Black Lament (A Black Wings Novel) [Mass Market Paperback]

Christina Henry (Author)

Book Description

Release date: October 30, 2012 | Series: A Black Wings Novel (Book 4)

As an Agent of Death, Madeline Black deals with loss every day. But when tragedy touches her own life, Maddy will have to find the strength within to carry on…

Devastated and grieving, Maddy unexpectedly finds hope with the discovery that she is pregnant. But Maddy’s joy is short lived when Lucifer informs her that he wants the baby, hoping to draw on the combined power of two of his bloodlines. Maddy is determined that her grandfather will never have her child, but she’s not sure what she can do to stop him.

Being pregnant is stressful enough, but Maddy suddenly finds herself at odds with the Agency—forbidden from meddling in the affairs of the supernatural courts. When a few of her soul collections go awry, Maddy begins to suspect that the Agency wants to terminate her employment. They should know by now that she isn’t the sort to give up without a fight…

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for the Black Wings novels:  

“Fast action, plenty of demons and a hint of mystery.”—Monsters and Critics

“A riveting adventure.”—Errant Dreams Reviews

“The extensive background of [Henry’s] imaginative world is well integrated with the action-packed plot.”—Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Christina Henry is a graduate of Columbia College Chicago and enjoys running long distances, reading anything she can get her hands on and watching movies with subtitles in her spare time. She lives in Chicago with her husband and son.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Ace (October 30, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 042525657X
• ISBN-13: 978-0425256572
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.8 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #65,228 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars LITERAL ADDICTION's Review of Black Lament October 30, 2012

By LITERAL ADDICTION

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Our Review, by LITERAL ADDICTION's Pack Alpha - Michelle L. Olson:

I am absolutely in love with this series, so when Christina sent me an ARC of Black Lament to get me through a tough time following back to back surgeries, she couldn't have given me a better gift.

After crying my eyes out following the conclusion of Black Howl and just KNOWING that Christina had amazing things in store for not only us but her characters, I was chomping at the bit to start Black Lament. Let me tell you that Miss Henry did not disappoint, not even a bit!

My first words upon completing the book were this: "Holy cow! Another amazing read by Christina Henry. Dark, intriguing, action packed, emotion laced, & jam packed with goodness. I can't wait for the next book!"

As the synopsis says, after tragedy strikes, Maddy finds some comfort in the fact that she has something to look forward to. The only problem is that she just can't seem to stay out of trouble, and everyone wants a piece of her for their own personal gains. She's pretty much made enemies in all the supernatural courts, and now she's getting heat from her bosses bosses to boot.

This is an incredibly difficult review to write because SO much happens in this installment and I refuse to spoil any of it. Many, many things change, characters that you hated you have to learn to like, characters that were always Maddy's rocks are beginning to waiver, numerous new characters are introduced and muddle up the already delicate balance that Maddy is desperately trying to hold on to (both for better and for worse), and Maddy discovers and nurtures a darkness within herself that has those closest to her a bit on edge.

One of the best lines is towards the end of the book and sums up a lot of the feeling throughout the tale. Maddy and Lucifer are talking and Lucifer asks "Do you really believe you can defeat whatever comes your way?". Maddy replies with, "I have to believe that, because every time I turn around there's something else". That, in a nutshell, sums up this series thus far, and especially this installment.

In Black Lament, Christina changes things even more than she did in Black Howl (and I wasn't sure that was even possible). She also opens up the series for an entirely new sub-plotline, and I am dying to see how Black City turns out!

Love, love LOVE this series!

LITERAL ADDICTION gives Black Lament a well deserved 5 Skulls and would recommend it to all Urban Fantasy lovers. I do suggest that readers take in the whole series and start with Black Wings, Black Night and Black Howl before Black Lament, however. There is just too much history that you'll miss, and you don't want to miss them anyway; they're too fantastic.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Poor Choices for Madeline November 3, 2012

By Daniel F. Bowen

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I've kept up with this series and had this book on pre-order for months. I was that interested. I enjoy the different spin on this book, the main character is an angel, escorting souls to 'the door'. The characters that continue in each book make this series fun. Elves, demons, angels, werewolves, a gargole, even in this book a Hob oh yes and a Grim.

****SEMI SPOILER****

The book starts a week after her husband Gabriel dies. So she's still in mourning. I understand her emotional stability and strength is threatened by this pregnancy. . . And frequent mentions of being hungry, feeling weak and nauseous do happen. Yet she's still able to fight against all possible odds and pull through.

