Territory of Angels A:R Heaven #1
Tricia Owens
Publisher: Amazon Media EU
Pages: 254
Reviewed By: Sandra Scholes
Synopsis:
Can Angels fall in love with a former shoe salesman?
Ryan thought becoming an Angel would be easy. Well, besides the whole dying part. But it's difficult when he's hounded by bouts of insecurity and a secret, unrequited love. The only good thing to happen to him is his friendship with the lovable Angel Finnian. But Finnian is lover to the Commander of Heaven's Army: Anifiel, the most magnificent Angel in Heaven. Anifiel doesn't approve of his lover befriending a measly human, unfortunately, and when Finnian's curiosity about Earth compels him to leave Heaven and investigate, Anifiel blames Ryan's bad influence.
Ryan doesn't know how to appease the fearsome if hunky Angel. Everything that Ryan does is wrong in the great Angel's eyes. It doesn't help that every time Anifiel draws near, Ryan is overcome with a lust too powerful to resist, a lust that Anifiel resents. Can Ryan manage to behave long enough to find a way to bring Finnian back? Or is Ryan doomed to remain a human in Heaven, never quite good enough for anyone? Contains m/m, m/m/m scenes. Non-religious.
Review:
For those who have, like me visited Tricia's Juxtapose Fantasy website, they will know all about the Angel:Reverse (A:R) stories featured there, not just the sensual fan art dotted around the pages. I remember enjoying a daily look at some of the stories in Tricia's other universes of Juxtapose City, Sin City, Juxtan, Wrathworld and Guardian. They all have strong characters who work well together and the outcome of these stories is always reasonable in one way or another.
In Territory of Angels A:R Heaven #1, we have two unlikely heroes who have an unlikely alliance, Ryan and Finnian. An angel and a shoe salesman isn't the first idea I would have if I were writing this novel, but somehow Tricia seems to pull it off right from the get go. As readers of her work know, her characters are complex and there are a lot of details to take in when you are reading; something many people might not want to do if they are used to slower paced novels, obviously with less detail.
There is the usual bout of guilt and the fact that Finn isn't supposed to bed humans in an unbecoming of an angel kind of way, but Ryan is the one who likes to be his friend and be around him, however when Finn's lover, Anifiel notices, he might be just as well leaving the human well alone. Then again, I can't blame Finn for wanting to be with him, after all he's different to angels and that interests him enough to want to have an affair.
The complex storyline aside as well as interesting and complex characters, this reminds me of the time I visited the Juxtapose Fantasy website (which has since been updated) with all its genre specific intrigue and subtle yaoi overtones. Territory of Angels A:R Heaven #1 is a refreshing look at angel fiction from a M/M point of view where love can be a minefield if you aren't an angel, but considering having a relationship with one. It's not the best thing to do when Ryan has Anifiel around degrading him.
Summary: Territory of Angels A:R Heaven #1 is a great start to what looks to be a rather deliciously erotic series.
Summary: Territory of Angels A:R Heaven #1 is a great start to what looks to be a rather deliciously erotic series.
