Unchained (Nephilim Rising)

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

[Angie]

I'm so sad that Unchained didn't work for me! Even the great JLA can't make me care about angel problems. But if I'm being honest, I had more issues with this book than just being bored by the fallen angel and Nephilim world. Lily works as a hunter for the Sanctuary, an organization of Nephilim who fight against the evil Fallen and their minions. One night, she takes down a cop who happens to be another Nephilim who has no idea what he is. Meanwhile, there's a Fallen somewhere corrupting people and doing other bad things, although this was barely touched upon in favor of the romance.

I actually really liked the romance in Unchained. Forbidden romance is totally my thing, so I couldn't help but be drawn in by Lily and her angel lover, Julian. They're sworn enemies, but Lily is learning that everything she was taught at the Sanctuary isn't so black and white. Julian isn't really a bad guy as he's proven by saving her life from others of his kind multiple times. Their relationship does come about quite fast, but it's clear from the beginning that they already had some attraction building up off the page, so I was okay with that. What I wasn't okay with was the marathon sex they engage in the night Lily loses her virginity. Come on! Give the girl a break, she has to be sore! They could have done other things afterward, like they do throughout the book. But I do have to admit that the sex was pretty hot.

As for plot, well, it's kind of lacking. Unchained's focus is 100% on the romance, so I don't even get why the Asmodeus plot was even there. It pops up in maybe three very short chapters, and was referenced once in one of Lily's chapters. It was more of a distraction rather than an integral part of the story. Michael's story also felt thrown in for length, since he didn't add much either, except as an excuse for info-dumping since Lily and the others at the Sanctuary have to catch him up on his heritage. Of course, he's super special, but I just didn't care since his story went nowhere. This has to be the first book in a series, otherwise none of this makes any sense.

Speaking of not making sense, there are a few scenes that had me rolling my eyes, because they simply do not make sense. The first being members of the Sanctuary debated whether to give Michael a contract or not. They argue that he still needs to improve at combat, but it's been a week! Of course he still needs to improve! Then when Lily is being chastised for her relationship with Julian, her punishment at first is to be confined to the Sanctuary so she can't see him and so they can keep tabs on her. But a few pages later, they don't want her around at all, and she's told to leave immediately. What?! What happened to keeping her close so she doesn't do anything stupid? Lily also tries to say that Julian has nothing to do with her breaking the rules, even though it was her relationship with him that started the trouble. Um, okay?

Unchained was just not the book for me. It sounded like it was going be dark and exciting, but I mostly found myself annoyed at everything that wasn't the romance. I do think it would have been strong as a straight Paranormal Romance instead of the hybrid PNR/Romantic Suspense thing that was going on. The plot didn't play a large enough role to even matter.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.