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Changelings #1
Seraphim
Winter, 1433--and Jeanne d'Arc's ashes still glow...
In the battle between Good and Evil, the Black Knight's sword fells enemies with silent grace. The Knight has sworn that fallen angel Lucifer de Morte and his cruel brotherhood will pay for their reign of terror over France--and over the d'Ange family, where nearly all have died a terrible death. All but one...
Yet the Knight's hard-won battles and dented armor hide a larger secret. For "he" is actually Seraphim d'Ange. She is traveling to de Morte's demesnes, executing his demon henchmen along the way. Now, aided by Baldwin, a family retainer, and San Juste, a mysterious stranger, Sera grows closer and closer to her final target.
Yet little does she know that there is one more aspect of power she herself holds....
512 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2004
7 people are currently reading
549 people want to read
About the author
Michele Hauf
208 books940 followersMichele has been writing romance, action-adventure and fantasy stories for over twenty years. Her first published novel was DARK RAPTURE.
France, musketeers, vampires and faeries populate her stories. And if she followed the adage 'write what you know', all her stories would have snow in them. Fortunately, she steps beyond her comfort zone and writes about countries she has never visited and of creatures she has never seen.
Michele also writes as Michele Renae, and you can find her erotica, chick lit, and Harlequin Romance titles at your favorite online retailer.
--From the author's website bio
France, musketeers, vampires and faeries populate her stories. And if she followed the adage 'write what you know', all her stories would have snow in them. Fortunately, she steps beyond her comfort zone and writes about countries she has never visited and of creatures she has never seen.
Michele also writes as Michele Renae, and you can find her erotica, chick lit, and Harlequin Romance titles at your favorite online retailer.
--From the author's website bio
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
August 7, 2010
though it was in the fantasy section, and though the author claimed it only contained a little romance, which tends to be par for most of the fantasy fiction i have read, this story was rife with emotional quandary and sexual tension, the likes of which i find remarkably romance-novel-esque.
hauf might be prolific, but her writing is plodding and reaching: her choices for sentence structure, verb and adjective selection, and meandering adjective and adverb phrases, though intending to be other-worldly, give the impression of being written by a third-rate author, trying to add depth by sprinkling in esoteric or gnostic sentences.
for closure, however, my inner masochist will not allow me to quit a series once i have started it. ugh.
hauf might be prolific, but her writing is plodding and reaching: her choices for sentence structure, verb and adjective selection, and meandering adjective and adverb phrases, though intending to be other-worldly, give the impression of being written by a third-rate author, trying to add depth by sprinkling in esoteric or gnostic sentences.
for closure, however, my inner masochist will not allow me to quit a series once i have started it. ugh.
July 1, 2011
The year is 1433. Seraphim d’Ange is a young woman riding through France on a quest for revenge. The de Morte brothers attacked the d’Ange castle, killing Seraphim’s family. Seraphim was raped, wounded, and left for dead. Now she is disguised as “the Black Knight” and killing off the de Morte brothers one by one. Two down, three to go.
All of this takes place before Seraphim begins. Sera is now preparing to eradicate the third brother. She and her squire, Baldwin, meet a stranger on their journey, who joins them when it turns out that he has similar aims. The stranger is Dominique St. Juste, a handsome man with faery blood. Sparks fly.
Michele Hauf attempts an elevated, old-fashioned style, but breaks that tone with anachronisms: using “teen” to describe Baldwin, for example, and having people say “Really?” or “So?” The names don’t help either. Not only are the names unsubtly symbolic, but they don’t fit the place and time — this is supposed to be set in the real, historical France, where it’s unlikely that anyone was named Seraphim or Gossamer.
It may sound silly to quibble about anachronistic names when there are faeries and demons running around. When I read historical fantasy, though, I like to suspend disbelief and imagine that it really could have happened this way, but that the magical parts were “lost to history.” It doesn’t work when I can’t believe the “realistic” aspects of the story.
I got about 100 pages into Seraphim; thus far there has been little plot development except for the unfolding of the backstory. Instead the book is focused on bickering and bantering among Sera, Baldwin, and Dominique, which is made confusing by head-hopping and (at times) too few dialogue tags. I finally gave up when Dominique started brooding about an anti-faery comment Seraphim made — a comment she made to Baldwin when Dominique was not present. If a book is engaging in other ways, I can overlook errors like that, but in this case it was the last straw.
