Thank you so much, Julia, for this ARC! This was an incredible sequel 🖤 For the love of the Creator, what can I say? Where should I start? Ok, first of all, I must admit: I still don't like Eliana... I'm sorry, it's just the truth. Julia knows it, I know it, and even Ellie knows it.. because I was screaming at her while reading 😆. But even though I didn’t get along with the FMC, her story was amazing! And I loved all the other characters, even the bad ones (sorry, Ellie...). I know she has a lot going on, and it’s not easy to accept her new reality. She’s dealing with so much loss and trauma.. I get it. And I can see a little bit of self-growth toward the end of the story, so we’ll see how she acts in the next book. I also feel conflicted about Ellie because of Chehon, and I’m hoping he gets to be happy with another Angel (or Human... please, Julia!) in the next books to come. I really liked Jen and Lucas’s story; I think they are a great addition to the plot, and I was happy to have their interactions and read about their struggles, both in the Human and Angelic worlds. There was so much going on in this book: their quest for answers, finding someone to teach them about the Archangels and Ellie’s powers, her struggles and depression, their fights and reconciliations. It was a rollercoaster for my feelings! And the ending was epic! I have to say, I cried a little 💔 I personally prefer reading first person POV, but Julia's writing style was so enthralling. Her third person POV allowed different stories and places to unfold at the same time, and it was really engaging! I'm really looking forward to the next book in this Chronicles! ✨
These are the amazing Tropes: 📃Third person Multiple POV 🍃Expanded Fantasy World Building 🥀Reluctant Chosen One ❤️🩹Found Family 💫Celestial Entities & Powers 💔Loss, depression & Trauma ⚔️Training, Swordfight & Imminent War ☠️Rebels & Rebellion
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
In the aftermath of Eliana Whitmore, tragic loss of her beloved soulmate. The second book in the series, Deception, reveals her struggle of how she’s trying to navigate the loss of her beloved Aaron and the responsibilities that have been thrust upon her. Her journey is both riveting and emotionally elevating to read as she struggles to validate her emotional healing and emotional growth at the same time with the care and love of her companions, Shiro, Cheon, Lacey, Sebastian and Gareth. It is a time riveting book that pulls the reader over along to each step of Eliana’s journey. Aberge's gift at writing is further expounded upon, as she develops character growth in Eliana, but also her companions. The sub-plots within the story allow the companion characters to come alive, and demonstrate that they too have a stack in the game. It is an inviting tale and a very engaging story that the readers are unable to put down, as each page reveals another layer in the fast-paced journey of how Eliana and her company come to understand her true meaning and purpose in saving the angelic world. Julia’s true skills are seen in how she drops a major twist within the book, which throws Eliana and her friends into a tale spin in their mission. The mirroring sub-story that transpires is so well written that the pain and internal struggle is seen through each character. With the loss of Aaron, she knew and loved, she is torn between her duty and her heart. It is the most amazing tale, and fascinating for the reader to read. I was not disappointed, savoring each page turned, and the emotional journey that Eliana Whitmore underwent as she searches for family, friends, and soul-mate, but also the worlds. I found the book to be a fantastic read.
Thank you so much to the author for the chance to read how Ellie's story continues. They say sequels are never as good as the first book, but this is absolutely not the case!
I even enjoyed this book more than the first one. You can really feel how everything has been coming together since last book: the characters, the places, the plot… This time we really get to deep down into this magical realm of angels. And it's so exciting to little by little piece together all the small details that colours this world.
One of my favourite parts of the book is the characters development. I must admit I didn't care in the first book about some of the characters like Lucas and Aaron was nice but I didn't really connect with him. But this time? Oh, the characters from the human realm have really been coming through. Lucas, Jen and Aaron are some of my favourite characters now! They really blossomed and have so many layers in this book.
And we also meet a lot of new characters this book. Some reeeeally surprised me and I'm excited to see what they bring to the story in the next book. So, even though this book is a bit of a bridge between last and next book, it works very well. Crowds are gathering, characters are growing, Ellie is going through it but little by little handling herself and her feeling better, and next book is set up to be intense! I can't wait for it!
