I really loved the premise of this book with the fallen angel and demon sapphic romance elements. The writing style did have very poetic prose and I thought the world building was pretty strong. However I had a really tough time connecting with the FMC. I had picked this one up a few times last year and couldn't find myself making it past around 45%. I finally worked my way through it this month and it ended up falling a little flat for me in full perspective. I would absolutely read Jeree's work in the future and I believe her writing style has a lot of potential. This one I give a solid 3 stars to mainly for how poetic the writing felt. I would recommend The Fall that Saved Us to anyone looking for a unique and diverse sapphic storyline, but I don't see myself rereading this one in the future. Thank you so much for the opportunity and copy of this book regardless, the cover is really something stunning as well!

Since I don't have the most positive review of this book, I chose not to post a review on my social media in respect of the Tamara's hard work and creativity that was starkly apparent in this debut.

This is my honest review, and receiving a complimentary arc in no way impacted the way I reviewed this novel.

”Keep only the bonds that free you.”

This book has kind of ruined me.

I went into this for the sexy demon seducing the tortured angel and while I did get that, I was not prepared for the absolute gut-punch that was the exploration of how an abusive household binds and destroys the connection between siblings. Cassiel’s journey with her sister was a difficult one and I appreciate the realism in a hopeful ending that shows the cracks that still remain in their sisterhood.

I’m terrified and excited to see what this author has in store for future projects (in general) but with these characters as it seems a sequel is in the works. For anyone worried about this being book 1 in an incomplete series, though, I think we get a great “Happy For Now” ending that leaves things satisfactory as a standalone until further updates come.

Who knew possession as a love language could make me so giddy through all the turmoil?

CW: abusive parent, religious trauma, disordered eating (including bulimia), self harm, depression, explicit sexual content, violence, death, blood

I have so. many feelings. Immediately upon starting this book, I knew it would be one that would hurt. It would be a punch to the gut, and while it wasn't as painful as I expected it to be, it still had its kick. I could understand Cassiel so well, and I felt for her. I was hopeful and scared with her. It was just so good. There were also so many quotes and passages I had to highlight and then just sit with them for a while. I started associating so many songs to the book, and its been so long since that was something that made sense to me. I have so much love for this story.

Its just the start of the playlist so far, but heres what I have: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6sLhElGlLPzyYDaWAccvUW?si=1fbb56b6f7eb45c2

I really, desperately wanted to love this book, and I heard such excellent things from folx I trust, but this is 10000% a case where the writing just did not work for me. I tried several times and I did get almost halfway through the book, but the pacing kept feeling like nothing was happening even as I knew things were happening. I may give this another chance at a future date because I really want to read it and it does sound good and the characters were interesting, but for now this is a book that I couldn't keep focused on enough to finish.

The Fall That Saved Us is such a tender, vulnerable look that deals with the resultant grief of leaving family, acknowledging familial trauma, abuse, depression and the ferociousness of want of very pretty succubi who themselves are Feeling. Cassiel's self-worth issues, the pain of leaving and resentment of that abandonment and Avitue, a consummate liar and someone whose existence depends on sexual intimacy, finding newfound hope of tenderness and love existing for her comes about in such a vulnerable slowburn way. Cassiel *bursts with want* of love, vulnerability with friends and to be known and it's so obvious but not in an ungraceful way, but because of the evocativeness of the prose.
When she is *allowed to the ferociousness of her want and Avitue's enthralling succubi aura tempered with a considerate and stubborn cautiousness create some of the best sex scenes I've read this year. The ending line was pitch perfect. I can't wait to see what happens next. (Also 🗡️🗡️ 😉)
Also Zuriel my darling, I hope you figure out how to chill. Take a break, maybe the elder sibling trauma bonding isnt the only thing out there for you.

The Fall That Saved Us was unlike anything I was expecting, yet at the same time, filled my wants and hopes for a book dealing with nephilim, angels and demons.

Tamara Jerée is a stunning writer. Beautifully woven and nearly poetic in their writing style, words across the paragraphs are strung to pull readers in, almost as though a trance has been put forth. I found it difficult to put the book down at times and wanted badly to read all in one sitting.

Jerée's characters were ones I built lasting connections to. I found it interesting that each nephilim was named after their connected angel and namesake. It honestly made it easier to tell them apart and remember them for who they were; a creative choice I thoroughly liked.

Cassiel was perfectly imperfect. She contained a lot of trauma within her past and present that she struggled to cope with. I loved seeing the author's pathway for her story and journey. I thought it was handled fairly well and within the expectations one could hold when seeing Cassiel's lived experiences, growth, and future possibilities.

In some ways, I do feel that her relationship with Avitue became a bit weaker after their initial introductions and first few gatherings. It appeared almost insta-lovey but with just a slightly slower build into it. To put it generally, I feel it could have been just a bit more developed in the middle of the climbing actions without taking away from the plot of the book.

