The Angels are Here by Patti Roberts

The Angels Are Here by Patti Roberts

Series: Paradox #1

Rating: 3 of 5 stars

Two mysterious strangers arrive just in time to help a little girl as she struggles to cope with the death of her father. But are their intentions as innocent as they seem, or is there something else on their agenda?

Long ago, in an almost forgotten Realm, a race of fallen Angels called the Grigori clash with a ruling house of Angels – the Bulguardi. Their battle changed events in the Ancient World and the New World forever. A Realm where a year can last centuries and an Ancient magical people still rule, even the immortals face danger. Rising up from their imprisonment underground on Altair, evil has returned and the Grigori are on a destructive path of revenge. When their preferred food source becomes scarce, Earth, a world teaming with humans, becomes their target.

Trapped in the middle between the old world and the new, a little girl cursed with horrific visions from the past. From an Ancient world to the new world on Earth, this is a tale of myth and legend, mayhem and magic, birth and death. A tale of families torn apart, souls searching for lost loves, and evil is walking out of the shadows. You can run, but you cannot run forever.

Over the centuries, from the time before time, the Grigori were called many things. In Greece, they called them, Vrykolakas. In Romania, Strigoi. In earlier times, there were others. Other blood-sucking demons, that preyed on the innocent. In ancient Babylonia, it was Lilitu and her sistren, who instilled fear among the Babylonians. In the new world, they would go by another name. Vampire.
A world that defies logic and reason. A world that may very well be true: Paradox – The Angels Are Here.

A story that will indeed leave you asking… Who, When, Where? WHAT!

My name is Juliette. Nine hundred years ago, I died. Today, I am alive… This is my story. Paradox – The Angels Are Here

The Angels are Here certainly takes great pains to differentiate itself from the innumerable young adult books out there today that centralize angels and demons. I think the biggest mistake it made, as far as getting that point across that it was novel and (mostly) uncharted territory, resided in the synopsis:

“This is not a story about Vampires.”

That rubbed me the wrong way. I am more than fed up with the watered down, glorified, softcore vampires of today’s young adult fiction, but I don’t need to be told that the book I’m picking up has something against them. And, besides, what’s so terrible about vampires? That line felt more like Roberts’ pitch to her publishers: “Look, I know how the story sounds, but it’s not that kind of book.”

That was my biggest problem. Another I had was with the somewhat sloppy editing. Usually, as an editor, I have a little red pen in my head that is very hard to suppress except through gripping storytelling. This book had all the right elements to suppress that insatiable side of me that I can’t hide: an intricate, involving storyline; well-fleshed out and realistic characters (especially the humans—their stories alone could break hearts); evocative narrative and likable emcee; etc. If only Roberts could get her conventions under control…

However, that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy this story. At the time I started it, I was already reading about 3 other books, but I was sitting in my car on my lunch break and all I had was my phone and I took one look at my newest Kindle downloads and knew I couldn’t resist delving into it any longer. There was something pulling me from the outside—before I’d even read it—that stayed with me even when I wasn’t reading. How did the synopsis narrator, Julliette, fit in in all this? Where did Grace? Baby Abe? His grandfather? What about Brian, Grace’s father? How was Wade involved in his death? Are Wade and Angela enemies? Or allies? What about Hope? Are Grace’s visions inspired by love or hatred? And, perhaps the most important question of all, are the Angels in Grace’s life good or evil? So many questions, raised so tactfully and answered, if at all, scantily (though not too satisfyingly)…

Roberts’ writing is beautiful in portions. Her ability to invoke acute and long-lasting emotions are her strong points along with portraying the innocence of a young brokenhearted girl. With a little refinement, her potential to be an amazing writer could be unique in today’s writing world.

A bit rough around the edges, but enjoyable nonetheless, even more so for its thought-provoking message.

Between tales of bloodlust and hatred, glimmers of hope and light, Paradox – The Angels are Here weaves together an ages-old world war lightyears away seamlessly into the fabric of a little girl’s quest to find herself.