Paranormal Romance Month Review: Angel Slayer by Michele Hauf (Of Angels and Demons #1)

Publisher - Mills and Boon
Publication Date - 18th March 2011
Paperback - 368 pages
Genre - Paranormal Romance

Source - Purchased

Rating - 3 out of 5: I liked it

Book Info - All her life Eden Campbell had dreamed of angels…but none that she painted was like the fallen angel who attacked her. A muse, Eden was now to bear her attacker's offspring—one who promised the apocalypse and foretold her death. Where else could she turn but into the arms of a mesmerizingly handsome angel slayer? But Ashur's protection came with a price.

The dark, dangerous and oh-so-sexy slayer tormented her, made her remember how long it'd been since she'd had a man. But Ashur was no man, and no angel. He was a demon. Called from Beneath to slay her attacker, he could commit every sin but couldn't fall in love. And that was the one thing Eden wanted from him. How could she choose between a death sentence or a life without Ashur?

My Thoughts - I am a big fan of paranormal romance novels about angels and, although this book really changes things up with regards to angels and demons, this book was no exception. Ms. Hauf portrays angels in a way that is completely different from any I have read about before. The angels that Eden dreams about - and paints in her pictures - are very steampunky, and I loved reading the descriptions of these angels. Here is a quote of Eden explaining one of her pictures:

"Hence, her titanium angel with Steampunk-geared wings of binary code. Its face was hollow, exposing honeycomb bone, and silver filaments sprouted on the skull. A halo spun like the rings of Saturn at the back of its head."

Certainly not how angels are usually thought of!

And I absolutely fell in love with Ashur, the demon who is brought to earth to kill the Fallen angel who is after Eden. He is a demon with a softer side - although he would probably kill anybody who dared to suggest that! He has just been released from Beneath after being tortured there for a thousand years as a punishment for falling in love on his last trip to earth. And it is this ability of his to fall in love with a woman, despite what he is and everything that he has done, that really endeared him to me. And I just loved his innocence! The world has changed a lot since he last visited a thousand years ago and it was a lot of fun to view our world through his eyes as he learns all about life as it is now.

I enjoyed entering the world that the author has created and learning about angels and demons as she sees them. The storyline was also fresh and unique in a genre that has become very popular lately. However, there were some parts of the story that moved pretty slowly as Ashur seemed intent on hiding Eden away from the Fallen angel, resulting in a lack of action for fairly large portions of the book.

I also had some problems with the romance aspect of the novel. There was definitely chemistry between the two of them, but to me it just felt more like lust rather than any deeper connection. Don't get me wrong, a romance novel wouldn't be the same without a good dose of lust, but I just felt as though there could have been something more between them.

Summary - A promising start to the Of Angels and Demons series with loveable characters set in an intruiging world. Despite my reservations about the pacing of the novel and the connection between the two main characters, I still really enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to entering this seductive new world again soon.

Other books in this series:
1. Angel Slayer
2. Fallen
3. Ashes of Angels

Other reviews of this book:
Bitten by Books / CataRomance

This book counts towards the following challenges:
Book #3 for 2012 Speculative Romance Reading Challenge
Book #1 for 2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge
Book #5 for 2012 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge