There is so much to love about this book. The Book of Azrael is wonderfully unique. The characters are dark and deeply flawed. Diana and Liam are both on opposite sides and this is a brilliant enemies to lovers storyline. You honestly can't believe the two protagonists could ever have feelings for each other at the start.
The background to the plot and the worldbuilding has been carefully designed, I was a bit confused sometimes, but there was so much history it really helped bring the story to life.
Dianna is a brilliant character. She's a definite anti-hero and I love seeing the villain from their perspective. She's a creature of death and destruction but incredibly likable and strong because of everything she has been through and her loyalty and love for her sister.
The plot is fast paced and keeps you on your toes. I loved the twists and turns a long the way.
I feel that anyone who enjoyed From Blood and Ash would really enjoy this novel.
Thank you so much to Netgalley and Amber Nicole for providing me with an arc. This is a pure must for those who love Fantasy Romance.

In this book, we follow Dianna, who was once a mortal, but now works for Kaden, a monster who helped her save her sister. She is a weapon and has to do everything Kaden asks. Then we meet Samkiel, also known as the World Ender, or Liam. He lives alone on the remains of his former world, which was destroyed after the Gods War. He isolated himself from everyone in the aftermath and didn’t want to be involved in politics or governing. But something happens, and he has to come back. The threats he thought were in the past are still here, and the new world is again in danger. Dianna should be the enemy, but they must work together to save the world.

What is most surprising about this book is its rich and complex world-building. We have Gods, Monsters, celestials, vampires, witches, and many more magical/mythical creatures. Everyone has different powers and a different place in the world. It isn’t very info-dumpy, too. As the plot progresses, we become aware of their existence and the rules that govern their universe. Initially, I felt a little confused, but it quickly clarified. The setting here is not our world; the characteristics are similar to our modern world.

The characters are mostly interesting. Dianna is fierce, hot-headed, stubborn, loyal, funny, and kind to those she loves. Liam is lost and disengaged, suffering from PTSD. But he has to find his way back to being a leader. They work very well together, and I really enjoyed the dialogues and the banter. However, I found that they kept making foolish decisions. We get told repeatedly that Liam is mighty and Dianna is brilliant, but I struggled to see it on the page. Maybe in the sequel.

What bothered me about this book is that it is not very well edited. The beginning was very slow, and I almost DNF’ed it because nothing was really happening, and it was going nowhere. I felt that there were a lot of scenes throughout the book so that we could spend more time with the characters but weren’t advancing the plot in any way. It is also a little too descriptive for my taste, especially in the beginning.

This is an excellent book for those who love a slow-burn fantasy romance without too much spice, enjoy a rich world-building, and don’t mind scenes that aren’t there for the plot but to get to know the characters.

The plot was interesting and I thought it was executed fairly well, I didn't mind the characters but I wasn't particularly fond of anyone.

This review is going to be a bit shorter than normal and I'm not going to give this book a rating because I just had problems finishing it. Sometimes the formatting would be so off that it hurt my eyes to try and read the book, which I get, it's an ARC so the book is going to have some errors but there were just too many for me to be able to read the book comfortably. I think once the errors are fixed I'd be able to pick it up again and give a more thorough opinion.

I received The Book of Azrael from NetGalley and Rose and Star Publishing, LLC, in exchange for my honest review.

This book was GOOD. And so much better than I was expecting. If you love fantasy romance, true enemies to lovers, a well-thought out plot that is not in any way overshadowed by the romance, a badass female lead, an endearing sister-sister relationship, non-stop action, then I hope you love this story too.

Dianna and Liam’s relationship started as true enemies and was so authentic and sweet as they became friends and eventually something more. It was SO well done and thoughtful. There is a little spice 🌶 but I’m hoping we will see more in the next book 😉

I was a bit hesitant going in and my one complaint is that it felt a little long, like it could have been trimmed down 100-200 pages. I wasn’t sure where it was l going the first 30% BUT once it picked up, I couldn’t put it down.

And that ENDING 😱. I was assuming there would be some kind of cliffhanger but I was not expecting that! I will 100% be picking up the next book in this series. The Book of Azrael is out now!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing this ARC! I really, really wanted to like this book because I've seen so many good reviews for it, but I was honestly really disappointed. The premise of the story is really interesting and there was a lot of attention on world-building which I liked. However, the pace of the story was just so slow that I almost DNF'd. The romance felt really forced and not at all enemies-to-lovers. It feels like Dianna was just made to be a monster to fit the enemies-to-lovers trope without actually having the her and Liam work through those differences. I honestly think that this story would have so much potential if it wasn't focused on the romance between the characters. I know it's supposed to be a romantic fantasy but the world-building and the plot without the romance feels more than interesting enough to keep readers engaged.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.
I've heard everyone raving about this book on Booktok and I was super excited to read it and you know what? Booktok lied to me again.

