Falling for Cyn

Four Winds #5

by Anne Conley

Damien is bad—the original Evil. Satan from Hell on Earth has been his identity since forever. The Devil. Beelzebub. Minister of Evil. Prince of Darkness. Lucifer. Old Scratch. He’s never been given a choice in this prison of fate, but it’s his turn now. Hell is about to meet his match. When Damien gets a woman, the only underworld he’s ever known changes. She’s chosen for him, but she’s enough… Cynthia doesn’t believe in Hell; she believes in kindness and science, and the greater good. She’s perfect, and pure and… dying. But she’s his. And he’ll move Heaven and Hell to keep her. This is Anne Conley's final installment in the Four Winds series.

Genres: Romance

199 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 15, 2015

About the author

Anne has written her entire life and has the boxes of angst-filled journals and poetry to prove it. She’s been writing for public consumption for the past several years. She lives in rural East Texas with her husband and children in her own private oasis, where she prides herself in her complete lack of social skills, choosing instead to live with the people inside her head.

Currently, she has five romance series. Playing with Fire explores the trials and tribulations of a small team of fire fighters in the fictional mountain town of Pamona Gulch. In Pierce Securities, she gives us Ryan, Evan, Miriam, Zack, Quinten, Jordan, Hollerman, and Simon. Her favorite series, Book B!tches, is all about a group of women in Mystic, Texas who get into all sorts of shenanigans. In Stories of Serendipity, she explores real people living real lives in small town Texas in a contemporary romance setting. In The Four Winds, she chronicles God’s four closest archangels, Uriel, Gabriel, Raphael, and Michael, falling in love and becoming human.

Reviews

[PelicanFreak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cover:
Pretty, super fitting of Damien and the story itself and clearly matches the rest of the series so… perfect.

Editing/Proofing:
Nearly perfect! Definitely a big difference in the books edited by Beyond Def vs anyone else, this series is a clear example of that.

Formatting:
Seriously wouldn’t mind if every book I ever read looked like this… even though the design specifically fits this story… it’s just so pretty.

Character development:
Advanced. We’ve seen Damien throughout this series and his character never changes. Conley knows how to design a character and then keep them IN character for the duration of their / the series’ life. I also feel she does an amazing job of describing human feelings from the point of view of someone who’s experiencing them for the first time ever. She doesn’t take anything for granted, and seems to get this right throughout the entire series. As Damien falls and evolves, par for this series, it’s fascinating, but befitting of his character and backstory.

Plot / Overall:
This installment is a bit of a dichotomy in and of itself. It’s got archangels turning vengeful, while still inherently good and the devil trying to change his ways. A non-believer forced to believe, but still not exactly believing...

I’m a big fan. I absolutely love the concept - we get to see the devil experience human emotions and what it might take for him to change his ways. As a very strict non-believer, I can still get behind Conley’s spin on the archangels, God, and Satan all day long. I’ve read other books that tackle this and similar topics and never really been able to get into them; usually some religious aspect comes into it somewhere and turns me off. Conley knows how to keep it real and does throughout the whole series. By “real”, I mean plausible, and I don’t feel like anything is being shoved down my throat. It’s more like… she’s given me a different light to see things in. And regardless of any beliefs or lack thereof, basic right/wrong and dark/light are present here - also keeping it as spiritual or non-spiritual as the reader wants it.

Falling for Cyn was a bit of a rollercoaster ride. As someone who annoyingly predicts EVERYthing, I really wasn’t sure what direction this one would ultimately take. The possibilities were endless and the scenario volatile. I was also too busy absorbing it all to worry about guessing, and not much sucks me in to that extent. For that alone, (as if everything else I’ve said didn’t qualify this) I’ve gotta give it the the full 5 stars.

Completely brilliant series and my review of the series as a whole is also below.


Overall Series:

This series features beautiful formatting and advanced character development; I feel the author’s brilliance is highly underrated and that really shows in this series in particular.

With this series, there’s the surface: the banter, the characters meeting and falling for one another, the heat, etc. And then there’s more, but only if you want there to be. Conley has an uncanny ability to say things without actually saying them, if that makes sense. The content can really prompt some thinking… or the reader can just let the witty content suck them in and enjoy an escape from reality. That’s the brilliance in Conley’s writing: it’s multifaceted.

[Stephanie (Between the Coverz) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anne Conley has done it again! The whole series is amazing! I recommend reading them in order however you don’t really have to.

This is Damien’s story, the devil himself. Damien has found love with his chosen one, Cyn. But Cyn is not in good health and not expected to make it through her operation. Damien has changed and no longer wants to be the deceiver that he once was. Can he get Cyn to believe in God and see the good in him? Will she be able to go through life without him by her side yet knowing he is always there?

Falling for Cyn is an incredible love story that will captivate you and keep you turning the pages until you get to the end. It is well written and does not leave you wanting. The book will take you through various emotions – happiness, heartbreak and suspense. This book was a great ending to the series!

[Marie Vasquez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best of the series. Anne Conley did an outstanding job of showing Damien in a whole new light as he worked toward redemption for love. I loved Cyn and Damien's story.

Full review to follow

[Tami czenkus · Rating 5 out of 5]

I HAVE to say that I was kind of scared to read Damien's book because he actually became my favorite character in this series.
Anne Conley ripped my heart out with Falling for Cyn and I wish I could go back and read again with brand new eyes.
This series had me awed from the very first book and I want even more!!!

