Hell of an Angel by Christi Barth to be published 10/23/23 by Entangled Publishing. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC 💙! I voluntarily give my honest review and all opinions expressed are my own.

This is a paranormal romance between a dark angel and one of the Nephilim. Evangelina Thayer and Gideon Durand are introduced at a business meeting with his colleagues and bffs Zavier Carranza and Rhys Boyce. Eva is an actuary and Gideon's company Metafora needs her expertise. When Gideon later "rescues" Eva they find out they can help each other. Eva wants to become human, and Gideon wants to save Nephilim. Eva has wings but can't fly, lived in Hell and was bullied because of her only power-she can nullify evil. She moves to Buffalo to live among humans but needs Gideon's strength to enact a spell to make her fully human. Gideon can use her power to save humans and Nephilim from mysterious killings happening now.

Once they start on the quest, another threat is revealed, I didn't read the first book Imperfect Angel, but some important things have already happened. Rhys is mated to Maisy. She became the new Keeper after her uncle's murder. As a Keeper paired with two Nephilim, they kept the Gates of Hell's prison closed. Gideon and his crew want to get to the bottom of it. Eva helps with the demons while he helps her find objects needed for her spell.

There's also the threat of the Apocalypse with one of the Four Horsemen- Pestilence. I liked the meeting between Eva, Gideon, and Lucifer, but the story seemed a little overpacked with threats. I would rather the story focus on one or two things instead of having problems at every turn for our hero and heroine.

I don't know how I feel about the sexy times in the mausoleum with Gideon's mother and wife. I know that story needed to be told with Colette's betrayal and Zavier's captivity, but they should have gone somewhere else for nookie time.

Overall, I liked Eva and Gideon's story along with the side characters-Arcadia and Lucifer were standouts. I wish I would have read book one even though this series can be read as a standalone. I felt I needed more world building and Rhys and Maisy's story with the Keepers.

Rating 3.5/5 ⭐⭐⭐ (Book#2 Unlocking His Heart series)

Thank you to NetGalley, Entangeled Publishing, and Christi Barth for providing an ARC, I’m reviewing this voluntarily.

Hell of an Angel has potential, but it just wasn’t working for me and I DNF’ed around 30%. The third person narrator was confusing at times and I think this would’ve been more successful as a dual POV or separating each chapter with either Eva’s or Gideon’s viewpoint instead of just randomly focusing on one of them every few pages. I also think this should be advertised more as a sequel and not a standalone - I understand that this is basically going to be a love story for each of the main guys in the friend group but there was little to no introduction for the other characters and they played too big of a role to this book to be executed properly as a standalone. I felt like I was missing key plot points as well as a reason to care about Rhys or Z. Everyone fell so flat and things were just way too boring for how fast paced it was. I think I would’ve enjoyed Hell of an Angel much more if I had read the first book.

Good Vibes, Bad Angels, and Spicy Moments
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Hold onto your halos, because "Hell of an Angel" sends you spiraling into a wild ride where the boundaries between naughty and nice aren’t just blurred - they’re gleefully obliterated! Picture this: Evangeline, an angel with a penchant for careful calculation, and Gideon, a Nephilim with a flair for the playful and perilous, finding themselves in a steamy mess of love, lust, and looming apocalypse. Christi Barth whips up a realm where divine melodrama and spicy encounters steal the show, guiding readers on a bumpy yet beguiling heavenly rollercoaster.

