Diana (Offbeat Vagabond)'s Reviews > A Touch of Crimson

Review posted here: http://offbeatvagabond.blogspot.com/2011/09/arc-book-review-touch-of-crimson.html


Adrian Mitchell is a sexy and deadly angel, a Sentinel, who has the job of punishing angels. Angels that fraternize with humans must have their wings and power taken away from them and in turn, they become vampires. So angels and vampires are in a war. Lycans are with the angels, but they want to be on their own and not the angels’ servants. Consequently, Adrian himself has fallen prey to human love when the woman he loves has been reincarnated again. Yes, reincarnated. Her father wanted her to be a vampire so she wouldn’t be with Adrian and she died before the process took place. Now she is in the body of a woman named Lindsay who has a few tricks up her sleeve the angels and lycans didn’t see coming. Now Adrian has to fight with his feelings for her and the spirit of his long lost love.

This is my first experience with a Sylvia Day book. I initially wanted this because the cover is so incredible. Can’t help it, I am a sucker for wings. But Day has found herself a new fan here. I loved this. I did expect it to be a mixture of Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy, but it is more PNR. That isn’t a bad thing; it did take away from some of the tension I expected to come in the book. Nonetheless, I am very excited about this book and I am even more excited for book 2.

This book was well written and the pace was great. I love where the story goes. I love the idea of angels fighting to stay angels while still resisting temptation. That couldn’t be truer for Mitchell. He was the top dog, but he got weaker and weaker everytime he finds his lost love, Shadoe. I like that Day wrote it in a way that he loves Shadoe, but he starts falling for the vessel, Lindsay, her spirit is in. This lead to a very interesting storyline, not necessarily a love triangle, but will he fight for Lindsay or for Shadoe?

All the characters were great. Adrian and Lindsay were great together. I love that Lindsay was never intimidated by being surrounded by angels and lycans. She was able to hold her own. Definitely not a damsel in distress. I also liked that she actually tried not to damn Adrian by sleeping with him. But when they did, boy was it hot. I did want to slap Adrian though for being a hypocrite. He has to punish angels who sleep with humans, yet he continues to search and be with the woman he loves. There was actually a scene where a fellow angel asked for his help to be with the man she loves and well, it didn’t end well. I wanted to punch him. This was one of my little issues with this book.

My favorite character though was Elijah. I loved Adrian, he was a great lead character, but I must be honest, I actually found Elijah more interesting. I am not the only one to say so either. He is the alpha for the lycans, they all look up to him and want him to lead them away from the angels. He has the potential to be a threat to the angels, but he is so loyal to Adrian. I can't help it, I navigate to the alphas. I also loved the friendship between him and Lindsay. Elijah comes off cold and serious, but Lindsay brings a smile to his face. I honestly would have like this book just as much if Elijah was our lead character. I know he will get a story and I can’t wait for it.

Now back to some issues. Besides me wanting to punch Adrian. Another issue I had was that we weren't given a clear picture of what happened between Shadoe and Lindsay. I won’t spoil it, but it just happened and that was the end. I liked how it ended, just not sure of what was in the middle. Something else I was on the fence about was the villains. I liked them, I mean to the point that I was sort of rooting for them because they weren’t all that bad. They actually have a real reason to be pissed at the angels. But in a way I like that Day wrote it this way because she gave us a little surprise. Something much bigger is happening; we just don’t know what yet.

Overall, this is worth checking out. It was a great read and it was very steamy. Like I said, I am so looking forward to A Hunger So Wild (Elijah’s story, WOOHOO!). So there may be a few kinks and crannies, but they don’t take away from the story as a whole. You will have fun with this one.