As Above, So Below: Book 1
by
When the succubus Lorelei sees Azaziel across Lost Angels, she knows he’s been kicked out of Heaven, but is not yet Fallen. She resolves to do whatever it takes to bring the angel down.
Unfortunately, Lorelei doesn’t realize that Azaziel has an agenda of his own. Taking her back to a burned-out church, he forces a mortal girl’s soul into the devil girl’s flesh. Then the succubus needs to find an exorcist who can cast the ghost out of her.
With all the supernatural warriors of Los Angeles looking on, neither the angel nor the succubus can imagine how love will derail their plans…
Genres:
Tropes: Demonic Possession, Possession, Reluctant Hero, Sex Magic
Word Count: 90000
Setting: Los Angeles
Languages Available: English
Series Type: Continuous / Same Characters
Tropes: Demonic Possession, Possession, Reluctant Hero, Sex Magic
Word Count: 90000
Setting: Los Angeles
Languages Available: English
Series Type: Continuous / Same Characters
Aza tugged a handful of keys from his coat pocket and unlocked a rolling metal door. Lorelei was curious to see an angel’s lair. Perhaps he’d insisted she take mortal form for her own protection, to allow her to enter: possible, though doubtful. He’d accepted her company, but took no responsibility for her. Yet.
She followed him into the warehouse. When he rolled the door closed behind them, darkness crowded the building. She took a step simply to hear her heel ring against the cement. Long, narrow, the echoes said.
The angel grasped her elbow. She leaned against him for safety’s sake. He didn’t push her away. The building seemed to hold its breath.
Several paces in, he unlocked another door and eased her across the threshold.
With a rush of wind, a legion of candles burst into light. They clustered in knots on every flat surface. Creamy golden beeswax had pooled around their bases.
READ MOREOn the eastern wall, he’d built a shrine. Shards of mirror formed a starburst. A small casket hid his ritual implements from her gaze. Traces of myrrh lingered in the air.
In the corner lay a single futon on a frame made of loading pallets. The bed had neither sheets nor pillow, but a couple of blankets spilled over its foot. She wondered why he wasn’t living in one of the better hotels downtown. The Biltmore was reputed to have several angels in residence, since its façade was inscribed with their names and images. What was Aza’s story that he didn’t rate a room there?
“Make yourself at home.”
As the angel shrugged off his coat, Lorelei stole a glance, but saw no wings. Pity. It would have made a nice bit of show. She stepped out of her shoes and perched on the edge of the futon to rub her feet.
Aza hung his coat on a simple wire hanger behind the door. Beneath the coat, he wore a clean white button-down shirt, worn chinos, and boots that needed a shine. Did he always dress like Nondescript Man, or had he spiffed up to go out tonight?
Ignoring her, the angel knelt before his shrine, resting his hands on the casket.
Lorelei stretched out on the futon, feeling chilled, and pulled the blanket over her.
The angel got himself right with his Maker and came to lie beside her, also fully clothed. He didn’t share the blanket.
“I’m cold,” she said.
“Hold your hands out,” he answered.
She pushed them out from under the covers, expecting him to rub them warm. Instead, he caught her wrists. In an unexpectedly swift movement, the angel swung his weight over her, pinning her beneath him, entangled in her shroud. As she struggled to claw at him, he snapped a metal cuff around one wrist. He dragged her toward the head of the futon, wound the handcuffs around a bare pipe there, and cuffed her other arm.
As she tested the strength of the handcuffs, the pipe, and her flesh, he draped the blanket over her. He stretched his legs out along hers, then laid his arm across her midriff.
“Sleep,” he commanded.
Cursing him, she did.
COLLAPSEDavid on https://horroraddicts.wordpress.com/ wrote:"There is a truth which neither heaven nor hell can ignore: souls that are meant to be joined will be, regardless of the cost. Any angel can be tempted, any devil as well. But when that temptation offers something beyond understanding, anything is possible...if they are able to believe in each other."
As Above, So Below is a complex novel that could be called paranormal romance but it also works as horror and erotica even though the sex scenes aren’t over the top like some erotica books I’ve read. The best part of the book was the characters. Since Lorelei is a succubus that has works for Hell, you expect her to be an evil character. In reality she is a sympathetic character that I liked quite a bit. I felt that she was much more compassionate than Azaziel. I would have thought that Azaziel would be the ultimate good but you quickly find that he is more of a shade of grey. None of these characters acts like you think they would act and the lines between good and evil are blurred.
Another thing I liked about the book was the amount of research that had to go into it. This book gets deep into theology and as I read, I found myself thinking this is probably how angels and demons would really act. The idea of a human possessing a succubus was an original concept and I enjoyed how there were different situations where each one had to take over the body.
It may sound strange but As Above, So Below reminded me a little of Romeo And Juliet because it’s a forbidden romance and they represent two groups of people who are at war. There were some memorable scenes in this book, in particular at the end where a battle between good and evil takes place in Los Angeles which also seemed like a character in the book. One of my favorite lines in the book was when Lorelei’s demonic master Asmodeus states that “Demons deal in truth, life is painful.” I found myself liking the demons more than the angels in this book. If you enjoy theology and the idea of angels and demons at war among us, you need to check this book out. You won’t be disappointed.