I am not ok!! First of all, thank you Julia for the review copy of temptations and also the ARC copy of deception. I would’ve been very sad to miss out on that story.
I love the world you did build. I love the vibes. I want to be friends with Lucas and Sebastian from the bottom of my heart. (They give me Simon (City of Bones) and Cassian (ACO-„place which book you want here“) Vibes!
Who read my review of temptations knows that I had to nag a little about typos and things that should’ve been edited out. So here in this ARC I was hardly searching, but as Julia had promised, the writing improved a lot (you could actually feel that) and BY THE CREATOR the story had me from the very beginning to the very end. Leaving me unwell and with swollen eyes from crying.
The cliffhanger? Excuse me? I need book 3 now - knowing that I will probably be unwell again.
This is a big big recommendation from me for everyone who loves a good story, where not the romance but the relationships between the protas in general are in the focus. The story is absolutely driven by the characters and I love them all.
This was a solid sequel that gave us a little more in every way. I really enjoyed the world-building and loved being fully immersed in the angelic realm now. Aberg has written some truly complex and interesting characters that make this story come to life. There are no shortage of twists and turns in this book that keep you turning pages, needing to know what happens next. I love and appreciate a good 'quest' plot and that was done exceptionally well here.
Regarding the romance, book 1 was instalove which is not my favorite. As for book 2, I personally DO enjoy love triangles but unfortunately, I strongly disliked this one for reasons I cannot explain due to spoilers. It did make it difficult to enjoy a good chunk of this book. However this is personal preference and not necessarily a reflection of the quality of the writing or book itself.
I received an eARC from the author. This review reflects my honest thoughts and opinions.
In this book, we follow Ellie as she's training. With her friends, she starts a quest to find other Empaths like her. Due to this quest, they get separated and face different quests and difficulties.
I liked Shiro's loyalty. This dog is amazing. Chehon is the ultimate green flag. I loved him. If you like green flags, you should meet this character. Sebastian, the team's charmer. He can be serious and playful at the same time. Also, his sacrifice, I wanted to scream. Then we have Lacey the best, best friend. She's amazing. And Gareth, the quiet and serious guy of the team.
Fights, secrets, a love triangle, and unique characters. This book has everything. And the ending, what was that?
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
(Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this ARC)
THE SOBS I SOBBED. This book was so good. I am obsessing over the continued character development and LUCAS FULLY HAS ME ughhhhh. Having the subplot chapters within the other realm was absolutely amazing. I felt like I truly got to experience everything that was happening and it kept me so hooked.
This book is twisty, well paced and so much more developed emotionally from the last one and I love how much you can see author growth from book to book. We have more worldbuilding and a map which I am obsessed with & SO MUCH going on. My heart is beating like crazy with anticipation.
NOW I NEED BOOK THREEEEEEEEE
ALSO planning a reread asap because I felt like I had so much going on in life I didn’t get to fully experience everything the way I wanted so ILL BE BACK WITH MORE COMMENTS LATER but well freaking done ❤️
Last week this stunning book was released, and I was lucky enough to read it as an ARC! I’m super grateful, because I already loved book one (see my earlier post!). I won’t go too much into the plot, since it’s a sequel and so much happens again.
I absolutely adore the worldbuilding. Julia intertwined the human world and the realm of the angels in such a fantastic way. Ellie was a bit of a whiner at times 🙈 and some parts felt a little long—but maybe that was intentional. What I did really love was her character growth throughout the story. And the beautiful quotes? Loved them.
And then that ending… Julia, what are you doing to me?! Now I desperately need book three, because I have to know what happens next.
Okay, into book 2. Again, beautiful cover. The all black and gold is so eye catching to me.
Just everything in the book is more. More powers, more angels and demons and more dog! The stakes are higher, there's conflict inside and outside the characters. How do you deal with that, we all do somehow. Reading it in a book and caring about the characters just takes you through the story with them.