Review: The Angel

Posted September 20, 2012 by Karen in Book Reviews / 1 Comment

Title: The Angel
Author: Tiffany Reisz
Genre: Erotic Fiction
Grade/Rating: 5 out 5

If you’ve read The Siren or my review of it, then you are prepared to hear me ramble on once again of my love of Tiffany Reisz and her ability to make words consume me then spit me out only to have me begging to be let back in. If you have not read The Siren, please do not go any further unless you want to risk injury to your brain for which I will not be liable…consider yourself warned. The Angel starts just over a year after The Siren ended and even though a lot has happened since, have no fear, you will be fed what you crave when the time comes and not a moment sooner.

Page one throws me back into bed with Søren and Nora (literally) and I couldn’t be happier. Here I get to see them together, outside the dramatic scenes of the club, just two people so deep in love that you forget all their other details. Yes, Søren’s revealed priesthood was a bit difficult for me to take at first and I will be honest, even through this one I struggled with my feelings for him. Nora is still the same spunky, quick-witted, and sensual woman that I adore but I’m also given the gift of seeing her as a woman still searching for herself and opening up to her emotional desires without shame. Her relationships and views of her world are refreshingly honest, captivating as usual, and I cannot imagine her any different nor could I get enough of her. She and her beloved are separated for months while Søren is faced with his own conflict that could alter his path in life and rock Nora to her core so her constant worry is evident throughout. It’s during this time that I was shown more of her past that both shocked and broke my heart a little and now I can see the young woman who eventually turned into the wickedly sexy sinner I love. I was also given the chance to see her as a loving and caring Domme while she is tasked with training her “Angel” in the ways of submissive life. It’s in these moments that I saw past the hardcore sex and witnessed a beautiful exchange between two caring souls and even glimpsed at the wonderful mother Nora could be.

Of course Nora is a major character and true Sinner but this story shifted some of the focus onto two characters that I was briefly introduced to in Book 1. Griffin Fiske made a small but loud entrance at the club, immediately caught my eye, and I am so thankful that I got to explore every facet of him now. Not only is he one of the most masculine and sexy creatures to ever grace my pages, but he became passionate and soft once he showed me his heart. This “trust fund baby” spoiled to the hilt and filled with so much anger found his calling as a Dom but still had not become the man he could be. That is until Michael Dimir tiptoed into his life. Michael was gently placed before me in The Siren because that’s how you display such a fragile wisp of a boy. Not only is he damaged and broken, but he makes you feel unloved and unwanted just the same. Every time he spoke my heart ached and all I wanted to do was to scoop him up and bring him home. Even though Michael is the polar opposite of Nora and Griffin, they are brought together once again by the one man we all love to hate…Søren. Damn that man, he did it again and knew exactly what he was doing long before it was done. Of course Griffin was never the type to take orders from anyone, hence the reason he’s perfect Dom material, so that didn’t stop him from going after what his heart truly desired and the path he was required to take was paved with barbed wire and landmines. This is where Ms. Reisz caused me to weep like a fool and fight to see the words as I was drowning in tears.

In this story we are also introduced to another lost soul, Suzanne Kanter. With a bitter taste for religion, and who’s hell bent on pushing journalistic boundaries, she risks everything for the one person she cannot have back and ends up finding something she did not know was possible. Redemption and forgiveness. Again, this is where our man of the cloth comes into play and yet again proves to me that my list of feelings for him is still unfinished. He takes Suzanne and I on a journey filled with pain, suffering, anger, and lust and began to show us the humble and damaged man behind the collar and whip. Admittedly I was shocked by his revelations but then thankful in the next moment for being allowed to glimpse at the boy who became the man in front of me. His influence and interactions with Suzanne left me puzzled and twisted and when the reason why she was brought into his life was revealed, all I could do is shake my head in disbelief and curse him for proving me wrong yet again.

Of course, you cannot have a Sinner’s story without including one of the most sinful men there ever was. Kingsley Edge makes a larger and louder entrance into this world and shows me that not only is he right where he belongs, but he’s also the man you want on your side when and if the time ever comes. The man exudes sexuality with every syllable but what fascinated me more was to see how and why he feels the way he does for Søren. Much of his past is shown but not enough to give the entire picture as usual. Of course Ms. Reisz would do that, she just loves to make me squirm and beg. Kingsley certainly gave me a couple of hot flashes and all I’ll say is that I am very interested in seeing that Rolls Royce up close and personal now.

Wesley returns to our open arms yet again but not in the way we had all hoped. His relationship with Nora and the way they left things in The Siren damn near guaranteed his return but as always, there was never enough of our saintly Prince so alas we must wait some more. He finds himself at a crossroad in his life and just when he thought he could continue on down the path with the least amount of pain and suffering, Nora reaches out and snatches his heart, dragging him back with just two powerful words “Many waters”. He finally comes face to face with the one man he has despised since meeting Nora and this little meet and greet is not what I expected at all and my heart was in my throat the whole time. Needless to say, these two needed to air some grievances and it made for some serious fireworks. I may fear Søren a little but my dear Wes came heavily armed with the most powerful ammunition possible.

Ms. Reisz has perfected the way to push me to my limits, hold me there, and then bring me back from the edge. I thought I had certain boundaries that were permanent and unbreakable but after my time in her world I realize that any barrier is permeable with enough force and Ms. Reisz did just that with words on a page. There are some of the most beautiful and gut wrenching moments shared between this group that had me teary-eyed and holding my breath wishing my pounding heart would calm itself. The conversations, the emotional climax, and the sensuality left me raw and drained and I feel like a masochist for wanting more. These may be fictional characters to most but, to me I see Ms. Reisz as an artist who paints a vivid and sharp picture of people living their lives with no shame or fear of their true desires and has forced me to examine my own pre-conceived notions of this lifestyle. Her writing is fresh, evocative, intellectually stimulating *wink*, and above all as fearless as the characters she writes. These are NOT BDSM fluff novels, these are masterpiece stories that need to be elevated past those they share the shelf with. I hope Ms. Reisz continues to push this cast of Sinners to their limits and for as long as she has a pen and paper, I guarantee that I will be first in line to buy! To give this story, or Ms. Reisz, 5 stars has become a bit of a hard limit for me so, for now, I will just give her every star in the skies above and even that will not be enough to show just how much I adore her and her work.

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