Heavensent & Hellbent

by Sara Jafari

In this riveting contemporary fantasy, a teen uncovers a life-altering family secret while discovering that the boy haunting her nightmares is not only an angel--sworn enemy of jinn--but her fated mate.

When Roxy moves from her small town in England to Denver, she expects her summer to be uneventful. All she has to do is not piss off her dad, continue healing from the loss of her mom, and conquer her sleep paralysis before going to university in the fall. Easy.

But as fate would have it, she bumps into the beautiful boy, Zain, who's been in her recurring nightmare. Each time, they're burning at the stake. In real life, she witnesses him snapping the neck of a man and quickly learns that not only do jinn--demons--exist, but angels, too. 

Meeting Zain triggers new nightmares, ones that come with a If Roxy and Zain don't ignore the attraction between them, there will be hell to pay. And upon learning that their souls have been entwined for centuries, they must decide whether their connection in this lifetime is worth fighting for, especially against the divine forces that forbid them from being together.

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Romantasy, Paranormal, Mythology, Young Adult Fantasy

412 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 11, 2026

About the author

Sara Jafari is a British-Iranian author and editor. She is the author of The Mismatch and People Change (Penguin Random House, 2021 and 2023).

People Change will be published as Things Left Unsaid by St. Martin’s Press in Spring 2025.

Longlisted for Spread the Word's Life Writing Prize, her writing has also been published in gal-dem and The Good Journal, among other publications. She is also a contributor of the essay collection "I Will Not Be Erased": Our stories about growing up as people of colour (Walker Books, 2019), and Who’s Loving You (Trapeze, 2021).

Reviews

[My.bookish.diaries]

3.75⭐️

Thank you Penguin Teen Canada and NetGalley for the gifted copy. 🫶🏽

I enjoyed this story overall. Being a Muslim I was able to put together what I know about Jinns and other lore that made this story more impactful…

We meet Roxana from the UK moving to the US with her father and brother .. until she moves away for college. She’s been getting strange dreams and somehow she finds herself in some deep situations trying to find out about her dreams.

I liked how a lot of things were brought up that a younger person in this world would be dealing with today like the Dyson hair dupe, glazed donut skin care, just everyday girl things. I could also relate being a Muslim but not strict like not wearing a hijab yet still being modest.

The story takes a few turns and we get to know more about what is happening and what we saw in the prologue… wow what a story! I liked the world and how the jinns worked in this world… what was at stake and I’m always a sucker for the “I love you in every lifetime.” trope.. I love stories that have this aspect and especially when there is a unique way of it happening.

We delved into Persian mythology and stories of Jinns, angels, and difference realms etc. the Middle Eastern aspects were a great part of the story especially for a fantasy.

I enjoyed the read but feel I didn’t connect with Roxana and Zains love story. The concept was beautiful however I didn’t feel the deep connection they should have. I also felt he just kept telling her everything about the world and taking her to secret places so easily with no pushback especially at the beginning .. how did he keep so many secrets..






pre read: 🚨ARC Received🚨
Thank you Penguin Teen Canada for the free copy ❤️
I cannot wait to discover this world ❤️‍🔥
Reading updates soon 🫶🏽

[Elizabeth]

Discovering oneself as a young adult is hard enough without adding in your soul has been intertwined with another’s through out multiple lifetimes … oh and he is an angel. Super hot grumpy angel !! Really enjoyed the self discovery, over coming odds and resilience of these two !! Roxy and Zain together just had that dramatic destined feels that’s sooo fun. Loved the twists , turns and drama of the storylines !!

[Kha (kha.fantasyrealm)]

I haven’t read urban fantasy in a while, and it’s usually not a genre I gravitate toward, but this book turned out to be a surprisingly easy and enjoyable read.

The story draws heavily from Persian mythology, featuring jinns, angels, and creatures from different realms locked in a long-standing conflict. One thing I found particularly interesting was the Middle Eastern-inspired culture & setting,, especially since it’s a mythology I’m not very familiar with.

I also liked the concept of Roxy and Zain being fated to find each other in every lifetime, only to face the question of whetheer this time their story will end the same way as before.

The plot was easy to follow and would suit most young adult readers. While the romance was light and spice-free, I couldn’t quite connect with the main characters. The plot, world-building, and magic system were enjoyable, but none of them completely swept me off my feet.

Overall, if you enjoy Iranian/Persian mythology, jinns and angels, and stories about eternal soulmates fighting for a love that seems destined to be torn apart, this book might be for you.


**Thank you to Little, Brown Book Group UK and the author for this ARC via NetGalley.

[°✧ sultana ✧°]

The best part about this book is the characters' love. It stands through time, it strengthens through age. They can't help but be entwined with one another. Their souls are bound to come back into each other's orbit. It was breathtaking.

The creatures and world were fun too. I liked the rivalry between the angles and jinn, which is the basis of the 'forbidden-ness' of the characters' relationship. I liked how this normal world was woven in with the ‘underworld’. I read this pretty quickly because I found the writing easy to grasp and entertaining. I was curious how Zain and Roxana were going to end up together given the circumstances, but the author handled that really well. I knew they would do anything for each other.

Also the author mentions Sabaa Tahir and Tahereh Mafi which I found cute. The main character is a big reader, and works at a bookstore so I definitely enjoyed that.
Thank you to Atom for this earc.

[Jess Adams]

Thank you to NetGallery and Brown Book Group UK for this ARC
And of course Sara Jafari!
This review contains NO spoilers! And all that is said is my honest and non-biased opinion.

I am not going to give spoilers or massive details of what happens in this book. That would be silly and counterproductive!

Release date for this book is 6th August 2026

Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Overall this YA book was a really good read, the plot idea was great and writing structure was good.
However, I do think the following need more work:

- world building
- character building and personality
- unpredictable twists

I really wanted to feel and see the places in my mind but I really struggled. If you have a really slow beginning, make it informative, descriptive, build the world around you.
I wanted more for the characters, I had no connection with them unfortunately.
All the twists I forsaw well before they were coming.

I do believe this is the first of its kind from Sara Jafari and it was done really well, just needed that extra sprinkle and it would be an amazing book.

Thank you so much again to NetGallery, Brown Book Group UK and Sara Jafari

[Kerri]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

"Heavensent & Hellbent" is a YA fantasy about jinn, angels, and a girl caught between the human and supernatural worlds. I really enjoyed the Persian mythology and how Sara Jafari brought the jinn and angels into the story. I also loved how she wove everyday Muslim customs into the book, which added so much to the world and characters. The characters were believable, the story flowed well, and I was happy with the ending. It wrapped things up in a satisfying way without feeling too perfect.

I'd definitely recommend this to YA fantasy readers looking for something a little different with great mythology and authentic cultural representation.

Thank you to NetGalley, Delacorte Press, and Sara Jafari for an advanced eBook in exchange for my honest review.

[Keira]

True rating 3.5

This was an ARC for bookclub. I probably wouldn’t have picked it up if I knew the age suggestion was for 12 and above. I wasn’t particularly in the mood for a young read.

I loved the influence of Iranian, British, and American cultures. It was fascinating to read about them. The characters and their quirks are well done.

This is a cross between city of bones and Broken by Kreary Taylor. And someone who has suffered sleep paralysis myself I found the representation a true reflection of how terrifying and helpless it is.

