For fans of: morally gray main characters, urban fantasy, epic world building, and enemies to lovers (so, like, everyone?)

The world building was solid, especially that of Liam’s home world. With the different home planets of the MCs, plus the addition of other realms, the setting is imaginative and vast. I appreciated that Dianna was morally gray, sure, but also an absolute badass in her own right. None of that delicate flower, “chosen one” trope so common with romantasy MCs right now. There is an enemies-to-lovers theme, but lots of steamy scenes there are not. Letting you know now in case that’s what you’re after here lol. If what you’re after, however, is a really well done transition from enemies to lovers, with a lot of witty/sarcastic banter, this should be right up your alley.

While I overall enjoyed this read and will be looking for the sequel, I do think it could have benefitted from tighter editing. The storyline dragged a lot in some places to the point where I forgot what it was Liam and Dianna were supposed to be doing in whatever new locale they were in. The backstory of the Gods War and the destruction of Liam’s home planet is revealed in pieces throughout the book, but I’m still pretty murky on details and the impact those two events had on Dianna’s home world and the sealing of the realms. Not sure if this was intentional (maybe the full story will be revealed in the next book), but it did make for a confusing backstory that I was constantly trying to understand.

An extremely picky note, because I <3 grammar: there were some issues with mixing of tenses in the same paragraph, and the inconsistent use of contractions versus non contractions drove me bonkers. If you’re not a crazy AP English person, this probably won’t bother you. Please feel free to disregard.

In total, a very solid debut novel, with a cliffhanger that ensures I’ll be looking for the second book ASAP.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC!

THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING! the fact that this is the debut novel by the author is unreal. First off I LOVE a grumpy, BA female main character. Secondly, the male character? HELLO NEW BOOK BOYFRIEND.

This story gripped me from the beginning and I could not put it down until I had finished. The plot is fast moving, but also slow in a helpful way that allows you to not feel overwhelmed by the world building or reveals. The characters go from enemies to lovers to romance in a perfect pace. Their chemistry was 5/5.

The cliffhanger still haunts me days later and I cannot wait to get my hands on the second book!

I really enjoyed this! I thought that the characters were really well done, there is a lot of depth and backstory and character building that I really enjoyed. It made the story feel really complex, and very emotionally relevant. I also thought that the supporting characters were pretty well done, but not on the same level as the main characters. The plot was also really smoothly paced, which I thought was amazing. It never felt like it was dragging and it never felt like we were getting too much information all at once. It was a really smooth read, which was super super nice. I also thought that the romance present was done well, the transition from enemies to lovers can sometimes feel super weird and abrupt and I never felt that while reading this. It's just a really solid fantasy romance, and I look forward to more by this author!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this book!

This book. Wow. What can I say?
It's been a while since I read such a strong fantasy debut and I was blown away.
Dianna and Liam were everything; their chemistry, banter, their entire dynamic. The plot was everything. The characters, the world-building, I truly enjoyed reading the whole book.
The only thing I would have to say is the book needed a little editing and the writing style did take me a while to get used to.
But other than that, solid book! I will definitely be reading book 2!

thank you netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
uhhhhhh. okay first things first, the beginning was really slow in my opinion and took a little bit to get into. however, it did pick up as the book progressed. ALSO, CAN WE TALK ABOUT HOW HE SAYS “MY DIANNA” AND SHE SAYS “MY LIAM”?!?!? they were made for each other, no one can change me mind. ANYWAY THE ENDING?!?? HOW CAN YOU END THE BOOK LIKE THAT AMBER NICOLE?!?!

I want to first thank Netgalley, the publisher and the author for a review copy of this book. This seemed like my style of book I enjoy reading, the cover was eye catching and the description made me want to read this.
I read an e-book version, so I apologize that I don't have physical page numbers to correspond my thoughts with, just % of the book complete.
I wanted to DNF this book at 10% in. I was so confused about what was going on. It felt like I was reading book 2 of a series. Because of other books I DNF'ed too quickly, I kept on reading but the confusion never changed. This seems to be a new writing style authors are using to try to weave in the world building, trying to capture those "oh" or "ah ha" moments. If you like that style of writing or want to read a jigsaw puzzle, you probably would like this book. This was just not for me.
The enemies to lovers vibe was so strong during the book. There was no surprise since this is written from different character view points. The only question was when was it going to happen and how spicy is it going to get. It did not get very spicy and the two (?) scenes doesn't happen until 78ish% through the book.
Cliff hangers. Since this is part of a series, one would expect the epic cliff hanger of "omg I can't wait until book 2!" Well, that fell short for me as well.
Overall, I need world building to happen. I don't want to be handfed bits and pieces of what happened in the past and the characters backstories. Tell me what happened. Make me invested in these characters. This book had so much potential and just fell so short.