[Itsy Bitsy Book Bits · Rating 5 out of 5]

The four winds series, book 5. The deceiver, Damien has watched all 4 of his brothers become fallen and turn human while falling in love with their soul mates. After being the Devil for so long Damien is tired, he wants beauty, love all the things he once considered a weakness, trust, commitment, provide security to that one special person. But now he just wants it to be over, once upon a time being the devil was fun, the trickery, debauchery, the sins...they were all a fun easy way to pass the time but now he’s simply bored and everything that was once so important is now just a filler done out of habit more than need or want....
Cynthia is a scientist, with a twist, she has a brain tumor. She is in the final stages of completing her lifetime achievement that she has worked so hard for. She has endured long physical hours of tests, conclusions, paperwork and documenting of teat results that she is almost complete. Too bad she doesn’t know when her last day on earth will be, there is no way to know with a brain tumor like hers so she is living like every day could be her last, because for her it very well could be. Will god finally allow the devil some peace and a chance at love and becoming human. Will Cyn and Damien be just a boy and a girl...or will a last attempt surgery go wrong and end Cynthia's life just when she has finally found love in the most unlikely places, with the devil himself.
Once Cyn goes in for a surgery that could very well be her last moment alive the Damien finds the irony of the situation he is now in, he used to feed off the fear of others and now with Cynthia in surgery and he has no control over the outcome all he can feel is fear, would God give him a chance at happiness only to take it away instantly? If given a second chance at life and love would you take it... Will God give Cyn and Damien a second chance and will they finally experience a lifetime of love and happiness with each other or will Cynthia learn who Damien really is and decide without actually thinking that she cannot be with the Devil. Even though she loves him more than herself and trusts him completely...

[Patti K · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I could give this a true 10, but as with the other books, some of the errors were too obvious to ignore. However, in all other aspects, I think this story capped the series just right, and that makes it a winner for me. When we approached the end of book 4, my mind kept thinking, "Give Damien his story." How lucky that my wish was granted before I started this series, because I didn't have to wait to read his tale. And what a yarn is spun! If ever there was a tale of the bad boy reformed, this is it. How can you get any worse than THE Bad Boy? One thing that made me smile in every story was that each angel had to fight for his woman, somehow. Every one of them had a major obstacle to overcome, be it internal or external. We get some of both here. Damien is, after all, the Deceiver, so he'd be warring with himself as to whether or not he should give in to his natural instincts. With numerous twists and turns in this tale, the reader is always on their toes. That makes for an exciting read. It would be fun to continue with the 'other' angels, but if this is the very last book in the series, I won't complain too loudly; finishing with Damien was fitting. What an epic story it was! I think the best part was that the entire rest of the series was flipped on its head this time around. It's absolutely worth the read of the whole set just to feel prepared to read this book.

If you are paying attention, you will heed the author's warnings with this series. Do not assume that, because it's about angels, it will be clean fiction. It's not. I'm happy with that, but some people won't be. Should you choose to read this series, and ignore the warning, then you have no right to complain that the story is something other than what you'd hoped it would be. Angels, graphic sex, and some fascinating conceptions of Christianity (and God). I definitely enjoyed it. I will be including this disclaimer in each of my individual reviews when they appear on Amazon and Goodreads.

[Mary Lou Hoffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title: FALLING FOR CYN
Series: Four Winds #5
Category /Genre: Contemporary Romance, Suspense
Recommended for: 18+ due to sexual content
Received from: Anne Conley (in exchange for an honest review)
Date completed: 06.24.15; 09.28.15
Grammar/editing: ungraded – book received as an unedited ARC / errors excused

This is the fifth book in the Four Winds series. They do each stand on their own, but I recommend reading them in order because of the updates from the previous releases. This one especially should wait until you have read the other four.

Sympathy for the Devil – it’s more than a song by The Rolling Stones. It became a real emotion within the first few pages of reading this story. I had tears in my eyes by page 10! I think I was holding my breath for at least half of the book! This story absolutely tore me apart, but the re-stitching accomplished with the ending made the destruction all the more beautiful.

As ya’all know by now, Anne Conley is one of my favorite indie authors. Luckily she loves me, too, and allows me to beta read for her. When I had finished reading Falling for Faith, she asked me if I thought there should be one more story in the series. Did I think Satan deserved an HEA also? I loved the idea of the redemption of all evil; that God’s love truly does extend to all of His children. I am beyond thrilled to share that I named Cyn in this book. Thank you Anne for allowing me to be a small part of your process.

[Fabie Gutierrez · Rating 5 out of 5]

As predicted, this book was amazing! Finding a way to redeem The Devil himself, was the best told story imaginable. Damien's story was captivating and passionate, and did not leave wanting. If there are obstacles for Angels to fall from grace and become human for love, one could only think it an impossibility for the Devil himself to find the same type of emotion. Not only does Damien have to fall in love, but he also has to deal with his chosen partner not believing in God, a quartet of angels rooting against him, a fear of losing his love to death, and the need to deserve something good in his life. Insecurities about the way he's carried on for centuries weigh heavy on him, and the need for her trust now go hand in hand with his need to be worthy. This story has it all, romance, suspense, heartbreak, and at the end, a sense of peace that everything has worked out according to The Boss. Anne Conley has completely outdone herself in the Four Winds series, with Damien and Cynthia's story, and I am sad for this series to end but don't think she could have done it any better!! Perfect in every sense of the word

[Laura Wolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really loved this series. It was an awesome ending!!