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Psyche's Gate

by Danielle D. Smith (Goodreads Author)

4.17 of 5 stars 4.17 · rating details · 35 ratings · 18 reviews

Psyche is a young visual artist struggling to jumpstart her painting career. Alexius is a powerful warrior angel banished to roam the earth wingless because of his disobedience. Immensely talented but penniless and alone, Psyche is ready to give up all hope of artistic success until she receives word of a wealthy patron willing to offer her the commission of a lifetime. Li...more

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Published (first published June 28th 2010)

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Jun 24, 2011 Kwesi 章英狮 rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Kwesi 章英狮 by: Danielle Smith

Shelves: owned, danielle-d-smith, 2011

I'm glad I received this book this summer, I waited it for months and it was shipped in the other city. Fortunately I got hold of the book before I leave the province. It was a great book, the first half was a great pleasure for rainy days. The dark atmosphere and the smoky letters, it was like reading in a garden with flowery style of writing. Never the less, it was the best!

I never enjoyed painting or I never had any idea of greatest painters in the world, as long as it looks great I assume th...more

16 likes · like · see review

Mar 15, 2011 Angela rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal, romance, horror

Angels, demons, horror, unforbidden love. If you love anything on this list then this is definitely down your alley.

Alexius is a fallen angel sent on a mission to get his wings back. But there is one problem, he has doomed his task with his love of a mere mortal.
Psyche is a struggling artist who desperately needs commission to make ends meet. Until an impassable offer comes her way. What she doesn't realize is her wealthy benefactor is one of the most evil beings on the earth planning to use Ps...more

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Jun 23, 2011 Danielle Smith rated it 4 of 5 stars · (Review from the author)

Shelves: books-i-ve-written

What Joyfully Reviewed says about Psyche's Gate:

"Long ago, warrior angel Alexius was banished from heaven and brutally stripped of his wings. Now he has a chance at redemption. He must stop a powerfully talented human artist from being used by a demon to to create something that can bring forth the most deadly of evils. However, after seeing Psyche, the woman whose life he cannot spare, Alexius knows that he cannot go through with his task. Instead, he will do all in his power to keep Psyche fro...more

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Mar 29, 2011 Loves To Dive rated it 5 of 5 stars

Psyche's Gate is technically a prequel to Ms. Smith's other novel, Black Dog and Rebel Rose, but can certainly stand alone. It is a haunting and lyrical tale of two souls drawn to each other and the evil they must defeat to be together.

Psyche is a young impoverished artist working two jobs to make ends meet. Alexius is a fallen angel on assignment to stop Psyche from completing a job and in so doing, earning his wings back. Psyche is given a commission by a mysterious man named Sam to create a...more

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Sep 28, 2010 Krisi Keley rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal, sci-fi-fantasy, romance

A struggling artist about to give up on her amazing talent suddenly gets a chance at all her dreams when a mysterious art collector commissions her to paint him a vast, but frightening mural. A fallen angel, willing to do almost anything to redeem himself and regain heaven, is set upon a vital, but frightful mission.

These two lost souls of sorts, the artist and the angel, are the protagonists of Danielle D. Smith’s dark urban fantasy, Psyche’s Gate, an unusual paranormal romance that is difficul...more A struggling artist about to give up on her amazing talent suddenly gets a chance at all her dreams when a mysterious art collector commissions her to paint him a vast, but frightening mural. A fallen angel, willing to do almost anything to redeem himself and regain heaven, is set upon a vital, but frightful mission.

These two lost souls of sorts, the artist and the angel, are the protagonists of Danielle D. Smith’s dark urban fantasy, Psyche’s Gate, an unusual paranormal romance that is difficult to describe and, in some ways, for me personally, to review. Trying to explain my ambivalence without writing a novel about the novel adds yet another challenge – which, some might suggest, speaks to its quality, in that shallower entertainment doesn’t frequently inspire much deep sentiment positive or negative.

Novelist and artist Danielle Smith is a very talented writer. Her character development is exceptional, her description of time and place marvelously draws the reader into the scene, and her writing style and use of language often borders on poetry. Without exaggeration, I found her prologue to be like a work of art made of words and the contrast of its ethereal quality with the very down-to-earth opening line of Chapter One a brilliant stroke of genius, when one considers a key element of the story is an angel’s attempt to re-ascend to heaven from the gritty punishment of earth. Even her earliest portrayal of Psyche - her sense of hopelessness and failure - creates a character to which no one who has ever struggled with self-doubt can fail to relate. As a writer and a reader, I couldn’t be more impressed with the author’s imagination and gift with words.

