Far From Heaven

by Cherrie Lynn

His love could damn her soul…

Ashemnon’s demonic hunger for Madeleine Dean’s pure, vibrant soul has tormented him throughout every lifetime she’s lived on earth. Now, thanks to her desperate father, he has a blood-tight contract in hand. Soon, her soul will belong to him.

All her life, Maddie has been haunted by strange occurrences, hallucinations and increasingly intense nightmares. As her ex-boyfriend walks away, she can almost hear the pieces of her life falling around her. And then she falls—literally—into the arms of a stranger who’s the first and only person to understand.

Ash meant to pluck her soul, not sweep her off her feet. Yet the moment they touch, the temptation to seduce her again and again is more than he can resist. Despite the risk, he finds himself succumbing to her charms. And, impossibly, falling in love.

Then Ash learns the reason it’s taken centuries to get to this point: He’s not the only one with a claim on her soul. Heaven and Hell are in a tug of war—and Maddie’s the rope. Control wrested from his hands, Ash can only wait for her to make a choice that will damn one soul to Hell…or damn her own.

Warning: This title contains obsession, soul possession, and hot carnal transgression. Oh, and a few scares for good measure. You can’t keep this bad demon down—though you’ll want to try.

Genres: Paranormal, Romance, Paranormal Romance, Angels, Fantasy, Demons, Adult

231 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 20, 2011

About the author

Cherrie Lynn has been a CPS caseworker and a juvenile probation officer, but now that she has come to her senses, she writes contemporary and paranormal romance on the steamy side. It's *much* more fun. She's also an unabashed rock music enthusiast, and loves letting her passion for romance and metal collide on the page.

When she's not writing, you can find her reading, listening to music or playing with her favorite gadget of the moment. She's also fond of hitting the road with her husband to catch their favorite bands live.

Cherrie lives in East Texas with said husband and their two kids, all of whom are the source of much merriment, mischief and mayhem. You can reach her at cherrie@cherrielynn.com, at the various social networking sites, or right here. She loves hearing from readers!

Reviews

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A totally sweet story about a demon on his way to redemption... through love. Their faceoff in hell was a nice twist. I would love to read the continuation of their story at some point.

[Micheala · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book from Entangled Publishing

The cover first drew me in, then the synopsis. It’s a quicker read-on the shorter side of novels-but was a really good read. I feel like any longer would have taken away from the book; for the story told it was the perfect length.

Ash is a demon with a claim on Madeline’s life. He has his whole life but can’t touch her soul until her 25th birthday. Even when she turns 25, he holds off on taking her for a few years and allows her to live her life. After Maddie is dumped, she runs into Ash and they have an instant connection. They grow close together over the course of the book while Ash is being hounded to take her soul.

I enjoyed their romance quite a lot. It was hot but so cute as well. Alpha demon loving and protecting the innocent human.
I give it four stars because at times I was a bit confused as to what was going on with her soul. Between the contract, the angels, the new deal...it all blended together and I think I’m still confused as to what occurred.

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eleventy billion stars!

Cherrie Lynn has been a top favorite author of mine since I first read Rock Me well over a year ago. I'm not sure how I overlooked this book in all that time, but I am so glad I came across it yesterday. That's right. I found this book only yesterday and immediately devoured it. It was incredible. I absofreakinglutely LOVED it! Lynn did such an awesome job creating a world of angels and demons and, to be honest, that theme has never really appealed to me but she broke through my fickle walls and blew me away! She created a world where I wanted to dive right in and was captivated from the first word to the last. And even after I got to the last page on my kindle, I found myself trying to continue turning pages hoping more of the story would magically appear. Sadly, it did not. But that's ok because I still have the first book in this series to read! :)

Ash is absolutely my favorite demon thus far. Is it wrong to fall in love with the bad guy? I mean, technically he's been trying to kill her and possess her soul for centuries... After having no luck he finally finds a loophole to steal Maddie's soul. But once he physically touches her, he decides to indulge in one carnal evening to see what its like to be with her in her human form. And OMG! Lynn is a master at smokin hot sex scenes! And of course, once wasn't enough. Luckily for Ash, he gets a 'stay of execution' on his contract to take Maddie's soul and gets to do all the indulging he wants for a couple weeks! Not so luckily, his superiors aren't happy about him delaying in his duties and demand he do his job, creating a major dilemma for Ash since being with Maddie has done something to him. After all the centuries he's waited and plotted to get her soul, he realizes he's also been falling in love with her the whole time. But he's a product of his environment and doesn't know how to love or even what love is. So now he has a tough choice to make. Take the soul of the woman he loves, or sacrifice himself to save her. Hmm....