The Book of Azrael is book one in the Gods and Monsters series. It is a multiple POV story told through the eyes of Dianna (the monster) and Liam (the God).
This was a very engaging debut novel.

This book starts with action, which is great. You feel drawn to the main character and immediately put into the mission that she is on. I love that aspect because it can be hard to draw someone into a new world with a slow, descriptive world-building beginning. That being said, however, I did feel like the overall history of the world was hard to follow at first. It was clear enough that there was a battle and that there are enemies, but it took me a while to understand exactly who was fighting and who were enemies, and the 'levels' of sentient being in this world.

Overall, the plot was very solid. I was never bored reading what happened, but I did think that the romance part of this book was so slow that it seemed to be a YA.. However, with language and violence, I would assume otherwise. By the time I got to the end, I was ready for more action. Although I understand this is the beginning of a series, I still felt like there was so much buildup to the eventual meeting between the two most powerful beings in this book and that never came. I think this is a solid 3.5 stars (rounding up to four) and I would certainly read the next book of the series. That being said., I am not sure if I will have to run to the bookstore the second that the book comes out.

This was way too long. It was fine. Spice was fine. Overall did enjoy it. I was just over it by the time the book was done.

Will read something else by this author but don’t necessarily would recommend this book to everyone

I wanted to enjoy this book after seeing all of the hype around it. However, I had a very difficult time getting through it and it took me a long period of time to finish. It was okay as far as first books go and I am sure after time and experience, the author will only get better. When a debut book is this long, I am always skeptical.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.
I tried to force myself through this. I really did. I wanted to see what people liked about it so much.
However, it gave My Immortal (the infamous fanfic, not the song) vibes after all the needless description of character's outfits. The writing was bad, the characters felt shallow, the worldbuilding was lackluster
I was really hoping to like this- but I just couldn't

I found the size of this book very intimidating, but I am appreciative of high fantasy and I think it has to be considered high fantasy at 800 pages long. It would be an absolute crime if this book was slow but it was enjoyable and finishing this book in two sittings is good.

A brief summary is that our protagonist has sacrificed her mortality to save her sister and is now under the servitude of Kaden, who requires the Book of Azrael.

I requested this book via NetGalley because I wanted a high fantasy novel that wasn’t Brandon Sanderson or emphasized male characters too much. Of course, I wanted a book of quality with a fresh voice and that’s what I got! This book is not derivative at all and I don’t feel it is trying to copy formulas of big franchises.

This was a comfort read in terms of tropes like a villainous female main character (Dianna) and enemies to lovers yet not unreasonable, poorly written spice at all. This book gave me a lot of things I never knew I wanted from books. I feel that in my limited experience of high fantasy, I haven’t read anything like this and I absolutely loved it.

This book is excellent from the characters to world building. I am excited to see more from these characters.

Finally, yes this book does show a bit of inexperience as a debut and the editing could be improved but it is a very promising start and I am thrilled to have read this e-ARC.

I really enjoyed this book! The characters and plot were fantastic and I couldn't put it down! I can't wait to read more from this author!

I absolutely loved this book! It sucked me in from the description because its not every day the MC is the villain but it was perfect for this book. Amber Nicole did an amazing job creating complex characters that immediately sucked you in and did an amazing job building a world unlike any other. At first it was a bit overwhelming but the more I read into the story the more I saw how connected it all was. Dianna and Liam's enemies to lovers relationship was so well written. The banter and chemistry between them was amazing. Even the side characters were well written and didn't feel like just a side character but instead they were intricately woven into the story and made it so much more. I thought Nicole did an amazing job creating a unique world unlike any other fantasy book I have read but no one warned me about the worst cliff hanger ever. I NEED the next book to come out asap!

Thank you to netgalley and Rose and Star Publishing, LLC for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to NetGalley and Rose and Star Publishing for this ARC!

This novel hits so many romance tropes and it is wonderful! It has: Forbidden Romance, Only One Bed, Slow Burn, Enemies to Lovers, and Forced Proximity, Villian as FMC!

I found all of the characters incredibly likeable and interesting. It was so fast-paced and addicting I read this entire novel in one sitting. I cannot believe this is Amber Nicole's first novel, I cannot wait to read more from her!

I did subtract one star from my review because at this time it could use one more pass by an editor there are a few typos, missing punctuation, etc.

Overall:
Plot 4/5
Spice: 1/5

The Book of Azrael is the first in a new Gods and Monsters series. Dianna gave up her humanity to save her sister and now serves Kaden as a killing machine monster. Liam is the last of the gods who has hid himself away from everyone but now that a monster has been revealed to be alive, when all though extinct, he has returned to kill them all. This book is long but it keeps you reading with all the banter, sass, and action. I also enjoyed the enemies to lovers.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This story has great world building, it’s not your normal nice and pretty fantasy novel, some of these creatures are down right scary! It is a very slow burn of enemies to lovers, Dianna would do anything to save her sister Gabby even if that means betraying the very powerful monster who has held control over her for years. When she meets Liam, the World Ender after trying to kill his fellow men, they strike a bargain and everything changes. This was a long book with lots of details but it was well done. The ending leaves you with baited breath waiting for the next one to come out, I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley and all opinions are my own.

Dianna sacrificed her life a thousand years ago to save her dying sister. Everything she’s done since then has been to keep her sister alive and to keep her master, Kaden, happy. He’s searching for an ancient book, a relic from the time of gods that will allow him to gain control over all worlds. But as Dianna continues to commit atrocities in his name to find this book, she begins to hear rumors that a god still exists and may even have reawakened to stop Kaden. As they race against time to find this book, Dianna realizes she may have to reevaluate her loyalties if she truly wishes to save her sister.

This work started off strong. I loved the concept, and I enjoyed Dianna as a protagonist for the most part. The story told from her POV was good and made me want more, which led to me enjoying the first third of the book. But Liam’s POV was awful for me – he was bland and difficult to connect to or like, and I felt that he had no real depth. Unfortunately, this made the middle portion of the work much less engaging for me. I did think that the enemies to lovers was done well and felt realistic without being too rushed or forced.

However, Dianna wasn’t really a villain, and I would have liked to see her be a dark, eviler heroine rather than a misunderstood softy. She was also so selfless, with her life only revolving around someone else’s wellbeing the whole time, that it made her feel a little more one dimensional and sometimes like more of a caricature than an actual character. Similarly, there should have been way more to the dynamic between Kaden and Dianna – he is a completely evil being with extreme and unknown power, yet he wasn’t really involved in the story in a meaningful way. There was a lot of potential for their dynamic to add real depth and conflict to the work, but I felt that it was overlooked in a way that detracted from the read for me.

The worldbuilding was fine overall. I enjoyed the inclusion of gods, monsters, and mortals, though it did take a bit of time to get situated within the world as a reader. After getting into the book a bit, the factions and politics are given context that makes sense without going through too many info dumps (though there were a few of these). I did enjoy the exploration of the different races and their interactions with each other, though this played a minimal role in the book.

On a more technical note, I’m not sure that this work was edited at all. There were many errors throughout ranging from missing words, incorrect punctuation, and extra spaces. On top of that, the dialogue was extremely stilted and formal, even between two sisters who are each other’s best friends. There were also random changes in font size as well as some words and phrases that were randomly in bold, which was very distracting. The writing overall left a lot to be desired, which made it difficult to fully immerse in the story. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why the writing wasn’t good other than that it just felt on the low end of mediocre.

This work was close to 800 pages, felt like it was 1200 pages, and should have probably only been 500 pages max. If it underwent some much-needed in-depth editing, I would be more than happy to reread it and alter my rating. Until then, I can see why others liked it, but it just wasn’t for me.

My thanks to NetGalley and Rose and Star Publishing for a review copy of this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I wasn't sure what to expect going into this one but it was Read Now and the cover pulled me in, so I went for it. I did NOT realize this was first in a series and got more and more nervous as the page count dwindled and the plot kept spooling out. The ending was absolutely explosive and I have no idea how I'll survive the wait to book two.

Paranormal romance is one of my favorite sub genres and this one added in the enemies to lovers aspect that made it hard to resist. The Book of Azrael is a super slow burn romance wise, and much of the majority of the plot is spent on world building and the lives of the characters before and after the war and the search for an ancient book that may or may not exist.

One of my favorite aspects of this story is the relationship between the main character Dianna and her sister Gabby. Dianna would and has done anything to protect her sister and the love between them is palpable. I also really enjoyed the banter between the two MCs but also between Dianna and her friends, who she clearly loves almost as dearly as her sister. All in all, this was a solid paranormal romance and first book in a series. I hope book two delves deeper into the main relationship and that all isn't what it seemed from that ending.

This book was very disappointing to me. I loved the cover and only saw good reviews so I was excited to read it. However, I really did not enjoy it and almost DNF'd. The writing was not very good, very chopping, and would have greatly benefited from an editor. The e-book format also was horrible and the font size changed within the sentences many time per page which was very frustrating. I did not understand the world building (names of places were thrown out all the time and I did not know if they were referring to cities, nations, worlds or what else). The characters and creatures/species were not well developed in my opinion. I could not follow what creatures where what and where they came from. I feel like I was expected to understand everything without the author actually explaining anything.