It read a little young for me, even though the characters are 18 and above. I think this could be a 4 if I hadn’t gone into it blind.

[B]

After the seventh real-world mention in two pages, I couldn’t do it anymore. I get it- pop culture abounds! But not in a book that says fucking romantasy on the back (which, this clearly was NOT).

I checked other reviews to see if that was the reason for the low ratings already, and I see that this does not get better, so I’m quitting for good.

It’s my opinion that unless you are a current contemporary, historical, or a book ABOUT real world things, you should not include shit about astrology or other books. DNF for terrible placement of Gen Z nonsense.

[Minna]

Thank you to NetGalley, Ms. Jafari, and Random House Children's, for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title. An honest review was requested but not required.

My favorite element of this book was the mythology elements, which draw heavily from Persian mythology. I usually really enjoy Middle Eastern-inspired settings and this was no exception. I'm not really qualified to judge if it's accurate to its source but this was beautiful. I did think the age of the characters came across as a little younger than I hoped it would be. Time-loop lovers/ soulmates who reconnect across multiple lifetimes works a little better for me with more mature characters, and I think that's why this was a 3.5 star book for me and not 4. The spice level was definitely accurate to the age range though, so no need to be concerned about that.

I liked this, it was a decent read, but it would have hit harder for me with more mature characters, I think.

⭐⭐⭐ 1/2 overall.

[Melanie (words.aremagic)]

This book just isn’t for me, at 1/4 of the way through I want to be hooked in, but I’m just not feeling that. I keep getting distracted while reading this book which isn’t my norm. I love all of the Iranian culture and mythology in the story and the premise is interesting. I just needed the story to develop faster.

[Stacyfrancesreads]

Ad - Gifted. Thank you to Atom/Little Brown, Sara Jafari, and NetGalley UK for providing both a digital ARC and a physical proof copy of this book. Crucially, my reviews are always entirely independent and honest; receiving these copies has not influenced my rating or opinions.

Heavensent & Hellbent was a fun, fast-paced YA urban fantasy with forbidden romance, reincarnated soulmates, and a supernatural world inspired by Iranian mythology. It didn’t completely win me over, but it was entertaining, refreshingly different, and would make a great entry point into romantasy for younger readers.

After losing her mum, eighteen-year-old Roxana moves from Hull to Denver with her dad and younger brother. She’s grieving, adjusting to a completely new life and dealing with increasingly unsettling episodes of sleep paralysis, during which she repeatedly sees the same boy…and usually ends up being burned alive beside him.

So, naturally, when she sees that exact boy working in a café and soon afterwards murdering someone in an alleyway, she becomes romantically interested in him approximately five minutes later.

YA heroines truly are built differently.

Roxana was a really likeable narrator. She’s funny, relatable, and often painfully aware that she isn’t the effortlessly athletic, fearless heroine fantasy stories usually demand.

“Do you want to do the easy trail or the harder one?”
I wanted to say the harder one, to be the kind of girl who would enjoy that, but since I was averse to exercise, often skipping PE with Nic to have cheesy chips at the local café, I didn’t.

She’s so real for this.

Her grief over her mum also gave the story some genuine emotional weight. She isn’t simply moving to Denver for the sake of launching the plot; she’s been uprooted at one of the worst points in her life. She misses Hull, feels disconnected from her family, and is struggling to understand what happened to her mother.

And the sleep paralysis thing worked really well. It created an ominous mood while slowly disclosing parts of Roxana’s past and her relation to Zain. I think these were maybe the most exciting parts of the book for me because there was terror and romance and mystery without the constant exposition.

That said, some of Roxana’s decisions felt extremely young. She witnesses Zain doing something objectively horrifying, briefly acknowledges that he may be a murderer, and then almost immediately returns to thinking about how attractive he is. I know this is YA, and teenagers in fantasy novels are hardly known for making sensible choices, but the speed at which she accepted everything occasionally stretched belief.

Zain is mysterious, powerful, and completely devoted to his identity as an angel…at least until Roxana arrives and makes him reconsider approximately everything he's ever believed.

Their relationship is unapologetically insta-love, which normally isn’t my thing. However, because their souls have been finding one another across multiple lifetimes, it made more sense here than it would in a conventional romance. They might have only known each other for a short time in this particular life, but emotionally, their connection is much older.

“I’ll always love you. In life, death, and beyond.”

The glimpses into their previous lives helped sell the idea that this wasn’t simply two teenagers declaring eternal love after three conversations. We see that they have repeatedly found each other despite being born into different places, circumstances, and identities.

Their romance is very intense and dramatic, but this is a story about a boy and a girl haunting each other through reincarnation, so subtlety was probably never going to be on the menu.

“I would have only ever thought you were from light, the way your presence turns my day from gray to color…”

Zain could be frustrating, particularly because he starts out so duty-bound and then makes enormous decisions based on a romance that, in the present timeline, has barely begun. Still, his devotion fits the soulmates concept, and some of their conversations were genuinely lovely.

“I know when you’re lying.”
“You barely know me.”
“I’ve loved you in endless lifetimes. I’ve seen it, felt it. And you think I don’t know you?”

There is no spice in this story (kissing is as far as it goes), so this is firmly YA romantasy rather than New Adult fantasy romance.

The biggest strength of Heavensent & Hellbent was its mythology.

We have angels, jinn, divs, reincarnation, and an ancient conflict between supernatural factions. I really enjoyed learning about elements of Iranian mythology that I hadn’t encountered in any other fantasy books. The cultural details surrounding Roxana’s family, food, and Iranian heritage also made the contemporary setting feel much richer.

Her family relationships were some of my favourite parts. Roxana’s observations about her dad were particularly funny:

“Azar and I bonded over how to make vegetables taste good to a nine-year-old and a middle-aged man with the taste buds of a nine-year-old.”

I also loved that Roxana worked in a bookshop and regularly referenced real authors and books, including Tahereh Mafi and Tracy Deonn. It made her feel like an actual teenage reader rather than a character who only exists inside her own fantasy plot.

Roxana’s older sister, Azar, was easily one of the standout side characters. She’s sharp, protective, and has absolutely no patience for supernatural men saying ridiculous things.

“Females often don’t know what is best for them.”
“What in the incel…”

She had some of the best lines in the book, and I really wanted more of her.

“Are you going to kneel to me?”

Honestly, I would happily read an interconnected follow-up focused on Azar and a certain character she has some extremely promising enemies-to-lovers tension with. Their dynamic had the potential to be even more entertaining than the central romance.

Unfortunately, I found most of the twists fairly easy to predict. The reveals surrounding Roxana’s family, her nightmares, and the reason she and Zain are forbidden from being together didn’t surprise me.

However, I do think they were probably well pitched for the intended age group. A younger reader or someone newer to romantasy may find the mystery much more effective, particularly if they haven’t already read dozens of stories involving reincarnation, secret supernatural identities, and fated mates.

The pacing also moved quickly enough that the predictability didn’t completely spoil the fun. There was always another supernatural revelation, romantic declaration or dangerous encounter waiting around the corner.

“And while being an angel has been my entire life, loving you has been my soul’s purpose.”

It is dramatic. It is sincere. It is exactly the kind of line teenage me would have highlighted aggressively.

Heavensent & Hellbent was an enjoyable YA urban fantasy with a distinctive mythological foundation, an emotional exploration of grief, and a sweeping forbidden romance spanning multiple lifetimes.

