Funny, paranormal, mysterious romance with revelations
Fascinating paranormal demons’ and angels’ story with humans thrown in for great effect. Christi Barth is new to me and I rarely read paranormal, but when the plot intrigues me, I go for it. This one was superior and unique.
Three rebel half angels, Nephilim being their correct titles are charged with finding the newest Keeper to the Gates of Hell. Maisy Norgate is 30yo, working multiple jobs to make ends meet after losing her job as an Art Teacher. She is summoned to appear at a lawyer’s office because an uncle she wasn’t even aware of has died and left her something. A key. An old antiquated key. The next thing Maisy knows she is introduced to three Nephilim: Rhys Boyce, Gideon Durand and Zavier Carranza who have been mobilized to keep her safe until she can become The Keeper. Thus begins a terrific story with romance and intrigue. And, maybe a story arc which will continue in future books about our Nephilim. Fingers crossed!
I thoroughly enjoyed this page-turner and you will too if anything I’ve said appeals. I volunteered to review an ARC of this book through Entangled/NetGalley.

This was a cute, fun paranormal romance. It started off a little slow, but picked up during the last half of the book. Having dual pov definitely helped the story, and it left it open for more books within this world. It would have been fun to have a few more chapters into the future or a chapter about the uncle right before he died. Overall I enjoyed this one!

If you like:

🗝 “Forbidden” romance
🗝 Grumpy/Sunshine
🗝 Sassy heroine with protective hero
🗝 Nephilims and demons
🗝 A surprise twist

Then this book is for you! It’s a bit of a slow-burn as there’s no “action” until about 60% in, but the angst and build up is worth the wait.

I enjoyed all the side characters and how they interacted with the MC’s. It appears this is the first in a stand-alone series so I’m excited to see the next brooding Nephilim go all gooey for his love interest!

A feel-good book with perfect blend of paranormal and romance.

From start to the end I loved Rhys’ and Maisy’s interactions. They were hilarious, totally opposite but both had huge hearts. Their love language was arguing and I enjoyed their witty banter so much.
Maisy really made uptight Rhys grind his teeth in every
Interaction they had. I loved how he went from annoying with her arguing to finding it endearing. He was a lost cause from day 1. Their argument always brought a smile on my face.


From the beginning of the book itself I was interested and intrigued. Refreshing world building and I adored the secondary characters and the writing style.
I also loved and appreciate Maisy’s positive outlook/attitude. It was a breath of fresh air.

Safe, recommended, colourful.

I loved this book! I don't read much paranormal romance, but I am so glad I picked this one up.

Christi Barth did an excellent job balancing the paranormal, romance, and action. Maisy is one of my favorite heroines I've read about this year. She is kind and sweet but also strong and smart. She and Rhys had a great grumpy/sunshine dynamic and it was fun watching them fall for one another.

I really liked the world building as well. The supernatural elements of the story were introduced and played out as Maisy learned more about her job as the Keeper. There were a lot of secondary characters whose stories I am looking forward to. I can't wait for the next book in the series.

Great book by Christi Barth. Loved these characters, and their chemistry. I got really caught up in their story. I really wish it didn't end. Looking forward to reading more from this author.

Imperfect Angel by Christi Barth is a fun fantasy standalone novel. We meet our heroine, Maisy Norgate, as she learns that she has inherited something from an uncle she never knew. When Maisy discovers that she was given a skeleton key, and has no idea what it is for; until she meets a hot handsome hunk who shows up at her door.

Rhys Boyce, is a Nephilim (half angel), whose task is to protect the new keeper; who to his shock, is Maisy, a young bubbly woman who knows nothing about the real supernatural world of demons, angels, witches, heaven and hell. Rhys will explain that she is the new keeper of the key, and since he is a half angel, it will be him and two other Nephilims, who will train her as well as protect her. But all is not well, since Maisy gave away the key to a locksmith (demon). They only have a couple of weeks to get the key back, and help her assume the role of the Keeper.

Rhys, with his friends (Gideon. Zavier) will protect Maisy (and her friend Liss), besides teaching her the importance and severity of the role she will have to play. Danger is always close, as the evil side of the gate to hell is determined to stop Maisy and get the key for themselves.

Slowly, Rhys begins to see how wonderful Maisy is, being loving, caring and determined. Maisy will begin to see the seriousness of the job she has been assigned to and learn more about the different world she is now in, with help from her Nephilim friends. The romance between Maisy and Rhys slowly heats up, and I loved the bantering and bickering between them. I really liked them together.

