Devil's Kiss By Sarwat Chadda (4/5)

The first few pages took me a while to get into, but once I did I just flew through pretty much the entire book in a couple of days. The plot hits a point and the pace increases so much it's almost impossible to put the book down comfortably. I really enjoyed reading about Billi, and I loved her strength, both emotionally and physically. I found her a really interesting character to follow. She is grumpy, wants more from life and can fight with weapons. That to me is an interesting heroine.

Billi's relationship with her dad is a very unique one and makes for some great reading. There is an interesting line between loyalty and obligation, and how familial affection can get lost in that balance. The relationship for Billi that offers support in this story is with Kay. The way she felt that he had abandoned her without a second thought was great reading for an “Angst Fan” like myself. It conveys the emotion involved in missing someone terribly and still being upset with them that they had to leave in the first place. Their roller-coaster friendship will keep you rolling until the very end. Plus the fact that he couldn't always help himself from reading her thoughts kept the scenes very fresh!

My favourite part of the story was the mythology. I am a geek, I should hope after this many reviews and fangirling recaps that much should be obvious. : ) I just ate it up, I wanted more of it. When it comes to the perspective of Satan being a fallen angel, I cannot get enough. I loved the various categories of 'Angels' in this novel. The good the bad and the very bad. I think Angels have been given a good reputation for far too long, people choose to forget that Satan himself is a fallen angel. They hear the term “God's Warriors” and still don't see the terrifying result of an angels wrath. This was the best mythology of Angels that I have come across in a while and I enjoyed it a lot.

I also enjoyed the fact that all of this happened on the dark streets of London. The fact that the mystery and history was focused around an area that so many people presume to know was very well done. I like dark, gritty writing set in an environment that I can imagine and that is exactly what this book provided.

The only negative to the book I can think of is that it seemed to lack a certain depth in some areas, it didn't actually have that many characters outside of the main circle, and those who were in the circle weren't flushed out very much. This is easily overlooked however when the characters who were discussed were described brilliantly and their relationships were written with enough complications to feel realistic and tangible.

I don't want to spoil the ending in case people come across this who haven't read the book but, Oh my goodness! Sarwat clearly has no mercy, my heart! It hurts! I cried and I read and I cried some more. The writing was so good that I was sobbing my little heart out. I know that I'm relating to a character when I can feel their pain as if it is my own. Good job. I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel. I just hope it's more gentle on my heartstrings than this one was, I doubt it somehow. : )

Read about my brief meeting with Sarwat Chadda HERE

Currently Reading: The Thief By Megan Whalen Turner