The difficulty arose for me when, a few chapters into the story, I began to realize that the novel is predominately a theological one, fiction or not. This theology, or mix of theologies, was not always easy for me to comprehend or, sometimes even, to appreciate. Because I’m a writer with a degree in Catholic theology, as well as one with a very Catholic worldview, the author’s attempt to combine frequently opposing concepts from a wide scope of real historical theological thought, often left me with the impression, however mistaken, that she considers them all fascinating fictions, rather than sacred beliefs which speak truth to those who hold their tenets. Angels who sometimes harshly criticize the traditional Judeo-Christian beliefs and practices from which their stories and names were taken, yet from a dualistic or neo-pagan perspective, will be disturbing, even offensive, to some readers, despite the fact that this is a fiction novel, and there are several suggestions made about the nature of God in the story that are controversial, to say the least.

For those who read a story only for its literary merits, looking for creative and original entertainment or escapism, Psyche’s Gate will most likely be a favorite. For those with more traditional beliefs or those who look more deeply to find meaning and message in a story, this is a novel that may provoke both a positive and negative reaction, as it did for me. It is most definitely a well-written novel that offers much food for thought, but it can also be a disturbing one, due to its ideas and premise, as well as some raw language and graphic scenes. I would give it 2.5 stars if Goodreads had such a rating because, though I loved the author’s beautiful style of writing, her imagination and her obvious research into many theological ideas, it is still difficult for me to say I out and out “liked” a story that I found troubling on a personal level. I give it 3 stars, however, realizing that “liking” a story is subjective and, from a technical standpoint, Psyche’s Gate deserves a high quality rating.
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Sep 19, 2010 Laurie Jenkins rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal, romance, kindle, angels, devils, mythology

Psyche is an extremely gifted young, unknown artist who is struggling day to day to earn enough for life’s necessities. Seemingly, out of the blue, she is offered a commission to paint a mural for a very wealthy, generous benefactor. She is overjoyed, believing her dreams will be fulfilled. What she finds instead is a nightmare of celestial dimension.

Shunned by his Immortal brethren, Alexius is a tormented soul cast out from his home thousands of years ago because of a consequential error in jud...more Psyche is an extremely gifted young, unknown artist who is struggling day to day to earn enough for life’s necessities. Seemingly, out of the blue, she is offered a commission to paint a mural for a very wealthy, generous benefactor. She is overjoyed, believing her dreams will be fulfilled. What she finds instead is a nightmare of celestial dimension.

Shunned by his Immortal brethren, Alexius is a tormented soul cast out from his home thousands of years ago because of a consequential error in judgment. He has finally been given the opportunity to regain his rightful position as one of the highest ranking and most fierce of the Angelic Warriors. His mission is simple – the mural must not be created.

This novel casts the eternal battle of heaven and hell, good and evil into a sonorous mosaic. Very little is as it seems. This time the battlefield is on earth and Psyche the unwilling pawn upon which the outcome hinges. It takes every ounce of strength and determination that Alexius possesses to protect his beloved Psyche.

It is difficult for me to describe how very unusual and haunting this story was for me. The sentence structure flowed with a rhythmic cadence that was glorious. The author flawlessly created a gothic, brooding type atmosphere that was maintained throughout the entire book. The cadence of the story pulsed with lyrical complexity. Filled with Angels, Demons and all manner of other denizens of mythology this story will at times astound and shock with its brutal, unflinching candor.

Be aware that there is, on occasion, frequent and repetitive use of the “f” word. At times, this became rather off-putting to me personally even though I do not consider myself to be particularly prudish. It is my feeling that some of the conversations would have benefited without the obscene slang. I recommend this book to anyone who likes stories of immortal conflict written in a dark, gothic tone with richly patterned descriptions and who can overlook occasional excessive profanity.
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Aug 05, 2010 =^☺^=mskitty rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 11, 2010 Ronda Tutt rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-romance, paranormal

3 1/2 stars - rounding up to 4 stars since I can't give a 1/2.
This story was very interesting and very vidid, however, it took me a while to get into the book but by the middle it kicked in and was full of action. This book gives a real good insight on angels and God's Wife as the mother of all Angels which I totally liked a lot. Some of the parts were very wickedly evil and there were times I felt I was there.

