Something Happened on the Way to Heaven

by Samantha M. Derr (Editor), L.J. LaBarthe, Isabella Carter

Archangels. Guardians Angels. Cherubim. Angels of death, wrath, vengeance, love, peace, and hope. Fallen Angels. Nephilim. The lore of angels is wide and varied, from battles lost and won, to duties fulfilled and failed, from men raised up to their ranks, and angels banished forever from the heavens. They can be fierce warriors and gentle guides, heralds of joy and tragedy. They are beings of fearsome power, and the highest of servants.

But what else can angels be? What happens when they soar too high or dive too low? Are they flawless in their servitude, or cursed and blessed with free will? Come read these tales of angels in some of their many incarnations...

This anthology includes the following short

-- Sunburnt Country by L.J. LaBarthe
-- A Better Ending by Isabella Carter
-- One for Sorrow by Sylvia A. Winters
-- The Lost Angel by Elizah J. Davis
-- Watch as My World Ends by Kayla Bain-Vrba
-- On Wings Not My Own by Evie Kiels
-- Made for You by Megan Derr
-- Angel Eyes by Debora Day
-- Angel Fever by May Ridge
-- The Book of Judgment by Sasha L. Miller

Genres: Anthologies, M M Romance, Paranormal, Fantasy, M M Fantasy, Gay, Ebooks

600 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Cole Riann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review posted at The Armchair Reader.

3.5 stars

I meant to post this review this morning, but I forgot. Sorry about that! So, here it is now. I usually have a very specific format for reviewing an anthology, and it can be very taxing to review. Essentially, I review each story separately, and it's like doing however many reviews all in one, which takes a lot of time. Since I'm not actually contracted for a review for this one, I just wanted to share my thoughts with you, I've cut them a lot shorter, but I still put all the details down for each story so that you get that individual information and ratings for each one. With 10 stories, that was just too much to write as much as I normally do!

In all, I really enjoyed this anthology. I wasn't quite sure I would at first. I read the first story as a serial (this anthology has been being published chapter by chapter for a LONG time now) and sadly, the first story wasn't my favorite of the lot, though it's not a bad story. Angel stories tend not to be my favorite, but I was really surprised and delighted by the sheer diversity of stories, themes, plots and uses of angels in this story.

The anthology is $9.99, which is a pretty steep price, but for some readers I think the price is well worth it. For fans of these authors, fans of Less Than Three Press, or fans of angel stories, I think that you'll like this. It's over 200,000 words, well over 600 pages in PDF format, and has ten stories, some novellas by some really wonderful authors. Some of these stories were really wonderful, one in particular, "On Wings Not My Own" by Evie Kiels, which I just really loved. I read it twice. A few others were really wonderful. Sasha Miller's addition, capping off the anthology, is a similar type story we get from her and the type that I love. The angels are very non-traditional in this historical, magical mercenary story. Megan Derr brings us back into the Dance series (which I love and I know many of you do as well). And Kayla Bain-Vrba gives us a very dark tale of fallen angels in a post-apocalyptic, post-Rapture world of broken civilization and the worst of human nature.

Now, here's the individual information for each story, with just a bit of summary for each.

**Note: The third story in the anthology, "One for Sorrow" by Sylvia A Winters, is f/f, which I didn't read. So it isn't included in the review.

Sunburnt Country by LJ LaBarthe (3 stars)
Genre: m/m Paranormal Romance
Heat: 3 - Sexy & Mild
Sex Frequency: 3 - Average Story to Sex
Keywords/Tags: Angels, Demons, Australia, Good vs. Evil

This wasn't my favorite of the anthology, but it's a good story to start off with and we get to see a type of angel in this story which is traditional in a way, yet larger than life and really powerful. The setting here, the far west of Australia, was perfect.

James has finally gotten over the death of just about everyone in his life, including his lover, after moving to the far west of Australia. He's become part of the family of the small town and works various jobs for them all. He's accustomed to having a life of migraines, but the one that starts at the beginning of this story is the worst he's ever had, and he doesn't understand why until a beautiful man with wings shows up and explains to him that he has an ability to hear the speech of demons, several of whom are inhabiting the area after stealing a very dangerous book.

A Better Ending by Isabella Carter (4.5 stars)
Genre: m/m Paranormal Romance
Heat: 3 - Sexy & Mild
Sex Frequency: 2 - Few and Far Between
Keywords/Tags: Fallen Angels, Demons, Nephilim, Good vs. Evil, Mystery

Isabella Carter is an author who I've really grown to like. Her serialized novel, A Shadow of a Dream also just finished at Less Than Three Press and was released today, and I really liked it. This story was another in this anthology that stood out, and gives us a very interesting take on the process of angels falling and the sometimes inexplicable unfairness of Heaven.

Ainsley is mortified when he catches a story on the nightly news while cooking himself dinner. An unidentified woman has been found murdered in an alley and police are looking for anyone who can identify her. He can't believe that the woman could be his friend Eleanor, but it is. Now, he has to explain what he knows about her to the police. One of the detectives assigned to the case is intense, and Ainsley seems to have some sort of connection to him. As they get to know each other, Ainsley starts to learn more about the detective, who is much more than he seems and is harboring a personal history and connection to the killer.

One for Sorrow by Sylvia Winters
Keywords/Tags: f/f

I didn't read or review this one, it's an f/f story.

The Lost Angel by Elizah J Davis (3.75 stars)
Genre: m/m Paranormal Romance
Heat: 3 - Sexy & Mild
Sex Frequency: 2 - Few and Far Between
Keywords/Tags: Angels, Nasty Exes

Alex has been able to see and talk to angels since he was five years old. But the world has changed and angels aren't needed as much anymore. Through is life, Alex seemed to reveal a talent for finding people that needed angelic intervention, so he bought a bar, named it The Lost Angel, and every night a whole host of angels show up to make bids for those that walk through the door. The bar seems to have a knack for attracting people who need help, and they're never seen again -- that's the mark of a job well done. When Finley shows up, newly dumped by an asshole boyfriend who stole all his money, Alex seems someone that he wants to help, despite his angels' feelings.

This was a very cute story and I really liked these characters. Seeing Alex and Finley get to know each other slowly and fall in love while working at the bar together was really nice and this came out as one of the stories I remembered best.

Watch as My World Ends by Kayla Bain-Vrba (4.5 stars)
Genre: m/m Paranormal Romance
Heat: 3 - Sexy & Mild
Sex Frequency: 3 - Average Story to Sex
Keywords/Tags: Angels, Post Apocalyptic, Religion, Mythology, Dictators, Rent Boys, Slaves, Dub-Con

I mentioned this story earlier in the main part of my review, and it's definitely the darkest story of the lot. It also has some of the very best worldbuilding. Growing up in a southern Baptist church, a lot of emphasis was given to the Rapture and the Apocalyptic Literature of the Bible. I always found the thought of the world and people left behind rather interesting, and I was delighted to see a story that really explored that thought, but not from a human perspective (though there is a small part from a human POV), but from two angels. This was another really great story in the collection.

Nathan ("Ephraim") was created in the third generation of angel creations by God, but fell when he questioned his orders to slaughter and kill humans, including children. As such, they tore out his wings and he was left at the mercy of the civilizations created after the Rapture. Falling up on the mercy of the leader of such a city, while waiting for the seven years of plagues to end before all were sentenced to death, Nathan becomes the town's whore, not allowed to do any other job and adamant that he pay his own way, even if that way is the most degrading way possible. Another angel is the leader's assassin, but he has hope for redemption, and as such sets his eyes on helping Nathan. But Nathan won't accept handouts, and a stalemate is created when the other angel, now called Dakota refuses to sleep with Nathan in order for Nathan to accept his help. But, Dakota won't give up his mission -- but is it because he is falling in love with Nathan, or because he's obsessed with being redeemed?

On Wings Not My Own by Evie Kiels (4.75 stars)
Genre: m/m Fantasy Romance
Heat: 1 - Sweet/None
Sex Frequency: 1 - None
Keywords/Tags: Angels, Alternate World, Religion, Second Chances, Amnesia

This story was my favorite in the whole collection. I'm not sure why, honestly, because I normally really don't like amnesia stories and it had a few problems near the end (I thought). The world, however, really swept me up and I loved the idea that the two men, even though one can't remember the other, are still completely in love and will do anything to escape the religious madmen who have taken them away from one another.

Aive can't remember the last year of his life, but has the feeling that he's missed something big. It drives him crazy that he doesn't know what me missed but also why he can't remember. And with the encouragement of his sister, he journeys from his home, walking hundreds and hundreds of miles to the ocean, following the prophetic dreams that come to him every night from the perspective of a beautiful, winged man that Aive feels he must know. When he gets to the city on the ocean, he finds people that seem to know him and wonder where he disappeared to. And when he follows the dreams to their very end, he finds an angel in a cell deep in a cave, left to starve and almost dead.

When he takes the angel to the Angel Embassy, he finds that not only is Sobal the one that sent him the dreams, but that they fell in love, were married, and were soon to travel to Sobal's home, a city high in the mountains where the angels come from. But they waited, because Aive wanted to see a little more of the world knowing that once they journeyed there they could never leave. And in that time, a zealot devoted to God took his faith too far, possibly separating the two forever. Will his memories of falling in love never return? And will Sobal ever wake from his ordeal?

Made For You by Megan Derr (3.5 stars)
Genre: m/m Fantasy Romance
Heat: 2 - Romantic & Tame
Sex Frequency: 2 - Few and Far Between
Keywords/Tags: Dance With the Devil series, Angels, Magic, Demons, Captive/Kidnapped

It was wonderful to return to this series. I love the Dance with the Devil books, I even re-read Dance with the Devil recently, as well as The Glass Coffin and I'm currently reading the newest book, Dance Only for Me as a serial. I seem to slightly remember this couple that was mentioned in one of the books, I think the first one, so seeing their story was interesting.

Charlie was brought to life and made into form by his master Jed, a descendant of Solomon, holder of the Solomon Ring, and a world-renowned sorcerer. Charlie is an angel, the best of his kind brought to life from the ether with only the power of Jed. He's in love with his master, and set to protect him. He's waited for Jed to realize that they belong together in love as well as in life and work, but Jed won't accept it. They've been on the run for months from the men trying to kill of the last remaining descendant of Solomon and to take the ring, and they almost succeeded. Six months prior, they overpowered Charlie and kidnapped Jed. Now Charlie is searching everywhere he can, on the trail of the kidnappers, and he stops into Brennus territory to talk to the demon.

Angel Eyes by Debora Day (3.75 stars)
Genre: m/m Paranormal Romance
Heat: 2 - Romantic & Tame
Sex Frequency: 2 - Few and Far Between
Keywords/Tags: Fallen Angels, Angels, Demons, Warriors/Bodyguards

This wasn't one of my favorites of the anthology, but it is a well written story. I just, for some reason, couldn't really feel the romance.

Uriel wakes up naked in the snow with no wings. He's always been faithful and never failed his Creator's orders, so why does he find himself fallen and unable to remember how he got there, how he could have made the worst mistake available? He's rescued by Stephen, a man who lives in a cabin nearby. They get to know one another, Stephen disbelieving of Uriel's story and thinking he's just some crazy guy, while Uriel is nursed back to health. For the first time, Uriel feels human emotion, and starts to understand what makes angels fall, or want to fall -- the addiction to feeling. But there is actually a reason that Uriel is here, with Stephen, and surprisingly it isn't because of a mistake he made. He, the protector of the Garden of Eden, is set to protect Stephen against the hosts of hell who would kill him before he can enact a change in someone in the future, which will change the world.

Angel Fever by May Ridge (4.25 stars)
Genre: m/m Fantasy Romance
Heat: 1 - Sweet/None
Sex Frequency: 1 - None
Keywords/Tags: Angels, Priests, Guardians/Bodyguards, Magic, Healers, Adoption, Family Issues

"Angel Eyes" is another story that I liked because of the world building. That, also, was the reason that it didn't get even higher marks. I would have liked to have just a bit more information, or maybe history of how the angles and the church came to be working in a leading partnership of sorts. While I liked the story and romance within the world, and I got just enough for it to make sense, I didn't get a sense of why, or a larger picture of the world, and because I was intrigued by it, I really wanted to know those things and to understand.

Malachi (Mal) grew up in the angel orphanage, like most angels do. He's just turned 18 and can finally access his records. He found out that his father is a very prominent angel, on the Council, but he still doesn't know who his mother is. He is a healer, and because he is male and has a different nature of magic, he is one of the best healers in a long, long time. When he returns to the orphanage, he meets with the priest in charge, a new one from when he was there and a very young priest by the name of Tobias. It seems, however, that Tobias cannot access Mal's records either, which is very curious indeed. They begin to form a relationship out of their partnership to find out the details of why Mal's files have been hidden away and what secrets they hold, learning about one another and each one's secrets along the way. Why is Mal's mother such a secret? And why do the priests regard Tobias with contempt?

The Book of Judgement by Sasha L Miller (4.25 stars)
Genre: m/m Fantasy Romance
Heat: 1 - Sweet/None
Sex Frequency: 1 - None
Keywords/Tags: HFN, Magic, Warriors, Assassins/Mercs

And last, one of the stories I was most eager to get to. I had to make myself not skip again and read out of order. I'm a big fan of Sasha's work and this story definitely lived up to my expectations. I admit that I was getting a bit tired of angels by this point (I did say that I wasn't really an angel story fan!), so this story was a nice diversion from the typical angel mythology and a story along a similar vein to the stories that I've liked in the past by this author. Unfortunately, the rushed ending and even somewhat shaky HFN, IMO, made it unable for me to give this story top honors.

Reza is one of the most powerful magic users at the university, and also a professor. While clearing out a crate filled with books left to the college from an estate, Reza discovers a very powerful and dangerous book of magic called The Book of Judgement. It is the true book, not a recreation, and the possibility of it getting to the wrong hands is very real and very terrible to imagine. So, at the behest of the Chairman of the college, Reza travels with Edmé on a month long journey to the place where the book can be hidden in a tomb, protected and never to be lost into the hands of the greedy or malevolent. But someone else already knows about the book. Reza is getting death threads and dangerous spells snuck into his mail even before he has left on the journey. And as the two travel, they'll learn to trust one another even while almost sentient book tries to tear them apart and tempt Reza with the knowledge of what is inside.

[blub · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I'm not really a fan of angel themed stories and I've read one other anthology that was themed just so that kind of lowered my expectation for the whole lot of them. But I just had to give the book a chance for the authors I was a fan of and for the authors I had yet been exposed to. I wasn't too disappointed, there was quite a variety among the stories and while I preferred some over others, they all were appealing in their own way.

I won't summarize or go too in depth into the stories since Cole has already done a spectacular job of that. I did kind of read enough of "One for Sorrow" though and will write a review of that.

Sunburnt Country I found this one to be a bit boring at the start. It does pick up though as we got to know James and he experiences his first bad headache in many years and discover the reason for his headaches. The sex scene was a but more detailed then I was used to reading in an LT3 book but it was good.

A Better Ending A bit of a murder mystery angel themed read. The MC, Ainsley helps the police identify the body of an acquaintance, Elizabeth. He gets an odd feeling from one of the detectives interviewing him but yet at the same time there's something about the detective that just draws him in. That night Ainsley has a weird dream where he watches the death of Elizabeth and is told by the murder that he'll be saved for last. There after an odd number of things happen to Ainsley. I enjoyed the story, but this too, I found a bit boring in some portions(there was just too much info, I usually appreciate that but not this time).

One for Sorrow This one was a f/f story. I usually don't read these but I did skim and read portions of the story. F/f just isn't my thing but I do give it a try if it's included in an anthology like this (the author did work hard on it the least I could have done is give it a try, not to mention I did pay for it, lol) this one was quite light and has a heat level: 1.

Suriel is a angel of death, she collects the souls that have passed and returns them to God. She has a particular place (a church) she likes to visit on her free time and it is there she first lays eyes on a little girl, Corrine, mourning the passing of her mother. Over the years, Suriel continues to watch the girl grow and lose more loved ones until the day Corrine has finally lost her last relative, her brother, Alec. It is then that Suriel and Corrine first meet and converse with each other. Corrine is desperate and pleads to Suriel not to take her brother and inquires about bringing him back. What is Suriel to do? What consequences will her actions bring?

The Lost Angel I really liked this story. I thought the name of the bar was a bit odd but that it fit. I liked Alex innocent fun easygoing personality. His relationship with Annie amused me and put a smile on my face.

Watch as My World Ends An interesting portrayal of angels and their social standing. There was a good amount of character and world building and the story itself was intriguing. I can't say the characters were all that likable or lovable but they had their appeal.

On Wings Not My Own My favorite of the anthology. I always loved memory loss/amnesia stories in which one MC would go to the end of the world just to find the one thing or person they've hope will help jog their memory. The plot was an interesting one but I wished there was a bit more character and world building.

Made For You The setting of the story was in the same universe as the Dance With the Devil series. I thought it was a sweet read and I hope this won't be the last time readers get to read about Jed and Charlie.

Angel Eyes Uriel wasn't a very likable MC at the start for me, I thought he was rude and too condescending. The battle with the demons were what drew me in. What happened with Stephen was part predictable and unexpected (I really thought the story would take a different route then it did).

Angel Fever Another favorite. I liked the slow building insecure building relationship between Tobias and Mal. The concept that humans could engineer an disease that had dire effects on Angels was interesting. The world the author built up was interesting to learn about but there were quite a few questions popping up that weren't answered. I hope this won't be the last time I will be reading something set in this universe.

The Book of Judgement I didn't really feel as if I was reading an angel story while reading this one. It was nice how Sasha incorporated the celestial being into her story. I really liked Edmé and Reza.

[Morgan Skye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elizah 's story is awesome!!!

Review/summary The Lost Angel
Alex is a man “gifted” with being able to see angles ever since he was a little kid. Now they kinda rule his life. They kept bugging him to “do something more with his life” until he finally decided to help “lost souls” find their “guardian angels” by running a bar in a seedy part of town.

For his part, he stays out of the “helping” and sees himself as a cosmic matchmaker.

For whatever reason, the right “souls” seem to find his bar and he is almost always able to find the right “help” they need and he never – never – has a repeat customer.

One day, Alex is feeling a bit lonely – the angels really frown on sex without commitment and Alex feels nobody in their right mind would see him as relationship/forever potential – when Finley walks in.

Finely has had a run of bad luck with bad exes and is dead broke. With his last $5 he buys a drink at the bar that seemed to be calling to him. He and Alex strike up an immediate rapport and though the angels don’t seem to want Alex to get directly involved with Finely’s “problems”, Alex feels compelled to act.

Alex gives Finley a job and a place to crash for the short-term and then spends the next several weeks slowly growing to really care for the guy.

The whole angel thing is a problem right from the start, but it becomes clear that higher powers are at work and things work out beautifully in the end.

**
I felt so strongly about this story that I wanted to give it a shout out. Elizah Davis does an amazing job of giving us a real, full but still short story with well developed characters, a quirky twist on the angel theme and a lovely HEA.


I highly recommend this story and the anthology itself – more to come from the other stories as I get to reviewing them.

5 of 5 stars



A better ending by Isabella Carter

This is a darker piece. The Angels aren't all good and the ending is happy but still not completely resolved.
I didn't like it nearly as much as Lilah Davis' story, it just wasn't my "flavor" of romance. The writing was good and the characters well developed.

3 of 5 stars

[☆ Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good compilation. I like a good Angel ready now and again.

Some stories were better than others, with the first two-thirds of the book being more enjoyable than the last portion.

I did find it sort of odd that the very last story had 2 MC's that weren't overly accessible, until the very last pages.

I would have done the story placement a bit differently, with very likeable characters in the final section, just to leave the reader with a bit more 'warm fuzzy', but that's probably just me.

There was a bit of editing that was wonky -- missing words and the like, but not very much. I still find it curious how a book can bed 'edited' and I'm able to find items that have very simply been corrected, even with Microsoft Word. : ?

3 1/2 stars overall, rounding up.

Note to Goodreads: You need 1/2 star ratings for more accurate reviews.

[Evie Kiels]

One of my most beloved worlds has a novella in this anthology! On Wings Not My Own is a story of lovers torn apart then reunited. There are two vignettes in the same world available for free reading on my website: In the Meadow of the Rabbit and The Mailmen

[Althea Duffy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sylvia A. Winters's poignant, lyrical "One for Sorrow" and Kayla Bain-Vrba's grim and raw "Watch As My World Ends" (which deconstructs conservative religious apocalypse fiction) were extraordinary.