Madeleine has had an awful day. Make that an awful life. She's always felt like there was something out to get her. Weird things always happening, like all her clocks being wrong causing her to be late, creepy ghost-like faces peering back at her in the mirror, and just a constant feeling of lowness. On a particularly bad day after getting dumped by her boyfriend, she meets a mysterious hot guy who not only saves her life, but he really seems to get her. So what does she do? Takes him home of course! ;) As she finds herself spending more time and consequently falling for Ash, she finds her life doesn't seem so bad when he's around. Little does she know that floor is about to fall out from underneath her.

When the other shoe drops and Ash is finally forced to reveal all to Maddie, they both are faced with some tough decisions. Will she accept him knowing he's not only a demon, but the one responsible for her lifelong woes and was initially intending on reaping her soul? Will he follow through on his assignment or will he sacrifice himself to save the woman he loves? [image error] Go read it!!! :)

And even though he's my first angle, Riam is my favorite! I hope he gets a book sometime in the future!

[Fmbee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating = 4.5

I love this book from the very beginning until the last word. At first, what draws me in was the premise: Ash (a demon) has stalked a soul (Maddie) through several centuries and reincarnations, and after bargaining with her degenerate father for her life, finally has her in his clutches. As a result, Maddie's life is pretty difficult: hallucinations, super bad luck in life, and an ever present darkness shadowing her. So what happens when one night, instead of killing Maddie and taking her soul, Ash saves her from death? What happens when he only wants one night of passionate sexy times? What happens when one night turns into weeks? WHAT HAPPENS WHEN HE FALLS IN LOVE WITH HER?!

1. I know this is wrong, but I have a lot of love for Ash, even at the beginning. I guess it's because, from early on, it's clear that he loves Maddie. It's why he's stalked her for all this time, why he's willing to go to such lengths to have her forever. I enjoy watching the evolution of his feelings and his coming to realize that he's willing to do anything to Maddie.

2. I LOVE Maddie. She's supposed to be the "good girl," but I like how that doesn't necessarily mean she's innocent. I mean, even Ash himself says Maddie looks beautiful in both light and darkness. Maddie is brave, optimistic, REALISTIC, and persistent. She doesn't let her rough childhood and sucky ex-boyfriend keep her from seeking out what she wants in life.

FAVE SCENES:
Ash and Maddie's first sexy times...SO HAWT.
Ash chasing away Maddie's bad dreams.
EVERY scene with Riam.
Ash confessing to Maddie...HEARTBREAK.
Ash repairing Maddie's soul.
Maddie renouncing her claims on heaven and angle-hood for the chance to remain with Ash for eternity.
Maddie literally bringing down the foundations of hell with the love she has for Ash.

I really want to know more about Celeste and Damael, so I'll probably be reading Sweet Disgrace next.

I 100%, wholeheartedly recommend this book. So well written, wonderfully compelling characters, and a captivating plot. The only reason I'm not giving this 5 stars is because I thought the ending was kinda abrupt...I WANT MORE! But I'll have to resettle for re-reading :)

[Anas Attic Book Blog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great book by Cherrie Lynn. Her theme of bad boy/good girl is getting a bit redundant, but maybe that's because I read all her books close together. I must say, I knew that going in but that didn't really stop me from loving this book! Another hit by Cherrie Lynn. She is on my auto-buy list.

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quickly finished it and it scared me a little bit. Not my usual read but good

[Sonja · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This was a good read. I found myself constantly wanting to get to the end to find out how exactly these two were going to be able to be together. Because it was obvious that that outcome wasn't going to be easy for them. But oh was this demon and amazing lover, and that's always fun.

I liked Ash. I wouldn't say I was swooning for him, but I liked him. I just didn't ever end up understanding the reason behind his obsession with Maddie. He has basically stalked her for all of her lives and we're never told why. We're told it was obvious to anyone that he was in love with her the whole time, but not WHY. I just thought there was going to be a reason. Fortunately for him, he's finally found a way to make her his forever.

I also liked Maddie. Her life, for as hard as it is, was completely believable given her circumstances. She has only one friend, can't keep a boyfriend, and is barely making it by. She is plagued by nightmares and sees things that aren't really there. Yet she remains strong in the way that she keeps pulling herself together and moving on.