The characters were fantastic. I'm even intrigued with the side characters that we rarely saw. Dianna is so flawed. I see other reviews say she isn't a true villain, but she is. She is a villain to the celestials. Yes, she did those things for one person. Her reasoning for doing the things she did wasn't her own idea, but to those people she did. I love that she is irrational and impulsive. These flaws make her relatable. The only issue I found with her is that she seems too immature for having lived several centuries. I chalk it up to her being really sheltered.
Liam is tortured and it was great to see his story slowly unravel. The instant love did not fit after everything they have done to each others home/family. I was waiting for there to be some sort of reason that drew them together. Maybe we will get it in the next book?
The world building was unique. I think some other readers didn't quite get the different realms/worlds etc. I thoroughly enjoyed it though. The plot was well planned.
This book left me eager to read the next one. Why isn't it five stars? The actual writing isn't outstanding and the poor editing sometimes made me struggle with comprehension. I understand it isn't the final copy, but even so I was surprised it was sent in anywhere with some of the really poor mistakes.
Overall, I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys dark fantasy or fantasy but do not mind some errors. I can't wait for the next one!

Do you like complex fantasy with a dash of romance?
What about a skill-fully-done Enemies-to-Lovers arc?
Morally grey/badass main female character?
Broody alpha male with a tragic back story?

Well, then this is your book.

The Book of Azrael takes us into a complex realm where there is a web of politics to untangle and eons of history to navigate. Amber Nicole does a great job of slowly easing us into this world by taking us back through the history via dreams and visions. The pacing of this novel was perfection. It wasn't too much info dump at the beginning and there was a steady stream of tension and conflict to keep you interested throughout the book.

Dianna (our FMC) is a refreshing morally grey villain as our main character and Nicole gives us a beautiful character development throughout this 800+ page installment. Dianna and Liam (our MMC) loathe each other at the beginning, and for good reason. Their banter is volatile but also hilarious. It also doesn't hurt that they have soo much chemistry. This book addresses mental health and how to cope with trauma and we get to see Dianna and Liam work through their own issues together.

The reason why this book gets 4 stars instead of 5 is because of the dialogue. I understand that she wanted Liam's jargon to sound antiquated (to show how out 0f touch with reality he really is), but his speech often didn't line up with the narration of his chapters in this same way. There would suddenly be modern words or vernacular thrown into his dialogue which threw me off. I think his isolation could've been better illustrated in his confusion over modern culture rather than focusing so much on his speech pattern.

I am silently cursing myself for starting this book and knowing that the rest of the series isn't published yet. Why do I always leave myself dangling off these cliff-hangers? You would think I know better at this point of my reading career.

*I received an advanced readers copy from Rose and Star Publishing in exchange for an honest review

Honestly, it was hard for me to get into the first part of the book. Very interesting world building though. Not sure how I feel about some of the characters.

*Thank you so much to netgalley, Amber Nicole, and Rose and Star publishing for an eCopy in exchange for an honest review*

-"Trading one powerful man for another isn't a way out."

If you're looking for an intellectual fantasy with reams of flowery prose and a specific message this is not the book for you. If however, you're looking for an addictive fantasy book with actual enemies to lovers and every single of of my favourite tropes, get this book now.

TROPE LIST:
✷ enemies to lovers
✷ only one bed
✷ 'where is my x'
✷ lovers to enemies
✷ Villain MC
✷forced proximity

I went into this expect absolutely nothing but it's blown my mind. You need to know I knew absolutely nothing about this book before reading so I was completely new to the world, which could have been confusing at first but after a chapter I was deeply invested.

-A thousand years ago, a girl made a deal with the devil to save her sister but at a steep price. Now, endebted to a monster and slowly, but not so slowly, becoming one herself Dianna remains his faithful servant.
Sent on a mission to find a world ending artifact she quickly becomes wrapped up with even more deadly players in a game which will prove deadly- but to who?

In the old world, a young man ascended the throne. Havoc reigned as the bloodthirsty king made rash and reckless devions, driving his loyal subjects to betrayal and his world to ruins. After the war he locked himself away, too ashamed to deal with his own actions.

But a new threat is stirring, and her name is Dianna.


I wish the ending hadn't ended on a cliffhanger because I am DYING to read the next book and I've got absolutely no idea how I'm going to wait for book 2.
This was 800 pages and let me tell you, I read it in under. 24. Hours. How? I couldn't tell you 🤷

another thing- the world. It was kind of like our world and a magical realm smooshed together with witches and werewolves and vampires and demons thrown in. I.E., my kind of book. Think house of earth and blood kind of thing.