The character decisions occasionally felt rushed, the romance progressed far too quickly for my personal preferences, and the twists were quite predictable. Nevertheless, the reincarnation element helped the insta-love feel believable within the story, and the Iranian mythology made the supernatural world stand out.

I especially enjoyed Roxana’s humour, the sleep-paralysis scenes, and every moment involving Azar. I’d recommend this to younger romantasy readers, fans of soulmate stories, and anyone looking for accessible fantasy romance with no spice.

[Meg]

This book gave me such early 2000s dystopian book vibes. It made me very nostalgic for my childhood, but in a good way. This book is like if Shadow Hunters, Hush Hush, and Our Infinite Fates all came together to make this book with a sprinkle of Iranian representation. This book had true love reincarnation, angels, Jinn (demons), evil immortal kings, magic, and so much more. I was super glad that I was lucky enough to receive an early copy of this book because it was amazing.

[Manshi]

2.25 stars
08/11-08/16

Absolutely — I’d combine the strongest points from all three, but keep it closer to the way you naturally write your reviews: conversational, specific, a little blunt when something doesn’t work, and still fair about what you did enjoy.

Thank you Sara Jafari, Penguin Random House, and NetGalley for sending me an early copy and giving me the opportunity to read Heavensent & Hellbent as an ARC for my honest opinion.

I was SO intrigued by the premise of this book. Star-crossed lovers? Angels and demons? Reincarnation? Jinn and Persian mythology? You’ve got my attention! Unfortunately, Heavensent & Hellbent did not deliver for me. It had so much potential, but the execution and pacing really fell flat.

The writing style felt incredibly young, and combined with the constant modern-day references and heavy reliance on insta-love, it made the story difficult for me to connect with. Insta-love is already one of my least favorite tropes, and unfortunately, I never bought into Roxana and Zain’s relationship. They meet, spend very little time together, and suddenly they’re deeply in love largely because they’ve apparently fallen in love across their past lives. Their relationship in the present timeline spans only a few weeks, with a large portion of that time spent apart or not even talking, so I really struggled to understand why their love was strong enough to justify some of the huge sacrifices they were making.

I also didn’t particularly connect with Roxana as a character, and both she and Zain felt fairly cookie-cutter overall. There was very little chemistry between them, and a lot of their character choices and plot developments felt like they happened because the story needed them to rather than because they naturally made sense for the characters.

That being said, I REALLY enjoyed the use of Iranian culture, jinn, and Persian mythology. I actually wish the book had leaned much more heavily into this aspect because it was one of the most interesting parts of the story for me. The idea of mixing jinn with angels and creating a contemporary fantasy around that mythology was genuinely intriguing.

Unfortunately, a lot of that potential felt underutilized. There was quite a bit of superficial world-building that dragged through the beginning, only for the story to suddenly become insanely action-packed in the second half. Even then, the interspecies conflicts, underworld politics, and larger implications of the world were barely explored. Things that could have been major plot points were often resolved in a sentence or two, which made the world feel much less developed than it could have been.

The ending also felt rushed, almost like the book was racing toward the finish line. So many aspects of the plot and character development were left feeling underdeveloped, and I kept wishing the story would slow down and actually explore the ideas it had introduced.

Overall, this was a quick and easy standalone read with a really interesting premise, but unfortunately the execution just wasn’t for me. I loved the incorporation of Iranian culture, jinn, and Persian mythology, but the juvenile writing, insta-love romance, lack of chemistry, uneven pacing, and underdeveloped world-building left me pretty disappointed.

I think this could work better for readers who enjoy YA fantasy with angels, demons, reincarnation, and a very fast-moving romance, but as someone who tends to read more adult fantasy, this one just wasn’t up my alley.

[Selena]

✧˖°. ⤷ Thank you to Netgalley, Random House & Sara Jafari for the ARC. Honest thoughts as always, from me to you ♡

☁️ author: Sara Jafari
☁️ genre: YA urban fantasy / paranormal romance
☁️ mood: nostalgic / dramatic / magical / tragically romantic
☁️ tropes: fated mates / reincarnation / angels & demons / forbidden love / good vs evil

🌙 Mini Synopsis:
Roxana just wants a quiet rest of summer after an exhausting move from England to Colorado - grieving her mom, avoiding her dad and trying to manage sleep paralysis that keeps pulling her under. Then she bumps into Zain, the beautiful boy from her nightmares, and casually watches him snap a man's neck. From there everything unravels - jinn exist, angels exist, and the boy haunting her dreams might just be her fated mate. A centuries old love story wrapped in Iranian mythology, ancient enemies and the kind of soul deep connection that could either save them or destroy everything.

🍃 thoughts
This one genuinely surprised me with how much I enjoyed it. Heavensent and Hellbent draws heavily from Iranian and Persian mythology and is absolutely steeped in tragic love, angels, jinn and vampires - it felt so fresh and unique while remaining incredibly easy to follow, which is not always easy to pull off. The reincarnation and fated mates element gave it that dramatic, centuries long "we have found each other before" kind of angst that I always eat up, and the romance was sweet, closed door and perfectly suited for its YA audience. It gave me such early 2000s YA paranormal vibes - think Shadowhunters meets Hush Hush with a sprinkle of Iranian representation woven throughout - and I mean that in the absolute best way.

That said, it was a bit of a hit or miss for me in places. The pop culture references felt out of place for a paranormal fantasy and pulled me out of the story more than once - in a contemporary romance it might not have bothered me as much, but here it felt a little jarring. The dialogue also had an uneven flow, moving between moments that felt natural and genuine and others that felt stilted and awkward. I also found myself wanting more showing and less telling, particularly when it came to establishing how capable and compelling our main characters are. But I think a lot of that comes down to this being a YA novel and me being very aware that I am no longer the target audience for these books.

Overall this was a messy, magical, dramatic read full of that classic YA paranormal energy that completely consumed me when I was younger - forbidden attraction, ancient enemies, magical bloodlines and the devastating sense that loving the wrong person could unravel absolutely everything. I would absolutely recommend it to YA paranormal fans, especially those who grew up reading that early 2000s wave of paranormal romance.

🌸 favorite things
♡ The Iranian and Persian mythology woven throughout - refreshing, unique and delivered in a way that was incredibly easy to follow
♡ The reincarnation and fated mates element - centuries of finding each other again and again hits every single time
♡ The early 2000s YA paranormal energy - nostalgic in the best possible way 🌙

✧ verdict from my little reading nook → ★★★☆☆

[hannah ⊹ ࣪ ˖]

I really wanted to love Heavensent & Hellbent because the premise had so many elements that immediately caught my attention and that I almost always enjoy: angels, jinn, reincarnation, fated mates, forbidden romance, and really interesting Persian/Iranian mythology. There’s a lot to like here, and I especially appreciated how the mythology was woven into a contemporary YA fantasy setting. The concept of Roxy discovering that the boy haunting her dreams is not only real but an angel and that the two of them have been finding and losing each other across multiple lifetimes was definitely intriguing. It reminded me almost of a YA version of Heavenly Bodies (a 6 star series for me), but the execution just didn’t quite live up to my expectations.

I loved the darker, slightly nostalgic paranormal romance feel of this. It gave me major early 2000s YA vibes in the best way, with that very specific combination of supernatural secrets, doomed romance, mysterious dreams, and two characters who seem destined to keep finding each other. The reincarnation element was probably my favorite part of the story, and I thought the ideas surrounding angels and jinn were genuinely interesting.