I didn't feel the connection between her friends and her as I did in the last books. Maybe because she's always hanging out with Nathaniel. As per Lucifer's orders. While she doesn't trust him she still works with him and does save his life -- There is a turn around in her relationship with him. I doubt a relationship between the two is going anywhere but there was a softening on Madeline's part. And while he seems to have an about face, he enjoyed torturing that Agency agent Byron a bit too much. And while Maddie allowed Nathaniel to torture Byron. .. . I did get the feeling her forming infant is influencing her actions. Not just being a protective mom but the genetics of her infant. I just get the impression her baby is putting his 3 cents in and influencing his mom -- Wings beating and all.

Maybe it was the guys being so agreeable to do everything Maddie said. No one was there to point her in the right direction and we all know her gargole sidekick is more interested in his food than enforcing good advice. She desperately needs a strong authority figure in her life. Someone she respects and can protect her from herself.

So the Agency she 'works' for sends her on an assignment they knew she couldn't handle. This snowballs into missed reports, skipping a work day, and the CEO on her case. What results is understandable but now she's jobless. She could barely make ends meet was it was, now she is unemployed.

I gave this a 4 star review. The characters didn't shine as in the other books. While Maddie was successful in eleminating a few threats, by the end of the book she doubled those threats. She made her situation worse, not any better, and she ignored warnings, just went ahead and did what she felt was best. She hasn't learned that revenge doesn't solve anything. Those that want to do evil will keep on doing it -- It isn't always her call to step in and take care of it. Yes, the agency didn't live up to her expectations. Life is like that. Not everything runs smoothly and the way you want it. Leaving may not solve the problem, but that's what she did. Did she change anyone's mind in the Agency? The people she rescued? We're left to wonder . . . While her city is being torn apart by Vampires.

While I enjoyed the book it just moved slow. The time frame was from a week after Gabriel died until what -- About a week later. I didn't see a lot of progress, I saw a regression in Maddie and how she's handling those she cares about and about her life. Her constant hang up on sleep and food, while normal in a pregnant person, seemed a bit much when there was so much else going on.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Will keep you sucked in from the very start October 30, 2012

By A Book Obsession.. TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Mass Market Paperback

As an Angel of Death, has seen countless souls ferried to the other side, and has become a little numb to the pain and loss associated with it. But all that changed when that loss stuck home and she is left a grieving mess. But there is a small matter of hope with the new life growing inside of her, a happiness that is lessened once Maddy realizes her unborn child would be a mighty temptation for Lucifer. A child of two of his bloodlines would have untold power, and Maddy is determined to keep that from his hands no matter what that takes. Meanwhile, the rest of the courts are still stirring trouble and Maddy has had about enough. This time she'll be taking the fight to them.

This was an incredibly difficult and emotional read for me. Heart ache absolutely kills me in a book, especially when it comes from something as permanent and devastating as death. My heart was in every bit as tatters as Maddy's was, and each time she broke down, my heart bled for her. I cannot count the number of times there were tears in my eyes when everything became too much for Maddy. That being said, the ability to affect my emotions that strongly shows just how good these books are and how real the characters are. If the emotion didn't impact me, well then it wouldn't be worth reading.

After reading Black Lament, my respect for Maddy has seriously ratcheted up another notch. Despite the immense emotional pain she was in, she still found a way to stand strong, especially once threatened. It didn't take long at all for her to go all "Momma Bear" and start eliminating current and future threats to herself and her unborn child. At several points throughout the book, her gargoyle companion, Beezle, seems to worry that she is turning over to the dark side, but I don't have the same worry. Sure she is making decisions she never would have in the past, but her actions are justified by the means. She hasn't sought out the trouble that finds her, she only refused to back down when others wanted to either control or destroy her. Granted, she has become a little more proactive in her defense as she began to take some steps to prevent future attacks rather than waiting to be ambushed, but in all honesty I can't blame her one little bit for that. She has no desire for world conquering and if everyone would just leave her alone, she wouldn't be a threat to any of them.

I have to admit that a part of me didn't want to continue on with this series after the heart shattering ending of the previous book as I just didn't want to face the reality of the horrible changes Maddy would have to face. But in the end it was more than worth it to push through it and keep reading, as Maddy and the gang are still some of my top favorite sets of characters. I highly recommend Black Lament as it is full of both emotion and action that will keep you sucked in from the very start. This series just keeps getting better!