Ash has finally been able to make a claim on Maddie's soul thru her father. A guy who didn't even know she existed so had no problem signing her off to hell in exchange for his own life. So Ash watches her grow up in anticipation of the day when she is old enough to claim. But even when that day comes, he puts it off. And keeps putting it off. Until he knows he's run out of time. It would be so easy for him to take her soul, but he gives into the impulse to touch her and from then he's doomed. No matter what he tells himself, he can't bring himself to kill her.

When Maddie literally falls into Ash's arms, she's also doomed. She tells herself it's a one night stand and when it continues, that it's only sex. But she knows she's falling in love with Ash. He listens to her and doesn't tell her she's crazy, and the thought of him alone is enough to make her happy. Their blissful bubble has a time limit though. Forced into mediation for her soul by an angel he can't stand, he can't touch her soul for two weeks. But what a two weeks it is for the both of them.

When the time is up, nothing goes down the way anyone expected. Ash is forced to make a choice, and his decision has him fessing up the whole truth to Maddie. Worse is that Ash's superiors are mighty pissed off and can now easily attack the helpless Maddie as they torture Ash. That hated angel is the one who gives Ash a reprieve from the pain but only long enough to save Maddie's life.

From there is where we get these two coming to terms with everything from their feelings to what needs to be done. In one way, Ash's plan backfires on him, but in the end it's what actually lets them be together. It was interesting, but also not quite completely believable how the higher demons just went with it. Even so, everybody is happy in the end. Even me.


Copy provided by publisher via Netgalley.

[Trader (RedHotBlueReads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love Cherrie Lynn's contemporary titles, but didn't know she had a few paranormal titles among her books, so when I had the opportunity to read this, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it.
Ash is a demon. His job is collecting souls, and he makes a chilling deal to obtain someone's soul. Madelaine. He has to wait a while before he can do it, but when the time comes, he gets himself in some hot water with his superiors for hesitating to take what he has a contract for.

When Madeleine meets Ash, she thinks they are just a casual one night thing, but she finds herself wishing he'd come back. She doesn't know what he is, but she does know he's a fabulous lover. If you've read Cherrie Lynn before, you know she can write a steamy scene, and there's plenty of them in Far from Heaven.

Ash and Madeleine are great together, but they have to go through a whole lot before they can even think about being together -- after all Ash was going to come for her soul!

There's a real great level of scary tension whenever the demons and angels are on the page and I absolutely loved that about this book. The story is nicely crafted because at first I had no idea how they could possibly get out of the dilemma they faced. I did like how everything was wrapped up in the end.

This works well as a standalone. It's easy, steamy, just a little scary, and grabs you right from the start.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a good book.
This story is about a demon who goes to extremes to claim a soul. Ash is the demon and Madeleine is the human whose soul he has wanted to claim for quite some time. He's also been watching her and when it seems like the moment has finally arrived for him to claim her, he instead catches her and from there he starts to realize that his fascination with her might be something deeper.

I did not expect this book to have me feeling teary-eyed at one point.
This is my first time reading something from this author and I'm looking forward to checking out her other books.

[Rachel Kunde · Rating 1 out of 5]

I can’t believe I wasted my time and finished the dribble. Probably because I’m post night shifts and I’m partially brain dead. Even that didn’t help me like this. How on early was Maddie considered to be saintly enough to become an angel. So only cared about herself! If she had any redeeming factors I would have given it an extra half a star.

[Dottie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I usually love this author, but although this book kept me fairly entranced, toward the end of it, I felt like it was rushed. I liked the premise, but it’s hard to put my finger on what made me dislike how it wrapped up (although this still had a good ending), but it left me a bit unsettled.

[Sherry Vitaniemi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Contract

Getting a second chance is what this is about. It's the right one for maddie. Ash is her hottie . Who gives her everything. nothing like a story of heartache, pain, and finally love. Once I finished the first chapter. I was hooked. Very good.

[Marisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kobo Library. Great writing and I enjoyed the storyline. The characters were fantastic. I wish Ash took the ex’s soul but we can’t have everything.

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Started strong but DNF with only 45pgs to go

[Emmie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This authors other books are so much better! This one was almost cringe-worthy.

