3 out of 4 stars
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Have you ever thought what it would be like to die and meet an angel? You might think, that it would be the most perfect moment ever. It would be a moment of peace, joy and tranquility as you and your angel walk hand in hand into the gates of heaven. Now, imagine that the reason you’re dead is because someone killed you. You didn’t live the most holy life on earth, so you’re not allowed into heaven. Fortunately, you won’t go to hell either, as the creator gives you a task to complete on earth and if you succeed, you get to enjoy an eternal paradise. The task, is to partner up with the fallen angel, Ramatel and find help him fight demons on earth. That doesn’t sound too hard…right? It wouldn’t be if Ramatel wasn’t so rude, chauvinistic, desires you but then acts like a sullen teenager around you! What’s a dead, newly demon hunter supposed to do?! Are you curious yet? In Ramatel’s Vow by Joel Crofoot, all those questions will be answered and more!
The first thing I enjoyed about this book is how it jumped right into the plot. There was no long and dreary introductions to the characters. The book didn’t open with pages and pages of backstory that should have been assimilated into the main story. None of that, it opened straight into the story and I was eternally grateful. We are first introduced to Ramatel’s character, who is quite a character, indeed. Angry, hurt and vengeful that he had been sent to hell for sleeping with humans, Ramatel is one angel you shouldn’t even dream of meeting.
I watched Ramatel and his chinfon (mentee in angel language) develop over time. It wasn’t just their relationship, but the characters as well. Character development is one of the most crucial things in a novel to me. In the story, we witness Ramatel’s character go through a series of changes in terms of his character. I was impressed as that translated to me that the author put a lot of thought in his development. I was a little disappointed with Clara’s development, however. When we’re first introduced to her, she starts off as this strong feminine presence who can kick butt and is quick to put Ramatel in his place. In the plot, the author seems to be so preoccupied with Ramatel and his relationship with Clara that he weakens her character and she becomes nothing more than a regular girl who is overly concerned with romance. It was so tragic that I found myself screaming at her to snap out of it until I reminded myself she doesn’t really exist…. thank goodness for that!
In terms of the plot, I understood the overall plot, but not much else. It wasn’t until more than halfway through the book before I figured out that the story was about more than just Ramatel and Clara’s “I love you but I hate you,” relationship. I was relived about that, but all the sub plots were so rushed and unclear that I still don’t specifically know what the characters were doing in most scenes. It started off as an interesting story with a great plot but it became consumed with the romance. Don’t misunderstand… I love romantic stories but I don’t like when the romance becomes the whole plot.
Even though the plot was lacking content and Clara’s character became a disappointment, surprisingly, I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I enjoyed Ramatel’s character and his development. He really was an enjoyable character to read about. There was also a little humor in the story that had me chuckling. Honestly, I simply really enjoyed reading it. I also didn’t find any grammatical errors that I usually find in eBooks. That’s probably the reason I rate it so high even though, it could’ve just as easily been rated a 2. Okay… I need to be a little nicer. I’m trying to get into heaven after all. I don’t want to die and then come back and be stuck with a hot, bipolar angel who….wait…yes I do….umm….never mind!
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Ramatel's Vow
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