Angelbound

Angelbound Origins #1

by Christina Bauer

The international best seller -- now with an all-new wedding epilogue!

Eighteen-year-old Myla Lewis is a girl who loves two things: kicking ass and kicking ass. She’s not your every day quasi-demon, part-demon and part-human, girl. For the past five years, Myla has lived for the days she gets to fight in Purgatory’s arena. When souls want a trial by combat for their right to enter Heaven or Hell, they go up against her, and she hasn’t lost a battle yet.

But as she starts her senior year at Purgatory High, the arena fights aren’t enough to keep her spirits up anymore. When the demons start to act weird, even for demons, and the King of the Demons, Armageddon, shows up at Myla’s school, she knows that things are changing and it’s not looking good for the quasi-demons.

Myla starts to question everything, and doesn’t like the answers she finds.

What happened seventeen years ago that turned the quasi-demons into slave labor? Why was her mom always so sad? And why won’t anyone tell her who her father is? Things heat up when Myla meets Lincoln, the High Prince of the Thrax, a super sexy part-human and part-angel demon hunter. But what’s a quasi-demon girl to do when she falls for a demon hunter? It’s a good thing that Myla’s not afraid of breaking a few rules. With a love worth fighting for, Myla’s going to shake up Purgatory.

"Loved it! A confident, independent, kick-ass heroine who doesn't suffer fools gladly… Absolutely fantastic read!"- Krystyna, Goodreads

Publisher's Note: The data elves hath decreed some of Christina's books need new back-end tracking numbers and thusly, we must deactivate the original Angelbound and release a new version instead. Upon hearing this news, Christina decided to add a new wedding epilogue to the book, "because that's how I roll." Hence this special edition. We apologize for any inconvenience or confusion, but it really is best to heed the elves.

Angelbound Origins
In which Myla Lewis kicks ass and takes names. Nuff said.
1. Angelbound
2. Lincoln - the events of Angelbound as told by Prince Lincoln. Includes a bonus prequel novella, Duty Bound
3. Scala
4. Acca
5. Thrax
6. The Dark Lands
7. The Brutal Time (Fall 2019)
8. Armageddon (already here, long story!)

Angelbound Offspring
The next generation takes on Heaven, Hell, and everything in between
1. Maxon
2. Portia
3. Zinnia (Summer 2019)
4. Kaps (Summer 2020)
5. Huntress (Summer 2021)

Angelbound Worlds
Inside stories about your fav characters
1. Xavier (Spring 2020)
2. Cissy (Spring 2021)

Don’t miss out: Get your FREE copy of Christina’s novella, BEVERLY HILLS VAMPIRE, when you sign up for her personal newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/bauersbooks ***Not available in stores***

Also From Christina Bauer
- Fairy Tales of the Magicorum, a series of modern fairy tales with sass, action, and romance
- Beholder, where a medieval farm girl discovers necromancy and true love
- Dimension Drift, a dystopian adventure with science, snark, and hot aliens

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Young Adult, Angels, Demons, Romance, Urban Fantasy

525 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 12, 2013

About the author

Christina 'CEE BEE' Bauer thinks that fantasy books are like bacon: they just make life better. All of which is why she writes young adult romance novels that feature demons, dragons, wizards, witches, elves, elementals, and a bunch of random stuff that she brainstorms while riding the Boston T. Oh, and she includes lots of humor and kick-ass chicks, too. Christina lives in Newton, MA with her husband, son, and semi-insane golden retriever, Ruby. She loves to connect with her fans at ChristinaBauerAuthor.com.

ANGELBOUND ORIGINS
About a quasi (part demon and part human) girl who loves kicking butt in Purgatory's Arena
1. Angel bound
2. Scala
3. Acca
4. Thrax
5. The Dark Lands
6. The Brutal Time
7. Armageddon
8. Quasi Redux
9. Clockwork Igni
10. Lady Reaper
11. Reaper Games
12. Angry Gods

ANGELBOUND OFFSPRING
The next generation takes on Heaven, Hell, and everything in between
1. Maxon
2. Portia
3. Zinnia
4. Rhodes
5. Kaps
6. Mack
7. Huntress
8. Gage
*This is a finished series

ANGELBOUND LINCOLN
Events of Angelbound from Lincoln's POV
1. Duty Bound
2. Lincoln
3. Trickster
4. Baculum
5. Angelfire

ANGELBOUND XAVIER TRILOGY
The story of the Archangel Xavier
1. Archenemy
2. Archnemesis
3. Archangel

FAIRY TALES OF THE MAGICORUM
Modern fairy tales with sass, action, and romance
1. Wolves And Roses

2. Moonlight And Midtown

3. Slippers And Thieves

4. Shifters And Glyphs

5. Bandits And Ball Gowns

6. Fire And Cinder

7. Fairies And Frosting

8. Towers And Tithes
9. Mirrors And Mysteries
10. Rapunzels And Powers

DIMENSION DRIFT
Dystopian adventures with science, snark, and hot aliens
1. Scythe
2. Umbra
3. Alien Minds
4. ECHO Academy
*This is a completed series

PIXIELAND DIARIES
The story of sassy pixie, Calla, and her elf crush, Dare
1. Pixieland Diaries
2. Calla
3. Dare
*This is a completed series

BEHOLDER
Where a medieval farm girl discovers necromancy and true love
1. Cursed
2. Concealed
3. Cherished
4. Crowned
5. Cradled
*This is a completed series

VAMPIRES OF THE DAEMONVERSE
Adult fantasy written under my pen name, CEE BEE
1. Violins and Vampires
2. Veils and Vampires
3. Vixens and Vampires
4. Valor and Vampires

Reviews

[Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m imprisoned inside a pillar of fire...How did it come to this?
What did I think would happen? I’m an eighteen-year old girl, he’s immortal evil personified. I’m a fool.

