No safe word can protect the heart
Infamous erotica author and accomplished dominatrix Nora Sutherlin is doing something utterly out of character: hiding. While her longtime lover, Søren—whose fetishes, if exposed, would be his ruin—is under scrutiny pending a major promotion, Nora's lying low and away from temptation in the lap of luxury.

Her host, the wealthy and uninhibited Griffin Fiske, is thrilled to have Nora stay at his country estate, especially once he meets her traveling companion. Young, inexperienced and angelically beautiful, Michael has become Nora's protégé, and this summer with Griffin is going to be his training, where the hazing never ends.

But while her flesh is willing, Nora's mind is wandering. To thoughts of Søren, her master, under investigation by a journalist with an ax to grind. And to another man from Nora's past, whose hold on her is less bruising, but whose secrets are no less painful. It's a summer that will prove the old adage: love hurts.

The Angel continues to show the strange world in which Nora evolves, surrounded by both friends and enemies.

My The Angel review:

One of the things I really loved in The Angel is that while Søren and Nora can still be seen as the main characters of the story, along with Kingsley, I also got to spend a lot of time with Michael and Griffin in this instalment. Michael was Nora’s angel in The Siren, and seeing him gain confidence and find love was nothing short of amazing.

Once more, I was amazed at Ms. Reisz’s beautiful prose, because even when I was reading stuff that made me uncomfortable, I was frantically reading, pushing the ‘next page’ button on my kindle. These complex characters, and their dark story captivated me completely and fully. The Angel has a somewhat triangular mystery, as a journalist is looking into Father Stearn’s life now that he found himself on the shortlist for bishop. To make sure Nora will stay out of trouble, Søren sends her out of the city, and right to Griffin who has been one of her favorites at The Eighth Circle.

The intricate story moved forward flawlessly, with some flashbacks into Nora’s and Søren’s lives that made my heart beat faster and my mind go crazy with the possibilities. The Angel proved to me that while I am decidedly vanilla myself, I love reading about characters that are hardcore and know what they want, how to get it, and the way to get about things to persuade other people to give them a try!

Written in third person past tense, the readers get the perspective of several different characters, but it’s easy to follow who is who. The prose is beautiful, and I am completely hooked on The Original Sinners.

Some of my favorite The Angel quotes:

And everybody at church worshipped Father S. But Nora and Father S had fallen in love when she was only fifteen. If their past, and even worse, their present, came out… Michael  didn’t even want to think how bad it would get. 

But Nora snuck her hand out again and pinched Michael hard enough on the thigh he knew he’d have a bruise tomorrow. Michael smiled. God, he loved Sundays.

A good morning so far – she had been fucked by her favorite man, hugged by her favorite boy and silently adored by her favorite angel.

I also have a fun little tidbit to share; while I was on my way to RT last week, I was waiting for my plane to Dallas at Heathrow while reading The Angel. And at the most opportune moment ever, three people with International Council of Churches badges came to sit down next to me.

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

• 2015 Reading Assignment Challenge
• 2015 TBR Pile Reading Challenge
• Bookish Resolutions Challenge 2015

About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.

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