I was more than happy to receive a copy of „The Book of Azrael“ by Amber Nicole and it was a hell of a ride. All the tension, angst and emotional rollercoasters were an absolute page-turner for me.

The story follows Dianna and Liam, sworn enemies by history and blood but they have to work together for the sake of the realms. Enemies to lovers packed in a slowburn story with a lot of action - the package you‘re getting is full of surprise!

Dianna is a heroine, who is not good in a typical way, but because of that so much more reliable.

4 ⭐️

I cannot wait for the second book!

3.5
[screams into the void]
Cliffhangers are gonna be the death of me.

The beginning of this was slow and dense and I didn't think I'd get through it as fast as I did. But once it started picking up steam, it took off!

I really liked Dianna as our morally grey villianess. Her entire mindset is geared to her sister. Her sister is all she has left and she will do anything to keep her. I would've liked to know more about Kaden. But I understand the whole mystery around him is pretty much the point in the story. Liam's character grows on you. He's a grumpy old god that literally cut himself off from civilization for centuries. Seeing him integrate himself to society and learn the ways of the world was endearing at times, but others I found it kind of annoying. I also can't properly picture any of the celestials. Are they just covered in tattoos? Do the tattoos only show when they're actively using their powers? I may have glossed over it, but my brain couldn't put that together.

I would have liked Dianna and Liam's friendship to go for a bit longer before they realized their feelings for each other. But you know, nearly dying kinda puts things into perspective!

Now I'm just going to be anxiously awaiting the next book. Ending the book on a crescendo like that is rude and I may never forgive you, Ms. Amber.

Oh and there are a few grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. There's a portion that is literally repeated a few paragraphs after, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't meant to be intentional.

NOTE - I do spoiler free reviews, there will be no names, or plot line, or anything to give something away in my review.

I NEED MORE!!!!!

What to expect?
Amazing world building in a unique world.
Amazing chats between characters - the banter is real, hilarious and well written.
Spicy in places
Twists and turns and not easily predicted
Fight sequences that feel like you are there
Characters that feel like real people - they are complex
TRUE ENEMIES TO LOVERS!
Amazing quotes for those who tab, you will have a beautifully coloured book <3

What is it similar too? In all honesty, nothing I have read.
Authors you would enjoy from this?

Amazing, this was a beautiful read for me! I absolutely loved it.

World building and story was unique and utterly captivating. I have never read something written this way or actually anything like it before. I absolutely adore gods and monsters, mythology and all those things so this book just by the name was something I HAD to read.

For once the secondary characters actually grow on you, they mean something and they are just as important. I really loved them in this. Even the villain was lovable!

The story was great, full of twists and things I did not anticipate or expect. I am still hungover from this book, I need the next one!

There were a few typos in the book but nothing that throws anything off the track.

Stars for this for me are 4.5 basically 5, if the typos weren't there this would be a perfect book for me. The story is amazing, I genuinely am shocked that this is a debut novel, honestly, now lets get the second one.

Everything isn't all as it seems.
It's dark, twisted, but also with a lot of
other things. The attetion to detail, the world
building, and character development was
amazing. The build-up was so intense, but so
worth it. I'm highly anticipating book 2, especially
after that cliffy.

Thank you to NetGalley for an e-ARC of this book, The Book Of Azrael by Amber Nicole, in exchange for an honest review.

This review will be posted on Goodreads June 7th, 2022.

Links:
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4763915764?book_show_action=false

**3.5/5**

The Book of Azrael by Amber Nicole was intricate yet entertaining, with its many layered twists and turns. I found myself drawn in by the very complicated yet alluring characters, and their complimenting traits. The plot itself was fast paced, which I love in any book, and therefore classify this book as a page turner. 


Firstly, Dianna’s character was the up and coming fiery, almost defiant heroine. After an unspeakably long time of weak, damsel in distress main characters, we are seeing a surge of powerful heroines, and Dianna is one of them. With her bold and strong character, and what some may label as snarky attitude, Dianne is a force to be reckoned with.

Liam, on the other hand, surprised me. I love when the MMC falls hard for the MC, and Liam fell head first.

