The Book of Azrael by. Amber V. Nicole | Book Review – Past Midnight Book Reviews & More

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️

Title: The Book of Azrael (Gods and Monsters, #1)

Author: Amber V. Nicole

Pages: 572

Format: ebook (kindle unlimited)

Categories: Fantasy, Romance, Romantasy, Series

World Ender meets Ender of Worlds…
A thousand years ago, Dianna gave up her life in the deserts of Eoria to save her dying sister. She called upon anyone who would listen, not expecting a monster far worse than any nightmare to answer. Now she does what Kaden asks, even if that means securing an ancient relic from the very creatures that hunt her.

A King thought long dead and long forgotten.
In the old world his name was Samkiel. In the new world it is Liam, but one title remains true throughout time. He is the World Ender, a myth to his enemies, a savior and King to those loyal to him. After the Gods War, he locked himself away, hiding from the world. He denied his crown and responsibilities, leaving the very ones who needed him most to deal with the fallout of the death of their homeworld. Now an attack on those he holds dear sends him back to the one realm he never wished to visit again and into the sights of an enemy he thought imprisoned eons ago.

Now enemies older than time must put aside their differences and work together in hopes of saving both their world and every realm in between.

Content Warning: death, violence, grief, depression

+~ I’ve put off reading this since it came out years ago but I finally sat down and read it and I’m glad I pushed through the beginning of the book which was a little slow because it introduces us to a lot of characters and world-building. Once I kind of understood the different realms and worlds of this story things started to click for me, but it did take me until 15% into the book until things started making sense.

+ The FMC, Dianna is really fleshed out along with the MMC, Liam/Samkiel. She has a past which I would love to learn more about, but this woman has sacrificed herself because she loves her sister Gabby that much. She’s a badass shape shifting assassin who doesn’t give up – love her! I love Dianna and Gabby’s sister relationship, it’s flawed but also very loving. It’s what makes me love Dianna even though she is morally gray and have done monstrous things in order to protect her sister. As for Liam/Samkiel, he is arrogant because he is a powerful king but he has a very traumatizing past. He is, the World Ender, but this man is so tortured from what he’s had to endure, his obligations, his nightmares of the past – I loved seeing his transformation with Dianna’s help as she offers him friendship. There is a big cast and I’m enjoying getting to know everyone so far.

+ The romance is very enemies to lovers. Liam is a god and Dianna is the enemy, an Ig’Morruthens (beasts/monsters), there has been war, death, and killing between these two sides for centuries. Liam and his celestial see them only has monsters, so the fact that he gets to know Dianna and things start to change was amazing to see. They bicker a lot in the beginning but when an offer of friendship is extended from Dianna to Liam, it changes everything. Their forced proximity helps push things along to lovers which was a nice slow burn.

+ The story focuses on the search for a powerful book, the book of Azrael but we learn a lot about the celestials and Ig’Morruthens while on this search. I love the fighting scenes because Dianna is such a badass, it’s a given that Liam is too since he’s all powerful, but Dianna is amazing because she’s been turned into this beast but still has pieces of her mortality clinging on to her.

Final Thoughts:

It did take me a few days to get into this book but once everything clicked for me, I devoured it. I love Dianna and Liam, this world full of gods and monsters, and cannot wait to see what happens in book two which I am reading right away!

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