[_yay_ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ashemnon „Ash“ is a demon and his one and only objective is to take souls. He relishes in the terror he inflicts on people, showing no mercy or compassion. To save himself from certain death, Gatlin, a drug addict and all around pitiful human being must sell his daughter’s soul - a daughter he didn't know he had - to Ash. He signs the contract being presented to him and his life is spared. Twenty-seven years later Ash has come to collect what’s rightfully his. No meddling angel can stop him. The contract is ironclad. Maddie has been struggling with nightmares and an uneasy feeling telling her something bad is bound to happen all her life. Afraid of what she might see when looking in a mirror Madeleine feels left alone in the world, especially after a disaster of a night. She certainly didn’t expect to meet this tall, dark and handsome stranger. He excites and frightens her at the same time.
I stumbled over Cherrie Lynn’s “Far From Heaven” by accident and stayed up all night to read it. I later found out that it’s the second book in a series, but don’t let that keep you from reading it. It works just fine as a stand-alone. (The first is called “Sweet Disgrace”.)
I loved how Maddie feels this weird instant connection to a man she has never met before – or so she thinks. Even though I knew Ash was the one responsible for her suffering, I found them to be an awesome match. How is that for strange?! Lynn was able to describe how hard it was for Ash to deal with his sudden feelings for Maddie in a way that totally did it for me. I fell just a liiittle bit in love with a demon. The sex is sizzling by the way! Also, once the time came for Maggie to hear the truth, the fact that deep down she always knew something wasn’t right, made her believe this unbelievable story. An interesting plot and very likeable characters (yes, even the demon). 5 stars for a quick but immensely enjoyable read.

[Lindsey Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maddie Dean’s life has been one terrible mishap after another. While being a danger magnet, she’s also plagued by visions of frighteningly horrendous creatures in her mirrors. Who could be at fault? Not Maddie. She works hard and slaves away everyday, yet her boyfriend dumps her because he thinks she’s crazy.

None of those things are Maddie’s fault. They are in fact the fault of a demon. He made a pact with Maddie’s biological father to claim her soul when she was just six months old. Ash has been a shadow for the majority of Maddie’s life, waiting for just the right moment to take her soul. He ends up saving her life instead. The two share a passionate night that leads to another and another after that. Maddie believes there is a time limit on their affair, but she ends up wanting more.

Unknown to Maddie, Ash is in a battle with Heaven to claim her soul. While waiting for his day in a neutral court, Ash experiences something he never thought possible, love.

Cherrie Lynn takes the age old fight between Heaven and Hell, adds a demon, a few angels, and a pure soul to weave a passionate and elaborate tale. The chemistry between Maddie and Ash sizzles across the pages as they dive head first into temptation.

While there is a small cast of characters, Lynn’s world building is outstanding. If you’d like another taste of this world you can read Celeste and Damael’s story, Sweet Disgrace.

I received Far From Heaven for free. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

[EroticaAfterDark (Lilith)]

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[Dami (Damiellar) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm never quite sure how I feel about these 'the love of a good woman/man can redeem a demon soul'. This was a good book but I'm still a touch undecided.

Ash was magnificently intense. (Yes please!)

Madeleine was... Well she'd been having strange things happening to her all her life but still stayed strong (well that's the point of the story!) but I'm wondering if she came across as unbelieveably balanced. Not that I wanted her to be a raving lunatic but the balance didn't seem true. Then again, if the 'surrounding stuff' hadn't been of the intensity it was it wouldn't really make much sense of the whole thing of being under a curse.

Maybe I'm just too demanding.

[Lucy (why do I bother to read chicklit) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as Sweet Disgrace, but definitely as captivating.

The love story between a demon and a mortal is well written despite the short lengh and the paranormal aspects are well developed.

As usual, Cherrie Lynn writtes sex scenes really well and here is no different. Ash and Maddy's story is gripping and it is a nice surprise to see an appearance of Celest & Damael who come to their help.

[Teri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not much for the whole angel/demon kind of thing, but I LOVE Cherrie Lynn. Rock Me and Leave Me Breathless are up there as all time favs. I did like this book, even though it's not my typical read. I felt the characters pains and insecurities and hopes and their desire...oh, the desire...her ability to convey want is really something.

[Noura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love it. Story features a demon that falls in love with his human prize. Light reading. Nothing too hot and heavy. Very entertaining.

Didn't really like the ending though - too abrupt. It'll be great if there's a third instalment. Maybe one that features an angel and a human instead? I vote for Riam's story.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

THis book was pretty well written. At first I wasn't particularly invested, and that next thing I know I'm all choked up!

[Wendy *Sebella Blue* Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review to be posted at http://theromancestudio.com/reviews.php

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a must read book. Great romance.

[Lise *friends don't flag* · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read about 60% and then moved on. I loved Rock Me by the same author.

[Audrie Cruz-Sealey · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's good...glad to see the crossover with Celeste :)

[Pixie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the idea and the concept and the story went well for a while then it kind of went down hill.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. The characters were great and the love story was sweet.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was fun. I think I'm becoming a much bigger fan of Cherrie Lynn than I would have thought.