Book Review- Breath of Angel

By Karyn Henley

Published by WaterBrook Press

To Be Released on June 21st, 2011

Source- ARC from publisher for review

3.5 stars- It's A Good Read

The stranger’s cloak had fallen back, and with it, a long, white, blood-stained wing.

When Melaia, a young priestess, witnesses the gruesome murder of a stranger in the temple courtyard, age-old legends recited in song suddenly come to life. She discovers wings on the stranger, and the murderer takes the shape of both a hawk and a man.

Angels. Shape-shifters. Myths and stories—until now.

Melaia finds herself in the middle of a blood feud between two immortal brothers who destroyed the stairway to heaven, stranding angels in the earthly realm. When the feud turns violent and Melaia becomes a target, she finds refuge with a band of angels attempting to restore the stairway. But the restoration is impossible without the repayment of an ancient debt—the “breath of angel, blood of man,” a payment that involves Melaia’s heart, soul, and destiny.

Breath of Angel is a unique story with an enjoyable plot set in a fascinating time. It's a story I was really drawn to not just for it's mythology, but because of it's middle age feel to it and it's paranormal elements with Angels, magic, and Shape-shifters.

The story starts off with action as the main character, a young priestess named Melaia, witnesses the death of an Angel. From there her journey into discovering who he is, and who she really is shrouded in deception, lies and betrayal. Melaia herself is a fabulous character that I enjoyed getting to know her. She's a very strong, courageous heroine who's torn on following her destiny. She also has a fascinating ability to save a person's soul when they're dying by playing an enchanted harp. The harp and Melaia's ability are two of the unique things I liked about the story, as it's all tied into the story's mythology.

The setting is fabulous. I loved the old world feel to it and the vivid description of the land really brought the setting to life. I really liked the cast of strong, well grounded characters, the sweet romance and the constant action through out the story. Even with all the elements I loved about the story I still feel torn with it. There were times when a lot of things were going on that I felt connected with the story and there were times when the plot slowed down a bit I lost a little bit of interest and I felt there were a few things thrown into the story to keep the plot moving that threw me off and were a bit confusing. Over all there are a lot of things I liked about the story. My curiosity with wanting to find answers to some of the character & plot twists had me finishing this book in one sitting. Breath of Angel is a fun, clean cut read that fans of fantasy would enjoy. I'm anxious to see what it's in store for Melaia and the rest of the characters in the next book in the series.