Just finished reading Unchained last night. Stayed up until two in the morning to finish it. I really loved this book. It was nice that it took the relationship time to develop. Given the circumstances, it makes complete sense. Story in a nutshell, heroine is a nephilim who hunts fallen angels. A fallen angel is in love with her. Great conflict. Nice romance. Fun, fun, fun book! I really hope that she writes a follow up. ( )

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.

I read Unchained knowing it was written in 2013, and that it's the first book in an unfinished series, but I was willing to look past that for JLA. Unfortunately, this book didn't work for me. I might have enjoyed it more before reading Storm and Fury, but Unchained and Storm and Fury had very similar stories. Storm and Fury was just a shiny new version of Unchained, and that left a sour taste in my mouth.

Both books are about Nephilim and demons, and they include the same archangel's offspring. Clearly, this one angel cannot keep it in his pants, and keeps fathering children that will change the fate of the world. Other similarities were the celestial shields, the main characters, and the plot. Trinity (Storm and Fury) and Lily (Unchained) were both raised and trained to be badass fighters of evil. Their circumstances varied slightly, but they had very similar personalities. Also, they're both betrayed in exactly the same way. It was disappointing how obvious everything was, especially the traitor.

The sexual content was one of the few differences. Storm and Fury had dry-humping, and Unchained had kinky, rough sex. I don't mind sex in books, but Lily's relationship with Julian made me uncomfortable. He freely admits to stalking her for eight years, and she's mostly okay with that. Yes, he's saved her life a few times, but he also doesn't listen when she tells him to stop following her. At the start of this book, Julian is trying to put his hands up her skirt, and continues even when she very clearly says no. Twice. He just keeps chugging along because he thinks her body is saying something different. It was gross.

Speaking of Julian, I feel like he was only there to save and screw. If Lily was in over her head, Julian was there to keep her safe. If Lily was alone, he was there to boink. They grind like two sticks trying to start a fire, but it quickly escalated into more. I wish we had seen more character development with Julian, and been told more about his past. Instead, he's evasive and secretive, until the last few chapters. We still don't know everything, only what caused him to fall from Heaven.

Honestly, aside from Lily, there was very little secondary character development. Some of the book was told from Michael's perspective, but he doesn't really add a lot to the story. He's was crucial component, but I feel like I know nothing about him. Lily drops some big news about his mom, but that's not really addressed again.

There were a lot of inconsistencies in this book as well. I stopped writing them down after awhile. A few examples... 1) Lily, Luke and Remy knew one of the characters was a Nephilim because he shocked them whenever they touched him. "Luke shot back as if jolted—a fine zap of electricity that fired when coming into contact with another Nephilim." However, Luke pats Lily on the head and nothing happens. Lily holds Luke's hand and nothing happens. The Nephilim train together all the time and nothing happens. Lily rubs one out with another Nephilim and nothing happens. "Wincing at the thought of the beautiful Nephilim Luke had most definitely loved, she patted his heavily muscled arm." If they always shocked each other, they shouldn't have been able to touch, like, ever. 2) Lily knew what Michael's name was, and then she didn't.

Random question: Does anyone know what it means to on "on a nut-jump killing spree"?

Lily's in her mid-twenties, but doesn't act her age. Her personality leaves a lot to be desired, and most of what happened throughout the book was just too unbelievable for me. After a funeral, Lily walks away and immediately gropes someone else, and I feel like she should have mourned her loss a little before trying to get her rocks off.

I hate to say it, but I think I'm starting to outgrow Jennifer L. Armentrout. I really loved the Lux series, and some of her contemporaries, but lately her books have felt off. They're just not clicking for me liked they have in the past, and it's a bummer. I really didn't like how much this one resembled Storm and Fury, even though I know it's probably just a coincidence.

This review can also be found at Do You Dog-ear? on June 3, 2019. ( )

What can i say I loved it Amazing
Imean allwork ofJLA Is Breathtaking
Lily is a strong and a kickass in the out side but she is so soft in the inside
And Julian *sigh* My hero he is the hottes guy ever, he's the best fallen ever read about Wow ( )

Find this review and more at http://www.thereadingobsession.blogspot.com

ARC received from Entangled Publishing. This review is not biased in any way. There was no money, gifts, discounts, or favors exchanged for this review.

I should hate this. I should rant and rave about how it's just another angel book, and how it's so predictable, and all things like this. But for some absurd reason, I love it.

