No Quarter

Archangel Chronicles #1

by L.J. LaBarthe

Book 1 of the Archangel Chronicles

You would never know it from his flamboyant lifestyle, but Gabriel’s not just the cheerful, fun-loving adoptive father of a pair of indulged young adult humans. He’s an Archangel, commander of Heaven’s legions of Seraphim, and despite his apparently easy virtue, he’s harboring a serious crush on his superior officer, Michael.

For years Michael has devoted himself to developing a team of humans, the Venatores, to aid in the fight against Hell. He’s been pining after Gabriel for centuries without hope, believing himself to be too serious to attract the other Archangel’s interest. He’s happy to discover that he’s wrong, but their burgeoning relationship is stymied by a major an egomaniacal human is recruiting demons and fallen angels in a bid to take over the world. It’s up to Michael and Gabriel, and the rest of the Brotherhood of Archangels, to beat back the forces of Hell before the Earth is overrun.

Genres: Angels, M M Romance, Paranormal, Fantasy, Demons, Romance, Magic

220 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 2, 2012

About the author

L.J. LaBarthe is an Australian woman living with disabilities and her cat. She has always loved books, music, and daydreaming. She has written stories since childhood, often drawing pictures to accompany her tales. She won a competition for drawing a picture of Australian Humpty Dumpty, complete with Aussie hat when she was a young child. The drawing was accompanied by an adventure story with Humpty Dumpty she wrote set in Australia. From that moment on, she has not looked back.

She spends her free time watching television and is an unashamed fan of 'Supernatural,' 'Spartacus' and 'Game of Thrones.' She reads newspapers online for fun and loves a good novel. She loves to cook and enjoys a snifter of absinthe from time to time.

L.J. would like to take a moment to let her university professor in creative writing know that knowledge of iambic pentameter isn't necessary in order to be able to enjoy the craft of writing, no matter how much he may have screamed to the contrary.

Reviews

[Rina Pride · Rating 3 out of 5]

Deus lendo esse livro


Eu adoro histórias com anjos e demônios, mas às vezes... O ser humano passa dos limites na imaginação 😅 No Quarter é uma confusão de ideias sobre os Arcanjos. Achei à ideia boa, mas foi mal construída. Narração pela visão do arcanjo Gabriel fica massante com o passar do tempo, boa parte dos arcanjos tem o EL no nome, Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, Tzadriel, sério... Minha cabeça bugou. Achei irritante El, El, El. Sei que todo arcanjo da Bíblia tem nomes assim, mas perdi minha paciência na metade da história. Michael e Gabriel tem uma química boa, mas isso não ajuda a história ser melhor.

Uma coisa que me irritou muito foi o lance dos filhos de Gabriel. Mira e John são tratados como dois adolescentes, eles já estão na casa dos 20 e são tratados como crianças. Entendo que para um arcanjo de milhares de anos é normal tratar humanos assim, mas me irritei muito. Sou chata com certas coisas, tratar adultos como adolescentes me irrita.

Como eu disse... Ideia boa, construção ruim

[Don Bradshaw · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reviewed on Hearts On Fire... http://heartsonfirereviews.com/

I have not read a book that was this dull in a long time. The ten Archangels are out to save earth and keep it a neutral place between heaven and hell. The Brotherhood meets all together every thousand years to catch up on what's been going on but this time Michael drops off his report and beats a hasty retreat. Michael has been acting a little weird the past couple thousand years and we soon find out that he's in love with Gabriel but doesn't think himself worthy of Gabriel's love. The other Archangels sit around and chat, have a few beers and a cigarette or two and Gabriel brags about his two adopted children. Samael offers to watch Gabriel's kids while Gabriel drops in to visit the very proper and rather aloof Michael. Samael tells the children stories that are semi-biblical in their background as entertainment while their father is away. This is how the reader learns the workings on God and the angels. Gabriel's daughter is molested one day by the Bakery owner's son. When Archangel Tzadkiel goes to confront the attacker, he finds that the attacker was a demon protected from being noticed by a charm make out of a Fallen Angel's feather. Gabriel moves his family out to a small town on the Oregon coast to keep his kids safe and to be closer to Michael. With some extra work by Tzadkiel, a plot is discovered to use the special charms by demons who will open the gates of hell and ruin the natural balance. The Archangels form an uneasy alliance with a few Archdemons and a Fallen Angel to derail the lesser demon's plot so that Armageddon still occurs in its time. Gabriel confesses his love for Michael and the two of them are soon screwing like rabbits between war planning sessions because there will be a war. I found the character of Michael to be pitiful and did not like him at all. None of the Archangels were particularly engaging and the demons were even more one dimensional. Gabriel was supposed to be a Scotsman in this incarnation but by the middle of the story had totally lost his accent and way of speaking. Gabriel's two children while grown still sat at Samael's feet listening to his Sunday school stories with rapt attention. I don't have a problem with biblical references in a story but Ms LaBarthe went way too overboard for my tastes. I honestly cannot recommend this book at all because it comes on too heavy but has too little substance to keep it going.

[Purplegirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It has the right mix of angel love and demon wars. It is not a heavy read. Micheal and Gabriel are part of the legion of 10 archangels that keep the Earth neutral between good and evil. Gabriel is an extrovert and Michael is the introvert. They had a nice sweet romance. I liked the use of angel powers to change clothes, make weapons, teleport, etc.

I always like angel wings:)

Th story ended such as HFN type situation. It was good enough for me to continue to book 2.

[Nile Princess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this. I'm blown away by the imagination of this author and the work and research that must have gone into this. Just some quick notes before I'm off to Book 2.

Pros:
- Michael and Gabriel are beautiful together. I loved the innocence and purity of their love, and Michael's shy confessions were very sweet.

- Great world building. I thought I would just be skipping ahead to the hot angel sex, but I became invested in the battles and ancient stories.

- The archangels are a riotous bunch! I wasn't sure if I could buy into archangels that cursed, smoked and drank but once I got used to the idea it wasn't bad.

- The religious aspect, though non-traditional, is done well.

- Loved the camaraderie among the Archangels, complete with the bickering, and Gabriel's relationship with his children.

- Great writing and editing.


Cons:
- Gabriel's accent was driving me a bit crazy. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to it. It just appeared out of nowhere for no good reason and then it was all, ' It were blah blah' or 'I were blah blah blah'. It says he was from Northern England but he seemed to like Russian phrases for whatever reason. It was distracting.

- Michael was almost 'too' innocent. How does he not know phrases like 'poker face,' or understand what is implied when someone 'does a runner', especially since he's lived among humans during his various lifetimes and continues to do so now? Also, a Chinese Asian with olive skin? I don't think I've ever seen one.

- The Archangels were a little too coarse at times. It was like the Army of God meets The Black Dagger Brotherhood. It took away from the believability of their Grace. I would have liked to see Michael (not Mike, pls) be more badass leader. He was just kind of meh.

- The sex was beautiful in parts, but it was missing something. Needed to be more descriptive, maybe? More use of their wings? I almost forgot they had them half the time. I think the arousal to completion time was too short in most scenes. It was nice, but I actually found their love more interesting.

- The conflicts were resolved a little too easily.

Hoping to see:
I liked Markus (the demon). It would be interesting to see a love story between a demon and an angel!

Uriel and Raziel - what gives? Inquiring minds want to know.

I'm happy this series was recommended to me. Off to Book 2!

[Meghan Reads M-M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately, I had to stop part way through, which is really too bad because the story itself is pretty interesting. The problem is a jarring misuse of verbs tenses- the consistent use of "I were" instead of "I was"; constant use of "I ain't" and "they ain't" by characters who otherwise use correct verb tenses; "he don't"instead of "he doesn't". The first 32% is worth about 2 stars because of the verb tense problem. After pushing through, it seems like after the first 35% the verb tense problem becomes less prominent. It's still there but it just doesn't seem to occur as often. Overall, I've corrected my rating to 3 stars.

[Teresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dnf at 34% and it’s lucky I lasted that long. I didn’t like “‘em”s and “ain’t”s in Gabriel’s speech. It didn’t fit a multi millennium old being. Also Michael is closest to humanity but is naive about current language and idioms? He’s been working g toward this goal interacting with humans for 300 years. I didn’t feel any connection between them. They’re contradictory. And it was boring.

