Lacrimosa

I was fortunate enough to read an early copy of Christine Fonsec

I was fortunate enough to read an early copy of Christine Fonseca's LACRIMOSA and as a reader who doesn't often tackle YA, I can say that I was definitely entertained! Fans of Melissa Marr will enjoy this tale of Aydan, a fallen angel and Nessy, the heavenly warrior tasked with destroying him. Fonseca tackles the issues of love and human emotion in her characters while they deal with the added complication of navigating the waters of teenage angst. Her characters are vibrant and the writing is heartfelt. At the core is a story about doing what's right and following your heart. A great read!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Lacrimosa isn't your average angel/demon tale. It has everything

Lacrimosa isn't your average angel/demon tale. It has everything I love all packaged into one amazing story. Nesy is a feisty, kick ass heroine, someone I can cheer for who is still flawed enough to be real, believable, and utterly exasperating at times. In Aydan, Christine has managed to deliver a tortured villain you can't help but love, someone whose actions you condemn while you ache at the events that turned him into what he is. Events that reveal an even nastier villain who (you find out if you read the novella in this series, DIES IRAE) has his own haunting past. You can't help but root for Aydan and Nesy, even though it seems utterly hopeless. There's action and mystery and a hauntingly beautiful love story, interweaved with intriguing side plots that hint of more awesomeness to come. Lacrimosa explores all those shades of gray that exist in all of us - nothing is wholly good or evil. Can't wait for the rest of the series!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A Must Read!

I never thought I would like stories about Angels and Demons until I read Christine Fonseca's books. She has taken her story line to a higher level. The world of Nesy and Aidan is amazing and heartbreaking. I so want them to be together for eternity. They have been through so much!
I highly recommend this book!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

I cannot express how beautifully written this book is. Rich and

I cannot express how beautifully written this book is. Rich and full of texture, Fonseca has opened my mind to her world of angels and demons. She made me think of the world in a completely different way. And you know an author has done amazing world building when you put down the book thinking the author's way IS the right way.

This book reminded me of EVERNEATH and INK EXCHANGE--two of my favorite books.

If you like angel demon stories, or kick-butt girl stories, or books with fated love stories, you will LOVE LACRIMOSA. I sure did!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Highly Recommended!

I consider myself extremely lucky to have been one of the first people to get to read this novel. It blew me away and completely changed the way I think about angels and demons. This novel is for anyone who loves rich story telling that engages the reader on a deep level and keeps them coming back for more. LOVED it! ~Heather McCorkle, author of the channeler series.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A copy of this ebook was provided to me free for a honest review

A copy of this ebook was provided to me free for a honest review through the group We Heart YA Books!

This is the second time within the past week in which I completely feel in love with this author's writing style. The way in which she weaves the words to make this story was incredible. Throughout this book I felt both characters' (Nessy and Aydan) pain so acutely. [ Aydan's sacrifice was inspiring and while it was a little predictable, it definitely did not take away from the story in the slightest. (hide spoiler)]

First I have to say that I'm a sucker for fantasy stories such as this... but I also have very high expectations for them. In a society where any and everyone publishes their stories online, it can sometimes be hard to separate the good, from the bad from the completely brilliant. And this story was just that, completely brilliant. The whole story line blew me away and I loved all the characters. Even the bad guys, or guy, was a very well written character.

Overall I would recommend this story to anyone. The characters were likeable, the plot line relatively original, and the ending was superb [ I loved how the reader believed them both to have died before the last two chapters... I'm going to start the sequel ASAP and now I have to go buy copies of the two companion stories! :) (hide spoiler)].

Disappointed.

I felt no attachment with the plot or characters. I was really hoping for more from this book.

It was the first angel themed novel I read and I instantly fell

It was the first angel themed novel I read and I instantly fell in love with it. I was hooked from beginning till the end, each chapter is so intense that I almost didn't sleep, wanting to finish it as soon as possible, to find out how it would end. It's a total page turner and I definitely recommend it to everyone. A great read, worth your time and money.

