"Judgement has been placed."
And yet another angel story. I know. Ever since I read my favorite book Daughter of Smoke and Bones again (for the third time or so), I can’t get enough of angels.
I keep hoping to discover again such a magical, poetic story full of love and compassion like the one between Karou and Akiva.
So far, nothing could reach my expectations.
Branded: Fall of Angels, too, fails to evoke the magic I am looking for. That doesn’t mean that I didn’t like the book. The idea is original and the story has a lot of potential. The real asset, though, is the heroine I feel truly sorry for and have no desire to swap places with.
Every time she falls asleep, 20-year-old Jessica Bailey assumes other people’s identity and stands trial for their deeds in front of a jury of angels. If they find that the person she stands trial for led a condemnable life, she is branded with an X on the back of her neck. One night, though, something happens that changes the ever-alike trials and all of a sudden, her isolated life is disrupted by two gorgeous men demanding her attention.
I liked the idea of a human standing trial in front of a group on Angels – and being terrified of them. Jessica never sleeps more than three hours a day, and when she does, she waked up screaming from pain and terror. She lives secluded from other people - until Cole and Alex show up. Unfortunately, from that moment on, everything was predictable. I knew immediately who Cole who was and what he wanted. I still liked him, though. Angels are not often depicted as cruel and twisted, and Cole was masterfully drawn. He is attentive and charming one minute and cruel and manipulative the next, playing with Jessica like a brand-new toy. It becomes clear that he can do with her whatever he wants and she has neither the mental nor the physical strength to withstand him. Jessica is completely at his mercy.
Alex, on the other hand, is too one-dimensional and colorless for my taste. With everything going on, he is awfully understanding and caring, and yet not the least bit curious about what’s going on. Jessica got herself a truly flawless hero who doesn’t seem to have a mind of his own and thus simply functions as support to the heroine. His proposal comes too soon and his sacrifice looks out of place. Everything between them looks too rushed and at the same time too chaste.
All in all, Branded is a nice but predictable story without too much depth. I kept looking for a twist in the plot but it didn’t come until the very end. There could have been a little less daily life and a little more character building
and suspense.
"There was something in his black eyes that made me shudder. I knew he could not see my face as it was covered but something made me feel exposed and vulnerable under his intense stare."
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