[Thomaidha Papa · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Hearts
Review written for MM Good Book Reviews

This is the second time I read this book and other than typos and errors lacking, there isn’t much done story-wise. Thus, while much, much easier a read this time around, it was still lacking profoundly in intensity for such an “epic” book/series...

Read the entire review here.

Thommie

[Mtsnow13 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Withholding until 2nd release.

[Kelly (Maybedog) · Rating 1 out of 5]

This whole book is absurd. I appreciate the author’s good intentions but this is awful. I only finished it because I needed it for a reading challenge. It ends on a cliffhanger and I don’t care. I lie, just out of curiosity, I looked to see if a sequel was ever written. To my surprise, there are nine books in the series. I glanced at the next one just to see if it’s still from this couple’s perspective only to find out that the major event the cliffhanger this book ends on is completely off page between the two books. That ginormous event is never seen, not even in a short between major installments of the series.

Unintentionally funniest line spoken by an angel: “Gabriel sighed, feeling very old all of a sudden.” Second funniest, said between two already explained as immortal archangels: “We will make sure neither of us is mortally wounded.”

I have so many negative comments, I’m going to put them in a spoiler tag so you can just move on if you want.


These notes are pretty raw as I disliked this so much, I didn't care to edit them into a cohesive review.

The good stuff: nice use was made of roles given the angels—like Heaven’s Physician and Lord of Medicine, Lord of Mercy and Temperance, etc.(Although we were told all of these roles multiple times instead of just, “They were introduced by title and rank.) One of them had adopted kids and others have in the past. Contrary to the image as sweet perfection, several of them smoke. There’s way too much sex but if you like that, then there you go.

Most of the rest of the bad stuff it could have be men easily fixed such as using comments like, “it’s been thousands of years since I’ve seen you without your armor since we don’t see each other socially….” “You got that tattoo since we last met. What does it mean?” “I’m sorry, my memory fails me as you must know because it must be true for you, too, given we only see each other every thousand years…” They should be cool and not easily ruffled in the manner of the calmness of a mafia don (as portrayed in movies) not easily angered.

I’m not thrilled all of the angels are male currently. You later find that they have female forms. I would switch back and forth. as it would get boring and I would be curious. They don’t even know what each other’s female shape looks like. They say they are billions of years old and they’ve never seen the other’s female shape? Even in the beginning, before humans, before the fall, when they were sitting around with nothing to do?

I think it’s odd that Gabriel is keeping his attraction to Michael to himself but says they can read each others ‘s mind. Then later Michael says something and Gabriel thinks to himself that it was if Michael read his mind. And Michael gave paperwork to Remiel that he didn’t want shared with the others. I feel like the author is trying to include all this ángel lore when really it doesn’t fit the story like them not having free will but still falling in love with each other and feeling awkward about it.

Micael is ludicrous. He is so formal, I can’t get close to him at all. The text is always stilted but with him it’s downright wooden, like listening to a board. He corrects the others’ bad language. They consider him rather innocent. He is shy about the body he chose. He’s not sure if it’s good looking. They’ve said they’re billions of years old! He doesn’t know by now that by the look of fashion at this point in time that’s he gorgeous? And he gets embarrassed. As I get older I get less embarrassed by stuff. I think in another 1000 years I could walk nude down the street and not be embarrassed. Yet Gabriel puts a towel around his waist when he comes out of the bathroom and Michael is visibly aroused and uncomfortable about it.

Too much completely unnecessary information like describing the color of each angel’s feathers (usually multiple colors) and corresponding power color. In the beginning, each archangel’s specialty and their current visage was described. I didn’t need to know and would hardly remember any of it accept that it is repeated several times throughout the book.

Then a different Angel went in depth telling Gabriel’s kids how angel society works. Telling telling telling. It’s important for the author to have this in their head and important to not to reveal it all, especially when there are nine volumes!

It’s so inconsistent. At one point, one angel is stabbed and someone says that they have to save him even before they find out he’s been poisoned with something that kills angels. (This has never happened in billions of years? Immortal means they can’t die. Period. And if they couldn’t, wouldn’t one have done so by now?) Latersomeone says immortal means you can’t die, just suffer the pain.

Another time one can’t find his pants in a mess of clothes on the floor so instead he “thinks” his armor on. It’s removable because he later takes it off when it is bloody but he can’t just think his clothes on, or for that matter off so they aren’t in a pile? When he took the armor off before he said he’d have to scribe the blood off later but now it’s fine?

Gabriel’s daughter is 25 and his son a couple of years younger but they still need watching?


Ugh.

[Crow NoYami · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an interesting new take on angels, more specifically Archangels. I really enjoyed it and can't wait to sink my teeth into the next book of the series!

[GayListBookReviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting start to a promising series.  These are not the typical image of the archangels, this is a whole new take on some very classic and familiar themes.

Told chiefly from Gabriel's perspective we get a fun and romantic view of a version of the history, powers, interests, battles and lives of the supernatural world.

At the beginning of the book there is what the author calls a Dramatis Personae that you will need to refer back to while reading.  It will explain the titles and relationships between some of the characters and you will find it very useful so mark it.

Gabriel is a warrior first.  He is also a loving father, passionate lover, loyal friend, and an angel of God.  He is complicated, arrogant, vain, silly, sarcastic and fun.  All of the restrictions that you are used to thinking of with angels do not exist here.  He does what he wants and he knows he looks good doing it.  He has a hot temper and is quite deadly to all who break the rules that he has been sworn to uphold.  he has a deep sense of honor and compassion.  He is also the type of man who takes in lost children and raises him as his own.

Michael is also a warrior, even older and more powerful than Gabriel.  He was created first and has the most responsibility and leadership.  He is shy, sweet, charming, compelling, innocent and oddly sheltered.  He is the type of person who never seems to become jaded or worldly but instead retains an air of naivete and sweetness, even as he thrusts his blade in a killing blow.  He is elegantly powerful and generous, compassionate, wise and a strong leader.

There are only ten archangels and they fill the pages of this book.  You have to pay attention because this series is just beginning and I think these guys are going to be getting more page time and more of their individual stories explored in future books.

There are several different types of angels and there is a definite structure to the hierarchies of both heaven and hell.  This is another area where you have to pay attention or you might get a little lost.

I found the alternate version of stories and history intriguing and fun.  I liked that there was so much possibility and while much of it was familiar there was enough of a spin to make things seem new and very different.  I look forward to seeing how things develop in the future books.

Reviewed by Nina

To see more of this review and others like it please visit us at Gay List Book Reviews at www.gaylistbookreviews.wordpress.com

[Sarina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review written for Love Bytes Reviews.


Gabriel has always believed in living life to the fullest; he may not be human but that doesn’t mean he can’t enjoy what humanity has to offer. The one thing he wishes he could get more of, however, is time with his commanding officer, the Archangel Michael. Michael has spent the last millennia in love with and avoiding Gabriel, afraid that he has nothing to offer his fellow angel but when he accepts Gabriel’s offer to help with the Venatores, the two find they have more in common than they thought. Relationships aren’t easy but the two angels are willing to give it a try…a plot to release the demons from hell puts a damper on their plans, however, and the Archangels will have to work fast if they want a hope of saving humanity.

This was so different than what I usually read and I loved that. The beginning of the book was a little dry with the information about angels and the ‘stories’ being told that set up the history of the fallen. I did enjoy that the back story wasn’t a carbon copy of what is written in the Bible and I liked the twist the author gave it all. Once I really got into the main story, however, I found myself relaxing into it more and I started to really enjoy myself. Michael isn’t at all what I imagined when thinking about the head Archangel and while it took me a little mental readjustment, I found I quite liked how he was written. Gabriel is Michael’s opposite in everything but his sense of duty and they balanced each other nicely.

The story itself was interesting though it was towards the end that I really found myself drawn in and the ending left me with the desire to go find the next book so I could find out what happens next. The only real problems I found I had with the book were relatively minor, all things considered. Gabriel was apparently supposed to be British in his look and mannerisms but the way his dialogue was written at times made him sound more like he was from Texas. I had trouble really sorting out his ‘voice’ due to this for a good portion of the book. My other little inconsistency was in regards to Gabriel’s children; they were supposedly in their twenties yet it felt that they were younger than that with how they interacted and were told it was time to go to bed. Like I said, minor issues, but I enjoyed the story enough that I could easily ignore it without too much trouble.

If you’re looking for something a little different from the norm, or maybe just have a yen for some wing porn, this might interest you and I would suggest giving it a try. 