All of this takes place before Seraphim begins. Sera is now preparing to eradicate the third brother. She and her squire, Baldwin, meet a stranger on their journey, who joins them when it turns out that he has similar aims. The stranger is Dominique St. Juste, a handsome man with faery blood. Sparks fly.
Michele Hauf attempts an elevated, old-fashioned style, but breaks that tone with anachronisms: using “teen” to describe Baldwin, for example, and having people say “Really?” or “So?” The names don’t help either. Not only are the names unsubtly symbolic, but they don’t fit the place and time — this is supposed to be set in the real, historical France, where it’s unlikely that anyone was named Seraphim or Gossamer.
It may sound silly to quibble about anachronistic names when there are faeries and demons running around. When I read historical fantasy, though, I like to suspend disbelief and imagine that it really could have happened this way, but that the magical parts were “lost to history.” It doesn’t work when I can’t believe the “realistic” aspects of the story.
I got about 100 pages into Seraphim; thus far there has been little plot development except for the unfolding of the backstory. Instead the book is focused on bickering and bantering among Sera, Baldwin, and Dominique, which is made confusing by head-hopping and (at times) too few dialogue tags. I finally gave up when Dominique started brooding about an anti-faery comment Seraphim made — a comment she made to Baldwin when Dominique was not present. If a book is engaging in other ways, I can overlook errors like that, but in this case it was the last straw.
February 24, 2015
In the best places, banal and derivative of better stories, in the worst places, outright offensive.
Angelic "Sera" (short for Seraphim, of course) is on a quest for vengeance against the five brothers (demons in disguise, as it turns out) who raped her and killed her family. What could have been a fun, bloody romp is weighed down by excessively purple prose and the author's insistence on portraying Sera as a kind of bizarrely schizophrenic anti-feminist. Her inner monologue is constantly split between the voices of the gentle and cowardly "damsel" and the emotionally constipated "warrior," who often fight with each other in her head. It's both tiresome and hilarious.
The tortured romance with a mysterious fairy knight she meets on the road is boring and predictable.
I yawned and rolled my eyes the whole way through this.
Angelic "Sera" (short for Seraphim, of course) is on a quest for vengeance against the five brothers (demons in disguise, as it turns out) who raped her and killed her family. What could have been a fun, bloody romp is weighed down by excessively purple prose and the author's insistence on portraying Sera as a kind of bizarrely schizophrenic anti-feminist. Her inner monologue is constantly split between the voices of the gentle and cowardly "damsel" and the emotionally constipated "warrior," who often fight with each other in her head. It's both tiresome and hilarious.
The tortured romance with a mysterious fairy knight she meets on the road is boring and predictable.
I yawned and rolled my eyes the whole way through this.
November 22, 2014
This is one of the few books I've ever read that was really too much of a good thing. It's a Harlequin Luna, which means a quality romance combined with a rich fantasy background.
The problem I had reading was that the fantasy background was really, really rich. I mean like egg-nog rich. I mean like cheesecake rich. The descriptions of the enchanted castles and the supernatural combat and the powers of the demons was so engrossing, yet after a while it just bogged down the whole story and I forgot the hero and heroine were really supposed to be in love.
The author's style is like that, too. Rich and heavy. I just reread the preview, and a typical sentence says, "arms are weary from swinging the heavy battle sword." Oh, so this is a *battle* sword. As opposed to a sword not made for battle, but for sweeping the floor or shoveling snow.
I quite reading this book halfway through about five years ago . . . yet the weird thing is I keep wanting to find it and finish it. So maybe it's a four star and not a three star book!
The problem I had reading was that the fantasy background was really, really rich. I mean like egg-nog rich. I mean like cheesecake rich. The descriptions of the enchanted castles and the supernatural combat and the powers of the demons was so engrossing, yet after a while it just bogged down the whole story and I forgot the hero and heroine were really supposed to be in love.
The author's style is like that, too. Rich and heavy. I just reread the preview, and a typical sentence says, "arms are weary from swinging the heavy battle sword." Oh, so this is a *battle* sword. As opposed to a sword not made for battle, but for sweeping the floor or shoveling snow.
I quite reading this book halfway through about five years ago . . . yet the weird thing is I keep wanting to find it and finish it. So maybe it's a four star and not a three star book!
