Book Review: Angelopolis
Media Type: Ebook (ARC)
Title: Angelopolis
* Series: Angeology #2
Author: Danielle Trussoni
Publisher: Viking Adult
Pages: Hardcover; 320
Release Date: March 26, 2013
Source: NetGalley
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Genre: Paranormal Fiction
HDB Rating: 4 Keys to My Heart
Recommended to: Both fans of the first book, and newcomers! This one reads just fine as a standalone.
Add it on: Goodreads / Shelfari / Amazon / B&N
A decade has passed since Verlaine saw Evangeline alight from the Brooklyn Bridge, the sight of her new wings a betrayal that haunts him still. Now an elite angel hunter for the Society of Angelology, he pursues his mission with single-minded devotion: to capture, imprison, and eliminate her kind.
But when Evangeline suddenly appears on a twilit Paris street, Verlaine finds her nature to be unlike any of the other creatures he so mercilessly pursues, casting him into a spiral of doubt and confusion that only grows when she is abducted before his eyes by a creature who has topped the society’s most-wanted list for more than a century. The ensuing chase drives Verlaine and his fellow angelologists from the shadows of the Eiffel Tower to the palaces of St. Petersburg and deep into the provinces of Siberia and the Black Sea coast, where the truth of Evangeline’s origins—as well as forces that could restore or annihilate them all—lie in wait.
Conceived against an astonishing fresh tableau of history and science,Angelopolis plumbs Russia’s imperial past, modern genetics, and ancient depictions of that most potent angelic appearance—the Annunciation of Gabriel—in a high-octane tale of abduction, treasure seeking, and divine warfare as the fate of humanity once again hangs in the balance.
Similar to Angelolgy, there was a lot that I liked about Angelopolis despite any qualms I may have had. In fact, I’m here to say that I actually enjoyed this book much better than the first. Perhaps it’s because of the ample amounts of action, or maybe because of the discoveries that are slowly unearthed, but Danielle Trussoni managed to capture my imagination, and I eagerly paged through this book.
Evangeline doesn’t play as big of a role in Angelopolis, instead giving way to more information about Verlaine and his posse of angelologists. As Nephilim become more of a threat, Verlaine must work even harder to keep humanity safe. It was so fun to follow him on the hunts, and be introduced to new characters. I’m a huge fan of the tough female characters that make an appearance here. Being an angelologist definitely isn’t an easy job. Add in a mystery involving the Romanov family, and you have quite a story.
My one gripe, and this is the same one I had before, is that there is a large amount of descriptive writing that slowly bogs down the action. There are pages upon pages of historical information and angelic races. Although interesting in its own right, it does manage to pull the reader out of the overall mystery that surrounds the angels themselves. I’ll admit that I skimmed more than a few pages, and yet I still managed to follow the story just fine. Still, this was done much better than the first novel so kudos on that!
As I said though, despite anything else I did actually enjoy the story in its entirety. The ending is a huge cliffhanger and so I know that there will be more to come. I’m in for the long haul now. Bring on more angels, more holy wars, and more action. I’ll be here waiting for it.