“You love, whether you admit it to yourself or not. You are not some mindless creature, Liam. You never were. You don’t listen to what anyone says, and you shouldn’t.”

The side characters were a great addition to the storyline, and I highly enjoyed the theme of loyalty weaving throughout.

I had some trouble when it came to the world building, specially at the beginning where I had to re-read a couple times to make sure what I was reading made sense. From the get-go, there is a lot to learn— blue-blooded celestial creatures and a War that happened centuries ago. However, this may be because I am not an avid fantasy reader.

Also, the lack of editing can throw someone off while reading, so beware that there are grammatical mistakes throughout.

Overall, however, this was a very engaging debut novel. Amber Nicole really put her name out there as a fantastical author with this novel.

Book rating 4.5/5 ⭐️ spice 1.5/5 ⭐️

THIS BOOK. It has everything, the slow burn, enemies to lovers, FMC as as badass villain, forbidden romance and forced proximity. This book left me silently screaming at the end for more. I NEED the next one stat😩

This book is so good! I have read some good reviews and I was excited to read it and it's just amazing.
The world the author created, the story line, the character growth, the background story's.. Just everything was perfect.
That end. For some reason I had a feeling that would eventually happen but I didn't think it would in the first book already.
I cannot wait for the next book to come out! I need more!!!

This book was a gem. I just loved, loved and loved it. The characters were absolutely amazing. The plot was really good and fast-paced. I just could not put it down. I adored the female lead and male lead. I loved their banter. Both of them were powerful characters, especially Liam. He could not have been more perfect. Even the world-building was also really different and intriguing. I really liked the secondary characters and got attached to them really soon. Lastly, the cliffhanger is what shook me. Oh my god! It was just so unexpected and bone-chilling. All in all, this was a really good book. I just can't wait for the second book to release.

One of the best fantasy books that I've read in a long time - it gave me the same high as Jay Kristoff's Empire of the Vampire. (Which is God Tier in my books!) I was hesitant to commit so much time to a lengthy read, having not heard of the author before, but WHAT. A. RIDE. The world building, fantasy and characters are all done so superbly. I can completely understand and appreciate the hype! So darn good!

3.5/5 stars

Right off the bat, I love that the main character is a female villain. The action begins in the first scene and remains fairly steady throughout the book. For it being a debut book, I’m really impressed.

A lot of the writing was in an active voice, which takes away from some of the descriptiveness of the scenes because it’s harsh and stilted. That being said, I think the author did a great job distinguishing between the two POVs with word usage and style. Also, the final chapter was GREAT. No spoilers, but those news anchors were great comic relief.

Overall, would I read the next book? Absolutely. This is a beast of a first book in terms of length, but I more than enjoyed it enough to want to see where this story goes.

Oh. My. Gods.

I don't even know where to start!! Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book for my honest opinion.

Y'all. This book is A LOT. But in a good way. It was so hard to put down - to take breaks. I HAD to keep reading to find out more information and where the plot was going to take us. This book has a lot of tropes in it, but the good ones that you crave! It's a little long, fair warning, but you won't care about length when you get into it.

The world's, the characters, the plot. All of it is just amazing. Dianna and Liam? You will literally fall in love with them as much as I have. The supporting characters, too. My goodness. There are so many memorable and loving characters to enjoy in this book. But that cliffhanger. Ahhhhh. I need the second book in this series!! Pick this up and read it. You WILL NOT be disappointed.

Stop reading whatever you are currently reading and pick up this book!! It’s an urban fantasy with a female villain for the MC and it has almost all of my favorite tropes. The banter between Dianna (MC) and her mortal enemy, Liam, had me laughing out loud. It is SO GOOD!

There were some random “ scattered throughout and sometimes there should’ve been a space between the words, but the editing errors weren’t enough to distract from the world building, characters, and plot.

I am already on my knees begging for the second book in the series!

Things I loved about this book:
💀 The emotional healing both MCs go through
💀 The banter between the two
💀 The world building and character building is amazing
💀 Diverse characters and representation

A quote I loved:
“I don’t remember how long we talked, but somewhere amidst her laughter and smiles, I decided I would rip the world apart for her.”

