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Demon Angel

Meljean Brook

Published 2007         432 pages

Reviewed by Ania Tyburska

Summary (from the book jacket)

For two thousand years, Lilith wrought vengeance upon the evil and the damned, gathering souls for her father's armies Below and proving her fealty to her Underworld liege. Bound by a bargain with the devil and forbidden to feel pleasure, she draws upon her dark powers and serpentine grace to lead men into temptation. That is, until she faces her greatest temptation—Heaven's own Sir Hugh Castleford...

Once a knight and now a Guardian, Hugh spent centuries battling demons—and the cursed, blood-drinking nosferatu. His purpose has always been to thwart the demon Lilith, even as he battles his treacherous hunger for her. But when a deadly alliance unleashes a threat to both humans and Guardians in modern-day San Francisco, angel and demon must fight together against unholy evil—and against a desire that has been too long denied...

The Review

Demon Angel is the first novel in Meljean Brook’s Guardians paranormal romance series. I will not even pretend that I am down with the whole concept of angels/ demons struggling over human soul in the way Meljean Brook describes it. Even if the whole idea of the guardians, angelic creatures protecting humanity from the evil forces, is just a background for the generation-long love story between the main characters, it is just too poorly written for words. I appreciate the bit of work put into the described world, so at least the author avoids major inconsistencies. Like for example the need to strip the heroine of all that characterizes her, somewhere in the middle of the book, because it is evident that without it, she and the main protagonist will not get anywhere.

Even without the misery of the background world (and believe me it seems that both demons and guardians are utterly miserable because of their prescribed functions) the plot itself is simply too complicated. The whole first part of the book consists of minute meetings of the main characters in different times and places, where Lilith tries to tempt Hugh, whereas he attempts to kill her. It makes much more sense to skip all those fragments and go straight to the part of the story taking place in modern days. At least some action occurs there.

Although the core of the story evolves round the doomed relationship between a demon and a guardian, there are vampires in the story. Even two kinds of them. The real ones are your typical Dracula-like creatures, beautiful and morally ambiguous. The second kind consist of ugly Max Schreck wannabes (thus the name Nosferati) who are pretty much a sparring partners for the true heroes.

In fact one of the vampires pretty much steals the story every time he appears on the pages of Demon Angel. Colin is a Dorian Gray of our times. Vain, moody and with wicked skills with the sward. He may be the only reason to keep reading Guardian’s saga and suffer its bombastic ideals and detailed descriptions of characters various pains and afflictions.

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