Angel Unborn, Book #1 of the Deadly Sins Series (by Andris Bear)

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Angel Unborn rating:  3 out of 5 stars

Deadly Sins Series rating:  N/A (haven't read them all yet)
Release Date: October 9, 2012

"Angel Unborn" is the first novel in Andris' Deadly Sins series

How are the sex scenes?

There's only one and it's at the end, but it's perfectly timed and with the right emotion.

How are the story lines?

I enjoyed them. I feel some lines are dropped at the end, but for the most part they tie up nicely.

Would you read it again?

Probably not, but I am interested in reading this from the Hero's point of view.

That book, Angel Redeemed, was released on 11/29/2012.

Back of the Book 

Hell has literally come to Earth for one mortal and what’s worse, she is expected to leave behind all hope for a family of her own to stand in defense of humanity against the darkest forces of Hell. But when Satan offers her the normal life she covets, Joey must decide if the price of mankind’s salvation is worth her own damnation. 

Strong-willed Joey Benton is the half-mortal child of an angel with heavenly powers. She has no knowledge of her heritage or the power running through her veins until she meets a handsome stranger who forces her to question her life and the world around her. And she quickly becomes a key player in a battle that will define a victory for Heaven or Hell. 

Ursus, a sexy Archangel, doesn’t want the responsibility of another charge, especially when Joey is so defiant. Protecting her from Hell might very well be the biggest challenge of his immortal life. But when his feelings for Joey get in the way of his duty, it’s a challenge he refuses to lose. 

Review 

Angel Unborn by Andris Bear is a contemporary romance novel set in Raleigh, NC. 

Heroine Joey Benton is unaware she's half-mortal, and when she first lays eyes on Archangel Ursus she not-so-eloquently asks, 

"Why don't you take off your pants?" 

In her defense, after seeing a man like Ursus you would ask the same thing too. 

But Ursus is there to protect heroine Joey - and, unfortunately, to not take off his pants - so their relationship gets off to a rocky start. 

This book has a great, great plot. There are angels, Archangels, demons, Incubuses and Satan. Scenes take place on Earth, Heaven and Hell. Fights are settled with swords and arrows and lust. 

Lust? Yep. Lust. 

The heroine lost her mother and she misses her dearly. Ursus has a loss in his past that keeps him aloof and distant. 

Chamos is the most sensual, sexually gratifying evil character in the history of characters.  He's an Incubus and can inspire lust by mere thoughts.

"Here he was, more or less stating I needed protection from him, and still every word from his lips brought to mind sexual ecstasy... 'Ursus,' I sighed his name, titillated by the way it slid off my tongue. 'It's getting worse...'  With a hiss, Ursus grabbed my hand and squeezed. Hard.  'I'm s-sorry.' I took [a] hitching gulp of air. I need. It's taking all my will not to shove my hands down your pants.'"

...ahem. Well then. (Despite how this quote reads, Chamos is inspiring the lust and Heroine is clutching Hero to refrain from...well, jumping any male within her radius in a sexual manner.)

If I thought I could get away with it, the review would end here. Because Andris did a great job for her first novel. But that won't work. I've tried. 

So why the three stars, you ask?

Plainly put, the heroine's inability to take any situation seriously and her overly snarky attitude.  

The snark is a wonderful touch. Four pages in I remember thinking how much I loved her snark. Her attitude. Her humor. 

Four chapters in I was waiting for her to understand the drama in her life was honest-to-God happening. Seven chapters in I was frustrated with the heroine and her rudeness/snark/attitude overshadowed any redeeming qualities she may have.  

I was a little confused by the hero and heroine's first kiss. I'm not sure why it happened. I can guess, but it was never explained, or hinted at. 

Heroine's reaction to their first kiss was way unattractive to me. She's twenty-eight, but at that moment until (almost) the very end she acted like a teenager. The way she attempts to tease and taunt the hero is, to me, conceited and I never really liked her. I'm not sure why the hero ever liked her to begin with.

A couple storylines were left hanging, but I can't guarantee I didn't overlook them. The heroine was that distracting.  

Lastly, the typos and similes. 

I mention typos, but I'm not a big stick-it-to-the-star-rating for them, and the same goes for this review.  But there are more than the average typos in this novel. Plenty sentences are missing words, or use the wrong word ('have' instead of 'gave'). Dialogue's not always correct and ellipses have some formatting issues. 

It's obvious Andris had difficulty uploading this document. She tells me she tried all she could to get the code for format and ellipses and quotes to work properly and, having been screwed by HTML on blogger a few times, I believe her.

Yet it is noticeable and if you're one who can't read these things...this book isn't one you might enjoy.  

The simile issue is more of a personal opinion, I think. When comparing things, they should be similar and further the reader's understanding of the actual object/situation being compared. 

Like, "This review sucks. Like worst than my high school remake of that Backstreet Boy music video where I play that Carter guy sucks." At times, heroine uses her snark to compare her situation/objects to things. Like a dead snail. I didn't even understand what she was talking about.  

I hate to write something negative about Angel Unborn because Andris Bear is funny. Laugh out loud funny. Despite its flaws, Angel Unborn has some really humorous moments.  

(Read her website, it's very entertaining.)

So don't write Andris off. Heck, I'm buying her next book. If Ravishing Romances had an Author Watch list Andris Bear would be on it.

She's going to deliver great things to the romance community and I, for one, cannot wait.

To learn more about Andris Bear and her upcoming titles view her webpage, Facebook and Twitter.

This review provided by Kristin Anders (formerly known as Musing Sallie):