The author drew out a long contrasting ideal of good and evil, and how one side can hold both within it. The nephilim were not all good; and the demons, while inherently evil, could hold good and love and the wants to be more than bad. I enjoyed seeing this take on the mythology, and I found it to be a very humane portrayal of beings that are more than we could ever be, while still being closely attached to us. While I feel we were properly given workings into the world of the nephilim, I wished we had gotten just a bit more with the demons. It felt a bit more like there was "telling" happening than "showing" when it came to their parts of the story.

As far as the plot goes, I was left with a few questions at the very end. While ends are closed, again, on the nephilim side, I felt as though we hadn't properly closed ends on the demon side. What about their higher plans? Will they ever realize they've been tricked? What will they do for their war with the nephilim? While I did love everything about the rest of the plot, I think we needed just a bit more closure in that specific area.

The world-building was a bit difficult for me to follow. This book is set in the greater Chicago-area, but I was not able to piece that together until given further clues a bit deeper into the story. I wish we had been given just a bit more earlier development in the story to prevent that questioning from happening, as I think that would also strengthen threads for readers to better imagine the overall setting.

Lastly, I think the author did a wonderful job of portraying emotions, feelings, and growth and learning as a whole throughout TFTSU. There were several parts where I found my chest aching or myself relating to something Cassiel was feeling or experiencing, and I wanted so badly to reach through the pages in those moments and immerse myself. But even in the aspects of love and wanting and unlearning and relearning, Jerée depicted everything so wonderfully and so intricately. It was a masterful show of craft, and in some moments, I could tell came from the heart.

Overall, I really did love this book. I loved the characterization, the emotional output, the plot, and more. For that, I give it a starred rating. I am very intrigued to see what will be next from Tamara and will be patiently awaiting their next book.

The cover is gorgeous. The whole demon hunting thing reminds me of Daughter of Smoke and Bone and City of Bones. BUT, I am not a fan of LGBT books and don't remember requesting this, so sorry I have to DNF. Don't come at me for my reading choices, you opinionated people of social media.

Thank you NetGalley and Water Sign books for the e-arc!
Imagine if Supernatural and Good Omens merged and resulted in a dark and moody sapphic paranormal romance. This book is that but even better than you can imagine with much more diverse characters than either of these shows.
This book covers a wide range of topics and themes all centered around the trauma and expectations of family and religion. This book follows Cassiel, a Nephilim who leaves her family and ancestral calling of hunting demons to pursue her own path and finally break away. We follow her story as she tries to navigate her own desires and expectations while constantly battling with the rules her family had put in place. After years of hiding away, she meets Avitue a succubus initially sent to seduce her but finds herself captivated by Cassiel.
They are both forced into positions where they have to choose between the freedom they love and their families. Avitue helps Cassiel heal in a way that she never thought she could and the connection between the two is so heartwarming and pure. They each help the other one grow and change and be more confident and secure which works extremely well in this book. I do wish we got to see a bit more development in the romance as it was a instant-love. I think we needed to see more explanation and understanding between the two in the first half of the book. While in the summer it's implied that Avitue sees her own pain reflected in Cassiel I wish we got to see that explored more in the book.
However, I think the themes of this book really are undefeated with the growth and healing that Cassiel and Zuriel undergo in order to accept themselves and their angelic heritage. Both characters worked so hard to gain the acceptance of their angelic namesake and their mother Gabriel nearly destroying themselves in the process. I think they spoke to an absolutely fantastic job of showing that grief and anguish at constantly working to be good enough and worthy.

“I wanted her to say she’d miss me. I wanted an affirmation that we’d made this life less terrible for each other.”


This was one of the best books I read all year. I look back at the quotes I highlighted while reading and I tear up. There was just so much that resonated with me. The Fall That Saved Us is so much more than a romance, though there would be nothing wrong with that if it was! The Fall That Saved Us is a romance, yes, but it’s also a horror, an examination of the boundaries of sisterhood, a reckoning of familial bonds and responsibilities in relation to identity and the self. I could go on. This book was not only beautifully written but it was incredibly layered, with each topic handled with care. This is the type of book that makes me want to continue on my own writing journey because it shows me that Black voices in speculative fiction are varied and valued.

The Fall That Saved Us follows Cassie, the scion of an ancient and powerful demon-hunting family descended from archangels, and Avitue, a Fallen angel and demon. Both women are lost and searching in their own ways, and they meet each other at the exact right time, though they scarcely know it. Each has what the other lacks, and they complete each other and fill out each other’s lives. They struggle and falter in their views of themselves and what they feel like they can offer someone else. And it is beautiful to witness because in the process they learn so much about themselves.