This is not a fast page turner because there is so many details you have to pay atten...more

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Jul 13, 2011 Danielle Smith rated it 4 of 5 stars · (Review from the author) · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-ve-written

From Joyfully Reviewed:

"Long ago, warrior angel Alexius was banished from heaven and brutally stripped of his wings. Now he has a chance at redemption. He must stop a powerfully talented human artist from being used by a demon to to create something that can bring forth the most deadly of evils. However, after seeing Psyche, the woman whose life he cannot spare, Alexius knows that he cannot go through with his task. Instead, he will do all in his power to keep Psyche from harm. But a romance bet...more

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May 14, 2011 Desiree rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads, curious-about-it, romance

I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

I liked the overall plot of the book, and I think it is a great first book, however there are aspects of it that I did not fully appreciate.
First of all events are somewhat rushed off, I believe that most of the scenes protrayed would have benefited from more depth. That does not mean more length, but rather a better description of some things that are only hinted at. Rather than describing with what is too me and axcessive use of somew...more

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Nov 11, 2010 Melinda (Paranormal Kiss) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-romance, angels, demons

Psyche’s Gate by Danielle D. Smith is about Psyche and Alexius, a mortal and an Angel. Psyche is a young mortal woman. She is a very talented but struggling artist who receives the opportunity to do a commission that will change her from a struggling artist to a one well on her way to success. She is ecstatic but what she doesn’t realize is that she is being used as a pawn in a very evil plot. Alexius is an Angel that has been cast out from the heaven, his wings torn from him. He has been roamin...more Psyche’s Gate by Danielle D. Smith is about Psyche and Alexius, a mortal and an Angel. Psyche is a young mortal woman. She is a very talented but struggling artist who receives the opportunity to do a commission that will change her from a struggling artist to a one well on her way to success. She is ecstatic but what she doesn’t realize is that she is being used as a pawn in a very evil plot. Alexius is an Angel that has been cast out from the heaven, his wings torn from him. He has been roaming the earth for centuries when he receives his chance for redemption, his chance to earn his place back in the heavens. He is charged with stopping Psyche from the dark path she is unwittingly about to embark on.

This is a very creative book about Angel and Demons, good versus evil, forbidden love and redemption. It’s about Alexius’ struggle with duty versus his heart. Ultimately it is a love story, a very interesting one. I enjoyed it very much. It was vividly detailed and well written. The author has a wonderful way with words and describing things in such lovely and vivid detail. That probably stems in part from her background as an artist.

One thing that might bother some readers is the volume of curse words in this book. Psyche was described as sweet and innocent but boy did she have a potty mouth. The cursing didn’t bother me personally but I thought it was a little conflicting hearing her described that way and then listening to her talk. Not to say that cursing makes you bad just that it conflicts in my mind with sweet and innocent.

The characters were very well written. I liked both Alexius and Psyche and enjoyed hearing some history on each of them. The secondary characters were also well done. The author has a talent for penning characters and detail onto paper in way that really projects out to the reader. I felt Alexius’ torment and suffering, his love for Psyche. I could imagine how very evil Sammael and Naamah were. I could visualize how stunning Psyche’s paintings were.

Bravo to the author. I look forward to reading more books by her.
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Jan 17, 2011 Danielle rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

Psyche's Gate is fantastic. I love the depth each character's personality possesses and the originality of the storyline. Cheers to Danielle D. Smith!!

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Aug 08, 2011 Gail rated it 5 of 5 stars

Another fabulous read! I'll put together a better review shortly.

1 like · like · see review

Dec 01, 2010 Alpha rated it 4 of 5 stars

It was more 4.5 star for me, the storyline captivated me a lot, I’m sucker for forbidden love, I practically ran to my apartment after work just to read next chapter. You can tell that a lot of research about angel/demons went in to this book. The writing had a perfect balance throughout the story (although there were a lot of profanity words for my liking hence the 4.5 star). It had the perfect mixture of excitement and mystery.
I just have to say Naamah ew, I had nightmares about her.

1 like · like · see review

Sep 25, 2012 Tracy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: angels, reaper-demons

Great story solid an unique

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Jan 02, 2011 Aaron Smith rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

4.5 Stars.

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Jan 08, 2011 Aaron Smith rated it 4 of 5 stars

My wife's first book. My favorite of hers thus far.

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Jun 13, 2013 Cecily Andres rated it 2 of 5 stars

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Apr 24, 2013 Amanda rated it 4 of 5 stars

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About Danielle D. Smith

DANIELLE D. SMITH (aka Dani Smith) is both a writer/creator of gritty "outside the mainstream" paranormal tales, and an accomplished artist and illustrator whose visual work has appeared in various public, private, and gallery exhibitions and in national publications. In her career thus far she has studied everything from costuming to tattooing, and she is always on the hunt for the next great art...more

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