Obviously, it wasn't a perfect book. Yeah sure the formatting was a bit strange but that's probably just my phone.
There's not really anything to complain about and I love that.

Our MC Dianna was morally grey in the best sense at the start, but watching her grow morals was a tad disappointing... But the ending smashed all of them up 😏
She was everything I want in a character, kind of sassy, takes absolutely no shit from anyone and is fiercely loyal. Also she's bi. The LGBTQ rep in the book of Azrael was super casual which I loved- from what I could tell both of the MCs were bi and (without spoilers) Dianna's ex girlfriend played a vengeful role.

I'm in love with basically every character.


And if all of this hadn't already sold you, the romance was *impeccable* and THERE'S A MAP. I love maps. Especially in fantasy books, they make me really happy for some reason.

- "But you? I'm going to take my time with you. I'm going to hurt you in ways you can't imagine and laugh as the silver dies in your eyes."

Ladies and gentlemen, non-binary folk, I present to you, Dianna.

In summary, this was a really fun book to read and I highly recommend it to anyone who's a fan of fantasy, villains and slow burn.

I think this book was so long and intense for the first novel in a series. I did enjoy it I just would have preferred getting 2 books of ~400 pages instead of the 850. I think the concept and characters are fairly well written and the world-building is creative.

Overall a solid Fantasy book.

The Book of Azrael, Amber Nicole’s debut novel is a marvelous, gripping read. Perfectly paced, and filled with so many things that fantasy readers absolutely adore; betrayals, plot twists, a thoroughly unique world and stellar characters! The moment literally blue blood was mentioned, I was snared by the outstanding world building. The author’s prose is astounding for a first novel, painting a vivid picture, while also teasing that there is much more to discover in this world. I particularly enjoyed how the information about the world isn’t spoon-fed/info-dumped. As you learn more about this world, it feels like you’ve earned the information you have gained, making it all the more impactful.

The story is a dual perspective which I immensely enjoyed, both characters provided rich insights. First, there is our female main character, Dianne, who sacrificed her life, and her freedom to save the life of her sister a thousand years ago. She is essentially used by Kaden as a weapon, forced to fight and kill for him because he uses her sister as leverage. Then we have her eventual love interest, Liam, who is a deliciously brooding god who was known as the “World Ender”, he returns to Dianne’s world after a long self-imposed exile and affords her an opportunity to possibly end her servitude.

While I was most impressed with the unique world-building, I fell in love with the characters. I found Dianne’s morally grey, snarky nature to be delightful. She is a survivor, a strong and capable woman. The slow burn, enemies-to-lovers romance between her and Liam was excellent. They were true enemies, warriors on opposing sides of a heinous war, something that is often not the case when this trope is used. It was very refreshing to see actual enemies end up falling for one another. Liam’s struggles with his trauma/PTSD were handled beautifully and enriched his character, it made him more relatable considering he is supposed to be this powerful being. The banter between him and Dianne was also top-tier and made their interactions even better. The fact that they are complete opposites also made for some great interactions and helped make their falling for one another even more interesting.

However, I would be remiss if I did not mention that the side characters in this story are also incredibly well written. I am delighted to say I cared almost as much about characters like Gabby and Logan, as I did the two main characters. All of the relationships between characters in this book were so well written and thought out. There were multiple points that brought me to tears.

The surprising twists and turns this novel took had me thinking about this book for days after I finished reading it. This will definitely be a book I return to, frankly, I wish the second was out because the cliffhanger in this book was incredible, I just cannot wait to see where this series is going. Definitely a 5 star read.

---

A big thank you to Netgalley, Amber Nicole, and Rose and Star Publishing, LLC for the ARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

Yes. Nothing else to say but YES. I mean enemies to lovers, SLOW BURN. Female lead A BADASS CRAZY LADY! A must read for this year!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy for review. All opinions are my own.

So sorry, but this is a DNF. I gave it over 100 pages. But I didn’t like the writing style, and I couldn’t connect to the story or Dianna. It was mostly very eye-rolling with how badass and powerful Dianna is, but it was pretty over the top.

4 stars.
Dianna gave up her life to become a monster to save her sister, she continues to be enslaved for over a thousand years by Kaden. She is currently on the hunt for an ancient relic to open the world and will destroy anyone in her way. Samkiel, a legend of the world, is considered the World Ender. After the Gods War, he locked himself away, denying his responsibilities.

Two unlikely allies team up to stop an Ancient enemy for different reasons, Samkiel to change his fate and Dianna to keep her sister safe. As the hunt for the book closes in, the dangers and secrets are closing in as well. Will Samkiel redeem himself from his past history? Will Dianna finally escape Kaden and keep her sister safe?

The downfalls of this book include the editing, a few tropes, world- building, and pacing. A few examples of the editing include: "shadows separated in waves around Alistair and me as we portaled home to Novas." Extremely wordy, and an editor fixed this. Another example "you know, I'd always wondered if the celestials' convoys were nicer than the public ones used in the cities." This was said twice within a page, it should have only been said once. I am never in love with the use of the trope "I am not like other girls" which was used right away in the beginning with "I wasn't a cute, petite little thing like every movie or book craved." petite and little is redundant which an editor should have caught, as well as it hits way too hard on female bashing from the start. World-building was average, details on the creatures were limited at the beginning and took way too much time to understand. I felt the author left off details in world-building, yet put in unnecessary lines that made the book too long. Example of this "I gratefully used the shaving products. The hair on my legs and vagina had gotten a little out of control." Why was this needed? The pacing was all over the place, the beginning 20% dragged on and then the middle 60% felt extremely off.

The upside of this book includes the plot, writing, and characterization, The plot was unique, and I enjoyed the aspects of multiple worlds and a dangerous book to end all. The romance subplot did not feel overpowering to the main plot which I am thankful for. The writing was enjoyable other than the editing, I believe the author has the skills to continue with writing a genuinely great series. She didn't jump all over the place, her characters were well done and she genuinely seemed to have the story planned out. The characterization of Dianna felt very similar to Aelin from Throne of Glass, which is a compliment. I find many authors want to make a morally grey woman character, and struggle to find a balance. Dianna does not feel like a villain (which she was talked about as on tiktok), but she did feel like a powerful woman who had no boundaries for those she loves. Samkiel felt very similar to another SJM character, which is slightly disappointing but I think he has the ability to grow into his character. The side characters in this were my favorite though, and I am glad to see the build-up. Logan was highly enjoyable, I was rooting for the downfall of Alistair and Tobias.

Overall, I definitely will be continuing the series and I believe it is definitely worth the read.

"I didn’t remember how long we talked, but somewhere amidst her laughter and smiles, I decided I would rip the world apart for her."


Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (it's really more than five)

Spice Meter: 🌶️,5

❗This is a spoiler-free review from NetGalley❗


I would like to express just how thankful I am that NetGalley exists and that it actually works in my country so I can read books as amazing as this one. My mind is reeling. I feel too much too fast and I don't know how to process what just happened.


Words cannot express how pumped I am that I've found this masterpiece on NetGalley. I'm also really glad that I saw the many reviews of this book on Goodreads that prompted me to seek it out. I did not see one negative review of this book and I finally know why. It's absolutely incredible. Even the cover is amazing. Eerie and matching perfectly with the tone of the novel. There's even a map inside which I shamefully forgot all bout because of the magnificence of the story. It was enemies-to-lovers so I don't think I stood any chance at all.

It started with violence right off the bat which I absolutely loved. There was an elaborate fantasy world with gods, demon-like creatures, vampires, werewolves, witches, banshees, shadow-people, and more (there were humans too). I love it when books are like that. Also...WHAT THE HELL WAS UP WITH THAT ENDING?!??!?! WHY ARE AUTHORS SO HELL-BENT ON CRUMBLING OUR SANITY IN THEIR MAGICAL, WORLD-BUILDING HANDS!?!?!? WE HAVE DONE NOTHING BUT LOVE AND SUPPORT YOU, YOU MONSTERS!!!

Dianna was the absolute best!!! She is a one-thousand-year-old badass shapeshifting, magic-wielding creature that started out on the villains' side. She showed loyalty to her sister and her sister only, willing to do anything to keep Gabby safe, even if that meant she got hurt in the process. She is also cunning, funny, passionate and soo damn strong 😍😍😍😍 You can tell how much I love her, right? She wasn't original in any specific way, but I will never get tired of female main characters like her. They are always inspiring to me. Her character was incredibly complex in a realistic way. The situations she found herself in were near-impossible to escape, yet she dealt with them in the best ways she knew. It's a bummer I can't tell you more about her but I don't want to risk spoiling anything.