Imperfect Angel was a fun, witty enjoyable read; in a wonderful fantasy world of Nephilim, Demons, creatures, witches. I do not want to give spoilers, and the last third of the book was very exciting, as I could not put the book down. The overall story line of the Keeper was well done and interesting. Imperfect Angel was fun to read, and written so very well by Christi Barth.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of Imperfect Angel by Christi Barth. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for this ARC.

Imperfect Angel was a mixed bag for me. I loved how developed the world building became. The keeper and Nephilim story arcs really worked for me. I wish that Maisie was just a tiny bit less perky and optimistic. I know that was the whole point of her character, but I needed a bit more layering. She and Rhys were sweet and it was an easy book to read. I give Imperfect Angel a solid 3/5 stars.

Imperfectly romatic.

Imperfect Angel is an entertaining romp through the new to Maisy world of paranormal. What better guide then Nephilim!

Learn quickly because everything is out to kill you-one way or another. Hang on and listen close or do what Maisy does...

One dead uncle. Two weeks. 3 Nephilim. And imperfections abound. Now on to save the world

There's a lot of potential in this book and there's some very funny scene. That said it's hard write about this topic in a light way and interesting way unless you are Pratchett/Gaiman.
I liked the characters but the world building and the plot were very very light and some more development would have helped.
Please note that I'm a huge fan of Good Omens so read my review keeping this in mind.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Imagine finding out you have a long-lost Uncle that has passed away and left you an inheritance, you instantly think of everything from cupcakes to diamond necklaces.

What he leaves you is a key, a key that has the nerve to scratch you on a sharp edge that then starts a countdown you know nothing about until an actual Angel shows up on your doorstep.

Maisy and Rhys are a couple that just shouldn't work but somehow they do and it's delightful watching the sparks fly between them.

With a seamless blending of heaven, hell, humanity, and everything in between we watch as Maisy and Rhys try and get that key back before it's too late.

With witty banter, zingy one-liners, and fireworks that go off like crazy between them our characters go through more twists and turns than a group of angels flying over waterfalls.

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangle for providing an advance copy of this book, I have voluntarily read and reviewed it and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

2.5 stars
I really wanted to like this. The storyline sounded so good, then I read it and there was just something missing. It felt like the author split attention between the romance and the action and neither was up to the standard it could have been.

Romantic relationship between main characters felt forced and surface level. Some of the most cringy spice I’ve ever read. Phrases and word choice could have been so much better. Explicit detail, but not in a natural way- didn’t flow. 2 spicy scenes. 18+

Story just felt like it was surface level the whole time. Detail and action could have been better. Wasted page count on unnecessary content. Felt like pulling teeth trying to get this done.

Characters had a lot of potential, you just don’t get to see it. Maisy would say some funny things, she could have been a total badass but author just doesn’t get her there. She came off as a joke and annoyingly optimistic. Also, I got ACOTAR vibes from the three Nephilim (eye color, wings, brotherly bond, Rhys name, one playboy, one more in the shadows/quiet). Just something I noticed. I just think this book needed more detail and backstory to get you more invested and solidify the character bonds.

Not a book for me.

Check content warnings.

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

This was both enjoyable and irritating - A fun read

Maisey drove me nuts - she seemed almost clueless half the time and the rest of the time split between a touch too fanciful and a bit rude

Rhys came across as overbearing, though not on purpose IMO, he just didn't know how to handle a swinging Maisey
And the entire mess they were both in

The tennis match of affection between them was almost comical
It was almost like if we don't speak of it then it never happened
A kiss here, a touch there
It's hard to explain their relationship
One minute they were oil and water
The next - some serious chemical combustion

The supporting characters were solid
Gid and Z were comic relief
Liss was Maisey's ride or die

The story was pretty evenly paced -
One "oh no" or "what the heck" events were one after another and kept me on my toes

I do wish the romance had a bit more - IDK- communication, fluidity?
Overall though entertaining bedside or beach read and will be looking for the next in the series

Imperfect Angel was the perfect book to get me outside of my comfort zone, as a fan of Supernatural I absolutely adored the concept this book!

This was an entertaining, well-written book. It was fun, steamy, clever and fast-paced. It held my interest and I wanted to find out what was going to happen. I hope there will be other books featuring some of the secondary characters. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others.

This was quite cute. I do like Christi Barth’s writing style; this is my second read by her and I find her writing very easy to follow, it flows nicely and there’s a good sense of humour running through it. This was quite amusing with some quirky worldbuilding. It did feel like Barth was having fun with the book and the concept and that was nice to see.

The two main characters, Maisy and Rhys, were quite likeable, especially Maisy, who was a delightful ball of sunshine. I loved her positive outlook, determination to be optimistic over all else, and how she put Rhys and his fellow nephilim, Gideon and Zavier, in their place. I did like Rhys but I will say I found him a bit less fully-fleshed out - I got a better sense of Gideon and Zavier’s characters, personally. But the dynamic between Maisy and Rhys was a lot of fun. The way they reacted to each other, their banter, it worked very well for me, and the love scenes were hot and well-written.