WOW!!!! I don't even know where to start. I have been thinking a

WOW!!!! I don't even know where to start. I have been thinking all night and morning about it. I will come back and do a thorough review very soon!
I would like to send my sincere thanks to the author, Christine Fonseca, for allowing me to read and review this book. This review is also posted on the following sites:
Every once in a while, a book comes along and you are just floored. You are left without words. You're not sure where your emotions are. You have to sit and think, and think and think some more because it's too hard to formulate exactly how it made you feel; you are THAT blown away.
THIS is that book. If I can just say it made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me want to throw things, it made me sigh. The roller coaster of emotions brought on by this book was nothing less than spectacular. I am speechless, which really does not happen to me, and my ability to form a coherent thought about where to even start is really throwing me for a loop!
Nesy is an angle, a Sentinal, a warrior. She is sent to earth to ensure humanity is protected. She is sent to earth to vanquish the UnHoly. She doesn't waiver, she doesn't have emotion. She does her job and then advances to her next assignment. But, when she is sent to vanquish Ayden to the Abyss, all this changes. She is overcome with emotions as she slowly realizes that she and Ayden are connected from a prior lifetime. And with this information in her hands, her job becomes much more complicated than she ever thought possible.
First off, Fonseca is POETIC if nothing else with her descriptive abilities. The language of this book is amazing. The way Fonseca is able to wrap your head around the emotions of the characters is unbelievable. You feel every bit of pain, love, and fear that these characters are experiencing. It hits right at the core of your being, without fail, every single time. And the most amazing thing about it is that it is totally consistent from the beginning of the book through the end. I have not read many books that were able to do this. And the fact that she can do this while the book is being told from two different points of view shows that she truly knows how to write fiction. Usually, I am confused by which character is which in such novels. It takes me quite a few chapters to sort out each character's personality. Not with this book. I knew from the very beginning that Nesy and Ayden are two totally different characters and I was able to keep that separation throughout the book.
The characters are so well thought out. You can see their centuries old, despite the fact that they are teenagers. So, while this book is definitely billed as a Young Adult novel, I would say there is nothing young about it in the least. And this is not a bad observation. On the contrary, this is a tribute to how well Fonseca writes and how well she is able to pull her audience in. This is a tribute to how a book can take you on a ride that you never thought possible, no matter your age. And to watch their growth is amazing. You see each character go through changes that change their point of view. Even the ancillary characters are noted to change, and the focus is not even on them!!!
The book takes many twists and turns. Things you would not see coming. Things you were hoping would not happen but they do because without them happening, there is no story; you would be left with a bland, flat novel that has no substance at all. Fonseca uses that emotional roller coaster to keep you interested. There are also things that you want to happen, and you know they can't, but you are surprised. I love that. You think the characters have no way out of their pain, and Fonseca flips the story so that you cry, or sigh, or scream, or blubber. That is the mark of an excellent book. That is the mark of an author who is so into her writing, she knows exactly where she will take the reader and where she herself wants to go.
In the end, you are left with questions, yes, but you are also forced to rethink love. You question what it is, and whether or not it can stand the test of time, and the test of emotion.
This, my friends is a love story, filled with action. This is a romance which twists and turns and keeps you wanting to come back. I could not put this book down. I read it in one day, with work, and kids activities and everything!
Lacrimosa is by far one of my favorite books of 2012. I highly recommend it. If you put no other new release on your list this year, you must add this book, because I promise, you WILL NOT be disappointed.

After reading Dies Irae, I knew I wanted to read Lacrimosa. The

After reading Dies Irae, I knew I wanted to read Lacrimosa. The dual POV between Aydan and Nesy was done perfectly. Their dynamic and the way their feelings come into play in direct conflict with what they are supposed to do is only enhanced by being able to see each character's perspective. Really I couldn't decide who I liked better, and considering one is an angel and the other is a demon, that's says a lot about Fonseca's ability to create great characters.

The other thing I loved about this book was the way the past was interwoven throughout the story. I've read books where flashbacks seem to get in the way of the present action. This book wasn't like that. The past is part of the present. It's necessary for the story, planting clues and setting the reader up for some major surprises. I also really liked that information was only given when it was needed. There wasn't a ton of backstory to set things up. Fonseca gives the reader what he/she needs, when it's needed. That just added to the story in my mind.

I won't give spoilers, but let me say the ending had me on the edge of my seat. I was worried about both characters I'd grown to love, and I couldn't put the book down until I finished. I'll definitely be reading the next book in the Requiem Series.

Breathless and Lyrical For the love of God this book is utterly

Breathless and Lyrical
For the love of God this book is utterly amazing! It's dark, devilish, gothic, haunting, tender, poetic, beautiful, melancholy, captivating, enthralling and one non-stop ride of fantastical action. I took my time reading this because the writing felt like I was listening to music (hence the title of the book). The words just floated beautifully. There was so much feelings and emotions stirring through me as I devoured the words. There were so many highs and so many lows, and so many heartbreaking moments, and so many moments of love. It was divine and I fell in love straight away.

Yes, this is a story about angels and demons but what makes it stand out from all the others is that it's very human as well. What is happening is very raw and forbidden. Angels are never meant to fall prey to human emotions. They are not meant to fall in love with one another let alone an Unholy. The right hand man to the devil himself. Oh man this story had me engrossed.

Nesy is a Sentinel. A warrior Angel trained and groomed by non other than Mikayel himself. She is sent down to earth to banish and Unholy to the Abyss. An Unholy who sucks the souls out of innocent humans in order to feed and become strong. What she didn't account for was that this Unholy was the love of her life, Aydan. Oh dear Lord, this good guy turned bad was so deliciously devilish and hypnotic, he had me begging to be devoured *fans herself* But what had be swaying and swooning was when he finally realised who Nesy was, he's love for her came flooding back. That the enticement of being the Devil's right hand man was no longer imaginable. He needed to be with Nesy no matter what, or at least save her if he could. I thoroughly loved reading Aydan's POV (if you can't tell by my updates LOL). What was left of his soul was completely tormented and tortured my heart ached for him and wanted his suffering to end! But what played out I did not expect OMG! I was literally at the edge of my seat anticipating the battle scenes and wondering if this was it. If this was the moment that all this pain and suffering will end. And never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that ending. I was grasping for air at the end because the tears were starting. I could not believe what I was reading and I became numb. I thought Aydan was tortured before. What he was experiencing now was a lot worse but then BOOM! Oh dear me, Christine Fonseca you are amazing. You really had my heart in your hands and I'm hoping it remains intact when I get my hands on book 2. Please be gentle with me :)

All in all, I have to say that I really and truly fell in love with Lacrimosa, with Aydan and Nesy and with Christine Fonseca for being so brilliantly gifted with the ability to move you with her lyrical words. I highly recommend this book to all of you as it will not disappoint.

