Birds of Paradise

by Anne Malcom

[Eve1972]

 
 
~WRITING - PLOT - PACE~
So this book was all kinds of awesome. I am purposely going to leave this review a little vague as I think this book is best gone into blindly. Plus, I also don't want to give too many details away that could spoil anyone's reading experience. The writing in this one was AMAZING. Seriously, it was just exquisite and intelligent. It was very well paced. The plot was incredibly engaging, original, and well crafted. There were twists and turns. It was told through a dual POV format. I wouldn't say that this one was overly dark in its nature. But I read some pretty dark stuff, so do take that into account when you are deciding whether to give this one a read or not. Last, it was all wrapped up in a satisfactory ending that left "ME" feeling like maybe this couple had more story to come -- a girl can hope!


~HERO~
HIM/OLIVER/LUKYAN...Oh, how I loved this guy. He wasn't sweet. He wasn't kind. He was a stone-cold killer, and he loved every minute of it. I fell in love with him. His character was just so well developed and multi-faceted. A textbook example of how to write an anti-hero.


~HEROINE~
ELIZABETH...I think I loved Elizabeth even MORE than I loved Lukyan. Her character was also so well crafted and multi-layered. The growth her character goes through over the course of the book was amazing to read. Your heart will shatter for her. You'll be cheering her on as she puts the pieces of her broken soul back together. 


 

~SECONDARY CHARACTERS~
There really weren't many secondary characters in this one. A couple that plays significant, but small parts. This is a main character-centered book.


~HEAT LEVEL~
Medium. The sex scenes in this one were suitably spicy. Some knife play. Some blood. Nothing too over the top though, and the frequency felt organic to the story. This couple also had amazing on page chemistry.


~ANGST LEVEL - SEXUAL HISTORIES~
Medium. I didn't find this one particularly angsty relationship wise. Elizabeth has a lot of issues to deal with and well, Lukyan kills people...so (lol). There was no OW drama. The next part is a spoiler so DO NOT click on it if you don't want to be spoiled capiche? Lukyan is married. He has slept with his wife in the past, but she is his father's courtesan now (and seems to have been for a while) and Lukyan has NO feelings for her AT ALL. . There was no OM drama. Neither were virgins.


~IN THE END~
It was amazing. The writing was phenomenal. The plot was highly entertaining and original. The characters were well developed and intriguing. The sex was hot. What more can you as for? Yours truly is HIGHLY recommending this one and in fact, this may be my favorite read so far this year.