———————-

An Angel Who’s No Airhead

Let’s talk about Evangeline: our dark angel with a surprisingly sensible head on her celestial shoulders. She doesn’t just balk at the hellish chaos around her - she downright rejects it, longing for a regular, demon-free life in Buffalo. Yes, Buffalo. Her quest for humanity and the mundane is a chuckle-worthy adventure that also surprisingly tugs at the heartstrings as she trades feathers for feelings.
———————-

Heartthrob with a Heavenly Duty

Then there’s Gideon, with a smoldering gaze and wings that scream ‘rebel with a cause’. His days are spent slaying demons and wooing both mythical and mortal ladies, but beneath that cheeky exterior lies a layer of depth, pain, and unspoken dreams. As we peel back his layers (in more ways than one), we find a character who’s both a heartbreaker and heartbroken in his own secretive way.
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Frolicking Through a Mythical Mess

Oh, and it’s not just about our main duo. “Hell of an Angel” throws a mythical party where mermaids and Pegasus unicorns are just casual Tuesday encounters. This chaotic blend of creatures from various myths brings an extra flavor to the plot, making every page a ‘what’s-next’ kind of exciting.
———————-
Love, Lies, and Winged Guys

Through sultry moments and supernaturally charged scuffles, Evangeline and Gideon navigate through a connection that’s more complex than a heavenly crossword puzzle. This isn’t just a simple good-meets-bad romantic twirl; it’s a heartening, hilarious tangle of emotions, and unexpected tenderness amidst a storm of celestial chaos.

This devilishly divine tale teases and pleases, ensuring every reader is seduced by its charm, wit, and emotional undertow. I'm left perched on the edge of my seat, feathers ruffled in the best way, eagerly awaiting Barth’s next enchanting tale. A huge shoutout to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the ticket to this wild, and hellishly fun adventure.

Rating: 4/5
I received an eARC for my honest opinion.

This is the second book in the Unlocking His Heart series, but you can read it as a standalone, but I will be reading the first one here soon because it was funny, romance, action, spicy, and of drama. I loved that in this book you got a great mix of good and evil (angel, and dark angel). The characters were easy to connect with, the banter between the characters was great, the chemistry was perfect between the two main characters.

Evangeline is just a normal human woman working as an actuary but is she really, just a normal human? You guessed right, she isn’t and if she gets her way, soon she will become just a normal human. She is done having demons want to kill her all because of her abilities, but she isn’t like the other dark angels she has no powers like the other ones other than what she sees as a curse, and it kinda is. I liked that she was straight forward, thought everything out to see the best way possible to get things done, she is pretty and strong, and all she wants is to live a normal boring life.

Gideon is a typical playboy Nephilim, who really only cares about one thing, his brothers and destroying the evil in the world. He is stubborn, handsome, strong, and sexy… but after you get to know him more and know his story you will start to see a different light to him. His past has a lot to do with who he is now, but you will see the most character growth in him, he learns a lesson and understands what he really does need in his life. He has been known as a player, I mean he has slept with a lot of mythical women and human ones as well. So, when Eva just sees him as that he wants to show her that there is more to him than that. I really enjoyed getting to see the softer, more protective side to Gideon.

I enjoyed the mythical creatures you will get to see throughout this book, you have angels, demons, witches, Greek gods, mermaids, Pegasus unicorns and more. I liked that this book was a fast and easy read, also that you get a glimpse of who the next book is about, and I can’t wait to read that one as well

I want to thank NetGalley and Entangled publishing for the chance to review this book.

Unfortunately, I did not finish this book, I honestly couldn't get past the first few pages, just don't think it's the book for me. It's a second book in the Unlocking his Heart series so maybe if I was to read the first book the second might have appeased me more. I just don't think Angels and Demons are my thing. Complaining in the beginning of doing an audit kind of set me back and Gideon's attitude as well in the beginning was unlikable. The story might have have turned out great and some others might really like but it just wasn't for me. .

I'm sorry to say that I didn't finish this book. I only made it through the first few chapters before I decided it just wasn't for me. I loved the premise of the book but the style of writing was just too choppy (for lack of a better word) for me. Now I totally understand that we all have different preferences and there are probably plenty of people who would love this book, just not me. I think I also struggled with the fact that the MMC was overheard complaining about having to meet with what turns out to be the FMC at the very beginning of the book. Part of his statement was that he didn't want to have to meet with the auditor alone, "Not with some numbers nerd who probably isn't even hot." That statement was so jarring to me because it just didn't seem like something an actual professional businessman would say. It also basically made me have no respect for the guy that I knew would be the love interest of the main character. It's possible that the book gets better but I just wasn't willing to go any further than the first 10% of the book.
Thank you so much to Entangled and NetGalley for the EArc of this book.