July 7, 2024
Rant includes spoilers and mentions of rape.
I was enjoying this very silly read for what it was: a silly read. Then the ridiculous happened.
I can appreciate the attempt at a style by including the "twas" and "twould"s, but there's zero consistency. It still reads far too modern. The story would've been better without the shoehorned language. Seraphim and Dominique were predictable a mile away; their relationship and their twists were obvious. I also liked Sera a hundred times more before we met her. The legend of the black knight was way cooler before we realized she can't do anything without Dominique. Like, chick can just charge into battle, take (apparently) no damage, and behead a man with ease and then escape from a battlefield like nothing happened? But suddenly she can't even keep a thought in her head without Dominique telling her she's smart? Okay.
Part of Sera's revenge quest comes from her being raped by Lucifer. For a woman who just endured a HUGE trauma, she has ZERO problems trying to jump Dominique's bones. We don't even have a moment where she processes this trauma. It's like, "Gee, I was raped and that was bad. But now there's a pretty man here, and he says I'm pretty, so everything is fine." And then we get the obligatory vomit scene. Despite all of the coincidences to win, despite Sera never learning or growing from anything, I was enjoying my silly book... up until Sera threw up.
So, if you're not following the theme, Seraphim is an angel in mortal flesh; Lucifer is a fallen angel/demon in mortal flesh; oh, and Dominique is a demon-faerie. The mortal-angel was pregnant through rape by the mortal-demon. This puts the author in a tricky position. If the mortal-angel births this thing, it would be a powerful, world destroying demon, but an angel can't exactly say, "Hey, I need to abort this thing to prevent destroying the world. Also, it's the child of my rapist." Now, she could have been given some faerie herb concoction and not connect it to a future miscarriage, but no, no! That would delay a happy ending to this fantasy romance.
When Lucifer is killed, the mortal-angel magically miscarries IMMEDIATELY on some Paris street. She covers it up with some snow and leaves it there in the road, completely unfazed. Um??????
However, the worst, most unforgivable sin of this book was killing Baldwin. The boy did THE MOST in this entire book! They light a candle for him in Notre Dame and that's it. Seraphim and Dominique ride off into the sunset and never think about the kid that did absolutely everything for the quest to succeed.
I was enjoying this very silly read for what it was: a silly read. Then the ridiculous happened.
I can appreciate the attempt at a style by including the "twas" and "twould"s, but there's zero consistency. It still reads far too modern. The story would've been better without the shoehorned language. Seraphim and Dominique were predictable a mile away; their relationship and their twists were obvious. I also liked Sera a hundred times more before we met her. The legend of the black knight was way cooler before we realized she can't do anything without Dominique. Like, chick can just charge into battle, take (apparently) no damage, and behead a man with ease and then escape from a battlefield like nothing happened? But suddenly she can't even keep a thought in her head without Dominique telling her she's smart? Okay.
Part of Sera's revenge quest comes from her being raped by Lucifer. For a woman who just endured a HUGE trauma, she has ZERO problems trying to jump Dominique's bones. We don't even have a moment where she processes this trauma. It's like, "Gee, I was raped and that was bad. But now there's a pretty man here, and he says I'm pretty, so everything is fine." And then we get the obligatory vomit scene. Despite all of the coincidences to win, despite Sera never learning or growing from anything, I was enjoying my silly book... up until Sera threw up.
So, if you're not following the theme, Seraphim is an angel in mortal flesh; Lucifer is a fallen angel/demon in mortal flesh; oh, and Dominique is a demon-faerie. The mortal-angel was pregnant through rape by the mortal-demon. This puts the author in a tricky position. If the mortal-angel births this thing, it would be a powerful, world destroying demon, but an angel can't exactly say, "Hey, I need to abort this thing to prevent destroying the world. Also, it's the child of my rapist." Now, she could have been given some faerie herb concoction and not connect it to a future miscarriage, but no, no! That would delay a happy ending to this fantasy romance.
When Lucifer is killed, the mortal-angel magically miscarries IMMEDIATELY on some Paris street. She covers it up with some snow and leaves it there in the road, completely unfazed. Um??????