The sad thing about the summary is how it gives away half the book. It's nothing too hard to guess, once you start reading, but it gives out too much information for a few paragraphs.

Lily is a Nephilim, the daughter of a Fallen angel and a mortal. She's part of a society called the Sanctuary, which are a group other Nephilims dedicated to destroying the Fallen and their followers. Ever since she was sixteen, a fallen angel named Julian has been following her. He's saved her life multiple times, but she still doesn't trust him, since according to the Sanctuary, all Fallen are bad.

Lily and Julian are two characters that wouldn't be interesting alone, but when they're paired up, they're amazing. They're carefully developed, and they seem "real" to me, and probably to all other readers.

Lily is like many other of Armentrout's characters: tough, but at the same time, extremely sweet and kind. A thing I really love about her is that she doesn't immediately trust Julian just because he's pretty. She doesn't want to get herself killed, and she's understandably cautious around him.

Julian is a mix of Hunter and an older Daemon. He's extremely protective, possessive, and predatory, like other Urban Fantasy characters, but Jennifer makes him seem real.

The world building was extremely realistic, but I can't get rid of the feeling that this is an older version of the Covenant. However, I still loved the detail of the Sanctuary and the normal world.

I've stated above how some parts were predictable. However, others weren't. For example, the identity of the antagonist is cleverly hidden until the reveal.

There is something that annoyed me, though. Jennifer seems to have an obsession with eyes, especially on the main characters. Lily's eyes are pale green, Daemon's, from the Lux series, are a vibrant green, Aiden's, from the Half-Blood series, are silver, and the list goes on. This probably won't irk other readers, since many of my friends seem to love this aspect of the characters, but it is something that I wouldn't mind toning down.

I also would have liked more background to both Lily and Julian. There seems to be so many hidden secrets, and I would have liked it if there was just a little more information.

Overall, this novel was amazing, as I would expect from Jennifer Armentrout. I demand the next book immediately. But since that probably won't happen, I have a Mission-Impossible-like plan of breaking into Jennifer's house from the roof and stealing her flashdrive I mean- I'll be anxiously awaiting it for the next year. ( )

Find this review and more at http://www.thereadingobsession.blogspot.com

ARC received from Entangled Publishing. This review is not biased in any way. There was no money, gifts, discounts, or favors exchanged for this review.

I should hate this. I should rant and rave about how it's just another angel book, and how it's so predictable, and all things like this. But for some absurd reason, I love it.

The sad thing about the summary is how it gives away half the book. It's nothing too hard to guess, once you start reading, but it gives out too much information for a few paragraphs.

Lily is a Nephilim, the daughter of a Fallen angel and a mortal. She's part of a society called the Sanctuary, which are a group other Nephilims dedicated to destroying the Fallen and their followers. Ever since she was sixteen, a fallen angel named Julian has been following her. He's saved her life multiple times, but she still doesn't trust him, since according to the Sanctuary, all Fallen are bad.

Lily and Julian are two characters that wouldn't be interesting alone, but when they're paired up, they're amazing. They're carefully developed, and they seem "real" to me, and probably to all other readers.

Lily is like many other of Armentrout's characters: tough, but at the same time, extremely sweet and kind. A thing I really love about her is that she doesn't immediately trust Julian just because he's pretty. She doesn't want to get herself killed, and she's understandably cautious around him.

Julian is a mix of Hunter and an older Daemon. He's extremely protective, possessive, and predatory, like other Urban Fantasy characters, but Jennifer makes him seem real.

The world building was extremely realistic, but I can't get rid of the feeling that this is an older version of the Covenant. However, I still loved the detail of the Sanctuary and the normal world.

I've stated above how some parts were predictable. However, others weren't. For example, the identity of the antagonist is cleverly hidden until the reveal.

There is something that annoyed me, though. Jennifer seems to have an obsession with eyes, especially on the main characters. Lily's eyes are pale green, Daemon's, from the Lux series, are a vibrant green, Aiden's, from the Half-Blood series, are silver, and the list goes on. This probably won't irk other readers, since many of my friends seem to love this aspect of the characters, but it is something that I wouldn't mind toning down.

I also would have liked more background to both Lily and Julian. There seems to be so many hidden secrets, and I would have liked it if there was just a little more information.

Overall, this novel was amazing, as I would expect from Jennifer Armentrout. I demand the next book immediately. But since that probably won't happen, I have a Mission-Impossible-like plan of breaking into Jennifer's house from the roof and stealing her flashdrive I mean- I'll be anxiously awaiting it for the next year. ( )