Unfortunately, in the end, it just didn’t quite work for me. The pacing felt uneven, with the beginning taking a while to really establish the urgency of the story before the final portion suddenly became much more packed with lore, revelations, and plot developments. I found myself wishing some of that information had been introduced and developed more gradually rather than having so much happen toward the end. It took forever to actually get in to the story, so by the end, everything felt rushed.

The romance was another area where I struggled. I liked the idea of Roxy and Zain being fated to find each other over and over again, but I never fully connected with their relationship in the present timeline. I wanted more time to understand who they were individually and why their connection felt so powerful beyond the fact that they were destined to be together. There were moments where their dialogue and interactions also felt a little awkward to me, which made it harder to become invested in the romance.

That said, I really did appreciate what this book was trying to do. The Iranian/Persian cultural elements and mythology were easily some of my favorite elements, and I thought the combination of jinn and angels made for a refreshing supernatural world. There’s a compelling story underneath everything, and I can absolutely see this working for readers who love nostalgic YA paranormal romances, star-crossed soulmates, and mythology-inspired fantasy.

Ultimately, this was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I loved the concept and some of the individual ideas, but I needed more development and a smoother execution to become fully invested. Still, if you’re a fan of reincarnated soulmates, forbidden supernatural romances, angels and jinn, and that classic YA paranormal fantasy atmosphere, this may be one to add to your TBR! I definitely think this will find the right audience.

Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for this eARC!

[Lauren]

If you want a nostalgic 2000's YA Paranormal/Fantasy Romance to go with your nostalgic 2000's revival clothes, I present to you: this book.

Seriously, everything about it was the absolute vibe of like Fallen, Twilight, House of Night, etc. but modernized to take place in the present day and with Persian mythology at its base.

Roxy is starting the summer before university suddenly living in America for six weeks. Specifically, Denver, Colorado. There are things she is excited about that she wouldn't be able to do in England (specifically some really good thrifting like what she has seen on TikTok) but otherwise, she's not really looking forward to being away from her sister, who is staying; her best friend, who may end up at a different university; and really everything else about her home life.

Roxy has been having issues with sleep paralysis for a while, but it really ramps up when they get to Denver. On top of that, she has been having dreams where she is being burned at the stake along with Some Guy. She's taken to drawing her dreams so she can remember them and try to figure out what they are. She takes her sketchpad to a local diner and is working on drawing Dream Guy when she looks up and, guess what! It's Dream Guy! Just in real life....in front of the sketchpad......where she is definitely drawing him.

And this is really awkward.

Dream Guy's name is Zain and he has been in Colorado since he was like 6. He was the popular football guy in high school, but he also tends to keep to himself. After meeting Zain, her dreams start branching out to all these other deaths and scenarios...and every single one of them has Zain in it. Turns out, Zain is an angel. And he's really sorry he got Roxy sucked into his life as an angel because now jinn are hunting her as well as him.

Except, one of the jinn walked up to her in an alley and told her she looks just like her mother. So, clearly she had some connection to it, but she doesn't know what. What Roxy and Zain are able to determine is that they have been reincarnated many times over several centuries. They always find each other, and they always die. They go on a mission together to find out why.

Like I said, this was such a nostalgic read for me and Sara Jafari knocked YA paranormal romance out of the park. My only complaint is that there are a few times where Zain gave me the ick with things he said, like one time when he claims Roxy has some jinn evilness in her because he can't stop thinking about her and it's making him flake on his duties (control your own mind dude) along with one other thing he says/does that is really spoiler heavy.

If the nostalgia vibe isn't your thing, I would also suggest this if you loved Our Infinite Fates. This one is focused on the present, with the past lives coming in as memories only, but it has that same star crossed lovers and soulmates vibe to it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Delacorte Press, and Sara Jafari for the arc in exchange for an honest review. Heavensent & Hellbent is set to be released on August 11, 2026.

[Jen]

I have very mixed feelings about this one but the Iranian culture and mythology completely won me over ✨ Jinn, divs, angels, Persian mythology, reincarnation… I was HERE for all of it. I loved seeing the mythology blended into a modern setting especially alongside the experiences of Iranian immigrants in the UK and US. It brought a perspective to fantasy that I don’t get to see nearly enough 💫

Roxana is such an interesting FMC, navigating identity, self discovery, family, forbidden love and basically every supernatural disaster you can imagine 😂 Her romance with Zain is undeniably insta-love but the reincarnation element helps make it believable. Their souls have been finding each other across multiple lifetimes so while their present day relationship develops at warp speed, their connection carries the weight of something much older ❤️‍🔥

The sleep paralysis scenes were some of my favorite moments. They were genuinely unsettling and did a great job of slowly revealing Roxana’s past and her connection to Zain without dumping everything on us at once. I also really loved Roxana’s family dynamics especially her sister Azar. She’s sharp, protective and has some of the best lines in the book. Give Azar her own enemies-to-lovers story and I will be FIRST in line 🔥

My biggest issue? This needed to be a duology 😩 The second half introduces so many fascinating concepts: underworld politics, interspecies conflicts, angels, jinn, divs, and the broader implications of this supernatural world… only to rush through them like the book suddenly realized it was running late. Things that could have been major plot points were wrapped up in a sentence or two and the ending felt especially rushed. I kept wishing the story would slow down and actually dig into the world it had created because there was SO much potential there 👀

Despite that I really enjoyed Roxana’s growth throughout the story and the way she embodies different cultures and perspectives on womanhood. She felt incredibly human and relatable while still being resilient enough to survive everything the story threw at her 💪 I appreciated the more feminist spin on the classic doomed, star crossed romance. It felt like a refreshing take on a trope we’ve all seen a hundred times before ❤️

Audiobook: Afsaneh Dehrouyeh was fantastic! 🎧 She switched effortlessly between Yorkshire and American accents and her character voices were so distinct that I could vividly picture each character in my head. 10/10 for the narration and voices! 👏

Beautiful mythology, compelling characters, creepy sleep paralysis, reincarnated soulmates and a world I desperately wanted more of. I just wish the book had given itself more room to breathe because I would absolutely have stayed for another 300 pages of this world ✨

[RUTH Maus]

thank you to the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review!

i want to be fair to this book because i think it knows exactly what it is — it's just not for me.

