Review 1:
Candlelight Sinner is the sequel to No Wings Attached (Branded)by Stella Deleuze. The story follows 32 year old Celia who has angel powers that could be both good and bad, and Tom, an angel wish consultant. Tom and Celia are working through the issues that came up at the end of No Wings Attached and learning to be together as a couple. Celia meets someone from the bad side and he makes a bargain with her. He said he will help train her to get control over her powers if she decides to help him save his best friend, who is also Celia's long lost twin brother. By doing so Celia could lose everything she's come to gain.
The book follows the main characters from the previous book, and one or two new characters are included. Celia, Tom and the side characters are as likeable and easy to relate to as they were before and watching Tom and Celia have troubles like any normal couple in a new relationship made them even more realistic. I especially appreciated Celia's independence in this book. My favourite character in this book has to be Sam! I think I have a new crush! He has the whole sexy, bad boy trying to be good charm down to perfection! I really would like to see more of him in the future!
The book also takes us abroad to Lanzarote. This was a refreshing change and something different. Even though I've never been to Lanzarote, Stella sets the scene so it is realistic and personally I quite liked reading about somewhere I've never been before!
The issue I had with No Wings Attached was the paranormal aspect did not seem to fit in the story too well for me. However in this book this seems to have been rectified and I enjoyed the book much more. There are more action scenes in this book and because of the introduction of Sam we get more information on the "bad side" and the "good side" as well. It was really enjoyable seeing Celia gain control over her powers, finding out what she could do and seeing her gain confidence in her abilities.
This book was a book I could not put down! It made me feel a multiple of emotions, most of them good! It was a real roller coaster reading this book because it made me feel sad, happy, tearful and giggly all at the same time!
If you've never read anything by this author then I would definitely recommend reading No Wings Attached. It contains lots of information about Celia and Tom's background story, as I think that starting with this book some people may feel a bit lost. I am so looking forward to reading more from this author and I look forward to rereading Celia and Tom's story while we wait for the next instalment!
Review 2:
I was given this copy by author free for review, but as always on the basis that my opinion is honestly held, and whether paid for or free my views are not influenced by that. Integrity is important to me and gushing false reviews do neither author or reader any favours. As always my views are what I honestly feel about this book.
This is a follow up novel to No Wings Attached and continues the story of Human Celia and Supernatural wish consultant Tom. Like the first book its a paranormal romance but not heavy on vampires or werewolves, simple a flexing of some supernatural muscle at times so its suitable for all romance lovers.
Tom and Celia have been given permission from Above to be together but are on trial. Tom still has his powers limited and Celia is banned form using any of hers. They are in live but as ever the course of true love never runs smoothly - well if it did we'd be stuck for a good book wouldn't we :) Tom's new case involves a beautiful would be model who makes it clear she's interested on Tom and of course Celia's insecurities about how she's ended up with such a fantastic man and her history of being let down means there are sparks about to fly. Celia gets drawn in to a plan to rescue her brother from the dark side by a friend of his - the lovely, lovely Sam. Sam undertakes to train her in using her powers in secret and she can't let Tom know. Its secrets secrets all the way and of course a hot bed for jealousy and suspicion.
Like the first book this is well written and edited and a good length for the money, and a great way to while away a few hours. Its light-hearted and easy to read - I love an in-depth deep book but sometimes just want something light that doesn't need too much concentration but just something to enjoy without taxing the brain as to who is who and what has been happening. I compared Stella's writing to that of Sophie Kinsella in the first book and again this one has the same feel - Sophie's books are ones I turn to when I want something gentle and easy to read and amuse me. Again chapters alternate from viewpoint of both Celia and Tom so we can not only see what the results of their actions are but understand why they did things and what the other person thinks about them. I really enjoyed that part - seeing an issue form different sides makes it so much clearer to understand why characters act in the way they do.
Candlelight Sinner had times when it made me laugh, times when it made me cry and times when I could scream at Celia " you stupid woman, what the hell are you doing!!" and that is good, as it shows how "into " and involved in the characters I'd become. I don't like to feel an onlooker when reading but want to be totally immersed. Again it has some surprising turns I didn't foresee and that's good - no one wants to read a book where the plots are obvious. However I didn't enjoy this quite as much as I did the first one, it's close but somehow it didn't grip me in quite the same way. I'm not sure why though, maybe its that the first book had the charm of a new and forbidden romance perhaps, and stuff like that always gets to me? Anyway its still an excellent read, one teens and adults, paranormal and non paranormal readers can enjoy and value for money at just �2.31 for a 533kb book. There's an opening for a third book too in the way the story ends, and as we've learned more about some of the characters and how they related it would be interesting to read further stories about them.
Stars - Once again 4 stars - good story, well written and edited and value for money.
No comments:
Post a Comment