The Fall mentioned in the title, in my opinion, is threefold. Cassiel and Avitue aren’t the only ones who fall in order to emerge different and changed. Cassiel’s sister, Zuriel, has been left behind at the family compound by Cassiel to try to live up to their mother’s high expectations, which have only risen with Cassiel’s departure. The quote at the beginning of this review is about Zuriel and Cassiel’s hopes for their relationship as sisters. What you owe your family and what they owe you in return is a big theme in The Fall That Saved Us, and it’s put to the test with the relationship between the sisters. How does a relationship change when one of the participants leaves to make their own way? How do you move on from being codependent to only depending on yourself? Cassiel and Zuriel struggle with this, and it broke my heart.

If it hasn’t been apparent, I loved this book! I was so happy to see that it will have a sequel because I’m so excited to see the progression of Tamara Jerée’s writing and where Cassiel and Avitue’s story heads next.

This book was gorgeously written, but I had to DNF just past halfway because I could not get a certain angel/demon pairing out of my head while reading and it was getting between me and the text. The delicacy of the writing was spectacular, however, and I’ll be interested to see where the author goes next.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this eARC. This is my honest opinion.


A Nephillim In hiding running a book shop and a succubus that is hunting her, what could possibly go right?

It’s got demons, angels, part angels, many eyed angels, and lore going back to the beginning of time, and very well written sapphic spice. I really enjoyed this book and the characters introduced. In all honesty this book took a second to grow on me, it was in first person which is normally a huge turnoff but it got better the farther the story went, even with the Insta-love, but I am looking forward to the sequel!

I was lucky enough to receive an eARC for The Fall That Saved Us. This book caught my interest instantly, between the beautiful cover and the fact this was an angel/demon romance, I was hooked. Sadly, despite it being everything I love in books, this book was a big letdown for me, simply because it’s another book following the trend of being all vibes and no plot.
We follow Cassiel who is a Nephilim who’s run away from her family and their business of being demon hunters. Cassiel lived a very sheltered and controlled life before this and is trying to learn what it’s like to be a human while still being naïve to the world around her. When a figure seems to be watching her one night, she comes to realize that she might have left demon hunting, but there were still demons out there. She starts to be haunted by the demon who leaves candies and tea out for her. The demon finally shows herself to her, she finds out that Avitue is a succubus.
The thing about this book is its instant love. Which you would think no, its enemies to lovers, but it really isn’t. Because Cassiel never actually saw Avitue as an enemy. Which is sort of the running theme for Cassiel as a characters. She’s rather flat. It’s tricky to write a character who has been through a lot of hardship and has lost all her unique personality in the process, so the fact she felt very one dimensional isn’t surprising, but it was completely disappointing. It got to a point that I nearly DNFed because it becomes almost frustrating. I wanted to desperately love this book, but like I mentioned before there’s very little plot and feels more vibes than anything else. First the instant love, then the plot of turning Cassiel to a demon, but they have to steal the holy relics from Cassiel’s family. But no, they make their own replicas of said items instead. The plot jumps. One second it’s one thing, then it’s another and start to question why any of this is important to the story. It felt like you’d blink and suddenly they’re deciding to change to the plot because they know it’s lacking only for it to make little sense. Which breaks my heart. I really wanted this book to be good. Desperately. The only good moments I enjoyed was the banter from Avitue. It just felt like the story needed some work to make the plot stronger and the writing less flimsy. If you enjoy books that are vibes and just want to read about a Nephilim and succubus getting together, than I recommend it. But sadly, it just didn’t hold up to what I was hoping it would be like.

First things first, this is one of the most beautiful book covers I have ever seen. 100/5 stars for that!

The writing was stunning, the prose would borderline into purple and flowery prose from time to time. That is not my favorite style, so it did pull me out of the story. I kept feeling like I was reading a lot but nothing was being *said*. There was a depth that was missing for me, and I was unable to get fully connected to the characters and their insta-love relationship.

The spice was beautifully written, it was emotional and ethereal. There was a good amount of it, but I didn't find it to be excessive or remove me from the book in any way.

Overall, the writing style and vibes are the book are true standouts and I would recommend this book based on that alone. Though, I would absolutely advise any potential readers to check out the trigger warnings before beginning the book.

Big thank you to NetGalley and Water Sign Books for a copy of this arc in exchange for an honest and unbiased review!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this eARC. This is my honest opinion.

Okay Cassiel and Avitue are my two new favorite characters, hello Cassiel is a bookshop owning nephilim who has left the family business of demon hunting to run her bookshop. Avitue is a demon on a mission... what that mission is exactly could be up for debate once she and Avitue meet.

There is some content warnings - religious trauma, family trauma, and self harm.

Recommend for those who enjoy forbidden love, sapphic, spicy, BIPOC characters, with a heavy dose of angel and demon (succubus) lore. 4.5 out of 5 stars, 4 out of 5 🌶 for the spice level.