Overall I enjoyed reading this book. The romance was really entertaining, with some funny moments, sexy moments, cute moments, and the wider plot was interesting with a lot of action. If you’re looking for a bodyguard romance with a heavy dose of magic and demons, this could be for you. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a free copy of this book.

Content Notes: Death of parents (in past), traffic collision (in past), violence, blood, grief, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempt, bomb threat, on-page sex.

Christi Barth was a new-to-me author when I took a chance on her book, Tempting the Prince. It was a solid hit for me, so with being on a paranormal romance kick currently, I decided to give her a try again in this category.

Let’s start with the not-so-good. It took until I was about 25% of the way through the book before I felt like the plot grabbed me. The characters were a different story, though. I loved them all right away, including the main characters’ BFFs. I have to temper this by saying that Maisy gave me a bit of a headache. While I loved that she was cheerful and strong-willed, at times, she felt over the top, and I kind of wanted to shake her. I also want to add that sometimes when it takes me a while to really settle into a story, it’s 100% me and where I am in my headspace at the time. When this happens, I typically label the book to reread at some point in the future to see if that changes. This one is most assuredly going on my “must reread” list.

So now you’re wondering why I rated it as I did, right? Let me tell you the good, then—the writing. I kind of adore the snarky, sarcastic writing style in this one. And this is where Maisy was always redeemed, even when I was a bit over her. While Rhys was fairly formal, he and his fellow Nephilim could throw out an excellent sarcastic comment at the right time. And the character development… These two main characters had a lot of growing to do, and I couldn’t have been happier with the outcome where this was concerned. And the possibility for more from the secondary characters was a huge plus for me. I need them all to get their own stories!

Paranormal romance fans who love the opposites-attract trope, this one’s for you!

I am not usually a fan of paranormal romance, but it is Christi Barth whose books I usually really enjoy so I took a chance and it is a cute story. Maisy is human and a artist and waitress who finds out she has an uncle she never knew who left her a key and that just the start. She finds out that she has nephilim, a half angel, half man trio of men to help guide her to find out what the key does and why she has it. Still not a fan of all the horrible things from hell that try to keep her from her goal, but Rhys hit the spot with me for being such a grump and curmudgeon, who eventually gets his HEA with Maisy. There are strong secondary characters I liked a lot and hope maybe they get their story. But still not a huge fan of paranormal romance!

This human/nephilim romance reminded me why I constantly reread the Hush Hush series when I was younger - I'm a sucker for a grumpy yet angelic hero.

When Maisy inherited a mysterious key from an even more mysterious uncle, she had no idea the hell she was about to go through. Enter Rhys, a nephilim who doesn't think very highly of humans in general. Until he meets Maisy. And starts falling for her. With the fate of the Gates of Hell on the line, they'll both be put through trials like they've never seen before.

I loved Maisy and Rhys's dynamic. They were both at the extreme ends of the grumpy/sunshine spectrum, but when it came down to it, they were exactly who they needed to be. Maisy was just so unflappable when it came to her goodness and light; we could all probably stand to learn a little from her. I absolutely will be reading the next book in the series - Maisy and Rhys are just too good to not see where their relationship goes from here. And I definitely want to see Maisy coming into her own. IMPERFECT ANGEL basically set up her story, and I know there's a lot more to see when it comes to Maisy.

I admit it has a good premise, but unfortunately the execution doesn't live up to my expectation.

The plot and world building have an interesting concept with the gates of hell having a keeper and supernatural beings living in modern world with humans.
But it feels like we've only scratch the surface. I wish it's a series instead of a standalone because there are still more to be explored.

Maisy's characters is actually nice and I adore how she always find the good even in the worst situation possible.
However, I had a hard time connecting with the characters. Sometimes, one of them even act out of their character which also feels weird to me.
The romance between the two main character also lack of chemistry and felt too rushed.

The flow of the story felt a bit weird, sometimes the transition between one chapter to the next is too sudden.

At first, I really like the sarcastic and funny jokes in the story but after a while it gets too much and makes the story loses the suspense feeling in precarious situation.

While this is a simple and fun story, sadly it's not for me. This book has a lot of potential but it still needs lots of development.

Some readers might find this one enjoyable if you're looking for a steamy paranormal rom com with grumpy x sunshine trope.

Actual rating: 2.5⭐

I received an advanced review copy for free and I'm leaving this review voluntarily.
Thank you to Netgalley, Entangled Publishing and Christi Barth.