I gave this book two shots, and unfortunately both times I couldn't get into it. I think the concept was off for me and I couldn't bring myself to like any of the main characters ans well as the writing style. I am interested to see what the author will publish in the future and give it a go. DNF at 35%.

DNF at 30%

I read anything that marketed for fans of Sarah J Maas, but this was absolutely insufferable. I really wanted to like it, but it's not for me personally.

If you, like me, got back into reading with ACOTAR and then found your way into dark romance, this is the book for you.

The Book of Azrael blends all of my favorite elements of romantasy and dark romance. With morally grey main characters, a unique magic system and an enemies to lovers subplot, this book deserves to be high up on your TBRs.

My only complaint about this book is the pacing. I felt as though it was a bit too long, with some slower bits in the middle that probably could have been shortened. Additionally, the pacing of the romance felt a little off to me and I think I would have preferred a bit more enemies + banter before the two realized they may not actually hate one another.

Other than the pacing, this was a really enjoyable read and I simply cannot wait for the second book.

Tropes to look forward to:
- Enemies to Lovers
- Morally grey MCs
- I hate everyone but you
- One bed

Thank you to netgalley and Rose and Star Publishing, LLC for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really hoped to like this book but it just feel flat for me. I cant remember anything that I read in this book.

For me this has been a fun and thrilling read.
It was a fast paced story.
There were several twists and turns which kept me on edge.
I finished the book as soon as I could because of how engrossing it was.
The story line was really good something which I have never read before.

I really liked the characters, sure they could have a little more depth in them.
I liked both the FMC and MMC, the FMC Dianna is a powerful being and most of the time writers make the powerful females cringe worthy but I actually liked her.
It has a REAL enemies to lovers trope which I liked.

The book is a little too long than how it needed to be, some parts felt stretched.
The writing seemed off, but it didn't matter to ME that much due to the story.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an arc of this book.
The concept was fascinating. Unfortunately, it had little to no execution. It was quite promising within the first 100 pages but I felt it went off the roads after that. The main character seems quite hollow and annoying but She is fierce and resolute which I admire. the love interest is very passive. He was just not it.

What an amazing read! It took me a few days to get hooked into this book. I think it was because it was so long that I kept pushing off reading it. Once we met Liam things started heating up (literally), and I couldn’t stop reading. I loved the banter between Liam and Dianna. She was such a fun character to read about. I loved how tenacious she was with not giving up and getting Liam to open up. The slow burn between them brought on some amazing heat as well. Overall this book had a ton of action that really kept you on your toes. Especially with that ending! I kind of expected it, but it still hurt to read. I’m really looking forward to reading the next book and seeing how everything turns out for Dianna.

Thank you NetGalley, Rose and Star Publishing, LLC, and Amber Nicole for allowing me to read this book for review.

I highly enjoyed this book. I have seen it all over Tiktok and I'm glad to say I was not disappointed. The world building is epic. I love the main characters and their complexity. I was a long read at around 900 pages, but I would do it all again. So ready to see what happens next.

For the most part I really enjoyed this! I think the story was original and the tension was intense, the cliff hanger was really good! I think this would have been improved with better editing but overall I’m glad I read it and looking forward to book two!

First of all, thank you to NetGalley, Rose & Star publishing and the author for the opportunity to read this eARC.

To start with, yes this is a scary long read - around 900 pages, which seems a monolithic length for a debut author so kudos for that. I don’t shy away from long reads so it wasn’t a drama for me.

This is an epic fantasy with solid world building and a focus on one of our favourite troupes, good old enemy to lovers. The world building and character development is a strong point, though it probably could have been condensed at times.

There is a morally grey FMC, and our beloved tortured hero, who cannot deny their feelings for each other (with a little spice sprinkled in at times), alongside elements of magic and the supernatural world.

Beware of the cliffhanger that will leave you wishing that book 2 was already out.

4/5⭐️ Congratulations on your debut novel.

Wow, I am honestly stunned. This book was everything I hoped it would be! I am shocked that this is a debut novel!

The world building, writing, and intricate characters made it so incredibly easy to fall in love with the first installment of this series.

Dianna and Liam are such complex characters and as the story went on, we found out more about each character and the struggles/trauma they have had to work through and falling in love with them at the same time. I also felt that the world building was phenomenal! There was never too much information being presented at once to where I felt overwhelmed, the pacing was beautiful!

The Book of Azrael has definitely earned a spot as one of my favorite reads of 2022! If you have been on the dance about picking this book up, let this be your sign to read this amazing book!

Thank you to Amber Nicole and NetGalley for supplying an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of the book! Below is my honest review.

Honestly, I was a little intimidated by how long this book is, so that’s why I didn’t pick it up. BUT THANK GOD I DID BECAUSE THIS JUST BECAME ONE OF MY FAVORITE BOOKS OF THIS YEAR.

WHERE AND WHEN CAN I GET BOOK TWO?

Liam + Dianna? Great relationship between our two protagonists. Lots of banter. Perfect time on relationship building and angst. Just enough sexy time for me not to hate the book.

Don’t we just love the hero and heroine to slowly begin to like each other and discover their personalities outside of what the world labelled them as??!?