I read this book as an advanced digital copy through NetGalley.

In Cassiel's world, a few things seem certain: fallen angels (from greater demons to lowly succubae) are the enemy, her family's duty as nephilim is to slay them, and Cassiel wants nothing more than to get away from it all.

Three years after escaping her mother's grip, Cassiel's built the beginnings of a new life for herself. She has a small home above her bookshop, she's made a friend with the local coffee shop witch, and while she doesn't quite know what normal should feel like, things seem to be okay.

Everything changes when a minor demon takes a liking to her, but Avitue acts like no succubus Cassiel has ever met. She lurks rather than attacks. She passes through protective wards without breaking them. And even when she catches Cassiel caught unawares and defenseless, the demon shows no signs of malintent.

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The Fall the Saves Us does several things very, very well. I love how this explores the reclaiming ownership of one's body. Cassiel's wants, needs, and desires have either been supplanted or suppressed to suit the demands of her mother, Gabriel.

Even years after escaping Gabriel's control, she is still unworking the trauma and shame around her own body. Falling for Avitue and the relationship they build together doesn't shy away from or glaze over this reality.

It's especially exciting to see how the characters give and maintain ongoing consent in their power dynamic that's both sexual and magical nature. If one of them can't stay present, they don't continue. This is so important, especially given the ongoing damage that comes from her childhood abuse.

I am not a big fan of love-at-first-sight stories, but even I am bought into the instant attraction and the loving relationship that ensues.

And I cannot wait to see where things go in The Blood That Binds Us.

Love love loved this. The writing was lovely and the story was everything I could have hoped for. Can't wait to read more by this author.

An incredible debut I can't wait to see where this author will go.

A story that focused a lot more on family that I expected but managed to get me fully immersed and curious to see what comes next.

Very well written with an interesting romance (slightly too fast paced for my taste)

Made me want to reread Covenant, the graphic novel

Ever watched Supernatural and wished it was way less white and much more Sapphic? This isn't exactly that, but we've got part-angels (nepheline), we've got demons (a succubus), we've got lore going back to the beginning of time and we've got MANY-eyed angels, so, bless. Not only that, but both the main character Cassiel and her family are Black as well as the succubus that takes interest in her, her best friend is Latina, and it's real refreshing when so much of angel-media is these lily white gently wavy haired dudes and the succubi are sexxxy ladies whereas THIS succubus is a non-gendered being who happens to enjoy this lady-form currently, a bonus as our MC Cassiel also is very attracted to her!

We've got religious trauma! A crummy family where the matriarch makes even her kids call her by her first name! We've got cool angel weapons! We've got great sensory descriptions, a list of content warnings in the front, and friends we've got sapphic spice! Also we've got this GORGEOUS cover??? Okay I definitely arrived for the gorgeous cover and I stayed for the everything else. Oh! We've also got a bookshop and lovely tea.

I think my only step back was that the romance was pretty quick and I'm still not sure what drew Avitue to Cassiel so strongly but that may be a personal failing on my part as well. I read in the acknowledgements that there will be a sequel and I'll definitely read it to see what happens!

Thanks to NetGalley and Water Sign Books for the read in exchange fro my honest review!

Trigger warnings for The Fall That Saved Us include: cutting scars, brief self-harm ideation, discussion of an eating disorder, family emotional abuse, and a manipulative mother. This book contains sexual content and is only intended for adult readers.
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Happy belated release day to The Fall That Saved Us.
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It was a bit of a slow start, and I didn't know what to think of it at first. But as the story grew, and the characters developed, much like Avitue, I fell.
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I don't know quite what I can say. The likeable characters, I loved. The loathsome characters, I really hated. It wasn't predictable, and that was something I enjoyed about it.
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I do wish it ended differently, less ambiguously, but I understand why that happened because there's going to be another story, which follows if not from where this one ended, at least follows the characters.
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Something I did find is that, I thought I knew what nephilim were, and while I was correct for the most part, I did learn something about that aspect from reading this book.
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Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an ARC copy of this book.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC, this is my honest review.

Wow I loved this book. It has a cozy bookshop, a bookseller that gives out certain books for free, a caring witch best friend that owns a coffee shop across the street, an incredibly sexy succubus and a sweet, shy, angel trying to find herself after an abusive parent.

It gave me all the Sapphic good omens vibes I wanted, while still being its own unique story. ✨️ Everytime Avitue called Cassiel "Angel" my heart skipped a beat. ✨️

The imagery in this book was some of my favorite I've read in a while. The way characters were described, the impact of atmosphere, the way looks were dripping with desire and hunger, the shear AWE of wings.

I cannot wait for book two. Also, omg that cover? 😍 Perfection.