However, the worst, most unforgivable sin of this book was killing Baldwin. The boy did THE MOST in this entire book! They light a candle for him in Notre Dame and that's it. Seraphim and Dominique ride off into the sunset and never think about the kid that did absolutely everything for the quest to succeed.
October 9, 2023
The author has a tin ear.
This is a historical romance set firmly in France in 1433, so it is a bit disconcerting when Sera, the noble protagonist, says that [t]he man needed to be taken down, meaning that it was necessary to kill him, and when she asks her squire if he is propositioning her. One might grow accustomed to such aggressively modern language, taking it as an attempt to give a modern reader a sense of the flavor and register of Sera’s actual words, were it not that Sera also says such things as Methinks you are making me wait apurpose.
Within the first few dozen pages it becomes clear that Hauf has a tin ear not just for style but for the actual meanings and usage of words. For instance, Sera hears a sobriquet (which she apparently thinks of as a moniker!) issued on a battlefield, and the author apparently thinks that smirked means something like ‘smiled sadly’. (The conflicting signals that result from this last one are really disconcerting, even after one catches on.) Then we encounter a narrow spittle of blood.
And eventually one realizes that Hauf has a tin ear for everything. Sera’s squire reacts to the information that she killed her first two victims by decapitation: That’s so … so … barbaric! This same squire, a commoner who had been a mountebank’s assistant less than a year earlier, at one point playfully tweaked his hand near [Sera’s] cheek. Never mind the misuse of tweaked; what’s he doing even thinking of treating his mistress so?
But the real prize comes on page 324: The dragon’s drool splat upon the verdant ground, a hiss of steam spiraling up in its wake.
This is a historical romance set firmly in France in 1433, so it is a bit disconcerting when Sera, the noble protagonist, says that [t]he man needed to be taken down, meaning that it was necessary to kill him, and when she asks her squire if he is propositioning her. One might grow accustomed to such aggressively modern language, taking it as an attempt to give a modern reader a sense of the flavor and register of Sera’s actual words, were it not that Sera also says such things as Methinks you are making me wait apurpose.
Within the first few dozen pages it becomes clear that Hauf has a tin ear not just for style but for the actual meanings and usage of words. For instance, Sera hears a sobriquet (which she apparently thinks of as a moniker!) issued on a battlefield, and the author apparently thinks that smirked means something like ‘smiled sadly’. (The conflicting signals that result from this last one are really disconcerting, even after one catches on.) Then we encounter a narrow spittle of blood.
And eventually one realizes that Hauf has a tin ear for everything. Sera’s squire reacts to the information that she killed her first two victims by decapitation: That’s so … so … barbaric! This same squire, a commoner who had been a mountebank’s assistant less than a year earlier, at one point playfully tweaked his hand near [Sera’s] cheek. Never mind the misuse of tweaked; what’s he doing even thinking of treating his mistress so?
But the real prize comes on page 324: The dragon’s drool splat upon the verdant ground, a hiss of steam spiraling up in its wake.
May 10, 2021
I read up to page 96 (the first 5 chapters) and I can tell I'm not going to enjoy this. The squire is there to lighten the mood but is just ridiculously written, his dialogue is not in keeping with the time period and the way the other characters speak (yes, he is low born so he would speak differently but he wouldn't speak more modern.) I'm already annoyed with the silliness of the characterisation and writing. I have no doubt the whole book will revolve around Sera being confused at how feminine Dominique makes her feel, and he will constantly be surprised by her strength but also how her femininity shines through and how he notices it at odd moments and eventually they will get together and also they will kill the demons on the way, with little resistance from the demons.
July 22, 2021
'Twas an average read, the pacing was slow and I don't really like how Sera's a simp. Would recommend to read if there's no other options.
I lost count on how much I rolled my eyes whenever Dominique and Sera converses. It's kind of cringey.
Dominique is boring.
I lost count on how much I rolled my eyes whenever Dominique and Sera converses. It's kind of cringey.
Dominique is boring.
December 16, 2020
Not good - there was no description so I didn't know it was demons and faeries
April 17, 2023
So much and yet so little to say about it... How many times does a character need to run into the woods crying over a miscommunication/misunderstanding? Apparently so, so many.
September 27, 2013
This was the first review I ever posted online--back in 1994 on Amazon:
I've been keeping up with the Luna imprint for a friend interested in submitting. I love fantasy, like a well-written romance. No hardship I'd have thought. If it weren't for that, I would have stopped reading "Seraphim" at the prologue.