Hell of an Angel by Christi Barth is the 2nd book in her Unlocking His Heart series. I did not read the first book, but it read very well as a standalone. We meet Evangeline Thayer, when she meets three men who need help, as she is an actuary, who calculates risks for companies. Evangeline lives in Buffalo, but was raised as a child in Hell, since she is a dark angel; she hated Hell as she was bullied, and eventually was able to escape and pretend to be human. She is also powerless, with only the ability to nullify those with evil powers, which she never uses, since she feels it is a curse; but Evangeline wants to live as a human, be safe and wants to remove the power she has.

Enter the three men, Gideon, Zaviar and Rhys, who want to hire Evangeline to help their business, which starts off on the wrong foot, when she overheard Gideon’s sarcastic comments. Little does she know that the three men are Nephilim warriors. Later that night, Gideon is flying to check things out, and notices a girl on the ground and jumps down to save her. Both are shocked, recognizing each other, and Eva was waiting for a ferry to take her to Hell to visit her aunt, and Gideon ruined it. Gideon learns about Eva’s ability, and her being a dark angel; he tries to convince her to work with them. He explains that they are half angel, half human, and their job is to save humans from the dangerous demons.

Gideon, who is player, is slowly falling hard for the beautiful Eva, and he with his partners can’t understand why she wants to change to only being human; they feel she should learn about her true abilities. Eva ends up staying in the safe place that all of them including, Maisey and Liss live in. Together, Gideon, and his paranormal besties, teach Eva and the girls learn to defend themselves and be able to fight the demons escaping from hell. The Nephilim discover that keepers of the gates, are being murdered and are determined to find out who is behind the killings.

With Eva and Gideon spending more time together, with him helping her find the things she will need to create a spell, and make her human. But Eva will agree to help the Nephilim’s stop the war between Heaven and Hell; even though they all feel she would be a great addition to their team. I really did like Eva, and a bit later, started to like Gideon, who continued to fall in love with her; she was falling for him too, but worried that if she became human, there was no future. I loved when Eva got to meet Lucifer Morningstar, who is her grandfather, the Devil. She will learn more about her so-called missing powers. 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.

Hell of an Angel was a fun, action-packed story in a wonderful fantasty world filled with demons, angels, fallen angels, dark angels, Nephilim’s; with good and evil. I loved Gideon and Eva together, as in time they made a great couple. Hell of an Angel was so very well written by Christi Barth.

Gideon is a cocky Nephilim and Evangeline is a Dark Angel and they find they could use each other’s powers. I was really interested in this premise but wasn’t a fan of the writing style.

Hell of an Angel is the second book in the Unlocking His Heart series, and though you could read it as a standalone, reading Imperfect Angel, the first book in the series, would definitely help contextually. I love the premise of the series, and the world-building is great. I like how the author continues to expand the world, and the introduction of a type of angel that Gideon and the other angels haven’t heard of adds an interesting dynamic to the story. It’s easy to picture the spellbinding and dangerous paranormal setting they live in.

The chemistry between Eva and Gideon is strong, but I think I never really connected to either character. I didn’t feel overly invested in their love story, and Gideon came off as kind of immature considering how old he’s supposed to be. His arrogant playboy attitude at the beginning made him a bit unlikable for me, but I did like that as he got closer to Eva, he became more open and vulnerable. You get to see a side of him that he doesn’t show to many. They have an opposites attract/enemies-to-lovers/insta-lust romance, but it just didn’t have that swoon factor I wanted.

