2014 Book 08: Sins of the Lost
Book 08: Sins of the Lost (The Grigori Legacy, book three) by Linda Poitevin, isbn: 9781101635261, Penguin, 300 pages, $5.99
The Premise (from the Goodreads page):Heaven and Hell are on the brink of war as Lucifer builds his Nephilim army and waits for his new agenda to become a reality - that of having a Nephilim child of his own bloodline to lead his forces to cataclysmic victory. With rumors of the pending war rampant on Earth, Alex fights to save humanity from its own panic - leaving little time for her fledgling relationship with Seth, the man with heavenly origins who has captured her heart. But when Nephilim children begin to disappear, along with Alex’s own vulnerable niece, the inevitable war between Heaven and Hell becomes as personal as sin. Heaven has its own plans to fight the coming apocalypse, but first it needs Seth back. Asked to betray the man she loves, Alex must turn for help to the soulmate she thought she’d given up - the Archangel Aramael, who may be her last chance to save her family and humanity from the ashes of Lucifer’s Armageddon.
My Rating: 4 stars out of five
My Thoughts: This has nothing to do with the rating I've given the book, but allow me to whine for just a moment: this is the first book in Poitevin's wonderful series not to be released in print, and that makes me sad. Not that ebook formats are any less real than print, just that I have the first two in print and would love to see the whole series in paperback. Also, I can't say I'm a huge fan of the new cover art as compared to the covers that put Alex front and center. Just my two cents.
Now, as for the story itself: in a series that's been fast-paced from the start, you would think it would be hard to get the action to move any faster ... and yet Poitevin does exactly that. The relationship drama that was a major part of the first two books is still here, but rather than providing a breather from the action the relationship scenes pile more tension and plot-forwarding moments onto the action. The series has reached a critical point with this book, and Poitevin does not allow the requisite Aramael-Alex-Seth drama to bog the story down; every encounter between Alex and either of the Heavenly men in her life advances the plot in some way.
The characterizations of the core three characters all remain strong and equal. Alex is still struggling with her knowledge of the workings of Heaven and Hell, the consequences of being raped by Lucifer and aborting the pregnancy rather violently in book two, and this latter character point drives most of her decisions. Seth struggles with his new-found humanity, putting a strain on his relationship with Alex, the woman he gave up Heaven for, in ways that only feed off of Alex's own insecurities. Poitevin provides a really solid look at the stresses of a relationship that happened too fast for all involved, a relationship in which each partner has secrets they cannot share with the other until it's too late. Aramael struggles with his new position as an Archangel who has supposedly given up his soulmate connection to Alex ... except that it proved impossible to sever. All three are called upon to make impossible decisions regarding the fate of humanity and none of them handle the stress well -- which I found very realistic.
The supporting cast characterizations are largely strong as well: we get better looks at the archangels Michael and Raphael, fallen archangel Samael, Heaven's administrator Verchiel, we learn what happened to Mittron after he was cast out, and we get major insight into the relationship between The One and Lucifer: how it came to be, how it went sour, and where it stands now. All of these dynamics are played out against each other and against the big love triangle and it's all well-paced and balanced throughout. Unfortunately, this means that most of the human supporting characters (Alex's sister and niece, boss, psychologist and her fellow officer from Vancouver) get short-shrift with very little character advancement. They come across more as chess pieces (sister and niece) or Greek choruses (everyone else) rather than the real characters we know they are from previous books.
Throughout the book more hints are dropped that Alex is more than she seems. For the most part, these hints are subtle, woven into the fabric of what's going on around her and very easily misconstrued as being the result of the being around her ... but there's one slap-the-reader-in-the-face moment that raises questions not answered in this book but which I hope will be a major part of the next one. Because there will be a next one: the book ends on too many cliffhangers for Poitevin to just say "this is it, we're done."
The Premise (from the Goodreads page):Heaven and Hell are on the brink of war as Lucifer builds his Nephilim army and waits for his new agenda to become a reality - that of having a Nephilim child of his own bloodline to lead his forces to cataclysmic victory. With rumors of the pending war rampant on Earth, Alex fights to save humanity from its own panic - leaving little time for her fledgling relationship with Seth, the man with heavenly origins who has captured her heart. But when Nephilim children begin to disappear, along with Alex’s own vulnerable niece, the inevitable war between Heaven and Hell becomes as personal as sin. Heaven has its own plans to fight the coming apocalypse, but first it needs Seth back. Asked to betray the man she loves, Alex must turn for help to the soulmate she thought she’d given up - the Archangel Aramael, who may be her last chance to save her family and humanity from the ashes of Lucifer’s Armageddon.
My Rating: 4 stars out of five
My Thoughts: This has nothing to do with the rating I've given the book, but allow me to whine for just a moment: this is the first book in Poitevin's wonderful series not to be released in print, and that makes me sad. Not that ebook formats are any less real than print, just that I have the first two in print and would love to see the whole series in paperback. Also, I can't say I'm a huge fan of the new cover art as compared to the covers that put Alex front and center. Just my two cents.
Now, as for the story itself: in a series that's been fast-paced from the start, you would think it would be hard to get the action to move any faster ... and yet Poitevin does exactly that. The relationship drama that was a major part of the first two books is still here, but rather than providing a breather from the action the relationship scenes pile more tension and plot-forwarding moments onto the action. The series has reached a critical point with this book, and Poitevin does not allow the requisite Aramael-Alex-Seth drama to bog the story down; every encounter between Alex and either of the Heavenly men in her life advances the plot in some way.
The characterizations of the core three characters all remain strong and equal. Alex is still struggling with her knowledge of the workings of Heaven and Hell, the consequences of being raped by Lucifer and aborting the pregnancy rather violently in book two, and this latter character point drives most of her decisions. Seth struggles with his new-found humanity, putting a strain on his relationship with Alex, the woman he gave up Heaven for, in ways that only feed off of Alex's own insecurities. Poitevin provides a really solid look at the stresses of a relationship that happened too fast for all involved, a relationship in which each partner has secrets they cannot share with the other until it's too late. Aramael struggles with his new position as an Archangel who has supposedly given up his soulmate connection to Alex ... except that it proved impossible to sever. All three are called upon to make impossible decisions regarding the fate of humanity and none of them handle the stress well -- which I found very realistic.
The supporting cast characterizations are largely strong as well: we get better looks at the archangels Michael and Raphael, fallen archangel Samael, Heaven's administrator Verchiel, we learn what happened to Mittron after he was cast out, and we get major insight into the relationship between The One and Lucifer: how it came to be, how it went sour, and where it stands now. All of these dynamics are played out against each other and against the big love triangle and it's all well-paced and balanced throughout. Unfortunately, this means that most of the human supporting characters (Alex's sister and niece, boss, psychologist and her fellow officer from Vancouver) get short-shrift with very little character advancement. They come across more as chess pieces (sister and niece) or Greek choruses (everyone else) rather than the real characters we know they are from previous books.
Throughout the book more hints are dropped that Alex is more than she seems. For the most part, these hints are subtle, woven into the fabric of what's going on around her and very easily misconstrued as being the result of the being around her ... but there's one slap-the-reader-in-the-face moment that raises questions not answered in this book but which I hope will be a major part of the next one. Because there will be a next one: the book ends on too many cliffhangers for Poitevin to just say "this is it, we're done."