Täuschung

The Divine #2

by M.R. Forbes

GUTE TEUFEL, BÖSE ENGEL
Mein Name ist Landon. Ich bin ein Diuscrucis: zu gleichen Teilen Mensch, Dämon und Engel, auserwählt, den Krieg zwischen Himmel und Hölle im Gleichgewicht zu halten. Klingt fantastisch, nicht wahr? Das dachte ich anfangs auch, doch inzwischen ist viel passiert. Natürlich habe ich die Welt gerettet, doch der Preis war hoch. Beispiele gefällig? Ein Werwolf hat sich in meiner Seele eingenistet, ich wurde verraten, musste Freunde sterben sehen und nun ist auch noch die kleine Sarah verschwunden. Ich hätte die Warnung der Dämonenkönigin ernst nehmen sollen …

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Vampires, Demons, Angels, Paranormal, Supernatural

361 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2013

About the author

M.R. Forbes is the author of a growing number of science-fiction series including Rebellion, War Eternal, Chaos of the Covenant, Stars End, and the Forgotten novels. Having spent his childhood trying to read every sci-fi novel he could find (and write his own too), play every sci-fi video game he could get his hands on, and see every sci-fi movie that made it into the theater, he has a true love of the genre across every medium. He works hard to bring that same energy to his own stories, with a continuing goal to entertain, delight, fascinate, and surprise.

He maintains a true appreciation for his readers and is always happy to hear from them.

To learn more about M.R. Forbes or just say hello:

Visit his website:
mrforbes.com

Send him an e-mail:
michael@mrforbes.com

Check out his Facebook page:
facebook.com/mrforbes.author

Join his Facebook fan group:
facebook.com/groups/mrforbes

Follow him on Instagram:
instagram.com/mrforbes_author

Find him on Goodreads:
goodreads.com/mrforbes

Follow him on Bookbub:
bookbub.com/authors/m-r-forbes

Reviews

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Betrayal
The Divine, Book Two
By: M. R. Forbes
Narrated by: Jeff Hays
This continues the story but so much more develops. Angels, develops, vampires, were, hybrids, and more! Action, betrayal, love, hate, so much is a stake! Ever suspenseful!
The narrator can literally perform any voice or sound! Excellent!!!
Better than book one...love this series.

[Jay Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as strong as the first book but still good. The plot is starting to get a little bit more twisted than I would like. I hope these crazy story lines and some characters are resolved in the next book.

[Chris Torretta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love listening to this on audio. Great performance!

Full review coming soon.

Received by author, through audiobookreviewer.com, in exchange for an honest review.

Edit for full review:
This starts and it took me a minute to realize that they had jumped five years into the future from book one. Fortunately, M.R. Forbes gives enough information to catch the reader up to speed without dragging the story down. I found that I really needed this because I could not remember book one! This is the hazard of reading so many similar books! Again, it was fortunate that Forbes took the time to make sure the reader knew what was going on. I know I needed that.

Once I got up to speed, I was really able to enjoy the story. Remembering that Landon is a diuscrucis and had to maintain balance really brought it all around. I loved the first part of this and how Landon deals with the crap that is thrown at him.

The problem is that he never makes choices prior to something happening. He is constantly reacting to “so and so” and thus not able to make his own choices. He has a choice to do something about missing girls and decides to let it go, that is, until one of HIS friends goes missing. A lot of the plot is like this and it gets frustrating fast.

For some reason I consistently compare Landon with Bill the Vampire by Rick Gualtieri. The characters are quite similar but what Landon is missing is the growth that Bill somehow finds. It does take Bill a while, and he is still a complete idiot, but I wonder if Landon will be able to move through a character arc and show some growth?

Sadly, the seemingly lack of growth for him in this had me frustrated. I enjoyed the story, especially the narration, but Landon just frustrates me to no end!

Speaking of the narration. Once again, it is done superbly! The voices are differentiated in a subtle way so I can tell the characters apart. What is even more interesting is the fact that the audio has certain effects over various things that happen. When a soul connection is made with Landon there is a sort of echo. This part I did not totally love and the echo was quite weird but it did help to understand what was happening. It is almost like a cell phone usage where someone has a little background noise coming from the phone. Nothing to call the phone company about, but enough to know you’re on the phone. These types of little additives really help to set this audio apart from other stories. It helps keep me involved with what is happening.

Funnily enough, even though this second story was not my favorite, I loved the ending. It’s again a cliff hanger but I liked it better than the way book one ended. I’m just hoping that Landon will start making better choices in book three. I keep wanting to smack my forehead every time he makes a mistake!

In short: Interesting part of the series but not my favorite. You’ll want to read these in order to understand the full story.

[Perene · Rating 4 out of 5]

i started reading this book because i finished reading the first book, and the first book was very good, so i had high expectations for this book. My expectations were met and exceeded. At first i wasn't sure if i would like this book as much as i liked the first because sometimes the first book in series' are the best. But not in this case.

Characters:
These characters are so twisted that they surprise me with their actions. After Gervais kidnapped Sarah with Rebecca, i didn't expect Rebecca to double-cross him. I also didn't expect Rachel to be a servant of the Beast. But i was surprised that Landon caught her as a servant. i didn't think he would find out. But he "noticed the dead pixel [on the screen of Rachel's computer]. It was such a tiny, inconsequential thing that most people would never have seen it, and even if they had, they would never have given it a second thought ... i clicked on it. Nothing happened. i waited a few seconds, clicked again. No result ... i double-clicked, and felt my pulse pick up the pace when a fresh window popped up. Staring back at me from the monitor was an icon that was all too familiar ... Rachel was a servant?" But when Rachel came and found him looking at her computer, she (spoiler) killed herself. i really thought she would put up a fight and try to really convince Landon, but she didn't, she just kind of gave up.

The overall significance of this book to me isn't really that big. This book is just a book to be read for fun. But i certainly recommend it.

329 pages

[Robert Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, The Divine is a decent (stress on decent) series. The writing flows well, the story develops well, and the author can keep your interest.

However, the protagonist - Landon - is truly a stupid, stupid individual. I mean he lacks even the intelligence of a normal human being. I understand authors must have their characters do things that are dumb, wrong, misinformed, etc, in order for the story to develop; but, Forbes has Landon doing dumb, stupid, things left and right. The character never uses logic worth a damn, can't reason his way into a course of action, and prefers to stumble along just re-acting rather than acting.

I finished the three books so far published. The manner in which the character's continually stumble from one scene to the next is very off-putting though. These three books don't really make me want to continue this series, or get his other books. Overall, I was able to burn time enough to justify the costs of the books, but I wish I'd just read these as a loaner from a friend or the library and spent the money on something else.

[Virginia DeBusk · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did anyone edit this?

unfortunately, the grammatical errors turned me off significantly to the plot. I was so worried about the spelling that it was hard to take pleasure in the plot. had some decent twists and turns but I would be remiss to rate it higher.

[Daleios · Rating 5 out of 5]

**SPOILER ALERT**

***** - Enjoyed & Would Read Again
**** - Enjoyed
*** - Not Bad
** - Didn't Like
* - Didn't finish

Disclaimer: Even though this review is open for everyone to see due to the nature of GoodReads. Please note that this review / notes are just for my own personal use and shouldn't be taken as a genuine review

THE WORLD

THE CHARACTERS

Dante:

Mr Ross:

Charice: the demon Queen that is like Landon

Landon: main character

Rebecca: Vampire

Josette: Angel

Obi: Landons contact and helper

Olmex: Landons demon

Razel: demon rebecca aborbs

Sarah: half angel / demon: josettes daughter

Isaac: Sarahs demon protector.


THE STORY .

The story starts 5 years after Landon is left for dead by Rebecca.

He has gained experience in the last few years and has been acting on the angels side trying to defeat evil to make it so that the scales balance again. after 2 years the scales were even and so Landon went into hiding and concentrated on his studies of his powers all the while trying to dechipher what the demon queen warned him about.

He has formed a strong bond with Sarah the blind angel from the first book, i must have missed something in the first book becasue it turns out that Sarah is Jolettes daughter.

Sarah gets kidnapped so he and Issac (Sarah's demon protector) head to france to try and catch who they think is responsible. when they arrive off the plane they are met by 3 huge rock elemental demons who they defeat and also a Witch who must have summoned them.

They Later bump into a pack of Weres that the Were that Landon absorbs in te first book recognised and Loved.

she takes them back her he lair and tells Landon that she is working for the demon queen.

Landon challenges her and wins so he now becomes leader of the pack.

He uses Jolletes memories to guide him towards where her brother and Sarahs father will be. They eventually find him. Where he tells that Rebecca turned up with a small army of super strong vampires which she has created in the 5 years she has spent in hell. Rebecca takes Sarah but Sarah first blinds her father and leaves him for dead.

Obi gets a anonymous message telling Landon to go to the eiffel tower. When he gets there he is met by a arch vampire. Rebecca is using the arch vampire to try to channel her consciousness to ask Landon to join her, and that there is a war that isn't as clear as heaven and hell. She tells Landon that she is going to use Sarah to try and overthrow God.

Landon refuses and is then attacked by vampires that are hiding I the room, when a huge devine warrior barges in and saves him. This huge warrior is called zeek and has a history with omex. Zeek takes Landon away and when zeek Wakes up he is met by the old demon Queen.

it turns out that she is the other half breed between angel and demon that dante talked about in the first book. She tells Landon that she is fighting a separate war than that the devil, god and dante are fighting. She explains that her and the templars are trying to stop a "beast" from ever been discovered. Most people think that this "Beast" is the devil but it isnt. Landon puts together that this beast must be who Rebecca and Sarah are planning to overthrow God.

The old demon queen explains that she planned the events in the first book to engineer Landon to get to this point so that he could help her. She bonds with Landon and they both know every single thing the other knows. She explains that this is what Dante wanted, he wanted them to be a pair so that they can become stronger than ever apart. They know have an understanding of what needs to be done and that is to fight.

An angel appears and offers them information about the beast. He says that it came from another place when God had only just created the earth. It wanted to destroy what God had x r wa, it told God that it had been banished from this other place and if it were not hidden "true gods" would follow it into gods place. He says that the beast rose up against God after a while and he and lucifer who was then an angel trapped the beast, then lucifer started writing gather templar scripts with hidden warnings about the beast, he also write the first ever Bible.

The angel revealed that only a pure one (sarah) who is a mix of angel and demon can open the cage that the beast is captured in.

They know that Rebecca will need the grail to release the beast and so Landon goes to where he hid it but everyone in the Church was dead so they already had the grail now they need to go find the first Bible instead.

They go to one of his informants but it turns out she is working for the beast aswell. She explains that people are siding with the beast to try and stop the endless war between good and evil and that if the beast was God everyone would learn to live together without all the fighting and constant balancing. Landon also discovers who has lucifers Bible.

The person who knows where the Bible is is Dante!! Landon goes to purgatory and confronts Dante, he explains that when he learnt about the beast he asked God about it but he would not speak to him and so knowing that whoever wanted to release the beast needed the Bible Dante hid it in plain sight in the library of Congress in Washington.

They go and get the book and translate the text, Charice and Landon use the text to be trnasported somewhere. They arrive in a huge cave like structure. They think that they are trapped, but then Rebecca and Sarah appear, with Mr Ross who met Landon in purgatory in the first book. it turns out that he ois the beast!!

Mr Ross explains that Lucifer had him trapped but then when god struck lucifer down and created hell he also created purgatory and this is where slowly over thousands of years the beast / Mr Ross slowly started to make his new form that is stood infront of Landon now. He explains that he didnt want to kill Landon. he explains that Mr Ross persuaded Dante to gather people to fight and keep the balance, this would then ensure that neither side would be strong enough to defeat the beast when he eventually starts taking over heaven and hell.

He explains that Landons and Charices power dont come from purgatory, their powers come from Him and he wants the power back. Sarah then draws a sword from the beast and kills charice, she then fills the chalice with her blood and then wounds Landon and puts his blood into the cup also, she cuts her wrists and finally adds her blood. Josettes soul manages to come through landon and then struggles with Sarah and she drops the chalice and the blood.

Dante appears and tries to transport landon and charice out of this place. The beast orders Rebecca to finsih the job and bleed out Sarah, Josette manages to get through to Sarah and sarah posses Rebecca and makes her turn ont he beast and attack him, but the beast skewers Rebecca through the heart just as dante transports them out of the place and back to earth.

MY THOUGHTS

[Leah Speller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series took a direction I was not expecting at all. For that I am grateful. I love how the characters develop and would like to learn more about others. I can also say that be warned not to read this if you would like to go to bed. I have found I didn't want to put it down and just wanted to read one more chapter.

The other thing I would like to say is there are some errors be it the form of a word or its wrong usage. It isn't so bad that you find it distracting but yet when it does happen I find it knocks me out of the story for a moment. This is a personal pet peeve from my years of being a secretary. Read it backwards you will find it can be easier to catch them.

[Paul LaFontaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tested agent of Purgatory continues to fight for balance in a world where Heaven's angels and Hells demons struggle dominance in an age-old war. But things go haywire when neutral players begin joining sides and an ancient power emerges to try and take over the whole show.

Imaginative second book in a series. Took a while to bring the story up to date and get the action moving. Not as strong as the opener. A smooth transition does pick up threads from the first book and brings the action to a powerful conclusion while preparing for the next step in the saga.

Recommend

[Kevin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I regret reading this book. What I felt in the first book to make me take a chance on the second is nonexistent.
I'm not enjoying anything, it's like a chore. I know it took a while for me to "cozy up" to the first book and enjoy it, but the second book is nearly complete and nothing has changed (feelings wise) since the beginning.
I guess this book is really a Betrayal (of his readers).

Well I'm finished. I didn't even pay attention. I will not be continuing the series. I also hesitate about the other series the author wrote that I read.

2/5 Stars

[Deedra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Landon was brought from the dead to serve Dante and be his champion in bk 1.He is tasked with more adventure in this book. Still in love with his half vampire girlfriend,Josette,he just goes on and on fighting and not living every day.He seems tired of it.I kind of knew the feeling as this book seemed a lot like the first.Jeff Hays was the perfect narrator.I was provided this book free by th author, narrator or publisher.

[Charl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable. I'm liking the premise. And well done as a single book of a series. It's obvious that there's more to the story (even if I didn't already know that), but it's not a cliff-hanger. It stands on its own quite well. Many "series" books are just parts of one long story, and read that way, with no clear climax and denouement in the individual volumes. But Forbes has avoided that well in the first two books. I look forward to reading more.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I was swept away by the idea of the first book, as the story continued I began seeing more of the writing flaws and the obviousness of each “twist” started to irk me. I will finish the series simply because it is entertaining enough as an audiobook listened to while I clean and get ready for a massive garage sale.

[Maggie Deaton · Rating 5 out of 5]

The world continues to expand even as destruction becomes imminent..

Allies become enemies or perhaps they always were...the cast expands and the dance of death and destruction becomes more intricate and convoluted. Still unsure of who can be trusted our troupe of saviors continue to hope and to fight...But, the road is long and the end uncertain...

[Joseph Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good or bad!!?? Interesting!!

Have 4 stars only because this is not my favorite genre but wow this gets more interesting with each book. Well on to the next one,. Keep up the great work with this kind of storyline Mr Forbes. Who wins good or evil or neither??

[Ian Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.7*

[Jessie Noel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good read

This is an awesome book. Thanks for writing. I enjoyed listening to it. A friend told me about the book.

[Joan E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mezmersing.


I am fascinated by the characters and the story. NEXT! In a strange way, the premise is believable though scary.