I loved Rhys and Maisy in Imperfect Angel, so I was happy to see them in secondary roles in this book. And I’m really intrigued by the tension between Zavier and Liss. I have a feeling they’ll be the focus of the next story, and I’m eager to see how their story plays out. Also, the friendship between Gideon, Rhys, and Zavier continues to be a highlight of the series. They are so great together, and some of my favorite scenes were the ones with all three men. They totally give off Bat Boy vibes, and those vibes never get old for me.

There’s also an intriguing and deadly mystery the group is trying to solve, and there are a few unexpected twists that make me curious to see what happens in the next book. Thanks to Entangled Publishing and NetGalley for a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for this book.

I really enjoyed this book. I love paranormal/fantasy books and Entanged is one of my gobto publishers for this gonre.

I was not disappointed by this book. The book is the second book in the series and can be read as a stand alone, but is better if the first book in the series is read prior to this one. I enjoyed the humor and Eva and Gideon are great characters.

Not a five star book, but a solid four stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for this Advanced Readers Copy of Hell of an Angel by Christi Barth!

As a usual fantasy reader, this book had the perfect amount of supernatural and modern elements. It worked together throughout the entire book and even gave a new taste to some mythology.
While the writing and storyline stayed perfect, I did find it hard with the sudden jump in POV mod-chapter. The third person writing left me lost a few times on whose pov it was and I had to go back a page or two to find out.

I was super excited for this one and it didn't disappoint. The story was really cute and the character(s) were amazing and had some great developments. I couldn't put this down all in all amazing

Cute book but was finding excuses to do anything else so i’d say 3/5. i found the dialogue between the two POVs in the same chapter a little confusing since it was also 3rd person. I did enjoy the vocabulary as it i looked up stuff often but not that sure that is for everyone

Book Review
Hell of An Angel
By Christi Barth
Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2023
Thank you, to @entangled publishing, for the free copy of Hell of An Angel. Opinions are my own.
When Evangeline walks into a work meeting the last thing, she’s expecting is her client to change her life. Evangeline was a dark angel, half angel half human, from hell and living as a human. She had a career she liked and her own condo, there was just one more thing she needed to do then her life would be perfect. Her client Gideon was living as a half angel (Nephilim) and half human. When they met at this work meeting, they had no clue about one another’s real identity. That same day in the evening, Evangeline goes to catch a ferry and instead is swept up into the air by no one other than Gideon. He was on angel duty and though she was trying to commit suicide. So now that they know they are part angels, Evangeline can finally ask for help. Ever since she was a kid, she never wanted to be a dark angel. Her wings didn’t work and neither did her powers. As a good angel, Gideon would be able to help her achieve her goal of becoming 100% human. The only thing is would he agree to help her?
My thoughts: This is my first paranormal romance. I liked the idea of the characters living as humans during the day, having their careers. I also enjoyed the banter, the spark between the main characters and how Gideon would do anything for her. I didn’t care about the other characters. I was rooting for Evangeline to get her wish of becoming fully human. No part of her was bad even though she was from hell. If you enjoy reading about angels, the devil, merman, etc. along with a spicy romance you will enjoy this.

The banter the characters had was so well written, the characters complimented each other extremely well and the fact that it wasn’t your normal same plot romcom and it had a plot driven really helped this book get such a high rating. I’m so happy I requested and received the arc of this book!

Book 2 of the Unlocking His Heart series did not disappoint! While it can technically be read as a stand alone, I highly recommend reading Imperfect Angel first. This had angst, steam, and a who-done-it vibe all wrapped up in a picture perfect cover!

I was drawn in by the title and the cover art. It was playful and definitely caught my eye. As I was reading, I felt like I was missing a little information (not enough that the book didn't make sense, just a little background for a couple characters). So I decided to look up the book and found out it was book #2 in the series. (I will be hunting down book 1!) We start off with Evangeline, a take no crap lead female character. I instantly loved her. Very quickly we meet Gideon, a cocky, egotistical business man. The banter between the two had me thinking about the movie The Cutting Edge. I thought it was funny that Evangeline was able to confound Gideon. Nothing is as it seems! There were twists I didn't see coming, it kept me on my toes. I don't want to ruin the ride by giving away too much. I highly recommend getting this book (and the other 2 books that are in this series). I will be checking out other books by this author. I can't wait for book 3!

