Customer Reviews

Fire Angels

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Dion, the most powerful mage in Moria is back and is as insecure in her self-worth as ever. For those of you expecting round two of Dion resisting Andre/Beddazer, you will be disappointed. The book begins with Dion being convinced to track down an unknown Necromancer but this battle gets delayed to the final few chapter of the book. Inbetween is a typical story of court intrigue as several parties make a bid for the throne. Having rich political intrigue does not work well when all of the action is told from one person's view point and as a result the story boggs down in the middle of the book. While Mage Heart dealt with Dion's very personal struggle with a demon, the bulk of this book is taken up with Dion's boring romance with a boring man who saddly appears destined to be the love of her life. This part of the story would have comfortably fit into any typical romance book. Interspersed with her many sex scenes with him is a parade of friends, family and aquintances, too numerous to be fully developed. By the end of the book many threads were left unresolved and the endings of the storylines that took up most the book were glossed over. The so called Epilogue was a shameless setup for the next book in the series. Despite all of this the book is still very readable. Most commendable was the way Routly skillfully weaves in summeries of the first book into this one so that this book stands just fine on its own. This is a rare accomplishment. Let's hope that the next installment returns to the theme that made the first book so compelling, Good Girl Mage being tempted by Nasty Old Demon. And for heavens sake, grow-up Dion!

Although I enjoyed the basic story Routly presents in FIRE ANGELS, I felt that the plot and character development is lost amid wordy "magical" descriptions,vague political intrigue, and fantasy cliches. I also found the first-person narration to be rather tedious. Dion comes across as more of a sex-starved middle-aged widow, than a vibrant twenty-two year old woman. At times, the novel also employs minor vulgarity which seems out of place for the story's setting. I wanted to see more action in the middle of the book, instead of political drama.

This book, Fire Angels will suck you into adventure and excitement! Dion is living alone in a small village when her two brothers come pleading for her help. Since she is one of the most powerful mages they ask that she helps to find her sister. Finally after a lot of thought she agrees. In other parts of the world she is known as the 'Demonslayer'. Later when she meets with her family she finds that there is more terrifying things that have happened than she ever dreamed of. After meeting her family she discovers Shad. Together they must work to destroy the demons and evil minded people. They have to go through things that test their love and trust in each other, while Dion has her own demon to fight with. The path she goes down questions her name 'Demonslayer'. Is she really as powerful as she has been lead to believe? Have fun finding out the rest of this suspensful story! =)

I have to agree with the preceding review from the Baltimore reader, there were a few things in this book that just did not work well: the shallowness of the main character, the vulgarity mixed in with all the "magical" descriptions. Actually, I found the supporting characters to be much more interesting and sympathetic. The storyline was intriguing; the different religions, magic and necromancy, the political fight for power.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it for a good read on the beach.

After what she just went through (see MAGE HEART), mage Dion Holyhands decides it is time to go back to her homeland of Moira to quietly settle down as a healer. Once in Moira, Dion has the opportunity to meet her biological family, whom she had not seen in years. However, the childhood memory and the reality of her native land is not the same. Instead of a haven of domestic tranquillity, Moira is being overrun by witch hunters and FIRE ANGELS.

Though she prefers to stay out of the upcoming battle, Dion knows that she cannot sit idly by and watch her country be destroyed. As she finds love, Dion dives head first into a stagnated court filled with plots and counter-plots, and duels with demons and a necromancer who wants her to be his queen.

In her second novel, FIRE ANGELS, Jane Routley proves that she is rapily becoming one of the best writers of fantasy stories on the market today. Jane is a mage with heart, making it a sure bet that readers will love her. The support cast adds an authenticity that feels as if sixteenth century Europe was filled with magic. However, what turns this novel and the series into a classic reading experience is the different laws from country to country that criminalizes various types of magic (similar to drug laws).

Harriet Klausner

Like its predecessor, "Fire Angles" suffers from a slow start, some over stuffing of cultural information, and a bit of a rushed ending. But overall it shows immense improvement for what is the authors second novel, and having already read "The Tree Sisters" by Rebecca Locksley (same author, different name and the book takes place 400 years earlier) I learned all sorts of cool stuff about the world of "sisters" and how it changed from "sisters" to "fire angels". I should say this is fairly dark fantasy, and it's well written enough to be creepy, so now you're warned. I had some disturbing, dark, confusing dreams while reading this.

This novel covers a battle between two rulers, a Duke and a would be a queen, a country run by religious fanatics that hate magic but have a taint of demons about them, and a small band of fairy like people determined to get their homeland back. Smack in the middle of this is Dion, savior of her world and slayer of demons from "Mage Heart." As in the last book Dion remains powerful and interesting without being a Mary Sue. In this book she goes a quest, learns of her family, and fights some more demons.

Because the body of the book is less boring that of "Mage Heart" this book gets 3.5 stars from me. I thought the ending was awfully rushed and over simplified, and didn't do any justice to the conflict leading up to it. All the same, I'm on to the next book, titled "Aramaya", which is the last in the series.

This was a great book. I loved the characters and the way the story was developed. Dion was a excellant main character. She comes across as a woman who has faced hard times and grown from those experiances. As soon as I finished it, my sister read it and loved it too. I just bought the first book, Mage Heart, and I'm also looking forward to reading the next in the series. I do have to warn that there are a few graphic and distrubing parts, but over all it's a wonderfully writen book that makes for a great read.

I found this book to be a delightful fantasy about forbidden and unrequited love. The tale is filled with many delicious scenes of passionate lovemaking which transported me to another time and place. However, despite these highpoints, the story left me cold.

i purchased this book two days after i finished reading MAGE HEART because i was enthralled by the characteres Routley created. this story flows just as beautifully from one page to the next as the first book. but like MAGE HEART the last 30 or 40 pages seemed like Routley was trying to wrap up the story quickly. but unlike MAGE HEART this story is more intricate and exciting, i could not find the strength to put it down. i look forward to seeing more of Routleys books in the future

I read the first book in this series, MageHeart, and bought Fire Angels used on Amazon. In the first book, the heroine is a powerful mage, who is virginal but tempted by a demon. I was eager to pick up where the first book left off. However by the time this book starts we are told that the heroine has already taken a lover and is engaged in a relationship with another local mage. This was a surprise, since in MageHeart, she was so protective of her virginity with Andre/Bedazzer. I enjoyed the fantasy story, but the love story was dull. Our hero is too sappy and the whole thing lacks the romantic and sexual tension of the first book. I have bought the last book in the trilogy, Aramaya, and I hope the story will get back on track. I want Andre the demon to come back, and the heroine to dump her current love interest Shad!