Le Trône des Dieux Brisés

Gods & Monsters #2

by Amber V. Nicole, Lilas Hirschland (translator)

L’heure du deuil est terminée.
La menace de Thamaos se profile à l’Est et pour y faire face, il faut renforcer les armées du Nord et de l’Été. Mais pour cela, il faut faire appel à un être que personne ne pensait voir revenir à la vie : Neri, le redoutable dieu du Loup Blanc.

Liée par un pacte inéluctable, Nephele est contrainte de rester aux côtés de ce dieu arrogant et séducteur, tandis qu’il part à la reconquête de son territoire. Passer ses jours – et ses nuits – avec lui est la dernière chose qu’elle souhaite, mais le sort de Tiressia repose entièrement sur le pouvoir de Neri, et elle seule peut l’exploiter.

Du moins, c’est ce qu’elle pensait. Nephele découvre vite que le loup est non seulement bien plus difficile à contrôler qu’elle ne l’imaginait, mais aussi bien plus complexe. Chaque instant passé à ses côtés attise une passion brûlante et irrésistible – une passion qui attire bientôt l’attention de Thamaos.

Car s’il y a bien une chose que Thamaos hait plus que la résurrection de Neri, c’est la sorcière Bloodgood à ses côtés.

Genres: Fantasy, Romantasy, Romance, Fantasy Romance, Enemies To Lovers, Dark Romance, Magic

965 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 18, 2023

About the author

Amber V Nicole is a dark fantasy writer with a touch of horror added into the mix. When she is not writing new and fantastic ways to devastate her readers she is probably playing video games or obsessing over anime. Amber loves morally gray characters with their flaws and all and is always dreaming of far off places with dragons, magic, and swords. She loves a good villain and plans to tell many stories showcasing them in the spotlight.
You can find Amber active the most on her Instagram.

Reviews

[Sheeb ⚔️ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. NO book needs to be 800 pages. It never serves the story, and in this case you have 300 wasted pages of repetitive and unnecessary fluff.

I take great issue with books that terribly convey emotional turmoil. I’m 25, I don’t need to be spoon fed a long internal monologue about trauma every 50 pages. We GET IT. Dianna spent 1000 years being subjugated by a man who didn’t care about her and held her sister as collateral to force her to commit horrific acts. Her sister was killed. I understand and appreciate the rampage. BUT SERIOUSLY- after 200 pages we should get on with it. None of her choices made sense. Why didn’t she just team up with Samkiel to try to take down Kaden? Then she could go buck wild and incinerate the entire world if she wanted. And the author continued to tell us over and over that she can’t trust anyone because of Kaden, and she can’t stand to be near Samkiel because she feels responsible for her sister’s death. Then it’s supposed to be some grand reveal near the end that she hesitated and that’s where so much guilt comes from?? WE KNOW. YOU TOLD US 30x. I get it. She’s a monster, no one can love her. Boo hoo. OBVIOUSLY Samkiel does! She even admits it over and over that he does xyz, he must really care about me. So frustrating that the fantastic plot gets lost in the poor and rambling writing.

Of course, the last 100 pages was great plot-wise. Prophecies coming to fruition, powers returning, betrayals, worlds torn asunder. It’s all very titillating, but it SHOULD NEVER TAKE THAT DAMN LONG.

[Larissa Cambusano · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️ i’m in love with this series

[brooke (hiatus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

➸ 3.75 stars

“you’re a fool if you think i would be happy in a world where you did not exist.”

— The Throne of Broken Gods picks up immediately after The Book of Azrael and takes you on the most intense ride. this book revolves around the aspect of grief and overcoming it, seeking revenge on those who betrayed you and working through the phases you go through after a permanent loss of a loved one

➷ the world building expands in this book and the story is told within multiple POVs from the side characters. i felt that was the best addition to this book bc we got to learn more about the hand and their backgrounds - i did not once find the pov switch confusing.

➷ i love The Hand so so much except vincent!! he can fr go drop dead that little traitorous weasel. the found family aspect between them all is so precious and i loved that they never once gave up on dianna bc they all knew she was hurting. they welcomed and accepted her as their own, even after everything she done in the first half of the book. i loved when she finally accepted them bc she desperately needed that family bond, and that’s exactly what they provided her with. my heart broke into little pieces for at the end for cameron, that funny, chaotic, precious man has my whole heart! he deserves his happy ending w xavier :((

“we can do this dance until this world burns and the next takes its place, but i will still choose you.”

➳ dianna is in her villain era in this book and she is hell bent on destruction and revenge to those who wronged her. her character deals with grief in different stages throughout the story — she’s lost and so hurt in this book and you can’t help but feel sympathy for her as everyone she considered to be her friends betrayed her. her story is absolutely heartbreaking and it’s it’s so understandable on why she is so guarded and why it’s difficult for her to trust people around her. the grief she felt was tangible, and i felt myself wanting to reach out and give her the biggest hug while reading bc there were some aspects where my heart ached for her.

➳ samkiel, omg this man can do no wrong!! he gives off “touch her and you die” throughout the entire book. he is so head over heels in love w dianna and he would go through any lengths to protect her and help her but that only ignites dianna’s fury and it constantly leaves samkiel in complete agony watching her fall apart. the way he loves every flaw and jagged piece of her had me SWOONING. he never once gave up on her bc he knows he will get his dianna back, it will only just take time. he was so incredibly loyal to her and did not care how her actions were hurting him, bc deep down she is still that dianna he fell in love with.

the relationship between samkiel and dianna is best described as “raw and messy” - the slow burn was absolutely delicious tho and when it comes to the spice, all that tension and angst fr made up for it. i’m so glad that it wasn’t rushed — it is so sensual and explosive when it finally happens.

“do it.” i angled the tip of her blade above my heart. “if you are truly gone, i refuse to live in a world without you, so you’ll have to angle it farther to the right. that’s where a god’s heart lies, and mine already belongs to you, so do with it what you will.”

— my only complaints with this book are that it's really lengthy. i felt myself zoning out throughout the book bc things constantly felt repetitive especially the excessive overuse of "a lock on a door in a house rattled." it got so irking. also this book was unnecessarily dragged out — especially dianna’s vengeance and constantly blaming herself for what happened to gabby. the author could’ve cut out 200 pages and the point would have still gotten across to the readers. and finally, the plot twists were not really surprising once the big revelations happened bc they were openly hinted throughout the book.

— this book ends on another cliffhanger, so i can't wait to see what happens in the next book even tho it will probably be a long wait!!

[Yana · Rating 5 out of 5]

6 ⭐️ need to be literally sedated after finishing, should’ve came with a pack of tissues

[SK · Rating 5 out of 5]

"They wrote stories about us. Me, the Ig'Morruthen, and you, Samkiel, the World Ender. Two creatures destined to spill each other's blood until the cosmos bleed."

Plot- 5/5🌟
Spice- 3/5🌶️

✔️ Multi POV
✔️ Morally grey FMC
✔️ Found family
✔️ Forced proximity
✔️ Forbidden romance
✔️ Betrayal

Honestly, I would say this one is better than The Book of Azrael. I loved how character driven it was, enjoyed the plot and the twists and turns. Really liked how Dianna's grief was handled. I appreciated that we are given a recap of sorts in the beginning.

"A thousand plus worlds he has seen, yet when he dreams, he dreams of you."

The star of the book is hands down, Dianna. Yes there was a moment when she irritated me a bit but considering her situation and what she was going through, it's something am willing to look past. Dianna is fierce, her powers are perfectly utilised and suits her personality.

Samkiel kind of took the backseat for me in this. Dianna just overpowered his presence in every way possible. But I loved how patient he was with her throughout the book. Believe me, she pushes him unreasonably and my guy handled it maturely. Seriously tho, imagine a guy being patient, understanding and pushing for mature conversation, never making her feel unloved- that's Samkiel. Love him yet? 👀

The side characters provided interesting group dynamics. Kaden was...Kaden 🤦‍♀️ The thing about an amata was predictable, saw it coming miles away but the rest of the plot twists were chef's kiss 🤌

The romance was angsty. The smut was juicy. Dianna and Samkiel's chemistry is HOT 🥵

I liked the ending. There was a moment when I actually gasped and had to reread it cause I could not believe that happened. The cliffhanger is not as bad as the first book, but still makes me anticipate the next book.

~•~•~

Did I enjoy the first book? Yes
Do I remember it? No
Am I still going to read the sequel? You betcha

[Mandy Price · Rating 1 out of 5]

Y’all, did we read the same book!?!??

Book summary: A lock on a door in a house rattled.


That’s all you need to know…. Bc that phrase was 90% of the book.

Burn the damn house down

[Rebecca (life's chaotic catching up) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars!

"When I burn this world to embers, and you paint me as the villain, remember, I really did try to be good ......once."

Dianna has lost her last shreds of humanity and the whole world is going to pay for her pain. Picking up right where we left Dianna and the aftermath of the devastating events that took place in The Book of Azrael, vengeance is consuming Dianna's every breathe and she is ready to destroy the whole world to get it. Only one person stands in her way, the God King. Samkiel, refuses to believe that Dianna has turned into the monster everyone keeps telling him she is, can he reach her before she is forever lost to her bloodlust and thirst for revenge?

"I always thought of myself as a monster, and now I suppose it's true. You have no idea what I have done. All I will do. I used to hate that part of me. I didn't realize how freeing it would be just not to care and fully embrace it."