From the start, the prose was riddled with jarring point of view shifts, tense shifts, and the purplest of prose. There is much use of words like "'twas," "magick," "damsel" "yonder" and such overwrought mixed metaphors as "[He] shot cupid's arrow through her heart, where the iron branded a new scar onto her soul." The hero's eyes are "violet" and the heroine's is often described as "sapphire." This kind of writing is especially evident in the explicit, graceless major love scene. It's the kind of book it's more irresistible to MST than read.
I won't spoil things for those insistent on trying it anyway, but it's filled with the most implausible plot twists in creation--I guess they are twists except in the case of the heroine and antagonist their very names makes them seem clueless not to realize their own natures. It's not giving much away though to relate this is based on the hoariest of fem fantasy cliches--rape and revenge. Only so many have done it so much better.
I've never even submitted a review here before, I don't live to tear authors' works apart. On the whole, I've liked the Lunas. I enjoyed Lackey's "Fairy Godmother" which had the best world-building, was disappointed with Asaro's given her rep (but it wasn't as bad as "Seraphim"), truly loved Zettel's "In Camelot's Shadow" which managed to make that legend fresh, and was charmed by Hale's "The Wizard's Ward" which had perhaps the most appealing hero and interesting character arc. But skip "Seraphim"--which I can only hope is an aberration in this line of books.
I've been keeping up with the Luna imprint for a friend interested in submitting. I love fantasy, like a well-written romance. No hardship I'd have thought. If it weren't for that, I would have stopped reading "Seraphim" at the prologue.
From the start, the prose was riddled with jarring point of view shifts, tense shifts, and the purplest of prose. There is much use of words like "'twas," "magick," "damsel" "yonder" and such overwrought mixed metaphors as "[He] shot cupid's arrow through her heart, where the iron branded a new scar onto her soul." The hero's eyes are "violet" and the heroine's is often described as "sapphire." This kind of writing is especially evident in the explicit, graceless major love scene. It's the kind of book it's more irresistible to MST than read.
I won't spoil things for those insistent on trying it anyway, but it's filled with the most implausible plot twists in creation--I guess they are twists except in the case of the heroine and antagonist their very names makes them seem clueless not to realize their own natures. It's not giving much away though to relate this is based on the hoariest of fem fantasy cliches--rape and revenge. Only so many have done it so much better.
I've never even submitted a review here before, I don't live to tear authors' works apart. On the whole, I've liked the Lunas. I enjoyed Lackey's "Fairy Godmother" which had the best world-building, was disappointed with Asaro's given her rep (but it wasn't as bad as "Seraphim"), truly loved Zettel's "In Camelot's Shadow" which managed to make that legend fresh, and was charmed by Hale's "The Wizard's Ward" which had perhaps the most appealing hero and interesting character arc. But skip "Seraphim"--which I can only hope is an aberration in this line of books.
March 19, 2015
I bought this book on a whim. AS I'm always on the look out for books featuring women warriors I though this would be a fabulous fit. Never have I been more wrong.
This book's protagonist starts off with so much promise, but the moment she encounters the love interest she is suddenly unable to operate. If it weren't for the fact that the book is so poorly written I would have been insulted. Sera who initially is in control and capable quickly begins to deny her own abilities, and this is the best part, because she is a woman. Now by the time she meets her love interest she has killed two of the most feared men in the kingdom, a legend has begun to raise around her. She even fights her love interest and he is impressed with her strength and skill. The closer they get though the weaker she becomes, almost as though she can't maintain being a warrior and a woman in love. The book literally says that if she let's loose her damsels heart she will weaken. Just what???
The relationship between Sera and her fairy knight is non existent before she starts getting possessive over him. Why you may ask? I wish I could tell you. She's known the guy for like an hour and the moment she sees him touch another woman on the arm she decides she needs to storm a castle on her own without anyones help. Great idea. Honestly, I could go on all day about the problems this whole book has but I just don't have the energy.
One good thing about this book is the Squire. He is the only redeeming quality to the book. He honestly cares about Sera and he doesn't really expect much in return.
Oh yeah, what was up with the random purple prose?? It wasn't consistent in the slightest.
