I ended up DNFing this book. It just was not for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC copy of this book, in exchange for this honest review.

I really enjoyed this book, perhaps more than I was expecting too! I thought both the hero and the heroine had compelling arcs of their own, each dealing with very different life experiences. I enjoyed the heroine's story with regards to her and her sister's childhood, and how she essentially built her life around protecting her sister, even at the expense of her own morality. As for the hero, I thought his backstory of destruction and chaos, and the burdens of power under which he has always operated, was compelling and interesting. They each balanced one another well, and I was impressed by how well they complemented each other as the story progressed. Neither lost their unique motivations or was over-shadowed by the other. I'm definitely intrigued to see where the story goes next!

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read this book. I had seen this on Kindle Unlimited and remembered that even though it's been out for ages, I had a review copy and decided that it was finally time to get to this massive book.

I've been in a fantasy romance mood recently, so I went into this with pretty high expectations. And in spite of everything, I will say that this started off strong. But as I kept reading, I just found myself enjoying it less and less and wishing I would come to the end of this monstrosity. It honestly did feel A LOT longer than it needed to be, and every single one of Liam's chapters just made the book drag on that much more. I think the pacing problems and the glaring lack of editing made this one much tougher to get through than it needed to be.

I am the first to say that I love morally grey characters. I adore reading from the perspective of a villain. Their "no fucks given" kind of attitude is one thing that can usually immediately draw me in and keep my attention. However, Dianna is not it. She is just someone who made wrong choices and wants to BE good. She isn't evil for the sake of it or just bad because she's predetermined that's what her path is going to be. Both characters feel super flat and lack personality. I didn't believe in the relationship and felt no connection or chemistry at all. It was almost like the author was just TELLING me how things were and I was supposed to believe it, but I was never shown WHY.

Something that typically doesn't usually land well for me personally in my books is humor, and this was no exception. It was honestly BAD. It made characters that were supposed to be adults seem childish. Even the way that they talk and act doesn't line up with their given ages.

If you're interested in this book, I would say give it a shot since it does seem to have many positive reviews, but I can't understand why. If you do pick it up, I hope you enjoy it more than I did!

I cannot express how much I adored this book! It was everything I hoped for and more!

The beginning of the book starts rather slow so you get to explore the world this story is set in. The world-building is quite complex but the author did an excellent job at explaining it all.

Once both main characters are introduced, the story picks up. The plot is interesting and very unique. Many twists and turns keep you on your toes the entire time!

The banter between the main characters was amazing. Dianne, morally grey and snarky, versus Liam, broody and protective. While they start of as true enemies, the chemistry between them is incredible! Both their characters develop throughout the story and I really enjoyed seeing them grow towards eachother.

And that ending... Totally blew my mind! I can't wait to dive into the next book!

I ended up DNFing this book. The writing style was just not for me. I think I got to 15% before I called it quits. Writing wasn’t for me, the plot wasn’t for me, just overall not for me.

First thing's first, it's important to tell potential readers that this book ends on a painful cliffhanger! Readers, beware!
Dianna sacrificed herself thousands of years ago to save her sister, and now is forced to do the bidding of a dark monster. Dianna is, by all standards, the villain of her own story, and I find her morally grey attitude and complicated past truly enthralling.

Dianna's relationship with her sister is central to the plot of The Book of Azrael, and we can see our villainous main character humanised by the love she has for her sister. Another relationship that forms is with Liam, who was also known as Samkiel, or The World Ender. Dianna and Liam are mortal enemies, and flat-out attempt to murder each other at points within the novel, but they are both complex characters whose relationship slowly develops. It's great to see the flirting and fighting - sometimes at the same time - and I'm keen to see how this relationship develops in the second book.

Yes, The Book of Azrael is around 500 pages, but once you're sucked into the characters and their relationships, you don't notice that it's a bit of a chunky book. Whilst the world-building is a little clunky in places, the pacing is brilliant and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Bring on Book 2!!

unfortunately the world building was messy and incoherent. The main character was not relatable or likable to me. The plot wasn't enthralling enough for me to ever feel hooked into the story.

A captivating clash of wills and hearts when Monster meets World Ender.

"I didn’t feel like a monster with him, and I realized I never had."

I devoured this book, with a female lead who is no angel, but whose darkest deeds are committed in the name of protecting the one person she calls family. Taken prisoner by those who see her as irredeemable, Dianna fights to keep her sister safe and risks her heart with the one being who could end her existence...

I loved the depth of these characters, and the slow build between them.

Beware heartbreak.

I tried a few times over the past year but the book is double the size it needs to be, the world building is poor, the characterisation is bad (why does the centuries old female protagonist act like an annoying teenagers?) and the author has a habit of telling rather than showing. Despite all this the concept is strangely compelling (not sure why the plot was not ground breaking in anyway) which is why it is on pause rather than DNF. I'm a sucker for an epic fantasy romance and I've been starved for a good one. This has potential but it's not there yet.

You know what this book reminded me of? The song, "Secrets" by One Republic. Like the lyrics of the song just capture the sense of this book.
The book of Azrael weaves together magic, destiny and the unbreakable bond between two worlds! The characters were intricately developed and so many secrets unfold leading to so many twists and turns in the story that will have your mind transfixed outside of reality.

Talk about a slow burn...this book takes it to a whole new level!! I kept waiting and waiting for our main love interests to get together and man did the author take her time. Although we had to wait awhile, the pacing of the book went perfectly with the story. I love that we had almost a reverse grumpy sunshine -- the heroine was morally grey and the hero was the cinnamon roll. It was also a TRUE enemy to lovers, not just a dislike or stranger to lovers.

4.5⭐️

This has all the tropes I live & breathe for.

Enemies to lovers, slow burn, forbidden romance, & a badass FMC.

This book had me in a chokehold. Can’t wait for the special editions coming of this’

For some reason I forgot to put my review here.

Rating this a 5 star because of how amazing the character development, world building and plot twists are.

This cohesive story made me want to bathe in fantasy books again and again because of how well written it is. I am going to read the second book soon and I can’t wait to further immerse myself in the beauty of Amber’s world

I devoured this book! I really want a second one but im not sure if one is in the works. I couldn't get enough of the characters or the plot. highly recommend.

I tried to get into this book twice now, a few months apart, and I just could not. The beginning is very info-dumpy without making a lot of sense and I just didn't get invested at all. The writing was a bit cliche and the main character killed one of her "closest friends" and then kind of joked about it later. It was weird. Because of these issues I did not want to continue, so I had to DNF this one.

Achieved before I could download. Have since started reading after purchase, finding it good so far but not completely gripping me (due to me being a mood reader)

Loved this book and can’t wait to continue the story. Wow Amber Nicole knew how to keep me on my toes and wanting to not put down the book for anything.

I loved This story! Can’t wait for the next book 🤩definitely worth the hype it gets in social media.

This had a good plot but took me a while to get into. The lore was built well but could have been introduced to the readers in a different manner as it was a lot to take in.

Once into the story I found that Dianna's attitude bothered me, she was centuries years old but still acted childish even as the older sister.

I found some bits of writing got repeated needlessly and the descriptions of what the characters were wearing didn't need to be described every single time.

I enjoyed the plot and the slow burn as well as the ending but I don't feel the need to rush out to get the next book.

I received this ARC via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review

I put this book off for so long because I was so concerned that my expectations of it would set me up for disappointment, but for the most part I was very wrong! Some of the pacing felt slow & at times the writing felt a bit odd, but the overarching story was so so good! I love first person narration, I find it really immerses me in a story, but I know not everyone likes it! Can’t wait to read the next one!