This book was so emotional and heart wrenching but somehow was also really funny and fun to read! All of the characters are so well written and fleshed out and there were so many new facets to this follow-up book that I thought made it even better than the first book! The world building continues to be well developed and detailed and the new, found family dynamic that this book explores is EVERYTHING!!! The balance between dealing with serious subject matters and also more lighthearted banter and character relationships was expertly done and helped keep the story moving. I thought at times it felt a little overwritten and probably didn't need to be so long but overall, I really, really enjoyed this book so much!

"I am a creature born of chaos, born to destroy you. You are the protector of all twelve realms and every dimension in between. Shall we be what we were always destined to be, lover?"

Dianna-She is my QUEEN! Dianna absolutely delivered in this book. She was unforgiving, terrifying and lethal. Seeing her unleashed in all her glorious brutality was thrilling but also her pain was palpable, and you couldn't help but feel for her. She is always the most entertaining character on the page and I love her quick wit and her banter with Samkiel is unmatched! Her character development in this book is so beautiful and I loved seeing her make new relationships but it's all about her and Samkiel! 😍 One of the best enemies to lovers I have ever read.

Do it, if you are truly gone, I refuse to live in a world without you, so you'll have to angle it farther to the right. That's where a God's heart lies, and mine already belongs to you, so do with it what you will."

Samkiel-This man is PERFECT. His absolute and unwavering devotion and belief in Dianna was so amazing. Even when she gave him zero hope and is literally stabbing him, this man never falters in his love for her or his determination to save her from herself. He is willing to burn the world for her. The chemistry between him and Dianna is white hot!! I can't get enough of them! 🥰

"We swore that no matter what happened, we would try to bring her back because if Samkiel loved her, she was also ours."

The Hand- Aaah! I love this group of Celestials so much!!! The way this book really leaned into the found family theme with this group was one of my absolute favorite things and really made this book stand apart. I loved every aspect of their dynamic. Cameron and Xavier are my new obsession!! How can they be so perfect? Cameron is the best and made me laugh the entire book. And Logan and Nev are couple goals. I loved getting to know Imme more and Vincent......(nevermind!) I am so invested in them all and I am scared for all my babies!!!

Sigh, so yes, it does end on another cliffhanger, so we are sentenced to another long torturous wait until we find out the fates of our beloved characters. 😭 I leave you with more quotes I loved in the meantime. 😍

"I am not fond of others touching what's mine"

"If you wanted me on my knees, Dianna, all you had to do was ask."

"There is no place in this world or the next that you could hide from me, akrai."

"I can barely breathe without you Dianna."

"There is no force in this world or the next strong enough to keep me from you."

"If he hurt you again, I would level the world."

Thank you NetGalley and Rose and Star Publishing for the gifted arc.

[Talia Devereaux · Rating 1 out of 5]

re-written review: aug 21 2023

tw: r*pe

Listen, I tried. I really, really tried to finish this book, but when Samkiel started tossing Dianna in the air like she was a toddler playing in the pool at the 70% mark, I couldn’t deal anymore.

Before I start my review of the actual book, let me just complain very loudly about that blood-spattered note meant to recap the events of book one. First of all. Who approved that art? Who thought it was a good idea to put red text on top of a blood-spattered background in sloppy cursive writing where the spatters are sometimes placed over the text? How am I supposed to read that? Fire whoever approved that rn, Amber. Second of all. The fact that it took not even a full two pages to recap an almost 900-page book is hilarious to me. That’s how you know that absolutely nothing of import happened in Book of Azrael.

So, I’m not going to lie, I barely remember what the actual plot of these novels is meant to be. In book one, Dianna and Liam spend most of the book dicking around, bantering like two individuals who’ve never flirted with another person in their life, while they look for The Book of Azrael. I don’t remember why they want this book or what it’s supposed to do, just that Dianna’s maker, Kaden, wants it real bad, and they need to get it before he does. After some incredibly heavy foreshadowing that somehow no one(except for me) saw coming, Dianna’s sister, Gabriella, is murdered by Kaden. This is the catalyst for Dianna to go full villain mode. In book one, she’s advertised as if she’s a villain but never does anything villainous. In book two, Dianna goes hard

But sadly, not in a way that is enjoyable to read. At all.

Here’s the thing. These books have the potential to be enjoyable reads if Amber would just give them more time. The writing is so stiff and clunky. There are so many words that could be combined or sentences that could be cut altogether that would make this flow so much better. It’s like the editors have never heard of contractions before. There are entire chapters that should be cut because they contribute nothing of value to the plot. They’re just there to fill space, and this book is already nearly 900 pages. We do not need any more filler chapters. All the characters still speak like robots. Everyone has the exact same voice even though we have multiple first-person POV chapters, but literally, everyone talks identically. If not for the chapter title telling us whose POV we’re in, I never would’ve been able to guess. Some of the POVs seem like they’re there just so a ‘spicy’ scene could be included, but again, it contributes nothing to the story. Throne of Broken Gods reads as if Amber was desperately trying to revamp it so that it reflected what she actually wanted Book of Azrael to be, but it suffers greatly. Once again, this book is far too long. Nearly 900 pages of nonsense. 400 of those pages are Dianna’s villain spree and Samkiel cleaning up her messes and thinking about how much he wants to save her. 200 of those pages are Dianna being sad about her sister and pushing everyone away. I’m assuming the actual plot of this book is crammed into the last 200 pages, but it took so long to get there that I don’t even care anymore.

There’s sudden background on Dianna thrown in that should’ve been given to us in the last book. We’re told that Dianna and her sister were once named Mer Ka and Ain, but her backstory never gets expanded on. The name is used approximately 5 times throughout this 900-page book. And then it turns out that wasn’t even actually her real name. We’re given a random ritual that makes no sense where Dianna burns Gabriella’s body and spreads the ashes over a beach so that all of her ‘parts can be reused,’ but…how are they being reused by disintegrating into the ocean? We’re given flashbacks that took place during the first book that should’ve just been written into the first book. These books need such heavy-duty re-works. Like I really do think this had the potential to be a cool series, but it’s just so poorly written I am constantly shaking my head in disappointment.

So, Dianna is going from faction to faction, slaughtering every single person who happened to be in the room when Kaden murdered her sister. It doesn’t matter that most of these people seemed to have no idea Kaden intended to kill her. It doesn’t matter that Kaden is meant to be so powerful that no one but a God King could kill him. It doesn’t matter that even if these people did try to intervene, they more than likely would’ve been killed alongside Gabriella. Nope, Dianna doesn’t care. They’re all on her shit list. And in order to get strong enough so that she can kill all these people and be an all-powerful badass, she kills and eats countless mortals. None of these kills is shown on page. Dianna never reflects on the fact that she just killed and ate a bunch of innocent people who had nothing to do with her sister’s death. The only thing that matters is her revenge. She kills Drake, that one guy she pretended to kill in the last book, but this time she kills him for real. She slaughters Camilla’s entire coven and a few other covens too. She threatens Samkiel’s family 1000 times. Stabs him in the gut, and he gets a boner from it. At one point, she disguises herself as another woman(she has the ability to shapeshift into any form she wishes), sneaks into a hotel room with a group of prostitutes, sleeps with one of the men inside that room and then promptly murders him and everyone else there.

That is rape. Dianna is a rapist. And the thing is, I don’t think the author realizes this. There are trigger warnings for nearly everything in this book except for rape. Dianna felt the need to disguise herself to sneak into a room so she could get close to one of her evil boss’s lackeys. So, clearly, that means he would’ve recognized her if she’d looked like herself; otherwise, why disguise yourself at all? That means he would’ve not had sex with her if he knew who she was. Dianna felt the need to disguise herself so she could sleep with a man who would’ve otherwise said no and then kill him—and everyone else in the room. So if she intended on killing everyone in the room anyway, why sneak in? Why did she feel the need to sleep with someone she was intending to kill? She tells Samkiel that she did it for fun. (She also says she left him the room full of dismembered body parts and a pair of her PANTIES as a parting gift to tell him she’s never coming back. WTF KIND OF PARTING GIFT IS PANTIES AND A ROOM FULL OF DEAD BODIES? HOW DOES ANYONE INTERPRET THAT?)

And he’s jealous. Instead of being horrified that the woman he loved raped and killed a man for fun. He’s jealous that another person touched her and was inside of her. And this continues throughout the whole book! Liam just constantly having random monologues about how they haven’t discussed their exclusivity. Why is that relevant at all? See, this is where I just started wanting to rip chunks of my hair out. Because nowhere in this book do Liam or the Hand really condemn Dianna’s actions. They’re all about saving and protecting poor little precious Dianna because she’s “starved for attention”. She just needs a hug, and then she’ll stop mass-murdering everyone!! She kills Tobias, and then Logan and Neverra are like OMG YES, SLAY, SHE’S OUR QUEEN. I DON’T EVEN CARE THAT SHE’S A MURDERER SHE’S AMAZING. OMG Xavier and Cameron take her out to get wasted at a bar even though she’s literally under house arrest, but she deserves a night of fun even though she’s a mass murderer! Then when a bunch of vampires show up and beat the shit out of her, and Samkiel blames Xavier and Cameron for it, she stands up for them, and they’re all like oH MY GOD, WE RESPECT YOU SO MUCH.

And like…what? what???? The celestials are supposed to protect mortals, right? Yet they’re over here lauding a woman who just slaughtered(and ATE) a shit ton of them so she could get revenge against people who just happened to be in the same room as her sister when she died. Like WHAT? Nobody ever addresses what Dianna did. Dianna only feels guilt because she is lonely and didn’t save her sister. She expresses remorse only for hurting her friends(and only when they tell her to her face that she hurt them) but none for the countless humans she killed in her quest for vengeance. I’m disappointed because I really think there was room for an actual in-depth exploration of remorse and trying to atone for those actions, but no.

The only person who does speak out against Dianna ends up being a bad guy. And it’s wild to me that the author clearly wants me to disagree with him. But he’s right. Dianna did destroy two cities, she did slaughter a bunch of people and eat them; she did threaten and hurt Samkiel and the Hand. Like she did all of these things, and she was basically given the Nesta/Feyre treatment by being put in a fancy castle as ‘punishment’ and then forced to go on long jogs. There’s a council of mortals calling for her to be punished, and Samkiel’s response is to “put them in their place” by making the room explode. Am I the only one who’s seeing a problem here? Dianna should be punished. It’s one thing if she’d just gone after Tobias and Kaden, etc—the actual BAD GUYS. It’s one thing if she simply were being scary and threatening the others to get information as she did in the last book. But she didn’t. She went way over the line. And the only thing she really seems sad about is failing to kill Kaden and avenge Gabriella. She doesn’t seem to feel bad about any of the innocents she’s killed. Nor does she feel any remorse over killing the people who didn’t know Kaden planned on killing Gabriella. (she does feel a little bit sad over Drake, but only because his ‘fated lover’ came to kill her for killing him. But that’s literally 500 pages into this book) Like, sure it’s revenge, and she’s mad, but it makes me unable to empathize with her because everything she doing has no actual logic behind it. There’s also the fact that Samkiel and the Hand are constantly justifying her actions as if she’s in the right to do what she’s doing. And like…no? If you want to write an evil character, just let her be evil. Stop trying to justify her actions and paint her actual horrible deeds in a flattering light. Because Dianna is a rapist and a murderer, and people keep saying she needs to be protected? So we’re protecting rapists now? I find it really disappointing that there’s really no exploration of how she feels about what she’s done. I would’ve really been interested to read her experience of real remorse instead of constantly thirsting after Samkiel any chance they’re together. Instead of feeling constant jealousy for no reason.

I just want to say that it is entirely possible to write a character who is a garbage human and an utter piece of shit without justifying their actions—and they can still be a character that is liked. Daemon Targaryen murdered his wife, choked his other wife, and did a bunch of other shitty things, but he’s a really great character. Cersei Lannister is a devious evil bitch, but she’s also a fantastic character. You don’t see people justifying their actions.

I wish the author would’ve expanded more on the fact that all of this was a suicide mission and Dianna didn’t expect to have to deal with her guilt or something. I wish that she would’ve stopped her villain spree after she slaughtered Drake and his Coven. I think the book would’ve been better if she had maybe killed a few humans, and we saw it on page, then she went after Drake first. She kills him, and then she’s trying to convince herself that what she’s doing is right and that soon she’ll be reunited with her sister, etc. But then Samkiel captures her, and they make her actually deal with the consequences of her actions. She actually faces the fact that she’s killed innocents. The book would’ve been far shorter and much better. And I really wish that the book would’ve dialed back the horniness by 1000%.

It feels like every single conversation in this book ends up centering around whom Dianna spread her legs for to get information or to get where she is in life. Nobody can spend a single minute with Dianna without making some crass remark about her vagina and how good it is and how everyone wants to fuck her or how everyone loses their mind once they fuck her. It is insane just how many times a conversation like this happens just in the first four hundred pages. There’s a whole chapter dedicated to Cameron and Xavier eating pancakes and talking about “how good it is” and why Samkiel is all bent out of shape about her. Like, Amber, what the fuck?

Then the sex scenes that are actually written just feel…soulless to me? Like they’re just a list of actions. One of the scenes is Cameron basically using another woman to forget the man he’s in love with and the whole time they’re boning, he’s having thoughts like, ‘god, she’s a righteous bitch, but she sucks dick like a goddess’ or ‘god she may be a bitch, but her pussy is divine’. Like….oh my god?!?!?!

In the midst of Dianna’s raging, she goes after a fate called Roccurem for some reason I don’t understand. He repeatedly mentions that gods have tried and failed to kill him, yet Samkiel and Dianna continuously threaten to rip him to shreds. They just annoy me so much, let me tell you. She calls him Reggie sporadically throughout the book, I don’t really understand why they couldn’t just stay consistent with that. But anyway, this fate literally is playing a matchmaker between Dianna and Samkiel. He’s just floating from person to person like, ‘ayyyy he loves you. Give him a chance’. He literally set up Dianna getting beat up by vampires in an effort to push her closer to Samkiel. And Xavier and Cameron let it happen? So, that’s fun. Lmao

So, I gave up at the 70% mark, and truthfully it feels like we’ve lost the thread of the plot. It feels like Dianna and Samkiel are aimless and have real no purpose whatsoever. Dianna wants to kill Kaden but nobody is really focusing enough on what havoc Kaden might be wreaking. Nobody is really trying to find him. They’re all so focused on Dianna and the bullshit she’s doing and making sure she feels better that they’re letting Kaden and the fact that he’s gonna probably destroy the world to the wayside. This books suffers greatly because of this. 400 pages of Dianna pointlessly slaughtering people and pushing people away. 200 pages of Dianna thirsting after Samkiel and refusing to face her grief. What is the actual plot of this story? Why did that need to be 600 pages when you could’ve explored that entire arc in like 150.

Last thing I’m going to vent about and then I’m done. I hate Dianna. She is so beyond annoying. She’s gullible as hell and believes anything anyone tells her. Kaden shows up one time to tell her Samkiel is betrothed to some woman and he’s obviously lying to make her upset but she believes him in .2 seconds. Never once questions that he might be messing with her. And it just makes me dislike her so much. After she was betrayed like ten times in the last book has she learned absolutely nothing? She’s 1000 years old and has no concept of treading cautiously or idk using her brain before reacting? She gets jealous in a heartbeat any time Samkiel mentions a woman he knows. Xavier and Cameron make up a girl Samkiel is dating and she gets murderously jealous. Like girl, you are not cute. And it’s not cute for Samkiel to behave this way either. Ya’ll are thousand year old celestial gods and you still get as jealous as high schooler? Grow up.

Anyway, if anyone finished this book please let me know if Dianna ever acknowledges the fact that she raped someone. Or idk, shows some remorse for anything she did. I’d love to know. Bye.

EDIT: Okay, I went back and actually read through the pages that I skimmed last time since I’m going to read the third book. Dianna shows no remorse for being a rapist or mass murderer. Everyone constantly forgives and justifies her actions. Vincent is the literal only person to call her out for being a mass murderer, and he’s continuously threatened and berated for it. Even though Kaden is plotting to like end the world or something, Samkiel decides postponing everything and going on a date with Dianna is more important. So he asks Camilla who’s been absent for hundreds of pages to pose as him during a council meeting, something that literally never happens. The chapter could’ve been deleted and it wouldn’t have even mattered. I’m shocked that an editor left it in there because the next time you see Logan, who’s meant to be watching over Camilla as she poses as Samkiel, she’s not with him and the entire council is like ‘oh where’s Samkiel he’s been gone for three days?’ so literally why was Camilla even mentioned???

Then they play beach volleyball and have a picnic. Dianna and Samkiel have an ice skating date, break into a food truck and fuck for three days. Dianna masturbates and talks to a star cuz she’s lonely. Dianna and Samkiel have some of the longest sex scenes I’ve ever read in my life. Then they have a dinner party where everyone shits on Vincent despite the fact that he came there to apologize. All of these scenes added absolutely nothing of import to the story. It was all filler space that would’ve been better suited in a fucking novella or something. We stray too far from the plot of the story too fucking often.

Logan and Neverra are talking about having babies despite the fact that they are actively fighting a war rn. Xavier gets a fiance that literally appeared out of nowhere. He doesn’t even get named. Just a nameless faceless man that Xavier is suddenly engaged to. Seriously, if anyone knows who this guy is and when he first appeared in this book please tell me because I have no idea who he’s talking about.

Despite the fact that Samkiel insists Kaden is not blood kin we find out a hundred pages later that he is in fact, blood kin. He’s his brother. Dianna is adopted. Azrael is her dad. Reggie/Roccurem(seriously pick one) is working with Kaden all along. Vincent is also working with Kaden but legit I don’t blame him because why the fuck would he stay friends with Samkiel after he got treated like shit for calling out Samkiel’s mass murdering rapist girlfriend?

The last hundred pages are the only plot that actually happens and it’s the only part of this book I actively enjoyed. The end.

[✨Julie✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

✩ 2.25 stars ✩

What to Expect:
➼ Enemies-to-Lovers
➼ Fated Mates
➼ Betrayal
➼ Revenge
➼ Villainous FMC
➼ Found Family
➼ Processing Grief
➼ Concealed Identities
➼ Burn the World Energy
➼ First Person Multi POV

Who gave these emotional idiots unlimited power? I’d like to speak to a Manager because this is out of hand. I’m honestly wondering if I read the same book as everyone else at this point because this was nowhere close to a 5 star or even a 4 star read. I had similar issues with this book as I did with the previous book, but the most glaring issue was Dianna.

The author should have written Dianna as 35 instead of 1000+. Her murderous rampage felt so excessive knowing that her sister lived 1000 years. I could get behind calculated revenge, but it’s implied that she fed off numerous innocents to beef up her power. It makes sense that she would grieve, but all the “burn the world down” nonsense was too much. There were literally 400+ pages dedicated to her temper tantrum and as soon as she finished she fell straight into an insecure thought spiral about how no one could ever love her because she was too evil, blah blah blah. Again, she is 1000, this is such immature behavior and I have no time for it.

Another issue was the length of the book. I honestly really hate the audiobook narrator and probably should have read the book the old fashioned way, but I’d likely still be reading it in 2025 if I had tried. It is TOO long and too much time is dedicated to Dianna’s “villain phase” to hold my interest. There were also one or two too many sex scenes and I wasn’t a fan of how they were written. Don’t even get me started on her calling him “Sami” during sex, major cringe. 🤢 Side note… The author really thought she did something with that whole “and a lock on a door in a house rattled” business. I thought it was lame the first time she wrote it and then she decided to write it legitimately like 15 more times. 🙄

I don’t dislike Samkiel, but he kind of felt like a side character in this one. I’m not really feeling their connection the way other people seem to. 🤷🏼‍♀️ There’s a lot of emphasis on him accepting every part of her, but she frankly needed someone to tell her some hard truths and snap her out of it. I personally felt that his approach was too passive which wasn’t attractive to me. None of the reveals surprised me in the slightest but I could see them taking the story in an interesting direction. Perhaps now that Dianna is past her villain era I can finally enjoy the series. 🍿🥤

✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼

Pre-read: Gonna go ahead and predict that Dianna is about to really piss me off. 😂

[toointofiction · Rating 5 out of 5]

"If you wanted me on my knees, Dianna, all you had to do is ask. You know that."


Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (I am NOT exaggerating!!!)


Spice Meter: 🌶️🌶️🌶️


❗This review contains some minor spoilers❗


The way my entire psyche is utterly destroyed by this book is not even a joke. I am devastated and a pitiful, horny wreck. Where do I even begin with this masterpiece? The plot? It's magnificent. It is so complex and well-thought-out, full of suspense, and major plot twist after major plot twist. The writing? It was so beautiful that had me melting into a pathetic puddle on the floor. The lore and world-building in general are fascinating and even better developed than in the first book. Many questions both from the previous book and this one are answered, even as new mysteries arise. From beginning to end this book is funny and devastating, sexy and full of action, romance, and betrayal. Also, that ending, even if it isn't as horrific as the one in The Book of Azrael, still left me reeling, shaking, and making feral alien noises in the middle of the night. I don't know how I survived it. I need more. NOW!!!

Moreover, that feeling I got as soon as I started reading this and realised how much I've missed these characters is unfathomable. Dianna in her full-force villain era is transcendent. She is so thoroughly wrecked by her sister's death that she left a wake of destruction all around her, hellbent on revenge and bloodlust. Sexy, right? 😏😏 Her grief affects every action and every decision she makes, uncaring of who she hurts or what she destroys. Then there's how she gradually begins to heal, even if her methods were often questionable, which shows just how remarkable her character arc is. She had some much-needed help, though. Samkiel, the devastatingly handsome World Ender, has set the bar so high there is no conceivable possibility in this reality where someone can reach him. He could teach these 'real' men a thing or two about romance and loyalty. Never once did he give up on Dianna, even when she slaughters people left and right, betrayed him at every turn, and hurt those closest to him one way or another. Seeing him juggling his hurricane of a girlfriend and his duties as the god king, letting both destroy him but refusing to back down does some truly wild thing to me. He is THE MAN!!!

Furthermore, Samkiel and Dianna have one of the most wonderful relationships in modern literature. The way they support each other even at their lowest makes any other relationship seem like worthless garbage. Flowers and chocolates just don't have the same impact on me anymore, and it's all Dianna's and Samkiel's fault. I need someone to chase me through the worlds and nurse my aching soul back together or I'm not even going to bother, I swear. On that note, I would also like to add that the tension between them and the way it eventually comes undone (pun intended 😏😏) is so gentle and loving it melted my cold, dead heart. Not to mention, the maddening passion that comes forth soon after had me biting my lip hard enough to bleed and kicking my little legs in the air in excitement.

In addition, despite my unconditional love for them, Samkiel and Dianna aren't the only ones that have my whole heart in their hands. Camilla may have betrayed Dianna in the first book, but she seems genuine in her need to repent for the role she played in Gabby's death. This book got me to change my mind about her, regardless of the anger I felt towards her. Besides, Samkiel's cadre, The Hand, includes some adorable, hilarious characters that I would gladly die for. In the beginning, more specifically in the first book, I didn't really like Imogen. She seemed to be kind of a bitch, even though her presence was minimal. I honestly thought she would become another obstacle between Samkiel and Dianna, but I'm relieved that I couldn't have been further from the truth. As it turns out, she is quite lovely, and while her love for her king is true, it holds no romantic feelings whatsoever, despite their history. She even becomes close friends with Dianna. Neverra and Logan are essentially the It couple of the group. They are so sweet and wholesome, I can't help but love them and appreciate their soothing presence after some truly horrifying moments. Also, they have the purest form of friendship with Dianna (even in her darkest moments she genuinely wants to help them and vice versa) and their support of her is unrelenting. Nevertheless, there is one pair that has me in a chokehold, and it is Cameron and Xavier. These boys have eons of unresolved feelings to deal with and all the life-threatening problems just keep getting in their way. It's honestly so frustrating! Even so, they are the most hilarious characters in the book, and before the shit hit the fan, they shared some beautiful moments with Dianna. However, there is one particular member of the group that needs to get his life right. Vincent has a massive pile of mistakes to apologise for and I will not forgive him until he does. Otherwise, he can drop dead for all I care.

I think it's cruel to make me wait another year or so for the next book to come out but I wouldn't expect anything less from Miss Amber V Nicole

[Koisty]

DNF 41%

This book put me in a reading slump!!!
I feel terrible about DNFing a book. I can legitimately count on my one hand how many times I have done it...(IT's ONLY 4 NOW) but I just cannot get this book to grip me.

I am having an existential crisis as I normally read over 100 pages a day and I have only managed 10 in 2 days!!!

This book is just boring...I cannot deal with Diana being a psychopathic freak killing thousands of people and almost having a childish temper tantrum cause her sister was murdered. I GET IT, you are in pain and you are hurting but seriously now....this stupid "cat-and-mouse" game you are playing with Samkiel where you basically fight as foreplay and repeat the same thing over and over is DRIVING ME MAD! It's like they fight, she tells him to get lost, they destroy a building and then "three weeks later" (yes read that in the Spongebob meme voice)

I have read 363 pages ALREADY (which is sometimes the length of a normal book) and it feels like we going in a spiral going nowhere...

Truly thank you Amber V. Nicole for the copy of the ARC, but unfortunately, this is not for me right now...I am going to soft DNF but not sure when/if I'll pick it up to try again

[☾All of Meg☀ · Rating 5 out of 5]

“When I burn this world to embers, and you paint me as the villain, remember, I really did try to be good… once.”



Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Angst/tension: ♾️🔥/5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

What To Expect:
✔️Multi-POV
✔️Forbidden romance
✔️Forced proximity
✔️Gods/goddesses and other supernatural beings
✔️Epic world-building
✔️Tension so thick you could cut it with a knife 🔥
✔️Immaculate spice payoff (finally)🌶️🫠
✔️An emotionally-destroyed FMC who is on a warpath for vengeance 🐉
✔️A cinnamon roll MMC who also destroys worlds and will stop at nothing to save his woman before he loses her completely ⚔️
✔️Emotional damage and heartbreaking cliffhanger
✔️Twist/turns/betrayals and pain 🥲
✔️Cliffhanger (but not as bad as book 1- iykyk)
Themes: Grief, survivor guilt, loss, depression, anxiety, torture, historical/past abuse of FMC

Well, she’s done it again. Idk what Amber puts in these books that is so damn addictive but it can’t be legal 😂😉. This book blew every expectation I had out of the water, my heart and mind will take several days to recover. Book 1 (The Book of Azrael) was child’s play in comparison to this torment. I stayed up until after 4am the first day and 5:19am this morning (11/5/23) finishing this behemoth of a book 🙈. I have absolutely no regrets for destroying my sleep cycle because it was so damn worth it.
*Note* this will be a spoiler-free review of Book 1 and 2

A Masterful Story of Grief and Survival



"What have you buried so deeply that even I cannot see?"

This book is an achingly beautiful insight into the complexities of grief and guilt, and acknowledges how they often go hand-in-hand. The agony of loss can be felt through the pages and had me in tears more than once. The imagery of locking part of oneself away so deep in order to move forward, rather than face the trauma head on, is a painfully accurate depiction for those (myself included) who have experienced the sudden loss of a loved one.
This book portrays perfectly how guilt, bitterness, regret, and sorrow, in the wake of immense loss, can become a slow poison that seeps into the soul and erodes the psyche. It especially shows how this toxic combination has no simple antidote or ‘quick fix’ except stubborn survival in spite of the anguish, hoping that one day you will learn how to live on and endure it.
Mental health is a very difficult topic to portray well and genuinely, and is oftentimes glossed over even in literature. But here, depression, anxiety, grief, and everything in between were faithfully represented and it was truly wonderful (albeit tearing-inducing) to read.

Certified Baddest. Of. Them. All. FMC


“Devil,” he whispered, and to him, maybe I did look like the demons from his legends.
“Actually, it’s Dianna.”



Facing utter devastation after the tragic events of Book 1, Dianna is on a mission that is paved solely in blood and fury, leaving her morals and empathy in the dust. Desperate to escape the pain and guilt associated with her loss, she transforms her anguish into fuel for her anger and blood-lust, hunting down all those who wronged her, regardless of the collateral damage left in her wake. It was absolutely haunting to see the havoc caused in this book. Honestly, I don’t blame her. After what transpired I think anyone would have lost control too. The betrayals and torments she’s faced throughout her life were the perfect catalyst to her breaking. I won’t say more than this yet, not until after the book is released, but I will say that Dianna is an incredibly complex character and a refreshing take on the idea of what makes someone a ‘villain’.

“It won't be easy, and there will be days you will feel like you don't want to get out of bed, but I want to be there for you. Every day if you will let me."

Through it all, there was one person who would not let her fully succumb to the darkness inside her. Samkiel/Liam is just the standard and more, and even through all her anger and vileness he still fights for her because he knows she’s just wounded and worth it. That’s love.

Whole Damn Package MMC


"You deserve to be worshiped like the goddess you are," he said, pressing another kiss to my brow.
"I'm not a goddess."
"You are mine."

Samkiel was between a rock and a hard place throughout this entire book honestly. With the weight of all the worries of everyone in the realm and worlds on his shoulders, coupled with his desperate attempts to save Dianna, he barely had a single second to breathe. But, you really get to experience so many new sides to him and his role as King, as well as see his own emotionally struggles and I absolutely adored that. I do not think I could love this MMC more than I already do and he is the standard I will hold all men to forever (thanks for setting the bar so high Amber). I am currently asking myself where I can find one 🙈👀

A Relationship That Is Unbreakable


“If he hurt you again, touched you, I'd level the world"
My lips twisted in a smirk. "You're cute when you're homicidal."

The love and torment between Samkiel and Dianna played with my emotions so much leaving me raw one second, then mending me the next. It was push and pull, ultimatums, realisation, and submission in its purest form. It was so beautiful and painful, but that made the everything all the better. And yes, there is spice🙈. And yes, it is better than I could’ve ever hoped for and is so worth the tension and angsttttt 😩🔥

The Prophecy
The cryptic af prophecy had my mind working overtime trying to figure it out. But learning new elements to it was both exciting and terrifying to say the least 🙈. Im still scared for what is to come though, I know that this is just the beginning… 🫠

POVs From Our Fav Side Characters
The other POVs in this were so necessary to get a more rounded idea of what was truly going on. I definitely loved having more insight into side characters that I had previously overlooked, especially members of The Hand. Kaden’s POV made me want to jump into the book and rip him to shreds. I hate him. I will never not hate him. But it was very necessary and did give his perspective, especially on Dianna which was interesting to ruminate on. I am hoping to see some of these same characters represented in POVs in future books, and seeing where their stories lead amongst all the chaos. My fav side character has to be either Logan or Cameron. They are the GOAT friends to Samkiel and their humorous unmatched (especially Cameron).

Final Thoughts


The ending was insane. Imo much more agonising than Book 1 but in a completely different way. One of my major theories came true, but there was plenty that I did not see coming… I am so scared about the events that will take place in Book 3 (Unreleased Title), but I am prepared to sell my soul to get my hands on it 🙈. I fear the unanswered questions I have will haunt me 🥲 (worth it though lmao).



I received an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much Rose&Star, Good Girls PR, and of course Amber Nicole ❤️‍🔥

*****

May 11th: It is 5:19am and I have no regrets about staying up all night finishing this. Prepare for a long af review because this was immaculate and I couldn’t put it down. Brb gonna sleep for a bit first 💀

*****

May 10th: It’s 4am and I am setting an alarm for 11am so that I can sleep for a wee bit and then get back to it 👀

*****

May 9th: THE eARC IS FINALLY HERE BYE 😩🐉⚔️🔥👀🫠💀🥵🌶️🥲🥺

[giulsxx · Rating 5 out of 5]

➼ 5★

”So when the very fabric of the universe burns, I want you to remember that I love you.”

five fucking stars are not enough for this book.
THIS IS A FREAKING M.A.S.T.E.R.P.I.E.C.E
amber v. nicole i must kneel before you because you built and built and built and made us wait and wait and wait, but, in the end, you fucking delivered!!!!!
this story? these characters? 10/10!!! there’s not a single page, or chapter, i disliked. if i could, i would tattoo this book in my mind forever.
what are you still doing here? go and read this series!🏃🏻‍♀️

to my fav girl in the world, shei:
it took us two months to read this book but we finally made it and i’m so glad it was you who accompanied me in this torturous journey.
remember that ily💫

“I am a creature born of chaos, born to destroy you.” She lifted her blade, pointing it at me. “You are the protector of all twelve realms and every dimension in between. Shall we be what we were always destined to be, lover?”

Their world kept spinning as if mine hadn’t stopped at all.

I have learned from watching so many that grief comes in waves and patterns. It flows, ebbs, and returns, claiming its way through the chest, the heart, and the brain. It seeks what they bury, aching for release from emotions pushed down far too deep.

Why did her name always feel like a benediction when it fell from my lips?

“We can do this dance until this world burns and the next takes its place, but I will still choose you.”

“If you are truly gone, I refuse to live in a world without you, so you’ll have to angle it farther to the right. That’s where a god’s heart lies, and mine already belongs to you, so do with it what you will.”

“A thousand plus worlds he has seen, yet when he dreams, he dreams of you.”

“Love is such a dangerous and powerful emotion. The gods curse it, for it has power. Empires have fallen for it, reduced to sand and scriptures. Worlds have burned for it, and they will once more. Love has the power to touch even the untouchable. Use it.”

My Dianna.

“You’re a fool if you think I would be happy in a world where you did not exist.”

Xavier’s laugh echoed off the walls. It would always be my favorite sound.

Samkiel was just a boy in love with a girl.

Love was nothing but magic in its purest form.

“Mine,” he agreed, and it sounded like a vow. The look on his face took my breath away, and I knew I would never forget it. I would remember it until I was dust between the stars.

My shoulders slumped. I have been stabbed, damn near dismembered, and swallowed whole, but nothing hurt as much as those words. My chest felt like it had caved in on itself. Maybe he was right. I’d waited too long, my own insecurities eating away at me. What if it wasn’t real for us? What if I messed it up like I had so many other things in my life? What if we weren’t even amata, and I just kept him from the one he truly needed? Athos, like every other god and goddess, had said love made you weak and caused you to lose focus. What if they were right?

“I am only ever yours to have.”

“It hurts, doesn’t it?” he asked, nodding toward Xavier. “Seeing the one you love the most completely under the spell of another. It burns your gut, makes your heart race.”

“You are my whole world.”

“How deeply you must love someone that death itself fears taking them?”

“I fear no gods and no kings.”

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ pre-read:
with my love shei 🩶
curiosity is a bitch, so are we💅🏼

[Melissa Stanley · Rating 1 out of 5]

You lost me at Sami. Dnf.

[Kezia Duah]

DNF @ 75%. I. Really. Tried. 😞

[Laura (Hiatus) · Rating 5 out of 5]

“A thousand plus worlds he has seen, yet when he dreams, he dreams of you.”

I know many people found Dianna annoying, I did too but a tad bit not more than that! The writing was nothing but phenomenal and the action scenes were on top! The plot and the politics had me on the edge! This book was 900 pages long but the fact that the writing style was so beautiful that I read it in 3 days. Samkiel and Dianna were a joy to read. Dianna and her rage was the best thing I have ever read and Samkiel going out of his way everytime for her was my favorite part. Logan is my new favorite character and the ending really broke me. Finally, the romance was everything that I could have asked for. It was an amazing experience!

---> 4.75!

“When I burn this world to embers, and you paint me as the villain, remember, I really did try to be good… once.”
___
*proceeds with shaky hands* pls dont destroy me (it will)

[Bex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Plot- 2/5🔆
Spice- 2/5🌶️

After reading the first book I was SO excited to start The Throne of Broken Gods. I was disappointed in the set up of this book. Initially it started out great, with Dianna going on a vengeful rage. That hardly ever happens for our FMC so I was all for it. Get it girl. But then her guilt/shame/pity/trauma spiral just kept going, and going, and going. The plot of the book was at a standstill and everything revolved around Dianna not being able to cope with her trauma.... and stabbing everyone in the process. I love a healing journey but this went on too long, especially when the first book had such a quick plot line. This book felt like it was at a standstill. About 70% into the book, things start picking up again and Dianna and Sami make up, etc. Then the last 30% of the book was jam packed with all the plot. I wish the author would have spent more time focusing on that 30% because it gets really good at the end and I wanted more of that. It almost felt rushed at the end.

Things I liked:
🔘Enemies to lovers
🔘Slow burn
🔘FMC as a villain
🔘Cliffhanger

There is a sprinkling of some nice spicy scenes throughout the book with different character couples. I would have enjoyed them more if I was not in a depressed slump reading about Dianna's self-loathing.

I was surprised this book ended on a cliff hanger because I thought this was just a duology series. I am not sure if I am invested enough to read the third book when it comes out. Only time will tell.

I still definitely recommend The Book of Azrael. It was so good. And if you read this book, just keep in mind the pacing is much different the the Book of Azrael.

[Deeksha Bhardwaj · Rating 5 out of 5]

✨“𝑨 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒍𝒖𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒏, 𝒚𝒆𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒔, 𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖.”✨

𝑩𝒍𝒖𝒓𝒃
The Throne of Broken Gods follows Dianna, as grief consumes her, ripping away any hint of humanity as she burns the whole world, killing all who hurt her. Now, only Liam can save her from herself..

𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆:
➤ Gods and Monsters
➤ Multiple POVs
➤ Badass, Powerful, Morally Gray FMC
➤ Found Family
➤ Intense Spicy Smut
➤ Grief & Healing Journey
➤ Action-Packed, Epic Moments

𝑴𝒚 𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔
🥹🥹where should I start? Coz 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐨𝐯𝐞!!! If you have not read the first book aka ‘The Book of Azrael’, here’s my review .. to convince you to read it todayy!

