Book Review - Maxon

Maxon
Author: Christina Bauer
Series: Angelbound #5
Genres: Paranormal, Fantasy | New Adult
Release Date: 12th May 2015
Publishers: Ink Monster LLC
Source: Review Copy - Ink Monster LLC
Rating:

Prince Maxon may be twenty-two years old now, but he's still haunted by his boyhood abduction and torture in Hell. To deal with his past, Maxon limits his present-day activities to killing demons and seducing women. No long-term relationships. No combat too dangerous. No problem, right?

Wrong.

Maxon’s life has stalled out. The old thrills aren't there anymore, either on the battlefield or in the bedroom. While staking out his next fight, Maxon meets what seems like just another girl after a good time. What he gets is a close encounter with Lianna, a lady warrior with ties to the mysterious elemental rulers called the monarkki. It's love at first fight. Trouble is, Lianna's running from a dark history of her own, and her elemental enemies are closing in. When Lianna gets taken, Maxon realizes that after years of wrong choices and dead ends, the right woman is worth risking it all.

Ugh, why wasn't this the amazing sequel and look into Maxon's life I was hoping for? I'm not sure if there was something about my expectations, or my slightly less impressed state with Armageddon, or that there was overall more character and development, plot and action issues, but this was not what I had in mind. Credit where credit is due, this is a really good sequel, and I'm still going to continue reading the instalments that follow, I'll just be sure to lower my expectations this time around.

Book Review - Armageddon

Armageddon
Author: Christina Bauer
Series: Angelbound #3
Genres: Paranormal, Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: 14th October 2014
Publishers: Ink Monster LLC
No. Pages: 303
Source: Purchased
Rating:

Myla Lewis once fought gladiator-style in Purgatory’s Arena. Now, she’s fighting again, only this time in Hell. And the stakes have never been higher. The King of Hell, Armageddon, has kidnapped Myla and Lincoln’s young son, Maxon.

In the wake of Maxon’s abduction, all the after-realms calling for war, and no one shouts louder than Lincoln. Myla knows that a war against Hell will cost millions of lives, so she devises her own plan, involving a small attack team and a secret entrance to Hell. Will Myla save Maxon, or will her child and all the after-realms fall to Armageddon?

The following review may contain spoilers concerning earlier books in the series.
If you have not read the previous installments, please proceed with caution.

Some books can be imperfect and their issues can hinder your enjoyment of the experience, they can have you finding yourself annoyed or irritated by the glaring problems or lack of continuity, but with some books, those things don't matter. The Angelbound is the perfectly example. Is each instalment without faults? No, at least, it doesn't feel to me like it's faultless, but this has never been an issue for me. I never expect perfection, nor a story written with lyrical prose and deep, intense emotions, I sign up for an entertaining, mature, humorous and exciting read, and every time, Bauer delivers.

Book Review - Scala

Scala
Author: Christina Bauer
Series: Angelbound #2
Genres: Paranormal, Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: 17th December 2013
Publishers: Ink Monster LLC
No. Pages: 532
Source: ARC - Ink Monster LLC
Rating: 
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones

Nineteen-year-old Myla Lewis has transformed into the Great Scala, the only being with the power to move human souls to Heaven or Hell. Although she no longer fights demons in the Arena, Myla still has tons of ass-kicking to do as she redefines the afterlife and rebuilds Purgatory's government.

Unfortunately, her world falls apart faster than she can put it together. An enemy out of Myla's past is sapping her powers, making her weaker by the day. Even worse, her angel bound-love Lincoln has mysteriously disappeared. As her true enemy becomes clear, Myla discovers that all the after-realms are at risk. After losing so much power, does she still have the strength to save her world?

Book Review - AngelBound

AngelBound
Author: Christina Bauer
Series: Angelbound #1
Genres: Paranormal, Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: 17th December 2013
Publishers: Ink Monster LLC
No. Pages: 532
Source: ARC - Ink Monster LLC
Rating: 
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones

Eighteen year old Myla Lewis is a girl who loves two things: kicking ass and kicking ass. She's not your everyday quasi-demon, half-demon and half-human, girl. For the past five years, Myla has lived for the days she gets to fight in Purgatory's arena. When souls want a trial by combat for their right to enter heaven or hell, they go up against her, and she hasn't lost a battle yet.

But as she starts her senior year at Purgatory High, the arena fights aren't enough to keep her spirits up anymore. When the demons start to act weird, even for demons, and the King of the Demons, Armageddon, shows up at Myla's school, she knows that things are changing and it’s not looking good for the quasi-demons. Myla starts to question everything, and doesn't like the answers she finds. What happened seventeen years ago that turned the quasi-demons into slave labor? Why was her mom always so sad? And why won't anyone tell her who her father is? Things heat up when Myla meets Lincoln, the High Prince of the Thrax, a super sexy half-human and half-angel demon hunter. But what’s a quasi-demon girl to do when she falls for a demon hunter? It’s a good thing that Myla’s not afraid of breaking a few rules. With a love worth fighting for, Myla’s going to shake up Purgatory.