Okay I seriously hate to start a review like this but OMG!!! Thi

Okay I seriously hate to start a review like this but OMG!!! This book blew me away!! I was amazed at the amount of emotion there was and yet it didn't take away from the story. I am still (4 days later) having issues getting past just writing sentence after sentence of wow! I went into this book with fairly high expectations. That is not typical of me at all but high expectations and all this book blew me out of the water. Yes, you have your Angels that are here to vanquish the evil, and yes evil is HOT but nothing will prepare you for the ride that you will go one in this book. There is so much love, pain and action that you wont want to stop.
Nesy... To be honest I don't know how do her justice. There are so many reasons that I have respect for her. With her blond hair and blue eyes I almost expected her to be the typically beautiful girl that just smiles and turns heads wherever she may tread. She is not that girl. Well I mean she is that girl but that is only scratching the surface. Nesy is a Sentinel. Saying that really doesn't describe what you need to know. Nesy is top of her class and never, I mean NEVER misses her target. She is the one they send when they want the job done and done right and clean. Why is this job so different? When she looks at the the dark Aydan does her emotions stir. Emotions long ago forgotten and now unwanted. Unwelcome as they are she can't ignore them and needs to find a way to look past them and finish the job before things get too complicated. Nesy doesn't want to fail and she would do anything to prove that she is strong enough to do what needs to be done. When the time comes and the pressure is on anything is possible for her though.
Aydan is what we would classify as the bad guy. He has been the right hand man on Azza for hundreds of years. He is at the mercy of him to be honest. What Azza says goes and that is how he lives his life. Well there is also the little fact that he has no problem feeding his hunger. Claiming what he wants and taking all he needs. There is so much freedom so much choice that he never thought that his mind may change. The scent that almost sent him into a frenzy may be more than he ever could have expected. When the prey is more resistant the hunt only becomes more interesting. The desire to hunt and fill his needs only grows stronger but is that what it really is? What is it about the new girl that has him feeling so different than normal? As his time to become something more than he is draws nearer will he be able to do what he is meant to do or is his world only one breath one step away from changing. .
This novel is so much more than its vivid characters. There is a rich and clear world that has a strong background (see Dies Irae). You see the world of light and take some steps into the darkness. We all know that there can not be no light without some dark and no good without the evil. This novel takes that balance and makes you question if maybe those two sides can blend and make a grey area and if it does will it work. Do not let this read pass you by. This book will draw you in and hook you right until the very last page. You will experience love, fights and lessons as you read this book. Every page you turn, every word you read will leave you addicted and feeling what the characters feel. I wish I could do this book justice in this review and hope I came close because I was honestly stunned and blown away on so many levels. This read is fun and original!

To be frank, my first experience with ‘Angels’ wasn&

To be frank, my first experience with ‘Angels’ wasn’t very good and so I never thought of reading more books about them, until I received Dies Irae & Lacrimosa by this author. Since Dies Irae was a novella, I decided to give it a chance thinking that if I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t venture on with Lacrimosa. But Dies Irae managed to change my mentality about fantasy novels based on Angels.

Lacrimosa picks up after three thousand years since the ending that Dies Irae provided us with. Nessy has been a sentinel for five hundred years now and she is one of the best that Mikayel has. She is good at casting out demons but is uncomfortable within a human body. Still she manages to perform her duties well enough until she meets Aydan. Aydan reminds her of the one she loved in her human life. Aydan, now serving Azzaziel, thrives on human soul. He has come to gain a reputation of being the most dangerous UnHoly who stops at nothing. Aydan too is attracted to Nessy immediately as she reminds him of his love, Ella.

Where on one hand Nessy is shown to struggle to complete her assignment because of a minor problem of ‘emotions’ and a big problem of Azzaziel’s presence, Aydan on the other hand struggles with the darkness within that had become only too familiar to him. Well, the only predictable part about this book is where Nessy and Aydan’s attraction.

I liked the characters of Nessy & Aydan very much. Nessy is a smart and kick-ass sort of girl, who is confused at the beginning about why Aydan reminds her of Adam. But then that’s a part of the plot. I also love the darkness in Aydan. I was practically nodding at Azzaziel when he pointed out that Aydan had joined him out of his free will.

Overall, it’s a great read. The language and the flow of the story are smooth. The plot keeps you trapped in its grip. Action & emotion are served with great balance.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.