to give such low ratings, but I found it nearly impossible to go through this story. I appreciate the writer's efforts into creating a vivid world with characters who had high stakes set up for them early on, However, the writing felt weak, and the characters were two-dimensional, and the plot was too predictable for my taste.

DNF’d around 40%. This book is bad, slow and unnecessary. The female lead is annoying and i think that the worldbuilding could have been much better. I am sorry but this needs proofreading and an editor

I had a bit of a slower start getting into this book, the world building took a little bit of time to totally make sense, but I flew through the second half of the book! I love an enemies to lovers but I definitely had some doubts early on if they would be a believable pair, but my fears were quickly assuaged by their great chemistry while pairing up to save the world. This was a fantasy unlike any I have read recently, with a combination of gods, monsters, mortals, and some in between.

I absolutely enjoyed how complex both Dianna and Liam were as characters, with their motivations complicated but Amber Nicole really makes sense of it all. All and all, I will be excited to read the next book in the series.

AMAZING!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Must read! If you love romance and fantasy this is a must read! Little bit of smut in the second half of the book.

Romance, supernatural beasts, gods, smut, other realms, beautiful story & beautiful characters! 🖤

The ending was just 😩😩😩😭

So excited for book 2! 🖤