This book's protagonist starts off with so much promise, but the moment she encounters the love interest she is suddenly unable to operate. If it weren't for the fact that the book is so poorly written I would have been insulted. Sera who initially is in control and capable quickly begins to deny her own abilities, and this is the best part, because she is a woman. Now by the time she meets her love interest she has killed two of the most feared men in the kingdom, a legend has begun to raise around her. She even fights her love interest and he is impressed with her strength and skill. The closer they get though the weaker she becomes, almost as though she can't maintain being a warrior and a woman in love. The book literally says that if she let's loose her damsels heart she will weaken. Just what???
The relationship between Sera and her fairy knight is non existent before she starts getting possessive over him. Why you may ask? I wish I could tell you. She's known the guy for like an hour and the moment she sees him touch another woman on the arm she decides she needs to storm a castle on her own without anyones help. Great idea. Honestly, I could go on all day about the problems this whole book has but I just don't have the energy.
One good thing about this book is the Squire. He is the only redeeming quality to the book. He honestly cares about Sera and he doesn't really expect much in return.
Oh yeah, what was up with the random purple prose?? It wasn't consistent in the slightest.
March 30, 2016
Oh god, this book is absolute trash. I cannot remember what compelled me to pick it up in the first place, but from the moment I finished it I regretted my decision. I think perhaps I liked the idea of seeing the whole knight's quest thing with a woman at the head? No matter.
The writing in this book is laughable, the plot nonsensical, and most of all the single most prominent plot event is a rape that is handled terribly. Rape is a very serious thing, and this does not mean at all that it cannot or should not be included (either realistically or as device) in fiction, but it needs to be handled with a kind of care and nuance to it that this book simply cannot provide.
The only thing in this book that I found significantly memorable was the sex scene. I think it was one of the first candid and erotic sex scenes I ever read in a novel, and so it contributed to my development as a reader and as someone who then was in puberty (which, thank god, I have since passed out of). This is all the more amusing and awkward given how bad it was.
The book makes no real attempt at historical accuracy, and seems to be trying to emulate Joan d'Arc without actually knowing anything about Joan d'Arc. This is okay, however, as it quickly segues into an angels and demons sort of fantasy romp. The whole demon angle is very "what the fuck?"
No recommendation for this book, sorry. It's not even really "so bad it's good." It's just simply not very good.
The writing in this book is laughable, the plot nonsensical, and most of all the single most prominent plot event is a rape that is handled terribly. Rape is a very serious thing, and this does not mean at all that it cannot or should not be included (either realistically or as device) in fiction, but it needs to be handled with a kind of care and nuance to it that this book simply cannot provide.
The only thing in this book that I found significantly memorable was the sex scene. I think it was one of the first candid and erotic sex scenes I ever read in a novel, and so it contributed to my development as a reader and as someone who then was in puberty (which, thank god, I have since passed out of). This is all the more amusing and awkward given how bad it was.
The book makes no real attempt at historical accuracy, and seems to be trying to emulate Joan d'Arc without actually knowing anything about Joan d'Arc. This is okay, however, as it quickly segues into an angels and demons sort of fantasy romp. The whole demon angle is very "what the fuck?"
No recommendation for this book, sorry. It's not even really "so bad it's good." It's just simply not very good.
April 14, 2024
Every conversation involving the main character is about how she’s a woman and she shouldn’t be going around exacting revenge for her family. Easily the most painful book I’ve ever read, and I hope no one else ever has the misfortune of reading it.
December 17, 2015
The year is 1433. Seraphim d’Ange is a young woman riding through France on a quest for revenge. The de Morte brothers attacked the d’Ange castle, killing Seraphim’s family. Seraphim was raped, wounded, and left for dead. Now she is disguised as “the Black Knight” and killing off the de Morte brothers one by one. Two down, three to go.
All of this takes place before Seraphim begins. Sera is now preparing to eradicate the third brother. She and her squire, Baldwin, meet a stranger on their journey, who joins them when it turns out that he has similar aims. The stranger is Dominique St. Juste, a handsome man with faery blood. Sparks fly.
Michele Hauf attempts an elevated, old-fashioned style, but breaks that tone with anachronisms: using “teen” to describe Baldwin, for example, and having people say “Really?” or “So?” The names don’t help either... Read More:
http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
All of this takes place before Seraphim begins. Sera is now preparing to eradicate the third brother. She and her squire, Baldwin, meet a stranger on their journey, who joins them when it turns out that he has similar aims. The stranger is Dominique St. Juste, a handsome man with faery blood. Sparks fly.
