Angelbound (Angelbound Origins, #1)

by Christina Bauer

Eighteen-year-old Myla Lewis is a girl who loves two things: kicking ass and kicking ass. She's not your every day quasi-demon, part-demon and part-human, girl.

For the past five years, Myla has lived for the days she gets to fight in Purgatory's arena. When souls want a trial by combat for their right to enter Heaven or Hell, they go up against her, and she hasn't lost a battle yet. But as she starts her senior year at Purgatory High, the arena fights aren't enough to keep her spirits up anymore. When the demons start to act weird, even for demons, and the King of the Demons, Armageddon, shows up at Myla's school, she knows that things are changing and it's not looking good for the quasi-demons.

Myla starts to question everything, and doesn't like the answers she finds.

What happened seventeen years ago that turned the quasi-demons into slave labor? Why was her mom always so sad? And why won't anyone tell her who her father is? Things heat up when Myla meets Lincoln, the High Prince of the Thrax, a super sexy part-human and part-angel demon hunter. But what's a quasi-demon girl to do when she falls for a demon hunter? It's a good thing that Myla's not afraid of breaking a few rules. With a love worth fighting for, Myla's going to shake up Purgatory.

• ISBN10: 1946677760
• ISBN13: 9781946677761
• Publish Date: 26 February 2021 (first published 20 September 2016)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Monster House Books
• Edition: 2nd ed.
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 388
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Angelbound Enhanced is a partially illustrated edition with additional chapter samples of the first book of the Angelbound Origins series by Christina Bauer. Originally released in 2013, this reformat and enhanced re-release is 388 pages and is available in paperback format. Other editions available in most formats.

This is a YA/NA fantasy romance series with lots of angst and drama. Protagonist Myla is a kickass fighter whose day job is to fight opponents who seek redemption in the arena in Purgatory. She's a human demon hybrid (and she's got a tail, which is pretty cool). She's good at her job, undefeated in fact, but that doesn't stop her from having to get through her senior year of Purgatory High School.

The world building and story set up are competent, although I struggled to really build a rapport with Myla. I freely admit that I'm several decades outside the target audience, but the first third of the book dragged for me. The pacing does get better toward the middle, so I would encourage readers to stick around past the first parts of the book.

The language is surprisingly rough for a YA book, although again, I'm certain that no high schooler would blink an eye at the f-bombs and physical descriptions.

The ebook format contains hyperlinks and searchable text (I really enjoy this feature). The audiobook format has a run time of 14 hours 48 minutes and is capably narrated by the author herself.

Three and a half stars for this entry, rounded up for the competent writing and plotting. I would imagine it will likely be higher for the target audience.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[lizarodz]

Angelbound is a paranormal story that follows Myla Lewis, a quasi-demon (half human and half demon) and her life in Purgatory. This is were souls end up before it is decided if they will go to hell or to heaven. Due to a coup of power 20 years before, the quasi-demons are treated like slaves or hired help to serve the the Ghouls, who are now running the show.

Myla has a dedicated and VERY overprotective mom, but knows nothing about her father. This mystery is (very) slowly unraveled in a series of dreams that allow Myla and her mom to get closer and changes them both for the better. All quasis have powers based on the capital sins and Myla’s power is wrath which makes her a great demon fighter. Myla is loyal, snarky, kick-ass, ironic, a great friend, a good daughter and a tomboy.

Lincoln is the high prince of the Thrax, which are essential human demon fighters that thrive on tradition and love underground. He’s also loyal, a natural leader, a great fighter, a gentle soul, very protective and considerate of everyone’s feelings. Their relationship starts with misunderstandings in a Pride & Prejudice kind of way. They dislike each other fiercely and then they fall in love. They are so sweet together and they both find solace in each other even it their relationship is kind of impossible.

The world building is well developed and easy to follow. There are a lot of different ‘races’ in different realms, but more prominent are the quasi-demons, the Thrax, demons, ghouls and angels. There is a great cast of characters in Angelbound. From Mayla’s mom, to Walker, to Armageddon, to Cizzy, Zeke and Lincol’s parents. All amazing! Bauer’s writing is really good, easy to read, interesting, and engrossing.

I loved the story. How Myla’s life changes when she dares to fight for what’s right, when she finally understand where she comes from, from her conviction that she was not less than the ghouls or born to be a slave. It incites others to speak up, to work together and overcome the odds.

Overall, Angelbound is a great start for is shaping to be an amazing series. It’s a paranormal story of loss, change, good, evil, and love. Can’t wait to finish book two and continue on with the series!