Continuing from the first book, Dianna has lost everything, her family, her home and her soul.. on the path of vengeance, she will not stop until she kills everyone who has taken away her world..

With 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐏𝐎𝐕𝐬, this is a slow-paced book which goes so deep that it is beautiful. Just like the first book, I rarely skipped any part, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝. It is a story of love and grief, betrayal and revenge, and finding acceptance and peace..

••••••••••
“𝙔𝙤𝙪’𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙙𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙥, 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙡𝙡 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙩. 𝙎𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙝 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙛.”
••••••••••

From the get-go, we dive into an 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧-𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝, 𝐰𝐨��𝐥𝐝-𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐭😘 With a raging and burning, dark and dangerously furious Dianna, I loooved the intensity of the action scenes that transpired.. they were awesome even if they were gruesome.

Dianna, 𝐒𝐡𝐞. 𝐖𝐚𝐬. 𝐁𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐬𝐬^𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲😎. I looved her and her fierceness, ruthlessness and viciousness given the circumstances.. the way her powers complimented her personality, and how you could feel the power radiating and vibrating from her😍

••••••••••
“𝘿𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙡,” 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙞𝙢, 𝙢𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙄 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙚𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨. “𝘼𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮, 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝘿𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙖.”
••••••••••

While she was busy with her killing rampage, Liam/Samkiel just has my heart with his patience, love and care for her.. 𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠. He wanted Dianna to heal, and not hurt herself. He understood her. Her grief and pain. No matter what she did, what she said, this man NEVER. GAVE. UP.

••••••••••
“𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙞𝙨 𝙫𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙝𝙨 𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙜𝙤 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙛𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚. 𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙚𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛, 𝙣𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙫𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙚.”
••••••••••

If the first half of the book handled grief from Liam’s POV, the second half of the book focused on healing from Dianna’s POV. This girl went through so much in this book and 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥, even if there were dangerous consequences of it..

One thing’s for sure, Amber Nicole can handle such heavy topics in a very beautiful wayy… 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭. Dianna’s healing phase was so beautiful, I even cried at times feeling her pain and grief, yes I did! That’s how amazing author Amber is, she makes you feel..

••••••••••
“𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙮 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨, 𝘿𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙖. 𝙉𝙤𝙬 𝙡𝙚𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙤𝙧 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙢𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪. 𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚.”
••••••••••

But that doesn’t mean that we didn’t get that 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐱𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐦𝐮𝐭🥵 Ohh my! And not to forget how hot Samkiel is.. never thought I’ll have the hots for a man who wears rings, but here I am😁 And I love how mature they are, and how equally mature their relationship is, super incredible.

••••••••••
“𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬, 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙚𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙛 𝙄 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙨𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙨 𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙤 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙, 𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙬𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙚, 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙, 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙡.”
••••••••••

Plus, the side characters have my heart, especially Cameron, I loved him😂 And the 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝-𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 trope was beautiful. 𝗕𝗨𝗧, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 of the line “A lock on a door rattles in a house somewhere” was realllyy annoying😑

Towards the end, the 𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐨 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐟𝐮𝐥 and there were so many revelations that had my jaw dropping to the floor🤯 A heart-breaking and 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭-𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐧𝐝, this book gives a satisfying end with the anticipation of next book and I cannot wait for it..

𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏
Overall, this is a remarkably slow-paced fantasy fiction that tackles the journey of grief and loss, and love. With some amazing action-packed scenes, heartwarming and profound relationships, unpredictable revelations, and an incredibly badass FMC and an incredibly beautiful MMC, 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐲..

P.S. I think I have highlighted almost the whole book and it is so worth it🤌🏼

𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝘼𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙉𝙞𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙚, 𝙍𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙧 𝙋𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙇𝙇𝘾. 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚-𝙖𝙧𝙘 𝙞𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙣 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬.

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[rae ✿ · Rating 4 out of 5]

•✿•➳4.75✫

𝐵𝑒 𝓈𝑒𝓁𝒻𝒾𝓈𝒽, 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓃. 𝐿𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝒻𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓁𝑒𝓈𝓈𝓁𝓎 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒷𝓁𝒾𝓃𝒹𝓁𝓎, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝓃𝑜𝓃𝑒𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓁𝑒𝓈𝓈. 𝐼 𝓌𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝓃𝑜𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝑒𝓁𝓈𝑒 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓎𝑜𝓊. 𝐼 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓅𝑒𝓇𝒻𝑒𝒸𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝒶𝓎 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒶𝓇𝑒. 𝐹𝓁𝒶𝓌𝓈 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒶𝓁𝓁

The Throne of Broken Gods takes place after the ending of book 1 The Book of Azrael when Dianna is fighting for her family and Samkiel is looking after Dianna.

“𝘿𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙡,” 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙞𝙢, 𝙢𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙄 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙚𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨. 𝙄 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙥𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙨𝙪𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙟𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙨, 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙙.
“𝘼𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮, 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝘿𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙖.”

Dianna What a character development for her, because I love her so much in this book. I can feel her pain, anger, and love. She took me on a rollercoaster of emotions reading her POV, and I loved every single minute of it. She deserves nothing but happiness after everything, because if not, I'll riot.


“𝙔𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙖 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧, 𝙖 𝙜𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙣, 𝙖𝙣𝙙, 𝙢𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙.”

Samkiel 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 The way he was so patient with Dianna 😭😭😭😭😭😭 I just want to say Miss Amber I want Samkiel to be happy in the next book please thank you.


𝙊𝙣𝙚 𝙗𝙮 𝙤𝙣𝙚, 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙙 𝙖 𝙗𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙡𝙞𝙩 𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙥𝙖𝙡𝙢𝙨. 𝙍𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙮 𝙬𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙣 𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖 𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙚𝙙𝙜𝙚 𝙟𝙪𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙.

The Hand My precious babies—I love them so much and adore their friendship and family dynamic. They will literally die to save each other. I'm not okay. And to Vincent, did you see the sunset there? Can you please go there and never come back?


“𝘿𝙤 𝙞𝙩.” 𝙄 𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙥 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙡𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩. “𝙄𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙮 𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙚, 𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙨𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙛𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩. 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖 𝙜𝙤𝙙’𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙨𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡.”

Wow, this book surprised me; it really opened my eyes because, to be honest, my expectations were not that high because I was a bit disappointed with the first book, but this book really proved me wrong. The world-building and character development are remarkable. I was so amazed at how the story comes together, especially towards the end when a couple of twists come in. It's so satisfying. Book 3 when?


“𝙔𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙖 𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙡 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙄 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙨𝙩.”

----------------

i'll cry if it ends with another cliffhanger

[shei · Rating 4 out of 5]

—— 4.5✰ stars.

“Dianna,there are no ugly parts or pieces of you, and I care about them all, broken or not.”

this was a fucking rollercoaster, I felt everything reading this book. I felt pain, happiness, sadness, anger, everything.

It was ALMOST perfect for me, since it’s a second book in a long series (and even longer books lol) so I’m not gonna get deep into any topic to avoid spoilers because DUDE. The plot twists. Some of them I got them right (me and giuls brains, braining) but others ? JAW TO THE FLOOR.

➷ reasons why it didn’t get 5 stars:

➷ a bit too long: even tho I loved the whole book, I do believe it was a bit longer that it should be, for being an almost 800 pages book (on my physical copy at least), not a lot of things happened except at the beginning and at the end.

➷ repetitive: there is a dynamic between two characters that was quite tedious after a while. Since the beginning until 60% this two characters follow the same circle and dynamic and I got so tired, and not because I didn’t understand why the dynamic was like that, but oh my god I was fed up. Some of those scenes could have been not included and the book would have been better.

➷ plot + pacing:

not a fucking complain about the plot. i absolutely fucking loved it. If this series has something interesting, it is indeed the plot.

now the pacing was good, but since, as I said, the book was a bit too long and repetitive at some points, the pace dragged out a bit.

➷ characters:

“Burying feelings hurts no one but yourself.”

The book has multiple points of view, some of them even surprised me! I loved every single one of them, not once I wished to not have the point of view that was next. And that says a lot.

I love the characters so much, specially Cameron, Imogen and Samkiel! I love Dianna too, but she got a bit on my last nerve at some points in the book, even tho i understood her pain and behavior, it was a bit tiring sometimes, but also completely devastating at others.

➷ final thoughts + some quotes:
long story short, I recommend this book SO MUCH, so far the series is very good, I’m exited to keep going.

to my baby and amata giuls: reading with you is always one of the best experiences, exchanging theories, opinions, not agreeing on them, agreeing on them, laughing and screaming. I’m so happy we decided to start this series together; it’s a pity it took us so long due to the schedules not scheduling! Remember that I love you 🤍

“When I burn this world to embers, and you paint me as the villain, remember, I really did try to be good… once.”

“Only a shell remained when the soul, the most essential part, left. Maybe that was why I felt what I did. Was I just a shell now? My chest felt as if a thousand rocks were crushing it.”

“You, above all, should know that even monsters love something.”

“If you are truly gone, I refuse to live in a world without you, so you’ll have to angle it farther to the right. That’s where a god’s heart lies, and mine already belongs to you, so do with it what you will.”

“Love was nothing but magic in its purest form.”

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ A good addition to the Gods and Monsters series


"When I burn this world to embers, and you paint me as the villain, remember, I really did try to be good ......once."