Michele Hauf attempts an elevated, old-fashioned style, but breaks that tone with anachronisms: using “teen” to describe Baldwin, for example, and having people say “Really?” or “So?” The names don’t help either... Read More:
http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
April 12, 2013
This is not my typical read- but I love Michele Hauf so I had to pick this book up and let me tell you I am not sorry that I did, what an awesome read! The characters in this book were brought to life so well for me. Seraphim was everything I expected her to be and more, she was powerful, smart and sexy. When I was through reading this book I wanted to be her!!!! At let's not forget her companion the fae, he was yummy and mysterious. And what is a novel without bad guys? This one has those too,plenty of them...nothing that Seraphim can't handle though.
All I have to say to Michele Hauf is KUDOS to you on this book, I was so intrigued by this book that I went and got the others in this series.
Good read for anyone into strong characters and wants to see the good guys get proper justice.
All I have to say to Michele Hauf is KUDOS to you on this book, I was so intrigued by this book that I went and got the others in this series.
Good read for anyone into strong characters and wants to see the good guys get proper justice.
Want to read
August 6, 2008I read somewhere that a good test for a book is to read page 69 and see if can grab your attention. This sort of a random, leave it up to fate approach appeals to my sensibilities, so one day I tried it with this book in the library. I was sold, I checked it out and took it home. Of course the next day, the library called saying that they had a number of requested books for me, and could I please come pick them up. And so I've had to return this one, but I don't want to forget that it interested me.
February 14, 2015
I won’t write a long review for this book because I’m sure that there’s a better one around here somewhere. I’m an amateur when it comes to the fantasy genre but I loved this book. It had romance and action so anyone can read it. I didn’t know if I should finish reading after the first chapter but I did and I was rewarded. There are definitely some OMG moments in this one, which really comes in handy if you’re looking to move away from predictable reads.
March 3, 2013
I wish the book had been a lot more clear from the start that it was going to be a terrible romancy novel.
I picked this book up on a whim from a used bookstore after the first two chapters caught my attention. I regret wasting my time with it. Terribly dialogue with even worse sentence structure made this book difficult to understand and the characters completely stock and dull. This is one of those novels that you read and wonder "how the hell did this author get published."
I picked this book up on a whim from a used bookstore after the first two chapters caught my attention. I regret wasting my time with it. Terribly dialogue with even worse sentence structure made this book difficult to understand and the characters completely stock and dull. This is one of those novels that you read and wonder "how the hell did this author get published."
July 11, 2012
I admit, the Joan of Arc reference on the cover hooked me in. I was looking for a final book to round out my grabs and the library. I should've just left well enough alone. I got about 50 pages in, then gave up. I have read textbooks with more hook than the opening chapters of this book. Sorry, not a fan. I may give the author one more try, but that's about it.
January 30, 2008
It was good. Seraphim was a strong woman, and Dominique was quite the wonderful man, but the plot moved very slowly. None of the action really started until halfway through the book. But if you're patient, it's a good book.
Read
February 17, 2009Nice fairytale style story with a femsle swordswoman against the demons who murdered her family. Aid comes from a hot fae Knight who falls in love with her. Not as loaded with sex as many occult romances are these days but makes up by actually being written well.
March 15, 2012
Meh. The rape, she just shrugs it off a week later and has hot sex with a nice lookig man she just met? Seriously. That put me off. And the names. Geesh. The names. But I finished the book. So it can't be that bad.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 2, 2015
I'm going to start by saying that I recycled this book to take a copy out of circulation. I'm not sure if it's a "me too" jump on the bandwagon to make a quick buck, or just someone who doesn't really know how to write, but this one's just terrible. Skip it.
June 20, 2008
I really like strong female characters and this medieval plot with a doze of Angel-devil battle really made me like this book.
Want to read
November 21, 2008TBR
September 10, 2012
Superb! :)) I absolutely LOVE this book! <3
January 11, 2020
I really enjoyed this story. But, despite it's length I found it a quick read.
November 27, 2013
Hmm. Well, the plot idea was interesting, but the writing wasn't my cup of tea.
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