[Angie]

I received an ARC through NetGalley.

I was excited and nervous about reading Angelbound. Angels aren't my thing, but I do tend to adore demons, and it's set in Purgatory! Myla is a quasi-demon, meaning she's mostly human but with a hint of demon blood. She also has a tail, which is like a character on its own! And she's an Arena fighter, so she battles evil souls who want to get into Heaven. But, her mom has been acting kind of strange and asking her weird questions, but won't answer any of Myla's questions about her father. Then she meets Lincoln, and everything changes.

Angelbound has a really interesting premise, but I found the world-building questionable. I loved the idea of Purgatory and that it's primarily occupied by quasi-demons and ghouls. Unfortunately, a lot of it doesn't make any sense to me, and some of it was just down right silly. For example, ghouls eat worms, and quasi-demons who are basically second class citizens must learn how to properly cook these worms! The undead eating bugs? Totally cliche. In fact, the whole way quasi-demons are treated is over-the-top, and a lot of the school scenes are cringe worthy. I can tell it was suppose to be humorous, but it's not my type of humor at all.

As for what didn't make sense: the entire Arena fighting thing. The Scala transfers human souls to either Heaven or Hell, which is perfectly understandable. But then there comes the souls who are given the choice to battle for their fate. They fight Myla (or another fighter) and if they win, they get to go to Heaven. This would be interesting if all souls had this choice, or if it was souls who were middling in their goodness or evilness. Instead it's only purely evil souls. Why would you give the evilist of evil a chance to get into Heaven?! I mean, I know one character in particular wants to see this happen, but they could easily just let the soul in to wreak havoc. And why does everyone go along with this plan?

The plot of Angelbound was pretty good though. There's a war brewing between the demons and the quasi-demons and ghouls. Ghouls think demons are their allies, but obviously not. Then the Thrax, who are demon hunters, show up and aren't killing anybody. Very suspicious. Of course, Myla ends up being the most super important person in the upcoming battle and the only one who can save Purgatory. And there's an enemies to lovers romance! It's kind of insta-lovey, but I didn't mind, because of reasons.

Angelbound was an okay read. I would have liked it better if it had been dark, rather than funny, because the humor wasn't one that I found funny. It was really long though. This first installment is almost longer than the following two books combined!

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[ellieroth]

El Extraño Gato del Cuento

3.8

Me encanta la portada Angelbound, no es el mejor trabajo, es bastante caricaturesco y aun así tiene algo que la hace bastante bonita, además porque al terminar el libro te das cuenta que es una escena importante la que evoca.

El contenido no me encantó como esperaba que lo hiciera, tiene una premisa interesante, pero es un poco lento por momentos. Al principio me confundió un poco, como bien dice la sinopsis el escenario es el Purgatorio, nunca leí nada ambientado ahí, porque lo que fue confuso e intrigante al mismo tiempo. Es una de esa pocas veces que en realidad estaba muy metida en la historia, preguntándome los como, dónde y cuando. Uno de sus puntos positivos es eso, quieres saber más y más sobre esta sociedad.

Los personajes están muy bien hechos, las características de cada uno, es algo que Christana Bauer desarrolla y explota muy bien, el libro explica que cada tipo de Quasi viene con un pecado capital incorporado (por decirlo de alguna manera xD) y nos lo muestra cuando es necesario y que sea consistente con la historia. La protagonista, Myla me encantó, badass le queda poco, es todo lo que puedes esperar sobre una heroína adolescente, no demasiado ruda como para que parezca irreal, pero no cursi que pierde sentido en la historia.

Lincoln, nuestro protagonista sexy, me ha gustado mucho su personaje, es seguro de sí mismo, no en la manera medio imbécil que está ahora de moda con los personajes (bueno, sí, pero muy poquito) y también porque ve como su igual a Myla. Eso es algo que aprecio un montón.

Angelbound me gustó bastante, es una historia bien construida, con una historia secundaria también bastante buena, aunque por alguna razón no llegué a meterme tanto, quizá porque fue un libro un poquito largo. Le puse en un 3.8/5 . Es un libro bastante recomendable, me ha gustado lo suficiente para estar emocionada por el segundo libro que se publica en Mayo, sobre todo estoy ansiosa porque la escritora no nos está alargando la historia dando vueltas en lo mismo, sino que ampliará nuestros horizontes con toda esta nueva sociedad.

Reseña Completa: El Extraño Gato del Cuento