Liam, the other main character of the story and Dianna's awesome love interest, was an equally likeable and complex character. Despite being a god, Liam also known as Samkiel, suffered from crippling depression and PTSD after his world/realm collapsed thousands of years ago. Even though he showed a lot of arrogance when interacting with others, he was also kind, caring, and protective, even towards his enemies 😉😉He did the best he could for his people, even though it wasn't enough at times. He was fallible, making mistakes and letting his emotions get the best of him even if he knew better. Also, he was completely oblivious to imminent danger because he was too busy being turned on by Dianna's magnificence. I did not blame him in the slightest. I did find it hilarious though 😂😂

I loved the dynamic and chemistry between Dianna and Liam. Similarly to most enemies-to-lovers romances, these two were full of sexual tension, longing, and deep, unrelenting feelings that neither of them wanted to acknowledge. Of course, they checked all my boxes. Spending more than half the book forced to work together, being both turned on and annoyed at each other brought me so much joy. It's my favourite thing about this trope. Even more so if it is mingled with some well-written spice 😉😉 Another relationship that I loved was Dianna and Gabby's. Their sisterly bond reminded me of my favourite sibling ever, the Winchester Brothers (from Supernatural). The oldest sibling, Dianna, is more than willing to sacrifice everything she has for the sake of her younger sister's life and happiness and has been doing so for around one thousand years. Adorable and heart-warming 😍😍

One thing that bothered me a little bit, not enough to affect my rating in any way though, the book was just that good, was the continued mention of feelings that cannot be understood. It just doesn't make any sense to me. I get feeling things and not knowing why, I have experienced that. But, I will never understand how a person can feel something and not know what it is. Am I being crazy here?? Doesn't this make as much sense as not realising you were holding your breath??


Enjoy my crazy rambling and read this book as soon as possible.

I have no words to describe how good this book was. Just WOW. From the unique world building to the amazing main characters, this book just kept serving. Dianna made a deal for the life of her sister and for centuries has been serving a very bad guy. But when her actions wake up the king of the gods, things get heated. I couldn't put it down and the end left me aching for the next book. This is probably as good as books from authors such as Sarah J Maas and Jennifer L Armentrout. If you look for a book where the enemies work together to save the world, this is it.

Thanks to Netgalley for the E-Arc of this book.

This book is awesome!! Firstly, the world building is *chef's kiss* but aside from that it had everything I love - enemies to lovers, Main Character as the villain, forbidden romance plus so much more!! the characters across the board are great and I love the world the author has created.

I really love Dianna as a character - she has so much depth to her and I am so excited for book 2- that cliffhanger!! this will definitely be a series I will be hooked on, do yourself a favour and READ THIS BOOK!

2.5⭐️ DNF

I really wanted to like this, so many people told me it was good but I couldn’t get past the writing.

I thought this would be a high fantasy book, but it’s urban fantasy, and I didn’t like that things were modern but the language was so stiff and clunky in the dialogue E.g. no contractions.

It also felt like this book opened in the middle, and not in the fun and punchy way some books do to engage the reader. Instead there was no build up, no reason to care about the characters or understand the world and this led to trying to pigeon hole info in for the reader wherever possible. There was a lot of clumsy world building within the first few pages where the MC is like ‘oh yeah remember XYZ’ to another character as a way to give the reader backstory and it just felt like such an obvious device. This happened again when the MC goes into a meeting with all types of creatures and instead of letting us know info about them a bit at a time, the leader stands up and greets each group and the MC gives the reader a long background of world building each time. It lacked finesse and reminded me of kids playing dolls with each doll getting a turn.

Also, I thought the MC was supposed to be a morally grey villain, which to me would mean zero remorse and/or even enjoying the violence but instead the MC is lamenting about torturing people and remembering her sister and hesitating when the guy she has to kill says the bog-standard ‘I have a family’. So that element lacked to me.

Overall, I was disappointed and had to DNF because I wasn’t enjoying the book. Sadly, picking this up only made me want to read a Kelley Armstrong or Karen Chance book instead.

Ah. Let me start by saying, I am so grateful to read an ARC of this. But also like so sad because I need a second one right away, but I’m pretty sure it’s far off considering the first just came out. This book was also a beast coming in at almost 800 pages.

I had a hard time in the beginning. I was a bit confused for the first 10% or so, trying to understand the world/realm they lived in. I couldn’t tell how modern it was considering there seemed to be multiple places it referenced.

But Dianna was a bada**. And we love a strong female lead. And then it was followed up with all my favorite things in a book: enemies to lovers, single bed, and dual POVs, a female villain, they were both grumpy, and it was a slow burn.

Liam was endearing and I came to really love him. I loved when he realized he would burn the world for her. And he had to confront his conflicting feelings in it. My heart felt ripped from my chest on the last page, when he talks about his world.

I am dying at this book. It was so good.