About:

After the devastating events of The Book of Azrael, Dianna is hellbent on revenge. However, the one person standing in her way is her lover, the God King. Samkiel refuses to believe Dianna is truly a monster and will do everything in his power to save her from herself.⁠ But can he reach Dianna before her thirst for blood and revenge consume her?
⁠
WHAT TO EXPECT:⁠
✨ fantasy romance
✨ gods and monsters
✨ morally grey heroine⁠
✨ cinnamon roll hero⁠
✨ forbidden romance ⁠
✨ forced proximity⁠
✨ 3/5 🌶 (open door/explicit) ⁠
✨ found family⁠
✨ revenge plot
✨ grief/healing journey⁠
✨ betrayal⁠
✨ shocking twists⁠
✨ action-packed⁠
✨ cliffhanger ⁠
✨ multiple POV⁠


My Thoughts:

While I didn't love this story as much as The Book of Azrael, it was still a good addition to the series that dove deep into the characters and expanded on this fascinating world. I truly believe that Amber Nicole is such a fantastic writer with a unique ability to share a captivating tale and evoke strong emotions.


What I liked:


The flashbacks were a great way to give us more insight into Dianna's past. We finally learn exactly what happened to Dianna all those years ago when Kaden changed her, and some shocking revelations. I think including these flashbacks were a brilliant way to expand on an already established character's history and world building without feeling like it's an info dump.


I LOVE the overall story. While most of this book deals with Dianna's grief and healing journey, there's a lot going on in the background concerning Kaden and his plans. Even though we don't really learn much till the end of the book, I love this mystery aspect woven throughout the story because it always keeps me guessing.

The last 20% of the book, specifically, was fantastic. It was an emotional and action packed ending with so many twists and turns I did not expect! And of course, that cliffhanger of an ending (not as bad as book 1), has me so excited for book 3.


The Hand - Xavier, Cameron, Imogen, Logan and Neverra. I adore all of these characters! We were introduced to them in book 1, but it was so wonderful getting to know them more throughout this story and even getting some chapters from their POV.


The spice. Okay, so it takes a while for Samkiel and Dianna to finally do the deed, but it's pretty great once you get there. There's a kiss at 33%, a few sex scenes between side characters throughout, and then finally filthy Samkiel and Dianna smut around 75% and on.


What I didn't liked:


Dianna's actions and reasoning didn't really make sense to me. I understand why she would be upset after the ending in book 1. I even condone her going on a rampage to kill everyone who was involved. However, here's what I didn't understand.

- Dianna killing people not directly involved/innocents.
- Dianna sleeping with everyone and pushes Samkiel away.
- Dianna fighting Samkiel and believing he was her enemy and would stand in her way of revenge, even though he says he is on her side and will destroy all those who hurt her.

All these things, Dianna did to (in a way) prove she's a monster, when all she really did was punish and hurt herself. This was self destructive behavior, and yes, I get that her behavior aligns with the fact she is a monster underneath, BUT I don't know . . . it felt a little too dramatic, even for Dianna.

Dianna wasn't very likable in this book and honestly, it really pissed me off that Samkiel and everyone else ended up justifying Dianna's killing and behavior. The only person who didn't (and I agree with) was Vincent: "You think she is the only person who has ever lost anyone? Cry me a fucking river. People hurt all the time. They don't kill." Fucking preach! What makes Dianna so special that she gets to act like a psycho when something terrible happens? And the fact Dianna suffers no consequences for her actions pissed me off. It felt like I was being lead to believe that because Dianna is the MC, we have to excuse her behavior, but I fucking can't. I may understand why she did those things, but I don't agree with them and could never justify them.

Also, Dianna's transition from being a raging killer who pushes Samkiel away to being in love and not wanting to hurt him was very jarring, and again, doesn't make sense. I guess she was tired of being hateful? This change also only happened when she was powerless so I guess she just gave up being the bad guy? The push and pull between them drove me insane. I felt so bad for Samkiel the entire story. He didn't deserve this.

Side Note: Dianna calling Samkiel, Sami, as a nickname, which came up a lot during sex, was not for me.

Everything about Dianna and her journey EXHAUSTED me, and since this took up almost 60% of the story, I found it easy to put down and I ended up skimming some parts.


The language used by The Hand (who are super old, respected warriors) was sometimes bizarre. They would say things like a teenager in our modern world and it would totally take me out of the story.


Random, unimportant characters would say really insightful things about Dianna's current emotional state, which was very unrealistic considering they don't know her at all. I'm specifically thinking about the guy she almost kills in the warehouse. I think the author did this to reinforce certain notions about Dianna's emotional well-being or perception by others, but having a random character give this insight was strange and unnecessary; especially when Samkiel and others who know Dianna better end up doing this during their POVs.

To the point above, there are A LOT of repetitive monologue type speeches, both internally and externally done by Dianna and Samkiel. There was just CONSTANT insight into their current thoughts and feelings about Dianna being sad...Dianna being a monster...saving Dianna. And while I get these conversations/thoughts should happen to drive home certain points and set up the emotions of the story, it lost its impact after the first few times. Because of this, I ended up skimming whenever this happened.


The pacing was just off for me. Dianna’s revenge plot and healing journey went on and on and on to the point I sort of felt like we were running in circles and after a while I lost interest. And unfortunately, for this 800+ page book, Dianna’s journey takes up about 60% of the story and the last 20% is where most of the plot happens. Because of this, I found myself skimming whenever Dianna had her repetitive revenge thoughts or sad thoughts about Gabby, or when Samkiel skirted around his feelings for Dianna and his pain. I think if this had been 200 pages less of Dianna’s shit this would be perfect.


Overall, the story is good, however, I do think cutting half of Dianna's emotional journey and expanding more on the Kaden plot would have kept me more invested.



Thank you Amber V. Nicole and Rose and Star Publishing for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review! As always, all opinions are my own.


Favorite Quotes:

"I always thought of myself as a monster, and now I suppose it's true. You have no idea what I have done. All I will do. I used to hate that part of me. I didn't realize how freeing it would be just not to care and fully embrace it."
_______

"You have taken someone from me with your actions - someone very precious to me. And now you have helped a lunatic corrupt her already damaged heart, shattering it into a million pieces. They are pieces I will pick up and fix, but what you have done is unforgivable. I plan to make you suffer for that transgression. Death would be a kindness, and you deserve none."
_______

"They wrote stories about us. Me, the Ig'Morruthen, and you, Samkiel, the World Ender. Two creatures destined to spill each other's blood until the cosmos bleed."
_______

"I am a creature born of chaos, born to destroy you. You are the protector of all twelve realms and every dimension in between. Shall we be what we were always destined to be, lover?"
_______

I knew it in my soul. She was Dianna. My Dianna.
_______

"You, above all, should know that even monsters love something."
_______

"A thousand plus worlds he has seen, yet when he dreams, he dreams of you."
_______

"It is the highest law not to touch anyone in my court or what I consider mine. That act alone is punishable by death, and she is mine. It will be you end."
_______

"Look at that. Gods do know how to bow."
"If you wanted me on my knees Dianna, all you had to do was ask. You know that."
_______

"Death is death. If she is a monster to you, then so am I."
_______

"Death takes no sides. Death does not discriminate or hate. It just is and has remained since the first living being existed and will be here long after."
_______

"We can do this dance until this world burns and the next takes its place, but I will still choose you."
_______

"Do it." I angled the tip of her blade above my heart. "If you are truly gone, I refuse to live in a world without you, so you'll have to angle it farther to the right. That's where a god's heart lies, and mine already belongs to you, so do with it what you will."
_______

"I ruin everything."
"Well, lucky for you, I am here to fix it."
_______

"I would turn mountains to sand to find you. I've reduced worlds to desolate wastes before, and I'd do it again for you."
_______

"I'd still choose you. It will always be you, Dianna."
"Destiny be damned?"
"You are better than any destiny."
_______

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s been a long time, since I’ve experienced a female character that I’ve resonated with, quite like Dianna. Maybe since Arya Stark or Aelin Galanythis? The way she cares with her full heart, protects the ones she loves, and holds nothing back, have to be some of my favorite traits. She might be a little fiery and hot headed at times, but she’s an undeniable bad ass. How Dianna fully embraces being the villain (for damn good reasons), and goes on a vengeful killing spree, brought so much joy to my vicious little heart. I adored the subtle nods to female empowerment, and “if you’re going to be a monster, at least be a damn good one.” 😈

"When I burn this world to embers, and you paint me as the villain, remember, I really did try to be good… once."

After the events in The Book of Azrael, I completely understand Dianna’s anguish, and absolutely unhinged behavior. The amount of grief, emotional damage, and development (for multiple characters), had me sobbing most of the time… yet simultaneously punching the air. Without spoiling anything, revenge is a great part of this book, and I’m HERE for it. The world building and lore expanded beautifully, and I honestly couldn’t get enough of it.

“You could make a river of blood run down these streets, and I would still try because I know you, the real you.” “We can do this dance until this world burns and the next takes its place, but I will still choose you.”

I would’ve read this book for just those reasons, but then there’s my newest fictional husband… Samkiel “The World Ender” aka Liam (or my personal favorite Sami🫦.) He made this book, unforgettable. I’ve never seen such a morally grey or villainess FMC, paired with a classic, protective, hero, that’s just trying to save the world, but would also help burn it down in an instant for her. Maybe it’s the way Dianna helps him through his own immense traumas in the first book? Idk but I will protect this man at all costs! And if you like Cassian from ACOSF… you’re going to love Samkiel in this book, (or at least I did!) I might’ve even thought “Cassian who?!?!” 👀 after getting to know Samkiel.

“Every fragment, every piece of me still left, cares about you. Even the very dangerous and ugly parts.” “There are no ugly parts or pieces of you, and I care about them all, broken or not.”

