3 out of 4 stars
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B. Hughes-Millman’s paranormal romance, Purgatory’s Angel, explores a disturbingly dark premise: Our inner demons run rampant in our dreams, and they can kill in our sleep. In the planes beyond consciousness, the most depraved sides of people manifest in some form, creating a nightmare from which there can be no awakening.
Jaime Connor is a dark angel. When she falls asleep each night, she is thrust into the demons’ hunting grounds, their victims’ dreams, where she must either kill or be killed. Without Jaime’s intercession, the victims could die in real life, “the cause of death precise to how they died in their dreams.” Jaime has been at this for decades, but tragedy after tragedy has made her cynical and self-destructive. One morning, she wakes up injured from one of her nightly battles, unable to recall all the details of the dream she’d been in. To complicate matters, the impossibly gorgeous demon she thought she had killed shows up in her workplace. His name is Collin Leary, an Irishman, and his interest in Jaime feels both ominous and exhilarating. Is he trying to kill her? Shouldn’t she kill him? Will her attraction to this enemy be her undoing? And if so, would death be such a bad thing?
Purgatory’s Angel offers a fascinating spin on the mythos of angels and demons, situating a tightly knit plot in the realm of dreams. The parameters surrounding Jaime’s powers, the demons’ abilities, the dream world, and everything else in between are defined clearly. Through Jaime’s perspective, these supernatural elements are slowly revealed as the story unfolds, allowing readers to get immersed in Jaime’s and Collin’s storylines without being alienated or overwhelmed.
The romance between Jaime and Collin is riveting, as Jaime’s desire for Collin goes far beyond the physical. There’s chemistry here, but a darker element underpins the attraction: Jaime’s pervasive longing for her own demise. Readers who dislike insta-love scenarios might balk at Jaime’s internal monologues during the early chapters, as she often alternates between wanting to “slit [Collin’s] throat” or “fervently kiss him.” However, a deeper connection between the two is revealed towards the end, partly explaining plot points that might not make a lot of sense at the beginning. There’s destiny at work here, which seemed like too much of a stretch when it was revealed, but it tied in well with Jaime’s backstory. An additional romantic aspect between Jaime and another character is also explored, so readers who enjoy love triangles will find the middle portions of the book quite entertaining.
Jaime’s torturous existence is portrayed in graphic detail. Her internal turmoil aside, the things she had endured—and continue to endure on a nightly basis—are not for the weak of heart…or stomach. Readers who may be triggered by mentions and depictions of rape and other forms of sexual assault should stay away from this book. Torture, aggression, and violence also abound, the gruesomeness intensifying with each chapter. While gratuitous at times, there’s a disquieting truth behind these morbid situations. After all, what acts have the “demons” in the story committed—be it rape, torture, or murder—that a regular human being hasn’t done in real life?
On the technical side of things, there are a few typographical errors sprinkled throughout the work, usually involving the erroneous use of words (e.g., undue instead of undo, hick-ups instead of hiccups, pour over instead of pore over). That said, the copy I got was an uncorrected proof, so these problems might have been rectified in the final version. There are also a few details that aren’t as well-established as could be. Jaime’s photographic memory, for instance, is mentioned so suddenly towards the end of the book that it almost felt like an afterthought.
While I find the worldbuilding satisfactory, the timeline seems a bit off. Jaime descended to earth after an epic battle in heaven that ended in Lucifer’s fall. This implies that Jaime should be older, practically ancient if this were the case. However, she reveals that she’s 70 years old but apparently retains the appearance of a young woman in her mid-20s. She reminisces about crucial events that took place when she was 11 and 15, suggesting that her body ages normally. Jaime had parents and a grandmother, but whether they retained their youth isn’t clear to me. Perhaps these inconsistencies will be addressed in the next book in the series.
Purgatory’s Angel scores high for its ingenious premise, compelling storylines, and a strong heroine, but because of the typos and the confusing timeline, I give it a final rating of 3 out of 4 stars. I recommend it to fans of dark paranormal romance and mature readers who won’t be turned off by the book’s violence and explicit contents. I do have to mention that religious figures like Jesus Christ are embedded in the story’s lore, so readers who take an issue with this might want to give this book a pass.
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Purgatory's Angel
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