The Secrets of Heaven The Heaven Trilogy Book #2
LGBTQ Fantasy, Romantic Fantasy, Gay Romance
JMS Books
Dec 30, 2023
Kindle
365
Amazon
Sequel to The Enemy of Heaven
Raphael and Dante, the enemies of Heaven who committed regicide and ascended a new queen on the throne, have enjoyed five idyllic years hiding in the mountains. But, their sanctuary shatters when Archangel Remiel, one of the best investigators in the world, closes in on them, forcing the couple into a life on the run.
Meanwhile, Raphael stumbles upon a clue regarding his late mother's enigmatic discovery -- the ancient artifact that cost her life at the hands of her tyrannical husband. The clue leads him to the Holy Land.
Determined to honor his mother's legacy, Raphael and Dante embark on a quest across three continents while avoiding Remiel's pursuit and contending with old and new acquaintances, all eager to exploit their predicament for personal gain. Turns out, enemies of Heaven are very valuable. But ffighting the world is nothing their powerful teamwork cannot overcome.
But what will they find when they reach the Holy Land? Why does unveiling the secrets of the distant past threaten to unleash a cataclysmic force the world hasn't seen since the Great War? And what does Raphael's brother, Michael Azelys, have to do with everything?
Review By D.B. Wilson
Member of the Paranormal Romance Guild Review Team
What I liked:
As with book one, I enjoyed the different approach to the angel and demon trope. Stankova has a gift with storytelling and weaves a web of events that keep you engaged as you read the novel.
This book spent a lot of time explaining things that were a bit confusing in book one. I can’t really criticize this, because the author, for the most part, did a good job keeping the reader intrigued as they explained the backstory, at least until the end. More on that in the critique.
The love affair between the two main characters continued to grow in this book. I’d argue that their relationship was sweeter, and more endearing than book one. Between book one and book two, five years has elapsed. As a result, this story focused much heavily on their bond and relationship.
Note: Unlike book one, this book ends on a cliffhanger, and doesn’t play into the romance genre’s need for a happily ever after or even a happy for now. Therefore, it can’t be classified as a romance, but I do believe romantic fantasy is an appropriate description.
Critique
As with book one, this story took time to get into. I was just under one third of the way through the story before I found my footing. Then of course, I couldn’t put the book down.
There were also a few scenes that probably could’ve been left out. Finally, the end felt rushed. It was almost like the author figured out they hadn’t included a bunch of important information, so there was a lot of backstory dumps that happened in the last few chapters. Frankly, I skimmed most of those since they felt unnecessary, or at least not as important to the story as the current events happening around them.
If the author had deleted earlier, unnecessary scenes in the early chapters, and pasted those backstories into earlier chapters, their inclusion might have felt less rushed and obtrusive as the story was winding its way to the end.
Overall, I recommend this story, as well as the first one to readers. Even with my criticism, I could only drop the overall star rating down half a point. It was a very entertaining read.