*Thank you to Entangled Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an E-ARC of this story, I appreciate it.

Angels, demons, heaven and hell, it all depends on who you’re speaking to, such as Evangeline, who happened to be a dark Angel. Living amongst humans, Evangeline went about her life as usual, working hard as an actuary and nothing too exciting. When a new client came along, Evangeline met, Gideon, a handsome yet also very cocky man who didn’t make the greatest first impression on her. Gideon was known as a playboy going from women to women, charming, and flirty. Gideon and Eva weren’t on the same page, and yet one night changed everything when they found out what they really were… a dark Angel and a half Angel. Two unlikely individuals meeting and seemingly finding their way as they navigated through paranormal creatures, different worlds, and a building attraction between them.

This was paranormal romance involving angels, demon, heaven, hell, supernatural creatures and more. This story focused on Evangeline “Eva” and Gideon as they joined forces in order to help one another out in their own individual problems. For Eva, she was hoping to find all the necessary items in order to create a spell that would make her a complete human, whereas Gideon and his friends were trying to solve the mystery of who was killing Keepers, and other angels. A little bit of mystery, secrets, and the paranormal to keep Gideon and Eva on their toes.

I got the sense that this was probably part of a series especially since the other characters mentioned seemed to have already established relationships. I wasn’t confused while reading, but it still would have been better for me personally had I read the first book, especially since I liked the characters and wanted to know more about them. For instance, I wanted to know more about Rhys and Maisy and how they ended up together, plus what was Zavier’s deal with Maisy’s friend, Liss. Despite not having read the first book, I still found it easy to follow along, and besides the main story was centered on Gideon and Eva so it was fine.

Not going to lie, there were moments I found myself getting distracted while reading. Could be that this was a “right book, wrong time” type of situation, or I just wasn’t vibing with the story all that much. I’m in no way saying this book was terrible, in fact there were some good parts about the story I enjoyed, I just felt like it didn’t hold my attention all the way through. I liked the characters, but they didn’t hold a strong connection to me. I liked Eva and Gideon, but I wasn’t obsessed with them. If anything, I was most curious about Liss and Zavier. Towards the middle/almost ending, my interest was piqued, but again, I wasn’t going wild over the revelations and things that ended up happening, it was just fine to me.

Overall, I would say for me personally this story didn’t hit the mark as I originally had hoped for. Going into this story, I was hoping I was going to love the story and the characters. I would say that I liked the characters, but in more of a general sense that they were ok. Maybe for others this book was phenomenal, but sadly for me I just didn’t feel the same while reading. There were parts of the story I enjoyed, and some aspects to the characters that I found interesting. Would I say that this was a book I would recommend to others? Probably not. I feel like since this book is part of a series, I would have potentially enjoyed this story more had I read the first book (I didn’t realize this was a sequel until halfway through reading this book). Eva and Gideon were ok, I liked some parts of their romance, but if anything I was most interested in Zavier and Liss with the whole tension they had throughout the story. This wasn’t a bad story, it just ended up falling flat for me which I was disappointed in.

WOW, Eva and Guideon are really sweet,
I loved the first meeting, Eva did not care who Gideon was and she did not mind to give him a piece of her mind, this was probably my favorite interaction.

Guideon is stumped after meeting Eva, their further interaction when he discovers who she is are marvelous. They make an amazing couple.

About the plot, really interesting but I think that it needs a bit more, all 3 books are making one story which has a lot of potential, but the singular book plot is falling short. I kept expecting for the amazing reveal/ fight and when it happened it did not fill my expectation. I'll definitely be reading the next book. Looking forward to see how everything ties together.