Heavensent & Hellbent follows Roxana, a teen who's recently moved from England to Colorado, dealing with grief and sleep paralysis and the general exhaustion of uprooting your life. then she meets Zain, a boy from her nightmares (literally — they're being burned at the stake together), watches him kill a man, and discovers that jinn and angels are real and she's tangled up in something much bigger than a bad summer. fated mates, reincarnation, heaven vs. hell stakes. the ingredients are there.

here's my issue: i read a lot of angel/demon fiction. like, a lot. and when you've spent time with the darker, more complex iterations of these themes — stories that really dig into the theological horror of divine warfare, the moral rot of celestial hierarchies, the existential weight of damnation and grace — a version that skims the surface is always going to feel thin by comparison. and this one skims. the worldbuilding around jinn, angels, and the cosmological framework has potential but never goes deep enough to feel fully realized. it's more set dressing than architecture.

the romance also didn't work for me, and a lot of that comes down to Roxy. i found her genuinely difficult to spend time with — not in the "flawed protagonist making hard choices" way that i usually love, but in a way where her reactions and decision-making felt inconsistent and, honestly, grating. she's told repeatedly that this relationship could lead to their destruction. she watches Zain kill someone. and the narrative never really grapples with the weight of any of that in a way that feels earned. the "isn't love worth fighting heaven and hell for" question only hits if the love story makes you believe the answer is yes, and i wasn't there.

the writing has a younger tone that i think will work well for readers who are newer to fantasy romance or just starting to explore angel/demon narratives. there's an accessibility to it that's clearly intentional. but as someone who prefers this subgenre at its darkest and most psychologically complex, it read as juvenile in a way that kept me at arm's length for most of the book.what i did appreciate: the cultural specificity of Roxana's background, the grief thread woven through the story, and the sleep paralysis element — that's a genuinely creepy hook that i wish had been leaned into harder.

if you're looking for a lighter entry point into angel/demon romance with fated mates and reincarnation — this could absolutely be your thing. if you already know the landscape and want something with more teeth, this one probably won't scratch the itch.

[RebthePageTurner]

I have no notes.
Roxana has been dragged from Hull in the UK to Denver, alongside her father and younger brother. She misses her friends, her older sister Azar and the life she left behind. the one thing that does follow her is the nightmares she has been plagued with since being a child. Interrupting her sleep and worrying her family they now seem like part of her daily life. Despite her Iranian fathers constant pressure, she gets a job at a book store, spending her days with Chloe and sketching the vivid images of her dreams with an urge to somehow make them make sense.
Then she finds Zain, down an alleyway, snapping the neck of a jin, a violent entity stalking the modern world.
As they spend more time together Roxana realises that her and Zain are soulmates, and have been through the centuries. their love forbidden they have been killed for it in many lifetimes and now they are in this lifetime, the hunt starts again. When Roxana is kidnapped to the underworld by a distant relative, The King, for an arranged marriage, it's on both Roxana and Zain to rewrite fate and survive.
I loved this way more than I expected to. It does start a little slow while the author works to build a world worthy of these two characters but it quickly pulls you in with the history of a forbidden love over the centuries. The author makes it so easy for you to be in the middle of it, feeling the heartbreak that these two characters have endured and their ongoing fight to just be together. Even as Roxana starts to show signs of her previous self, you still sympathise with her.
There was also a sadness in Roxana. I sympathised with the loss of her mother and found reading about that element quite therapeutic but also her descriptions and memories and how they had shaped her as a person. I thought it was so important to also give a loving relationship with her younger brother, and how despite her dad's expectations, she still loves and appreciates the family around her.
The interactions with Zain were what made the book. This is definitely a book that shows love in it's truest form and their shared history, weaving in different cultures and mythology was so interesting to read. I felt the author could have done more with Roxana's heritage but this also wasn't the key theme of the book which I think kept a good balance.
Then ending was so satisfying and I didn't feel like it was rushed or half done. I would love to see a second book about Azar and how that goes!
I would say this is light fantasy with romance. It's fast paced, in some parts slightly (but not overly) violent and mythical.
Overall I really enjoyed this, definitely had Hancock film vibes and I think for is perfect for a young adult audience.

[Brittney]

Heavensent & Hellbent • Sara Jafari

One phrase: angels, jinn, and forbidden soulmates 🪽🔥

This gave me such early 2000s YA paranormal fantasy vibes, and honestly? I mean that in the best way.

Heavensent & Hellbent feels like Shadowhunters, Hush Hush, and Our Infinite Fates all got thrown together with true love reincarnation, angels, jinn, demons, evil immortal kings, magic, fated mates, and a sprinkle of Iranian representation.

Roxy moves from her small town in England to Denver expecting a pretty uneventful summer. She is trying to keep the peace with her dad, keep healing from the loss of her mom, and somehow deal with the sleep paralysis and nightmares that keep haunting her.

Then she meets Zain.

The beautiful boy from her nightmares.

The same boy she keeps seeing as they burn at the stake.

And then, very casually, she witnesses him snap a man’s neck.

From there, Roxy learns that jinn exist. Angels exist. And the boy haunting her dreams might not just be dangerous. He might be her fated mate.

I loved the nostalgic feel of this one. It reminded me of the kind of YA paranormal books that completely consumed me when I was younger, with forbidden attraction, ancient enemies, magical bloodlines, soul deep connections, and the sense that loving the wrong person could literally unravel everything.

The angel and jinn dynamic was really fun, and the reincarnation piece added that dramatic, centuries long, “we have found each other before” kind of angst that I always eat up.

This was messy, magical, dramatic, and full of that classic YA paranormal energy.

✨ Tropes and vibes:
🪽 angels
🔥 jinn and demons
💞 fated mates
🔮 true love reincarnation
🌙 recurring nightmares
💤 sleep paralysis
⚔️ forbidden love
🖤 ancient enemies
👑 evil immortal kings
✨ magic and secrets
🌍 Iranian representation
📚 early 2000s YA vibes

📚 Read this if you like:
Shadowhunters, Hush Hush, Our Infinite Fates, YA paranormal romance, angels and demons, fated soulmates, reincarnated love, forbidden attraction, and dramatic magical worlds where love absolutely comes with consequences.

This was nostalgic, magical, angsty, and such a fun throwback to the YA paranormal era.

#HeavensentAndHellbent #SaraJafari #YAParanormal #FantasyRomance #BookReview @Delacorte

[Janna Felix]

Heavensent and Hellbent is a fun, fast-paced YA urban fantasy with forbidden romance, reincarnated soulmates, and a supernatural world inspired by Iranian mythology that feels refreshingly different from typical paranormal romance. Roxana is a genuinely likeable narrator, funny, relatable, and painfully aware that she isn't the effortlessly athletic heroine fantasy usually demands. Her grief over her mother grounds the story with emotional weight; she isn't simply uprooted for plot convenience but at one of the worst points in her life, missing Hull and struggling to understand what happened while adjusting to Denver alongside her family. The sleep paralysis sequences are the most compelling element, creating genuine terror while slowly disclosing her past and connection to Zain without constant exposition. However, Roxana's decisions occasionally feel rushed; she witnesses Zain committing something objectively horrifying, briefly acknowledges he may be a murderer, then almost immediately returns to fixating on his attractiveness, a believability stretch even for YA. The romance is unapologetically insta-love, though the reincarnation element helps sell it; their souls have found each other across multiple lifetimes, meaning their connection is emotionally ancient even if their present timeline is fresh. Zain can be frustrating, particularly when he makes enormous decisions based on a romance barely begun, but his devotion fits the soulmates concept, and their conversations contain genuine tenderness. The mythology is genuinely the story's greatest strength, angels, jinn, divs, and reincarnation woven with Iranian cultural details that enrich both the supernatural world and contemporary setting. Roxana's family relationships shine throughout, particularly her sharp, protective sister Azar, who delivers some of the book's best lines and deserves her own enemies-to-lovers spinoff. Most twists prove fairly predictable, though they're likely well-pitched for younger readers or those newer to romantasy who haven't encountered dozens of stories involving reincarnation and fated mates. Despite occasionally rushed character choices and predictable reveals, the fast pacing keeps momentum strong, always delivering another supernatural revelation or dangerous encounter to sustain investment. This is an enjoyable entry point into romantasy with distinctive mythology, emotional depth, and a sweeping romance spanning lifetimes, particularly recommended for younger readers, soulmate enthusiasts, and anyone seeking accessible paranormal romance without spice.