The world? Amazing! It’s nothing super new but still lots of fun. We got Dianna who literally can’t die except for one way. Tobias who can control the dead. Kaden who is a powerful king. Liam who is a god. Celestials. Other monsters. Realms that have been closed off to the rest of the world that contain lots of more monsters and are threatening to reopen again.

All this world building with no info dumps either! (Though I’m a little sad we didn’t see more of the Book of Azrael being used.)

If you’re a fan of Sarah J Maas, you should consider picking up this book. The writing isn’t the same, but the characters and world are similar-ish. If you’re not a fan of Sarah J Maas, you should still consider picking up this book anyways. It’s long but I promise it’s worth it.

Would I recommend this book? YES!

That’s how it ends?!? I need the next book immediately!

This was a five star epic fantasy:
-enemies to lovers slow burn romance
-the world is ending/ save the world trope
-incredible world building
-prophetic nightmares
-powerful female MC

Thank you NetGalley and Rose & Star Publishing for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

A fantastic new fantasy read that had me totally enthralled with world building and character background. I truly didn't know how much I wanted a morally grey female main character until I met Dianna. In true enemies-to-lovers fashion, our epically opposed main characters are forced to go on a quest to save the world, and find out more about themselves in the process. I loved the world-building that mixed a world of monsters and gods with a modern urban setting. Also, this book had me wanting way more spicy scenes between Liam and Dianna and I can only hope for that in the next book!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Rose and Star Publishing for an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

First of all, this book is long, nearly 900 pages, for a debut novel. Kudos to the author! Maybe it’s been a while since delving back into fantasy but I was unprepared from my usual 300-400 paged books. However, we do go on a bit of a journey of sorts and I appreciate the dual POV always.

We follow Dianna, a Made supernatural being who was previously human, and Liam aka Samkiel, a literal God, on their unexpected quest together to find The Book of Azrael to stop the literal end of the world. The world building was really immersive; descriptive enough without having cumbersome language. I loved getting to know more about The Hand, personally selected celestials that form Samkiel’s council, and having a wonderful love to hate villain. Spice is fairly minimal, but present.

The book ended on a cliffhanger that I am now anxiously anticipating the next installment already (even though it was published 3 months ago). No spoilers, but how the prophecy came true broke my heart. Can’t wait to get back into this world!

4.5/5 ⭐️

Thank you netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This story had a very likable MC that kept me interested throughout. The story was enjoyable and I would read more by this author.

✅Enemies to lovers
✅Amazing Cliffhanger
✅Prophecies
✅Amazing world building
✅FMC villain
✅Forced Proximity
✅I hate you but I’ll kill anyone who dares to touch you

This book has everything I have been craving in a book for a while, I loved it. Liam, Dianna, the world building, the diversity of creatures. Amazing.

At first I’m going to admit I almost did not finish it, but with every turning page I became more consumed by the story. Dianna is a woman who gave her life away to save her dying sister, getting stuck serving to a very powerful and feared male creature for centuries. Liam is the World Ender, a being so powerful that no one has seen since the Gods Wars. That is until something that involves Dianna happens, making come to Earth.

They’re looking for the same thing, but at first, not for the same purpose. They’re sworn enemies, he almost killed her whole race during the Gods War. But while they dig deeper into their search, they find hope in each other, they get to know each other.

“I felt her posture change, a bit of that cocky edge she wore so well dropping away . That bothered me. The air around us became charged as clouds billowed in the distance, my temper festering. I wouldn’t allow anything to dim her spirit”

Dianna was so amazingly written, she is painted as the villain but as you read more, you are able to sympathize with her, you understand why she does everything she does. She’s really fierce and badass and knows how to stand her own against the most dangerous people, she’s the definition of Strong Female Lead.

Liam was amazing too, the way everyone sees him as a hero, but in the end he hates himself and is ashamed of everything he has done. He is scared of history repeating itself, and with Dianna at his side, he’s able to see a new perspective of everything. Liam is what my dreams are made of, his exterior is so rough and powerful but when you get to know him you see he’s sweet and he cares more than he lets on.

The world building was magical, I felt as if I was there with them every step of the way. I have always loved when fantasy books have prophecies, and when I got to the end of this one and saw what it meant I was utterly flabbergasted, I was surprised, I felt blindsided. The cliffhanger left broken and feeling a void.

This book was really great and I can’t wait for the next book to see what happens.

This was perfect for enemies to lovers fans, the world building was immaculate and the plot was intimately formulated which gave way to such a fabulous novel.

The dual perspective worked really here, it was spicy, contained elements of magic and the paranormal, and generally just had everything that you would want in a fantasy book!

Defo recommend
!

"I didn't remembered how long we talked, but somewhere amidst her laughter and smiles, I decided I would rip the world apart for her."

First book of the "Gods and Monsters" series

I'm speechless!!!
This was the best and true enemies to lovers fantasy I ever read!
Loved Liam and Dianna so much and The Ending!!! I really loved this and can't wait for the next book in this series, I need to find out what's going to happen next. I didn't wanted for this book to ended. Also I cried in the cliffhanger in the end but cannot think of a better ending!
Everyone needs to read this book now, it was perfect!!!

THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING.! But I need the second book now asap, it was so good!!
I couldn’t put it down and just whizzed through it! Left me speechless, in love, give me sooo many feels!