As Above, So Below: Book 2
by
Size: 9.00 x 6.00 in
Pages: 244
Size: 0.00 x 0.00 in
Pages: 278
If Romeo had wings and Juliet a barbed tail, could they find happiness in the City of Angels?
After their escape from the ashes of Lost Angels, the succubus Lorelei and the angel Azaziel want nothing more than to enjoy each other’s company. Unfortunately, Asmodeus, the Demon Prince of LA, has threatened to devour Lorelei’s new-grown soul if she doesn’t bring about Azaziel’s downfall. Meanwhile, Aza is keeping secrets of his own that threaten the tenuous peace between Heaven and Hell.
Three archangels come to town to try to set things right, but friendships are fracturing. The demon in charge of fallen angels is sniffing around. And Los Angeles is about to catch fire between a devil and the deep blue sea.
Genres:
Tropes: Burial Ground/Cemetary, Dark Lord, Enemy to Ally, Fallen Hero, Immortality, Sex Magic
Word Count: 90000
Setting: Los Angeles
Languages Available: English
Series Type: Continuous / Same Characters
Tropes: Burial Ground/Cemetary, Dark Lord, Enemy to Ally, Fallen Hero, Immortality, Sex Magic
Word Count: 90000
Setting: Los Angeles
Languages Available: English
Series Type: Continuous / Same Characters
Morning dawned brown in Los Angeles, just the way Lorelei liked it. The air smelled of car exhaust and dust, with a hint of charred human flesh. The succubus breathed deeply, savoring.
Although she felt a flicker of loss for the human soul who had possessed her for the past week, she had to admit that it felt really good to be alone in her infernal flesh once more. She stretched, letting the borrowed suit jacket fall open to reveal that she wore nothing beneath it but thigh-high stockings and a towering pair of black Ferragamo pumps.
Lorelei sensed a current of desire eddying on the breeze. She looked down from her position on the bodega’s roof to find her angel gazing up at her.
“What do you see?” Azaziel asked.
“I think the nightclub has stopped burning.” She hopped lightly down from her perch, assuming her mortal guise as she did so. The angel’s regard warmed her as he caught her and set her feet on the sidewalk.
READ MOREAfter he sank back down to the bodega’s stoop, Aza asked, “Where did you get the jacket?”
“It’s your sister’s.” Lorelei posed for him. “Like it?”
“I’m not sure it suits you.” In mortal seeming, Azaziel looked ashen in the morning light. Angelic blood smeared his white button-down shirt. Dried ichor flaked off his blue jeans. Lorelei snuggled against him on the stoop. She petted his blond hair back into place, but there was little she could do here on the street to ease the exhaustion in his gray-green eyes.
“Look,” she purred, “we could both use some shut-eye. If you’ve changed your mind about taking me back to your church, fine. I know a place where we could crash.”
“We’re not going back to your sister’s den,” Aza countered wearily. “I met her last night, before the exorcism. She didn’t like me much.”
“Don’t take it personally, Lover. Floria doesn’t like anyone very much.” Lorelei stood once more, twisting around to make sure the seams on her stockings were straight. She grinned at the angel. “Don’t you worry, though. I’m in no hurry to catch up with Floria again, after the last couple of days. Aspersions were cast… She and I are going to need some distance, if we’re going to repair our friendship.”
“I’m sure that’s true of my family as well.”
“I don’t doubt it.” The succubus held her hands down to him. “Come on, Lover. The longer you sit, the harder it will be to get moving again.”
Azaziel rubbed his thumb over her long thin fingers to sneak in a caress as she pulled him to his feet. His tone was less affectionate. “We are not putting one of your projects out of his bed, either.”
She smiled, letting the dawn sparkle in her lavender eyes. “Nice idea, Aza. Jealousy always works in my favor. But I’m not in a mood to invite complications. Work can wait.”
“I thought you were always on the clock when you were with me.”
“I don’t see anyone checking my timecard just now,” she teased. “C’mon, Lover. All I want is a bath and clean sheets and a little more of your company. We can debate philosophy later, if we’re still awake.”
He engulfed her in a hug. “Simply holding you makes me feel better.”
She laughed. “How you talk, Angel. Let’s get a room.”
COLLAPSERhoads and Thomas craft a plausible romance for the angel and succubus without betraying their inherent natures; readers won’t forget that Lorelei is an inherently infernal creature with undeniable carnal needs who serves truly evil masters. Vivid prose (“she felt the portal’s heat crawl over her skin like a thousand cockroaches”) keeps the reader immersed. The authors keep the personal stakes balanced against the larger conflict at hand, which builds slowly to a violent resolution that sets things up nicely for further installments.
Takeaway: This crossover between urban fantasy and paranormal romance will satisfy fans of star-crossed lovers, epic conflict, and dark, complex stories.
Great for fans of Richelle Mead’s Succubus Blues, Isadora Brown’s Awaken, Jillian Cooper’s The Devil’s Daughter.