[Chris Jeffreys · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars. This is the first book in a series that deals with the adventures of the Archangels . . . Yes, the archangels who work with God to make certain that there is peace on earth from the evil forces of hell. There are ten archangels, but the big two are Michael and Gabriel -- and, by the way, they have the hots for each other. So, there are an ample supply of love scenes (and I would at say too many if you want my opinion). But, there is also a story that is told here.

Someone is selling angel feathers to those who are banished in hell to hide them from the watchful eyes of the archangels and those who work with them. Those angel feathers also allow those banished to hell to avoid detection by the guardians of hell should they decide to leave their eternal inferno of a home. A pact is made between the Archangels and Archdemons to work together to maintain the status quo (to keep the earth as neutral ground) and to kill the purveyor of the angel feathers.

The end of this book marks the beginning of the war between good and evil, archangel and demons escaped from hell. The archangels ready themselves for war against thousands of escaped demons, and then the book abruptly ends. It is a sudden ending, but since this is a trilogy, the next installment is already written and ready to continue the tale.

This is a very interesting story, and it is my opinion that romance between Michael and Gabriel just gets in the way of the balance of the story (which is not a good conclusion to have when reading a romance novel). Since the story is very intriguing, I give this book three stars. (Read it for the story, not the romance.).

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a solid three stars for me. This isn't groundbreaking or riveting but it was a good first book in a longer series. Because of that it suffers some by spending most of the book laying out the ten angel characters and hooking Gabriel and Michael up. It does a good job of giving each Archangel a distinct personality so I'm not mixing them up. It also gives them a twist so they aren't what you would typically assume for them.

As for Gabriel and Micheal there relationship wasn't a big plus for me in that I had a hard time believing at for thousands of years they didn't notice the attraction for each other or hide it. It ends up being rather bland for me since it all seems to lead to the bedroom for both of them. It isn't terrible but they aren't a couple that hits my top ten list either.

As for the plot it is one that has a bunch of dangling threads for the other books to grab on to. The villains are easily defeated but a bigger danger awaits. I felt this was very much a first book in that it concentrated on getting me familiar with the characters and how they work in the world. It did a good job at that, now I'm eager to see if the second book follows through.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up

I really liked the plot, the 10 archangels are sent to earth to make sure it stays a neutral zone between heaven and hell. Having been raised catholic, this idea was very appealing to me; I also found it funny how each angel would take on a culture's persona throughout the decades and centuries. What kept this from being a great read for me was that the characters seemed flat but this again could be from preconceived notions that I had already had before reading. While I found Michael and Gabriel to be sweet characters this was not how I pictured them to be personality wise. Overall I enjoyed the read enough that I'm thinking of grabbing the next book.

[Thomaidha Papa · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Hearts
Review written for MM Good Book Reviews

This is the second time I read this book and other than typos and errors lacking, there isn’t much done story-wise. Thus, while much, much easier a read this time around, it was still lacking profoundly in intensity for such an “epic” book/series...

Read the entire review here.

Thommie

[Bibimus · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got really involved with the friction between the two oposing sides; I did really enjoy the characters of the demons, particularly Ondrass and Markus. I found Gabriel was a pleasant and amusing personality, and I can understand how Michael can be very shy.

[Morgana]

And to think I almost bought this book. *shudders*
I'm so staying away from it. Why? Read Don Bradshaw's review.

[Dallison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read. Loved it.

[Td]

DNF-10%

[Serena Yates]

review to follow

[Laylah Hunter]

I can't square this version of archangels with the way I picture them in my head -- going to have to give this one a pass.

[Pia]

Couldn't get into the first scene, so I'm setting it aside for now. When I'm itching for angel smut, I may give this series another shot.

[Shawnie Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not all that sure how I feel about this book. It was a good book, but there was a lot of repeated things and information repeat. I'm on the fence.
3½ Stars. Full review to come.

[Jane Love · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can the Archangels stop the demons from taking over Earth and can they close the portal to Hell

[Elisa Rolle · Rating 5 out of 5]

2012 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention (5* from at least 1 judge)

[Ericka Walden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I reeeeally enjoyed this book and can't wait to read the other two in this series!

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

spoiler alert: Archangels Michael and Gabriel are gay lovers.