An interesting premise, but poorly executed. I struggled to get through this because the poor grammar made it nearly impossible to read and because of several inconsistencies throughout. This book is in desperate need of an editor to fix the confusing wording and the many, many grammatical errors. This felt like a first draft that had a lot of potential to be come a really solid final draft with a bit more work.

The Book of Azrael
By: Amber Nicole
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

I...am...not...well.
It has been a really long time since I have given a book a 5 star review and boy did this one deserve it.
This book had one of the best enemies to lovers tropes, I have ever read. Like it’s almost as good as ACOMAF. Which is say a lot!
When I first started reading and realized who was meant to the main couple I thought...there is no way! No way in the world that is going to happen...but boy was I wrong.
There are so many people I want to meet in real life. Like I want Dianna as a best friend. She was a true joy to read. Such a rich, well written character. As was Liam. I mean...gosh the depth of him is amazing and I truly felt sorry for both of them. It was such an emotional rollercoaster. One of my favorites so far this year. Absolutely incredible. I need the next one like now

First in a series! 😬
CHUNKY 😥
First of barely 2 descriptive spicy scenes happens @ 78%
Lots of tension, enemies to lovers, forbidden relationship, shares one bed, lifelong mates

This wasn’t bad. Considering the size (800+ pages), it wasn’t as repetitive as I initially thought. Lots of traveling/action- some of it seemed unnecessary and slightly ramble-y. Still somewhat repetitive, more like re-mentioning past events to que reader’s memory (because book is so big). I didn’t feel like I needed to be reminded of events.

Intriguing idea. If the other books in the series are this long, I don’t think the story is worth the page length.

Special thanks to Netgalley and Rose and Star Publishing LLC for this digital ARC.

I really enjoyed the premise of this book, a female villain (though she isn’t really) as a main character and a morally grey God working together to stop a common threat. However, there were quite a few grammatical errors and editing problems that really pull you out of the story. I did enjoy Dianna’s relationship with Gabby and the hardships she endured to keep her safe. I liked the slow burn and tension between the two MC’s. All in all not a bad book, just needs some cleaning up and possible shortening. I would be interested in reading the next book in the series.

***Thank you to netgalley and publisher for a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.***

I really tried to get into this but at 28% I decided to finally give up. It was just not engaging for me and it was getting to the point where I'd skim some parts. If I'm not interested in the book when I've passed the 100 page mark, I know it's not going to be for me.

The worldbuilding was confusing. There are modern day aspects, such as cars, phones and clubs, but at the same time it's high fantasy (I prefer books where either the world is completely new and has it's own technology or an urban fantasy). The author shoved every type of myth/legend creature there is, from banshees to vampires to dragons. It was a little too much.

I also did not care for the characters. I was excited to read about a morally grey female villain but unfortunately Dianna had 3 personality traits: protect-my-sister-syndrome, I-am-sassy, and good-at-fighting. Liam was uninteresting in his POVs (until where I gave up at least).

Overall, I didn't care for this and I was fooled by the high average rating.

A really unique and exciting concept, I haven't seen anything like this. I love the reversal of the typical romance trope - the female being the dark sarcastic villant and the male the grumpy but naiive and lonely hero. The adventure aspect of this novel was really engaging and had me tearing through this book with anticipation. The romance was slow burning and electric, the tension between the couple was palpable. The overall banter and humour was brilliant and I loved this debut book so much! The ending was spectacular and im desperate for the next one

As an urban fantasy fan, with vampires, angels/demons, werewolves, witches, shades and gods (just to name SOME of the characters) this book held my interest almost from page one. Within a few chapters I went in search of Amber Nicole's website and bought a signed edition.

Dianna's character is simultaneously villainous and sympathetic; a hard combination to pull off successfully. At 841pgs this epic tale was perfectly paced, not too slow but still fully fleshed world-building. Amber Nicole takes traditional urban fantasy characters and gives them a much needed fresh twist. I loved every page!

I think there's a lot of potential in this book and it was entertaining and gripping. I think some editing would help as I had some issues with the storytelling that I found a bit jumpy.
I enjoyed it nonetheless and it's recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine