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Riley #1
Fallen Watcher
A paranormal suspense that brings good and evil into different perspectives.
Riley's world is torn apart on his wedding day when he and his wife Allison are involved in a hit and run accident and Allison doesn’t survive. When Jonathan, Allison’s guardian angel, chooses to fall to Earth to remain by Riley’s side, the evils of Hell are unleashed to destroy both Jonathan and Riley. A ferocious battle of good and evil surrounds Riley as Jonathan tries to save him and the ugliness of Hell tries to consume him.
Riley's world is torn apart on his wedding day when he and his wife Allison are involved in a hit and run accident and Allison doesn’t survive. When Jonathan, Allison’s guardian angel, chooses to fall to Earth to remain by Riley’s side, the evils of Hell are unleashed to destroy both Jonathan and Riley. A ferocious battle of good and evil surrounds Riley as Jonathan tries to save him and the ugliness of Hell tries to consume him.
284 pages, Paperback
Published May 15, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 31, 2024
I wanted to like this book, but it had too many problems.
The biggest was a logic problem that shifted as the book went on. The premise of the book is that when each person is born, they are assigned a guardian angel. We'll get back to this in a little bit.
The book starts with Riley, the titular character of the series, and his new bride, Allison. As they leave the wedding reception for their honeymoon, we find that Allison's guardian angel, Jonathan, is also in the car with them. So far, so good. At the end of the first scene, they are in an accident.
Allison dies, and because of not well-explained circumstances, Jonathan has to decide whether to take Allison to heaven (she can apparently find her way there on her own), or become a fallen angel to protect Riley from attacks by the forces of hell. Apparently choosing to fall is a rare thing, but is what Jonathan decides to do, becoming an immensely powerful 'human' instead of this hidden angelic being.
This was where my What? moment came. Where's Riley's guardian angel if everyone gets one? That finally gets explained (it seems as an add-in to answer that question) in Chapter 8.
At the point of holy matrimony, the groom's guardian angel leaves to become some new baby's guardian angel while the bride's angel is now guardian for both of them as the two became one.
Okay, that makes sense, except that back at Chapter 1, after the marriage, Jonathan specifically thought only of being Allison's guardian, but was happy she married a fine guy like Riley.
The other part of this logic problem is that if Jonathan is also Riley's guardian angel, there was no reason for him to have to fall and protect Riley as a physical being. I'm sure that with some thought given, there could be logical reasoning behind that Kelly could edit into the early chapters, but right now, suspension of disbelief is broken by inconsistent logic within the book.
Other than that, the story isn't all that bad. There are lacking here, though. It needs an editor, or a better one. I'm thinking there was one from the publisher, but they gave lip service to the term edit, especially toward the end. Just the fact they didn't catch the major logic problem with Jonathan is enough to warn me away from that publisher.
There is a second book in the series, though I'm not sure I'd want to read it. I'm not expecting more logic problems, but I'm concerned about the lack of editing prowess by the publisher.
The biggest was a logic problem that shifted as the book went on. The premise of the book is that when each person is born, they are assigned a guardian angel. We'll get back to this in a little bit.
The book starts with Riley, the titular character of the series, and his new bride, Allison. As they leave the wedding reception for their honeymoon, we find that Allison's guardian angel, Jonathan, is also in the car with them. So far, so good. At the end of the first scene, they are in an accident.
Allison dies, and because of not well-explained circumstances, Jonathan has to decide whether to take Allison to heaven (she can apparently find her way there on her own), or become a fallen angel to protect Riley from attacks by the forces of hell. Apparently choosing to fall is a rare thing, but is what Jonathan decides to do, becoming an immensely powerful 'human' instead of this hidden angelic being.
This was where my What? moment came. Where's Riley's guardian angel if everyone gets one? That finally gets explained (it seems as an add-in to answer that question) in Chapter 8.
At the point of holy matrimony, the groom's guardian angel leaves to become some new baby's guardian angel while the bride's angel is now guardian for both of them as the two became one.
Okay, that makes sense, except that back at Chapter 1, after the marriage, Jonathan specifically thought only of being Allison's guardian, but was happy she married a fine guy like Riley.
The other part of this logic problem is that if Jonathan is also Riley's guardian angel, there was no reason for him to have to fall and protect Riley as a physical being. I'm sure that with some thought given, there could be logical reasoning behind that Kelly could edit into the early chapters, but right now, suspension of disbelief is broken by inconsistent logic within the book.
Other than that, the story isn't all that bad. There are lacking here, though. It needs an editor, or a better one. I'm thinking there was one from the publisher, but they gave lip service to the term edit, especially toward the end. Just the fact they didn't catch the major logic problem with Jonathan is enough to warn me away from that publisher.
There is a second book in the series, though I'm not sure I'd want to read it. I'm not expecting more logic problems, but I'm concerned about the lack of editing prowess by the publisher.
November 6, 2025
I want to be kind because it got better as it went and this is the author's first foray, but I also wish to be honest for the benefit of potential readers and perhaps the author himself who was a polite gentleman when I met him.
Let me start with the positives:
Effort was clearly put into this work. It has a message and works toward that message the whole book.
The pacing was good. Downtime for one pov was activity for another. I was never bored with the book.
The portrayal of grief and the trauma of losing someone is done so well. The anger, sorrow, the flashbacks, the feelings of helplessness and guilt all felt so real.
Some of the world building was hot fire. Not all but what he does he does very well.
Action was good and easy to follow.
I feel like if the author had an editor or even a critical beta reader this could have been a 5 star book but the story falls into so many pitfalls of new/indie authors such as:
Inconsistent characterization. Lucifer suffers the most from this as he vacillates between the almost omniscient Aizen type of evil mastermind to an egomaniacal villain of decadence like Biff Tannen to the unhinged, uncontrolled chaotic evil like Tuco Salamanca with no explanation for his personality switching on a dime. A good villain needs to be consistent in order for his own followers to obey him and the heroes to fear him.
So many continuity errors.Contradictory statements four pages apart, incorrect passages of time, poor explanations for events, mechanics of the world building that are inconsistent and even at times incoherent, complete leaps in logic in people's behavior/choices.
From a Biblical perspective, the one big thing that I struggled with was the omission of the Holy Spirit. Like...you believe in the one flesh union but not the parakletos?
The flaws are many, but the flaws are fixable. With a solid skeleton laid out, I feel like the author could either himself fix or have a professional clean up into a very fine product that I hope to see improved in future books
This story is a brilliant and unique premise in the hands of a novice that didn't quite bring the book up to its full potential.
Let me start with the positives:
Effort was clearly put into this work. It has a message and works toward that message the whole book.
The pacing was good. Downtime for one pov was activity for another. I was never bored with the book.
The portrayal of grief and the trauma of losing someone is done so well. The anger, sorrow, the flashbacks, the feelings of helplessness and guilt all felt so real.
Some of the world building was hot fire. Not all but what he does he does very well.
Action was good and easy to follow.
I feel like if the author had an editor or even a critical beta reader this could have been a 5 star book but the story falls into so many pitfalls of new/indie authors such as:
Inconsistent characterization. Lucifer suffers the most from this as he vacillates between the almost omniscient Aizen type of evil mastermind to an egomaniacal villain of decadence like Biff Tannen to the unhinged, uncontrolled chaotic evil like Tuco Salamanca with no explanation for his personality switching on a dime. A good villain needs to be consistent in order for his own followers to obey him and the heroes to fear him.
So many continuity errors.Contradictory statements four pages apart, incorrect passages of time, poor explanations for events, mechanics of the world building that are inconsistent and even at times incoherent, complete leaps in logic in people's behavior/choices.
From a Biblical perspective, the one big thing that I struggled with was the omission of the Holy Spirit. Like...you believe in the one flesh union but not the parakletos?
The flaws are many, but the flaws are fixable. With a solid skeleton laid out, I feel like the author could either himself fix or have a professional clean up into a very fine product that I hope to see improved in future books
This story is a brilliant and unique premise in the hands of a novice that didn't quite bring the book up to its full potential.
February 13, 2024
Let me start off by thanking Kelly Hollingshead for talking with me and convincing me to buy this book at Committed at the Stanley.
Fallen Watcher is the first book in the Riley Series. This novel follows our MMC, Riley, and an Angel, Jonathan. This novel starts off with an accident that occurs, and Jonathan, a guardian angel, can only save one person; what happens when he fails at protecting the one person God assigned him? A war between him and the devil.
I really loved the premise and idea of this novel; Hollingshead explores the concept of what happens when a guardian angel fails at his job and who pays the repercussions of the actions caused by demons. I have to say I enjoyed every second of this book. Between the banter of the devil and the heartbreak, we receive from Riley.
I love how Hollinshead presented Allison's death as one that didn't just impact Riley but Jonathan as well. It gave the two something to connect over while Riley was spiraling. The way Jonathan's words regarding her gave Riley such a deep feeling of peace, and I loved he was able to do that.
From a suspense aspect, this book was very action-packed, and I found it difficult to put this book down. I can't wait to start book two as I need more of this story.
5/5 stars⭐
Fallen Watcher is the first book in the Riley Series. This novel follows our MMC, Riley, and an Angel, Jonathan. This novel starts off with an accident that occurs, and Jonathan, a guardian angel, can only save one person; what happens when he fails at protecting the one person God assigned him? A war between him and the devil.
I really loved the premise and idea of this novel; Hollingshead explores the concept of what happens when a guardian angel fails at his job and who pays the repercussions of the actions caused by demons. I have to say I enjoyed every second of this book. Between the banter of the devil and the heartbreak, we receive from Riley.
I love how Hollinshead presented Allison's death as one that didn't just impact Riley but Jonathan as well. It gave the two something to connect over while Riley was spiraling. The way Jonathan's words regarding her gave Riley such a deep feeling of peace, and I loved he was able to do that.
From a suspense aspect, this book was very action-packed, and I found it difficult to put this book down. I can't wait to start book two as I need more of this story.
5/5 stars⭐
May 30, 2023
A bit of spoilers ahead!
In a total honest opinion: Liked the book, but not my type of writting.
When I started reading the book, I was very captivated, but as it starting going on and on, my attention on what was going on the book was fading. I felt like the story was going too slow at some points, and the way the fighting was described wasn't as thrilling as I thought it would be, these fights ended too quickly and I felt like it could've been so much more exciting if during these dangerous moments the points of view changed, having a sudden and thrilling end of the chapter, so the reader could be worried as what might happen next; Like during Chapters 20-21 where Riley gets shot and he blacks out, and the next chapter immidiatly goes to Jonathan looking at Riley.
I loved Riley's story, the development of his friendship with Jonathan, and most of all how the side story of Satan/The Devil started developing, showing his points of view and even small vulnerabilities.
I really liked this book, and I'll definitely go get the second one to see what happens next.
4/5 Starts
In a total honest opinion: Liked the book, but not my type of writting.
When I started reading the book, I was very captivated, but as it starting going on and on, my attention on what was going on the book was fading. I felt like the story was going too slow at some points, and the way the fighting was described wasn't as thrilling as I thought it would be, these fights ended too quickly and I felt like it could've been so much more exciting if during these dangerous moments the points of view changed, having a sudden and thrilling end of the chapter, so the reader could be worried as what might happen next; Like during Chapters 20-21 where Riley gets shot and he blacks out, and the next chapter immidiatly goes to Jonathan looking at Riley.
I loved Riley's story, the development of his friendship with Jonathan, and most of all how the side story of Satan/The Devil started developing, showing his points of view and even small vulnerabilities.
I really liked this book, and I'll definitely go get the second one to see what happens next.
4/5 Starts
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 19, 2026
I'm in page 42, and I think I'm finished. I wanted to like it, mostly because I met the author and be seemed nice.
Here are some issues I had with the book:
Plotholes: The one I can't get around is why everyone gets a guardian angel but the one character doesn't seem to have his own.
Writing: It's forced. I'm being told how things feel instead of being led to feel them. It feels clunky and unnatural overall. The dialog doesn't feel authentic or realistic. Instead, it feels forced.
Editing: The editor should have caught so much of this. Using "had" so much kills the flow. There's too much redundancy and not enough variation in phrasing, sentence structure, and wording. There's, also, too much filler language.
I don't think it was ready for publishing, and it needed better editing. That's my opinion. I'm no editor.
I am always happy for someone who has the ambition and courage to write a book. However, I think honest feedback is needed to get better, especially for newer authors. Best of luck.
Here are some issues I had with the book:
Plotholes: The one I can't get around is why everyone gets a guardian angel but the one character doesn't seem to have his own.
Writing: It's forced. I'm being told how things feel instead of being led to feel them. It feels clunky and unnatural overall. The dialog doesn't feel authentic or realistic. Instead, it feels forced.
Editing: The editor should have caught so much of this. Using "had" so much kills the flow. There's too much redundancy and not enough variation in phrasing, sentence structure, and wording. There's, also, too much filler language.
I don't think it was ready for publishing, and it needed better editing. That's my opinion. I'm no editor.
I am always happy for someone who has the ambition and courage to write a book. However, I think honest feedback is needed to get better, especially for newer authors. Best of luck.
January 15, 2026
This one just wasn’t quite for me. The premise was interesting, but some plot holes and logic gaps made it hard to finish. A few moments felt poorly explained and I found myself questioning certain character decisions and the rules of the world in the story.
I won an copy from a Goodreads Giveaway.
I won an copy from a Goodreads Giveaway.
September 30, 2026
This was a giveaway winner. Thanks to the author and the publishers for allowing me the opportunity to read this book.
3.5 ⭐️
I like the storyline but this book was a bit too violent for my liking. However, I did stick with it until the end. It was very slow as first but the second half did pick up. I also won book two in this series and I am going to try to keep going.
3.5 ⭐️
I like the storyline but this book was a bit too violent for my liking. However, I did stick with it until the end. It was very slow as first but the second half did pick up. I also won book two in this series and I am going to try to keep going.
August 12, 2020
This is such an awesome read and I already cannot wait for the next one! SO MUCH happens in just the first chapter and then it gets better and better! The author does a GREAT job in keeping you captivated! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
October 2, 2023
I'm gonna go against everyone else's reviews here and say that I thought this book was awful.
The first few chapters just screams City of Angel's.
From then I thought it was going to improve but the Devils and his minons really threw me.
I made it to chapter 16 before I completely gave up. DNF
The first few chapters just screams City of Angel's.
From then I thought it was going to improve but the Devils and his minons really threw me.
I made it to chapter 16 before I completely gave up. DNF
August 11, 2022
Okay so from the first chapter I was hooked! Loved every minute of this book! Excellent writing! Definitely will be getting part 2!
Did Not Finish
December 13, 2025I did DNF this book. I won in a Goodreads giveaway. I got about 10 chapters in and it just wasn’t for me.
April 30, 2026
This book had me hooked from the start. Really enjoyed it. There are some gruesome parts to this book involving the Devil, so just be mindful when reading this.
March 19, 2025
✍🏽✍🏽✍🏽✍🏽✍🏽✍🏽
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews