Review: The Enemy of Heaven – Reni Stankova

Genre: Fantasy, High Fantasy, Political Intrigue

LGBTQ+ Category: Bisexual, Gay

Reviewer: D.B., Paranormal Romance Guild

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About The Book

Raphael is a despondent angel prince who spends his time on drugs and entertainment, trying to forget the unfair inequality of his kingdom he can do nothing about. But this changes one night when he witnesses the inhuman abilities of a young demon from the capital’s ghetto. In an instant, he knows how to change his kingdom.

Dante never trusted angels, much less royals, but after Prince Raphael saves him from an execution for a crime he didn’t commit, he follows him. And while the royal court is scandalized by the presence of a demon in the royal palace, he and his new employer work together to reveal the worst secrets of the angel elite.

But even for a powerful man like Raphael, this is a dangerous game. Dante has to protect his life as he single-handedly makes the kingdom a better place for the demon minority. And hopefully, the feelings that bloom between them don’t make their mission even harder.

The Review

There were a lot of things I liked about this story. First, the author had a new perspective on the angel/demon trope. This took a moment to get used, to but when I did, I was fairly well hooked.

The author encourages the reader to examine each side of many issues, which all revolve around injustice both for the majority leadership (angels) and the downtrodden minority (demons.) This is in no way a fast read.

I also liked that the author left elements of the story for the reader to figure out as they read – this added intrigue to the reading experience.

This is in no way a typical MM romance. It’s rather dark in places, and the themes are difficult and thought provoking. I felt more like LGBTQ fiction with a romantic element, although there is a Happily Ever after.

It took a while for me to get invested in the storyline. I’m not sure if there needed to be less description in the introduction, or maybe more explanation about the relationship. But although it started a bit slowly, it has an excellent finish, and is worth staying with it until the end.

There were also a few loose ends that I wished had been tied up before the story concluded. I won’t say what those were as I don’t want to give away any of the storyline, but I was left scratching my head over a couple issues.

Overall, I was impressed with this book. If you like darker fantasy books with a romantic twist, I certainly recommend it!

Four stars.

The Reviewer

I am D.B. Wilson and I am an avid reader. I was born in Tennessee and lived there until I went to college in Iowa. I spent most of my life in Kansas City and have been a teacher, real estate agent, bookseller, and even a full-time foster parent. My husband and I became full-time RVers in 2017 and now travel with our two dogs Denver and Buddy as he works all over USA as a travel nurse.

The Paranormal Romance Guild was established in 2009 by 8 Indie Authors and one Reviewer to be a constant help for authors. You can be a free author member, submitting your work for review OR become a Premium Author Member for a small yearly fee and enjoy many extra services including Free Beta Reads, Author Giveaways and many others. Your reviews are posted on our 3 FB Sites, Amazon, Goodreads, Twitter and Instagram. WE REVIEW ALL GENRES LGBTQ+ welcome.

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