[Aaron Newman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

Great follow up to a great first novel. This book took no time picking up where it left off. Onto the next 1

[Merinereads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kann Spuren von Humor und großartiger Fantasy enthalten!
Teil 2 beginnt mit einem kleinen Zeitsprung der mich am Anfang ein wenig irritiert hat, aber man kommt schnell in die Geschichte rein und der Übergang vom grandiosen Cliffhanger in Band 1 zu einem starken und selbstbewussten, aber auch auf den ersten Blick etwas gefühlskalten Landon war faszinierend. Auch fand ich schön, wie Charaktere aus Teil 1 direkt wieder vorkamen UND man mehr über sie erfährt. Denn meiner Meinung nach sind die Charaktere (Sowohl Neben als auch Haupt) einer der größten Vorzüge dieser Reihe. Dabei rückt auch Landons weibliches Gegenstück Charis mehr in den Vordergrund, wobei dieser Charakter sich ganz anders entwickelt hat, als ich es erwartet hätte.
Warnung: Auch Band 2 endet fies...
Auch Band 2 hat mich super unterhalten, ich glaube diese Reihe wird definitiv eine meiner Favoriten.

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was intense. There was SO MUCH going on at and it was fast! All i could do was read as fast as i could to keep up and keep clicking next page! M.R. Forbes wow! Landon Hamilton has once again managed to stay alive and keep things interesting. Interesting is an understatement….More like Mind Blowing.

This was certainly a heavier read for me. As in the 1st book there is a war going between heaven and hell and Landon is there to keep the balance. Little does anyone know that there is a secret war going on and Landon, of course, is clueless until he almost ends himself. The author brings back characters from the first book and also develops them but develops them well. Landon, his souls, Sarah, Charis, and Izak feature prominently in this installment. We learn some very surprising and interesting things about all characters. I love that the author constantly bring the title and purpose of the FIRST novel back into the second. It is clear that you cannot read one book without the other.

I did find myself a little lost simply because it has been a very long time since i read book one but it didn’t take long to catch up. I was grateful that there was an invisible time gap between the books that the author chose to fill in for us. The back of the book does not do the story itself any justice. There is so much excitement and action going on that i would think it is hard to contain within 335 pages. The writing was easy to follow and made it 10 times easier to read. I experienced no confusion while reading and was not forced to double back and re read at any point in the book. This made the story even more enjoyable because i didn't have to stop at anytime. I will say that at first it was very hard to get into this book simply because i was bogged down with so much info and ALSO i couldn't really remember the details of the 1st book.


Full Review at: http://babygotstacks.com/2014/11/12/b...

[Kingsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review of for the audiobook, thus deals with the narration etc. as well.

This book is really fun. It takes the premise of the first book (being stuck between good and evil, keeping it balanced) and ups the ante. The stakes are higher, the action is more intense and quick paced and it even expands the cast of characters fairly significantly.

The book takes place 5 years after the previous one. Even knowing that it takes a little to play catch up as many things have changed. The author, Forbes, does well to catch you up and the jump allows him to play with the story and change dynamics of the group, which wouldnt have been possible if the time jump wasnt there. It actually important to the story because of the development and change in one of the characters over that 5 years.

It ends of a cliffhanger, but I feel this end point was much better than the previous one. It made sense as a point to end the book. certainly looking to pick up the next one soon.

The narration is great, like the previous book. As is the sound production. The minor things that annoyed me last time are less prevalent - the main one was a laugh thing that was done. that wasnt there. maybe the characters didnt laugh as much as much, or maybe the narrator, hays, decided not to do it this time. Not sure. The expanded cast of characters is done well with each having their own accent/voice/style to tell them apart. One female sounded off - it was a character who is now a teen after the 5 year jump but still sounded young girly. But that was not a big issue in to me.

Overall, certainly can recommend it.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great second installment. Just as well written, interesting and entertaining as the first book. Great story plus fantastic narration equals an extremely enjoyable listen.

This book starts 5 years after the first book ended. While the author goes over the basics of the first book to get you refreshed with the story, I would definitely start with the first book in the series.

The story starts out at a fast pace and just keeps going. It's full of surprises, twists and turns and suspense that keep you glued to the story. A couple of the loose ends from the first book are answered/resolved in this book. There is still an unresolved issue at the end which will lead into the next book. So a cliffhanger.

While heaven and hell are still fighting a never ending war between good and evil, Landon is just going through the motions of keeping the balance as the Diucrucis.
When the one thing he truly cares about has been kidnapped, he will save her no matter what he has to do or who he has to kill.

Jeff Hays does another fantastic job with the narration on this installment. As usual. Great character voices, all of them. I don't know how he works his magic for all the characters but it is amazing. He doesn't just narrate the story he brings it to life. Always a pleasure listening to any book he narrates.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom.com

[Bookwyrm Speaks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Landon Hamilton is on a mission. That mission is to keep the balance between good and evil in the world. After his death five years earlier, when he was returned to the mortal world from Purgatory by Dante, as a diuscrucis, a perfect balance of angel, demon and human, Landon has worked and grown in power keeping the balance of good and evil. When the only other diuscrucis is kidnapped, Landon will stop at nothing to find her. Along the way, he has to face enemies from his past, as well as new enemies he may not be powerful enough to stop. It doesnt help that the vampire he was growing to love and that betrayed him those five years ago is in the middle of the conspiracy. Can Landon defeat the ultimate evil? Well, give it a listen and find out, its worth it. The plot is fast paced, chock full of interesting characters. It is amazing to see Landons character growth from book 1 to this one. The setting is realistic, with a fully realized magical world just under the surface of ours. As far as narration, Jeff Hays was at the top of his game. I especially liked his voicework when it came to Josette the Angel and Landons own voice. A must read series for any fan of Urban fantasy.
I was given a copy of this book free of charge by the narrator in exchange for an honest review through Audiobook Boom.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved book 1 so much I took my hard earned money and bought book 2 in this series and I have to say it was well worth it. This series does something that very few heaven/hell book series can possibly do and that is intertwine not just the Christian faith and mythology but also entwine that with more paganistic beliefs if you like.
The book does extremely well to help continue what happened in book 1 and doesn't treat you like a fool by making a mistake with one of the characters from the previous book; everyone in the story evolves very nicely, at a good rate as well as adding several new characters to the mix to keep everything fresh. I can't wait for book 3.

[Suzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series was a really good find. Each book is a quick easy read and whilst it's based around Angels, demons, werewolves, vampires and other divines, it is clearly aimed at a more adult audience as opposed to the typical "Twilight" fandom. A more in depth overview has been provided in my review of book 1, Balance.

So much more has been revealed in this book that is just too hard to skirt around without going into spoiler territory, but needless to say, there are some really big curve balls being thrown with the resulting WTF moments afterwards.

Final call...great series, definitely recommend

[Deborah]

This second book of the series starts two years after the first ends. The first chapter had me confused a bit as to what was going on and it took awhile for me to catch up. This installment is just as action packed and filled with deceit and betrayal as the first. While fighting old enemies, a new more powerful one is revealed and the war continues but now the balance tipping too far in either direction is not the worst that could happen. The narration, as always, was excellent.

"This audio book was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobookboom"

[Lelouch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom dot com.

The intro-chapter1 sounded a bit too long with the music, possibly an editing oversight. The narrator did great as always, adding some sound effects like the monster-voice.

I didn't read the first book in the series, so it was a little hard to follow at first. The story is very fast paced with a lot of action and a decent balance of story. I liked the story, but I prefer the author's Ghosts & Magic series better.

[Jean · Rating 3 out of 5]

New Characters and More Action..

Landon, the main male lead, is still having a hard time in this sequel Balance.

I gave him a pass in the first book, he does several things in this next book that doesn't make sense and he continues to make odd mistakes.

Overall, the book was interesting but I am hoping that Landon wises up in the next book.


Jeff Hays did well with the narration.

Note:
"This audio book was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review."

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second in the series, continuing with the search to maintain the balance between good and evil.

This story is a number of years after the first in the series and our hero has continued his quest to grow his powers and to figure out what is going on.

We have suspense and mystery as well as romance along the way.

Good ending. Not certain if I will read the next - too often these stories run out of steam before the series finishes and then they get too similar to enjoy.