[Katherine Kelley]

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book early!

Heavensent and Hellbent follows Roxanna and Zain as they replay their soul-bonded, fated romance and try to escape the tragic fate that their previous lives couldn’t. Roxanna is a typical YA romantasy heroine and Zain is a typical Hero. The only thing that really sets them apart is the fated mate, doomed love that they share. Their past lives are much more interesting than them, which is part of the point. Yet, we get so little of these flashbacks, serving more as deus ex machina moments than something that enriches this story and our characters. Part of that typical heroin-ness is prickling density and ignorance that defies logic, which Roxanna definitely possesses. Honestly, I can’t even say this is a huge flaw in the novel, but I found it increasingly annoying as I neared the end. She’s baffled by others’ very predictable distrust and distaste towards her based on her and Zain’s doomed love stories. She acts confused about concepts that were literally just explained to her a few pages earlier.

Pop culture references are pretty controversial, but I usually don’t mind them if they’re implemented properly. Here, they are particularly grating. There a lot of insanely vague references to very specific moments on TikTok that are basically gibberish out of context, and should have been removed as they add nothing to the plot or the characters. There is also a PAINFUL Chappell Roan reference where a character sings “Casual” at another to chastise their hot and cold attitude. It was so out of place, I had to put the book down

I can’t talk about basically anything in this book without mentioning the twist, so this review contains spoilers. The good news is that this reveal is the most obvious thing on the planet earth that you can probably guess just by reading the title. I'll try to be vague, but be warned.

This feels very much like a duology squished into one book. Book one should end when Roxanna is taken to the underworld, giving space for her relationship with her sister and her discoveries about her mom. The problem is that the slower pacing and relative lack of urgency of the first half doesn’t have enough plot to stand on its own. We’re told that they could be jumped by Jinn at any second as Rox’s dreams continue to taunt but the page time lent to these “mounting threats” makes them feel trivial.

The message about good and evil that this novel projects is unclear. The Jinn aren’t all bad. The Angels aren’t all good. Roxanna and her siblings prove that trickery and violence aren’t inherent to Jinn. Her Mother is hinted to be similarly gifted with empathy and not just wanting to be a part of the cycle of violence in the underworld. The servant who helps Roxanna and previously helped her mother seems to suggest that the duplicitous, blah blah blah other words for evil, ways that Jinn act is because of the oppression of the Jinn King. The angels treat Roxanna in a dehumanizing way, and kill Jinn without hesitation, seeming to parallel hate groups in uncomfortable ways. All the Jinn we see delight in trickery and violence and don’t care about casualties. Zain helps a group of Jinn who want to depose the king and create democracy (this is brought up briefly but then Azar becomes a benevolent queen anyway) but he really only does this because Roxanna is in danger and not because his worldview has changed at all. The book ends happily ever after, but without addressing the conflicting narratives of good and evil vs the moral complexity that both sides share. Of course, Jinn get much more focus. There isn’t enough room in this novel to address whatever the author seems to want to say. It just ends up being a muddled, confusing non-message, which is especially strange for a book aimed at younger audiences. I could get on board if these moral questions were meant to get the reader thinking and linger in their mind without a solid answer, but it doesn’t work out that way. It feels like it wants to have a message and then gives up before actually saying anything at all.

[taras.tome]

Thank you to Little, Brown Book Group UK, NetGalley and Sara Jafari for the opportunity to review this e-ARC.

I really enjoyed the premise of this book. Roxy has her life uprooted while having to deal with re-occurring obstacles. A strange, but familiar boy named Zain enters her life and suddenly things begin to unravel and she has to face facts head on.

I enjoyed learning about Iranian culture through Roxy and her family. My favourite thing about this book was actually Roxy and her family’s dynamics. Especially with her younger brother, that was so easy to relate to!

I did not enjoy the world-building, as frankly, I needed much more of it. It was minimal, when it had the potential to be soo much more! Places were constantly mentioned but not built upon. I wasn’t able to transport myself. Additionally, I would have really appreciated more in-depth lore in aiding my understanding of the elements relating to the Angels and Jinns. I didn’t really get any glimpse into the Angel society at all. That would have been fantastic if dived into.

Character wise, they too needed built upon a bit more. I enjoyed every characters inclusion in the story, although I felt no real connection to them. Roxy and Zains connection felt very surface level at the beginning-mid sections of the book. I felt they were scared to voice their raw emotions on anything. Through both words and actions. On top of that, with Cleo and Nic, I would have loved for real feminine love and friendship to have been explored more. It felt they were sidelined for most of the story. Each character’s personality needed to be built more. I feel I don’t really know them and they don’t stand out individually.

Plot wise, I liked learning about certain beings and I loved the portrayal of memories and dreams. The dreams especially were so vivid! I looked forward to reading about those moments in the book.

The writing style and chapter structures were really easy to follow and I believe the pacing was a wonderful fit for the YA genre.

Overall, as a debut YA standalone it was good. It just needs a bit more flavour and layering and it would be super.

[Fay Nicole]

“It was odd how little he cared when he was distracted by Penny. I never knew what mood he would be in.”

General thoughts:
This was a really lovely story. I absolutely love getting to read about different cultures, and I find Jinn/Djin folklore especially fascinating. I didn’t know much about what this book would entail before going in, and I think that made it all the more special. I enjoyed getting to discover hidden bits and pieces of the world at the same time as Roxana. I loved her connections with friends, and that outside of the main plot and the romance she was still very much her own person with distinct personality traits. It almost reminded me of 2010’s YA paranormal romance but with modern additions and more diversity in the best way possible. Like if I had a choice between handing a teenager this or something like twilight, I’d probably hand them this.

TLDR:
A really beautiful romantasy with Iranian folklore.

What I liked:
🪽The culture and mythology.
🪽The characters.
🪽The way it felt so complete, but could have easily been a full series.
🪽 How Iranian traditions were warped by the Jinn.
🪽Having a reader as a FMC.
🪽The side characters.

What I struggled with/didn’t really like:
🪽 I would have loved to see Cleo and Azar in the epilogue, and maybe just one sentence to confirm that after having her memory wiped Penny is okay.


Favourite character/s:
Roxana, Zain, Cleo and Azar.

Who this is for/recommendations:
🍷If you’re searching for a YA book (either for yourself or a young person you know).
🍷 If you want something that gives the same nostalgic comfort of twilight, hush hush and other YA stories from that time period but for the now, then this is it.
🍷If you are comfortable with snakes and apprehensive about romantasy/paranormal romance books then this could be a VERY well suited beginning for you.

Minority/inclusion:
Iranian FMC and MMC (one living in northern England and the other living in America).


I read an e-arc of this story courtesy of Little Brown Book Group UK and the author, and am very grateful for it:) All opinions are my own honesty and I’m not being forced to review✨🪽

[Alecia Hefner]

Over many centuries the angels and the jinn have been enemies. Both destined to destroy the other are always meant to be on opposite sides,that is until an angel and a jinn princess find something between them that they are willing to go against all the rules for. 


Together they fight against the odds but their love always ends with death and eventually rebirth just to find one another and fight the odds again.


Over time their story becomes that of a legend no one in the world of angels or jinn sure if these two really existed.