With so many plot twists, and reveals, (especially in the last 15%) this book left me wanting so much more! This is one of my favorite series I’ve read this year, and considering it will be 6-7 books total, there’s more to look forward to!

“A lock on a door in a house rattled.”

Thank you so much, Cecelia! I had a blast reading this series with you, and please be prepared to read the next one with me 😉(whenever it releases!) You noticed details, and predicted events, that I didn’t even see coming! Not to mention surviving all of the brutal situations with me. This series was heavy, but also a lot of fun, and I’m so grateful we chose it for our buddy read!

“I fear no gods and no kings.”

[Marianna Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I NEED THERAPY!!! SO MUCH EMOTIONAL DAMAGE BUT IT HURT SO GOOD!!!

I cannot even begin to explain how much I adored this book oh my LORD! Dianna is one of the best FMCs ever written and her as a villain gives me SO MUCH LIFE!

SAMKIEL MY BABY had me in TEARSSSSS, I need him happy and healthy and safe and I don’t think I’m going to survive waiting years for this series to finish but I’m in so deep.

This had everything I obsessed over in a fantasy romance
Found family
Feminine rage
Strong world building
Multi character POV
characters you absolute fall in love with
Well developed plot with so many twists and turns
STEAMY SPICE
MMC who would burn down the world for the one he loves


AHHHHHHH I WILL NOT RECOVER!!

[Steph · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm so disappointed. Worst book I've read this year.

"Oh, bullshit! You think she is the only person who has ever lost anyone? Cry me a fucking river,"
"People hurt all the time. They don't kill".

This is said by Vincent and I can't believe I totally agree with him.
Dianna is the worst "villaian" I'ver ever read in my life, and in an attempt to make her the most badass women in a book, in my opinion the author ruined her character and the entire story.

I really enjoyed the beginning of the book and I full supported Dianna, I was enjoying her revenge against everyone who betrayed her and cause the life of her sister. But after 25% of the book was just her killing people and been mean towards Samkiel and everyone, I started getting bored of her and the story itself, cause at this point this was already repetitive and since then, for me Dianna was just an immature and unlikeable person.
I saw a lot of reviews that called Dianna was "THE badass character in a book" and god I cannot disagree more. I mean when she was giving hell to the vampires i was like "GO FOR IT GIRL", but then she made no sense at all and was killing just because she wanted and nah, that's not a badass girl, it's just a psychopath who completly loss control of herself. I understand that she was in pain, but everything has a limit and she exceeded it. I wish the author instead of making Dianna an insuferable characther, would have focused a lot more in the last 40% of the book, wich was the only good part.

So, main problem for me with this book? It took way too long for Dianna to make sense and stop killing just because. By the moment she stooped being inmature it was already impossible for me to go back and tolerate her. Samkiel was just a puppy in love defending her when she didn't even deserve it and I found him stupid for that.

The plot? boring.
The relationship? Totally ruined, give me back what they have in Book 1.
Other characters? Sadly, didn't care about any of them.
Did i skipped at some point? Yes, mainly Dianna's POV.

So yeah, biggest disappointment of the year, now i will go cry because i had the expectations really high for this one and now it's my most hated review and book.

[mag_book_ · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5
Dianna straciła swoje człowieczeństwo. Decydując się urządzić istną wendetę wszystkim, którzy na nią zasłużyli i choćby miałaby zniszczyć przy tym świat, lub sama zginąć, dopnie swego. Z drugiej strony, poluje na nią Samkiel, który chce powstrzymać ją przed ostatecznym zatraceniem się w zemście. Oboje nie wiedzą, że większe zło, budzi się pod ich nosami.

Jak cudownie było wrócić do tej historii! Zakochałam się w pierwszym tomie ale drugi absolutnie upewnił mnie, że ta seria to będzie istna perełka wśród romntasy, choć oprócz samego romansu ma o wiele więcej do zaoferowania.
Dianna jako żądna zemsty złoczyńca, to jest coś na co nie jesteście gotowi. W Księdze Azraela, jest ona tylko kolejnym zbirem wykonującym zlecenie, za to teraz, gdy sama bierze sprawy w swoje ręce mogę wam przysiąc, że będzie jeszcze bardziej krwawo i widowiskowo. Sceny akcji, które wymyśliła autorka, do tego sarkazm bohaterki i fakt, że jest niczym tykająca bomba sprawiły, że zakochałam się w niej bez reszty.
Jednak Dianna i Samkiel to kompletnie inna bajka. Ich energia jest genialna, filtr zabójczy, zabawne przekomarzanie i już nie mogę się doczekać by zobaczyć ich wspólnie na polu bitwy, całkowicie potężnych i niezniszczalnych. Pogromca Światów absolutnie kupi was swoją wytrwałością, bo to jak on o nią walczył, zabiegał i dosłownie czcił...
Oprócz motywu zemsty, pojawia się motyw found family. Mamy szansę poznać bliżej całą Rękę Samkiela. Autorka zaczęła prowadzać nowe wątki między parami, gdzie ja znalazłam już swoich ulubieńców. Przyjaciele mając styczność z Dianną podchodzą do niej z rezerwą lub dozą humoru więc cudownie obserwowało się ich nowe relacje.
Zemsta Dianny to była tylko rozgrzewka bo to druga część książki rozsadza czaszkę. Wiemy, że ekipa Kadena, ma jakiś niecny plan, który zespół stara się odkryć. Na jaw wychodzą nowe tajemnice i spiski, a czytelnikom przedstawiane są nowe planety. Uwielbiam to jak kreacja tej historii rozrasta się wraz z każdym tomem, pokazując że zarówno fabuła jak i budowa świata jest wielowarstwowa.
W końcu to cykl na 7 tomów, 7 tomów, które czuję, okażą się moją nową ulubioną serią.

[Leonie · Rating 2 out of 5]

put me in a reading slump

[winotka.books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Te 150 stron ostatnie po prostu wyssało ze mnie życie. Musiałam odkładać czytanie na chwilę i ochłonąć bo dużo się działo i zaczynałam czuć taki stres 😭
Ta książka to prawie 1000 stron takiego rollercoastera (może banalne porównanie ale pasuje do tej książki jak ulał), Dianna przeżywa żałobę po swojemu, dosłownie płonie żądzą zemsty, nie dopuszcza nikogo, jest niszczycielska, okrutna i krwawa. Odebrano jej ostatnią rzecz, którą trzymała ją przy strzępkach człowieczeństwa. O rany Dianna tu się nie hamuje i to chciałam zobaczyć jak mówię o głównej bohaterce, która jest po części złoczyńcą tej historii.
Kocham motyw prawego bohatera, który dla złoczyńcy dałby podpalić cały świat. Oh Samkiel THE MAN YOU ARE!! 🖤
Walczył z nią, flirtował gdy się wściekała, próbował dojść z każdej strony, ale nie dopuścił do niej nikogo kto mógłby ją skrzywdzić. A ona w tym czasie mógłby dosłownie kąpać się we krwi, ale NIKT ma się do niej nie zbliżać.
On chce ją ocalić, ona go nienawidzi. A to moi drodzy dopiero początek.
Świat w tej książce okazuje się jeszcze bardziej rozbudowany i skomplikowany. Wow tyle informacji do przyswojenia. Wszystkie intrygi, zdrady, pakty, działanie na dwa fronty, tajemnice, przepowiednie, inne światy. Wow.
Found family jest tu tak miłe i teraz przeraźliwe się boję bo coś dużo tych bohaterów, których lubimy. To nie skończy się dobrze… Już w sumie się tak nie skończyło (ale bez spojlerów 😙).
To jest świetne rozbudowane urban romantasy, bo jednak ta ich relacja gra ważną rolę w tych wszystkich intrygach, ale spokojnie nie samym romansem ta książka żyje.

[Helena Reads It All · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. Why the additional POVs??? Such a pet peeve of mine

[Nerlie౨ৎ🎧📚 · Rating 5 out of 5]

⋆˚࿔ review 𝜗𝜚˚⋆
5⭐️

I fear this book broke me. I was sobbing for days, and not a single person warned me, nothing. No heads up, no tissues, just vibes and heartbreak 😭.

Even after everything, my girl Dianna can do no wrong. She was in pain, and I stood beside her the whole way. I loved every insane, chaotic, unhinged bit of her. She was so bad, so bold, so broken and I was thirsty for her.

Samkiel That man. He loves her in the most devastating way. He stood by her through it all. He craved her, ached for her, and was ready to burn the whole world down for her. The obsession? The loyalty? The tension?? I was GONE. This man has me in a chokehold and I do not want to be released.

I was a mess crying, laughing, the whole rollercoaster. I probably looked unhinged, grinning through the tears.
Was it painful? Definitely. But was it addictively good? Even more. The tension? Chef’s kiss.

Some of my favorite quotes that ended me (I had way too many)
“If you wanted me on my knees, Dianna, all you had to do was ask. You know that.”
I died. Right then and there.

“So my guess is that you are still deprived, my Dianna.”
Oh. 🤭 OH.

THREE DAYS (if you know you know)

Logan and Neverra I wasn’t familiar with y’all’s game I am now!

Vincent, though? My lifelong enemy. I hated that man with my whole soul. I have a separate note dedicated just to every time he annoyed me, which was often.

Kaden doesn’t get to be mentioned in my review

In conclusion: this book was agonizing, unhinged, messy, and utterly perfect. 10/10 would suffer again.

⋆. 𐙚 ˚ pre read ⋆. 𐙚 ˚
Umm what was that?

[Ash]

: ̗̀➛Pre-Review: My precious babies have not escaped my mind since I finished book 1 so let's see what is about to happen now...