Roxy is forced into a move to Denver with her father and brother after her mothers mysterious death. She doesn’t mind because she doesn’t think she will be there long, once her acceptance comes in she will be off to college in London with her best friend Nic. To pass the time she gets a job at a little bookshop and begins to make new friends. 


It doesn’t take long though for stress to catch up with her and the nightmares that she thought she learned how to avoid begin to take hold again. She is pulled into sleep paralysis where snakes wrap around her and hold her down while she experiences the lives and deaths of people that look just like her and the boy in her dreams seems similar to her.


Zain has lived in Denver for most of his life, he has a job he doesn’t mind at a coffee shop not far from a bookshop that he tends to frequent especially when the coffeeshop doesn’t have enough change for big bills. On one of these occasions he notices the strange girl that he met in the coffee shop. He feels an odd pull to her and although he spends most of his time on his own he finds himself aching to see her. There is something about Roxy that calls to him, something that is familiar to him.


Both Zain and Roxy have pasts to confront and a future to fight for but the past tends to be strong and often repeated.


Thank you to #DelacortePress and #Negalley for the chance to read an eArc of #HeavenSent&HellBent by #SaraJafari in return for a fair and honest review.

[Lynda]

Thank you to NetGalley and Sara Jafari for the ARC!

This book reminded me a lot of my childhood and the start of my fantasy-reading journey. It gave me Shadowhunters and Hush, Hush vibes, and for that I’m really thankful as I know many of us can relate to that feeling. The pacing was interesting and action-packed, and it didn’t go how I expected, which isn’t a bad thing at all. I was pleasantly surprised and had a great time reading it.

Roxana was a very interesting FMC. She reflects so many cultures and versions of womanhood, which makes her relatable since life can be messy and not linear, but she was strong, and she grew even stronger as the world tested her. I loved that she was human but resilient, and I absolutely enjoyed her and Zain’s love story. It was so sweet, and there was no need for a miscommunication trope. That’s so appreciated, even though there were secrets, it didn’t take long for them to come out and be resolved. They had such a beautiful love story, and the biggest thing I took away from it was the theme of breaking cycles.

One thing I would’ve liked to see different was how descriptive everything was, hear me out. We’re in a modern-day setting with technology, apps, and lots of pop culture references, and while that’s appreciated by many readers who relate to it, there are also plenty of us who don’t like those same things. The descriptions would often take away from the story and I would’ve loved to see fewer specific pop culture references and more room for readers to fill in the details with their own taste and imagination. In my opinion while information and world building is important, too much for that turns into just reading pages off a book and reading a character and not feeling the book. That was one thing that kept me from fully connecting with the FMC. Overall, I think the story did a good job making itself feel relevant to modern day, but I would’ve loved it to be a little less descriptive so it could feel more like our story, shaped by our own taste and references with our imagination.

[Alena]

Heavensent & Hellbent is a YA (I think) standalone; it’s like urban fantasy, set in modern Denver and inspired by Persian mythology, especially jinns and angels.

Roxy moves to Denver and is mourning her mother, who passed away in an accident. Since she was a child, she has suffered from sleep paralysis, but since her mother’s accident, the episodes have increased. Now she sees things, including a blond boy who might hold the key to it all, especially after she discovers that he isn’t a figment of her imagination when she finds him in the city.

I think it’s a standalone (there will be a second novel, just with a different character), and although I love the format, I think this one would have benefited from being a duology. It starts slowly, introducing Roxy and her family as they lead a normal life in Denver. That’s when she meets Zain, and shortly after, she discovers who he really is; that’s when all the mythology kicks in: the drama, the forbidden romance, and the tension between jinn and angels.

That was my favorite part, but once we got to that point, the pace accelerated. I would have liked to see more character development; a lot happens, there’s a lot of drama, and there are a couple of epic moments, but it all ends too quickly. Same with the romance; it starts slow, but once they discover who they are and that they’d already met in past lives, everything moves really quickly. There’s tension, secrets revealed, and a bit of a plot twist, but the fast pace and the “insta-everything” meant it didn’t have as big an impact on me.

Overall, I like it. It's not the same, but if you enjoy 2010s YA urban fantasy, I think you'll like this one. It has similar elements, but it's more diverse, with Iranian characters and Persian fantasy.
The story was pretty cool; Roxy and Zain were brave and cute together. I like them, but what we see most in her is her desire to go to college rather than use her magic, and when she does use it, everything happens very quickly; there’s action but not much building up.

Thanks Delacorte Press for the copy

[Meaghan]

I was so intrigued by the premise of this book. Star-crossed lovers? Angels and demons? Reincarnation? You've got my attention! But unfortunately, Heavensent & Hellbent did not deliver. It had SO MUCH potential, but the pacing and the general execution was lacking. I greatly enjoyed Roxana as a character and loved the exploration of Iranian culture and the use of jinn and Persian mythology instead of the typical demons I've previously read about. I just felt like there were so many aspects of the plot and character development that just went ignored or underutilized. There is a lot of superficial world building that drags along the beginning of the story, and then we are thrust into an insanely action-packed second half of the book. Even then though, the interspecies (?) conflicts and underworld political implications could have been expanded upon, and instead we were given a sentence or two here and there just telling us how things were simply resolved. And the relationship between Zain and Roxy relied way too heavily on their previous reincarnations and barely touched upon why they in their current timeline would be in love. They literally meet each other, hang out like one time, and are suddenly in love because of their shared past lives. Their relationship spans maybe three weeks of time, almost two weeks of which they were apart or not talking. And then we're expected to believe that their love is worth making these huge sacrifices over? I just had a hard time suspending my disbelief with that.

Overall, it was a fairly quick read and a standalone, so I appreciated it all wrapping up in one book without any cliffhangers. I'd recommend this book if you enjoy stories about demon hunters, angels, teen insta-love romance, and reincarnation.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Ashley - The Tattered Page]

Review of advance copy received from the Publisher

🎧📖𝒜𝐿𝒞 𝒜𝓊𝒹𝒾𝑜𝒷𝑜𝑜𝓀 𝑅𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌📖🎧

𝐻𝑒𝒶𝓋𝑒𝓃𝓈𝑒𝓃𝓉 & 𝐻𝑒𝓁𝓁𝒷𝑒𝓃𝓉 ʙʏ sᴀʀᴀ ᴊᴀғᴀʀɪ

𝑅𝒶𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔: 🥀🥀🥀 ᴏᴜᴛ ᴏғ 𝟻 ᴇɴᴄʜᴀɴᴛᴇᴅ ʀᴏsᴇs

✨ 𝐻𝑜𝑜𝓀✨

ʜᴇ’s ᴛʜᴇ ᴀɴɢᴇʟ ʜᴀᴜɴᴛɪɴɢ ʜᴇʀ ɴɪɢʜᴛᴍᴀʀᴇs—ᴀɴᴅ ᴀᴘᴘᴀʀᴇɴᴛʟʏ, ʜᴇ’s ᴀʟsᴏ ʜᴇʀ ғᴀᴛᴇᴅ ᴍᴀᴛᴇ.

𝑅𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌:

ʜᴜɢᴇ ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛᴏ ᴘʀʜᴀᴜᴅɪᴏ ғᴏʀ ɢɪғᴛɪɴɢ ᴍᴇ ᴛʜɪs ᴀʟᴄ!

ᴛʜɪs ᴡᴀs sᴜᴄʜ ᴀ ғᴜɴ ʙʟᴇɴᴅ ᴏғ ᴊɪɴɴ ᴍʏᴛʜᴏʟᴏɢʏ, ᴀɴɢᴇʟs, ғᴏʀʙɪᴅᴅᴇɴ ʀᴏᴍᴀɴᴄᴇ, ᴀɴᴅ sᴜᴘᴇʀɴᴀᴛᴜʀᴀʟ ᴍʏsᴛᴇʀʏ. ʀᴏxʏ ᴀɴᴅ ᴢᴀɪɴ’s ᴄᴏɴɴᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ ɪᴍᴍᴇᴅɪᴀᴛᴇʟʏ ɢʀᴀʙʙᴇᴅ ᴍʏ ᴀᴛᴛᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴ, ᴇsᴘᴇᴄɪᴀʟʟʏ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ʀᴇᴄᴜʀʀɪɴɢ ɴɪɢʜᴛᴍᴀʀᴇ ᴏғ ʙᴇɪɴɢ ʙᴜʀɴᴇᴅ ᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇ sᴛᴀᴋᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴇᴠᴇʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ sᴏᴜʟs ʜᴀᴠᴇ ʙᴇᴇɴ ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴛᴡɪɴᴇᴅ ғᴏʀ ᴄᴇɴᴛᴜʀɪᴇs. ᴛʜᴇ ғᴏʀʙɪᴅᴅᴇɴ ɴᴀᴛᴜʀᴇ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ʀᴇʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴsʜɪᴘ ɢɪᴠᴇs ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴏᴍᴀɴᴄᴇ ᴘʟᴇɴᴛʏ ᴏғ ᴛᴇɴsɪᴏɴ, ᴡʜɪʟᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ғᴀᴍɪʟʏ sᴇᴄʀᴇᴛs ᴀɴᴅ sᴜᴘᴇʀɴᴀᴛᴜʀᴀʟ ʟᴏʀᴇ ᴋᴇᴇᴘ ᴛʜᴇ sᴛᴏʀʏ ᴍᴏᴠɪɴɢ.

🎙️𝒩𝒶𝓇𝓇𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃:
ᴛʜᴇ ᴀᴜᴅɪᴏʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴅɪᴅ ᴀ ɢʀᴇᴀᴛ ᴊᴏʙ ᴄᴀᴘᴛᴜʀɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇᴍᴏᴛɪᴏɴᴀʟ ɪɴᴛᴇɴsɪᴛʏ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴏᴍᴀɴᴄᴇ ᴡʜɪʟᴇ ᴍᴀɪɴᴛᴀɪɴɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍʏsᴛᴇʀɪᴏᴜs sᴜᴘᴇʀɴᴀᴛᴜʀᴀʟ ᴀᴛᴍᴏsᴘʜᴇʀᴇ. ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴇʀғᴏʀᴍᴀɴᴄᴇs ᴍᴀᴅᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛᴇɴsɪᴏɴ ʙᴇᴛᴡᴇᴇɴ ʀᴏxʏ ᴀɴᴅ ᴢᴀɪɴ ᴇsᴘᴇᴄɪᴀʟʟʏ ᴇᴀsʏ ᴛᴏ sɪɴᴋ ɪɴᴛᴏ.

𝒯𝓇𝑜𝓅𝑒𝓈 & 𝒱𝒾𝒷𝑒𝓈:
😇 ᴀɴɢᴇʟ ᴍᴍᴄ
🔥 ᴊɪɴɴ
💕 ғᴀᴛᴇᴅ ᴍᴀᴛᴇs
⚔️ ғᴏʀʙɪᴅᴅᴇɴ ʀᴏᴍᴀɴᴄᴇ
🌙 ʀᴇᴄᴜʀʀɪɴɢ ᴅʀᴇᴀᴍs
🩸 sᴜᴘᴇʀɴᴀᴛᴜʀᴀʟ ᴍʏsᴛᴇʀʏ
🖤 ғᴀᴍɪʟʏ sᴇᴄʀᴇᴛs
✨ ᴇɴᴇᴍɪᴇs-ᴛᴏ-ʟᴏᴠᴇʀs ᴇɴᴇʀɢʏ

𝐹𝒾𝓃𝒶𝓁 𝓋𝑒𝓇𝒹𝒾𝒸𝓉:
ᴀ ʀᴏᴍᴀɴᴛɪᴄ, sᴜᴘᴇʀɴᴀᴛᴜʀᴀʟ ᴀᴅᴠᴇɴᴛᴜʀᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ғᴏʀʙɪᴅᴅᴇɴ ʟᴏᴠᴇ, ᴊɪɴɴ ᴍʏᴛʜᴏʟᴏɢʏ, ᴀɴɢᴇʟs, ᴀɴᴅ ᴘʟᴇɴᴛʏ ᴏғ sᴇᴄʀᴇᴛs. ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴏᴍᴀɴᴄᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴍʏᴛʜᴏʟᴏɢʏ ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ᴛʜɪs ᴀɴ ᴇɴᴛᴇʀᴛᴀɪɴɪɴɢ ʟɪsᴛᴇɴ, ᴇsᴘᴇᴄɪᴀʟʟʏ ɪғ ʏᴏᴜ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ғᴀᴛᴇᴅ ᴄᴏɴɴᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴs ᴀɴᴅ sᴛᴀʀ-ᴄʀᴏssᴇᴅ ʟᴏᴠᴇʀs. ᴀ ғᴜɴ ᴘᴀʀᴀɴᴏʀᴍᴀʟ ʀᴏᴍᴀɴᴄᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴘʟᴇɴᴛʏ ᴏғ ᴘᴏᴛᴇɴᴛɪᴀʟ ғᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ ɴᴇxᴛ ɪɴsᴛᴀʟʟᴍᴇɴᴛ.

ʜᴀᴘᴘʏ ʀᴇᴀᴅɪɴɢ!
𝒜𝓈𝒽𝓁𝑒𝓎
ʙᴏᴏᴋsᴛᴀɢʀᴀᴍ: @ᴛʜᴇᴛᴀᴛᴛᴇʀᴇᴅᴘᴀɢᴇ

[E.B]

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. (some spoilers present)
Oh, grab a drink and settle down because this book was a bumpy ride. The plot itself had sooo much promise, I mean, an angel and a demon having a decades-long love affair that ends in death and reincarnation, I mean, sign me up. However, the FMC was unbearable, and I don’t mean some of the things she did made me mad, no, don’t get it twisted, every time this girl thought I wanted to punch her in the face. I will say she got a bit (not a lot, just a bit) more bearable towards the end.
Oh, Zain, the one consistent thing in this book. He was the perfect love interest, and I would have loved it if the book were dual POV and not just to get away from Roxy and her ever-present thoughts. He really was a well-written character with depth that I feel Roxy was missing.
I think this book proved the point that pop culture in books has got to go. There is no quicker way to suck someone out of a story than by mentioning Stanley Cups and Sabrina Carpenter, especially if they provide absolutely nothing to the plot.
All in all, it was an okay book with a solid plot and forgettable side characters. The main character falls a little flat to me (as previously mentioned); it’s like, at times, she had no personality other than having a dead mom, a thrift issue, and randomly hating America. It’s a quick read and does have a nice romance, so 3 out of 5 stars.