Overall: a good, entertaining book with an interesting world that's rather too long. Much like my extremely verbose review of it. I can't help but feel that this book needed the help of a better editor. It wasn't a bad book by any stretch of the imagination, I enjoyed it, but it was so incredibly, unnecessarily long. I feel that a good third of the book could easily have been removed without affecting the essence of the book.

This book had a lot of great things going for it, it had a spunky, ass-kicking heroine who was rather reminiscent of one of my favorite heroines of this year, it had a creative spin on the concept of demons and angels, and the romance is believable and happily free of angst, insta-love, or love triangles. It even feels somewhat like a paranormal Pride and Prejudice at points. But man, the plot and the pacing killed me. The first half of the book felt like I was going in circles, with neither an end nor a point in sight.

Allow me to make one of my infamously long-winded analogies. Myla is the main character in the book, Cissy is her best friend. Let's pretend that Khanh, Myla, and Cissy are real people (ok, you don't have to pretend that Khanh is a real person, becauuse well...I do exist). Khanh meets Myla. Khanh thinks Myla is a pretty cool person; after all, Myla's part demon, she's a fighter, she sends souls to hell, and she's got a tail, man. A fucking TAIL, how cool is that?! Anyways, Myla looks like she's an interesting, awesome person, and Khanh wants to be her friend.

Khanh and Myla sits down for a chat. Myla opens her mouth. Instead of telling Khanh about her kick-ass life as a fighter in the Arenas between Heaven and Hell, Myla tells Khanh about her tangled-up life. You see, since 3rd grade, this boy named Zeke has been in love with Myla, and Myla doesn't want him. She's always telling him to fuck off, because she ain't interested, but Cissy's ALSO been in love with him, too, and she's pissed off by the fact that Myla doesn't give him the time of day.

At this point, Khanh stands up. "You know, I've really got to go somewhere. I just...I have...stuff to do. Let's see each other again sometimes," she waves. Under her breath, Khanh snorts, "Not bloody likely."

You see? Khanh doesn't care! Khanh stopped caring and she stopped thinking that Myla is an interesting person when Myla started talking about stupid gossip and school drama. Khanh wants to hear about MYLA. She wants to hear about what's going on in Myla's life. When you meet someone, you want to get to know THEM. You don't care about their friends' dramas. You don't give a flying fuck about what's going on in their friends' life. You don't want to know about the fight they're having with their mom, about the boring as fuck party they went to. It's the equivalent of going on social media and listening to stupid status updates about eating dinner. NOBODY CARES ABOUT THE BORING PARTS OF YOUR LIFE. I read a book for FUN. I don't want to hear about the boring shit, so skip it.

The plot goes nowhere fast. It is filled with shit that is completely irrelevant to the story. The story is filled with events and people and things could easily have been omitted without making an impact on the overall plot.

Summary: Myla is half-demon and half-human. Her deadly sin is Wrath, which makes her a fucking awesome fighter (you won't like her when she's angry). Myla lives in Purgatory. She's got a mother who's a demon in name only, because her mother is scared of her own shadow and acts more like a frightened child than someone who's capable of begetting the ass-kicking chick that is Myla. She goes to school, she fights in the Arena. She sends souls to hell (while her mother cowers flinchingly with her hands clasped to her ears). All in a good day's work.

It's not a terrible life, sure, she's doomed to be in service to her ghoul overlords; it could be worse (she could be a ghoul proctologist), but there's a lot of minor shit storms going on. There's tons of lovesick drama with her best friend Cissy and her long-time admirer, Zeke. There are tournaments, balls, weird meetings with demons. There's Lincoln, the asshole of a boy who hates demons and half-demons like Myla. There's a bitch of a girl named Adair. There are long walks, fighting lessons, chilling in the library. There are parties. There's fighting with her mom. There's fighting with her best friend. There's more fighting with her mom. There's secret joyriding sessions on a demon horse. There's Cissy and Zeke making kissy faces at each other while Myla looks on, trying not to gag.

And somewhere around the last 1/3 of the book, things FINALLY pick up. There's demons. There's angels. There's BLOOD and some serious ass-kicking. If only the rest of the book were that good.

The Setting: Very interesting, very fun, very tongue-in-cheek. This is not the United States. This is Purgatory, y'all. In most of the other books I've read, ghouls are the lowliest of lows. They're minions, slaves; not so in this book. In this book, Myla and those of her kind (the Quasi-demons) are slaves to their Ghoul overlords. Myla goes to Purgatory High (every high schooler thinks they go to Purgatory High, but no, this is actually Purgatory High).

Every Quasi-demon has a trait that's taken from one of the Biblical Sins, for example, Myla is Wrath (with a hidden side of Lust) and her best friend Cissy is Envy (and man, does Cissy get fucking annoying thanks to her sin). Everything they own is Ghoul-issued. They have no current human technology besides what the ghouls choose to give them, and some Quasi-demons run a nice business selling human-issued stuff (one of her friends at school prance around flaunting her Pradas and Rolexes...some things stay the same in all universes ^_^).

The Quasi-demons are servants, slaves, there is no mistaking that, and their education is suited to their life in servitude. They have no career than that of serving their Ghoul overlords, Myla is only selected to fight because of her special talent in fighting, and she'll probably be forced to choose a mundane career such as being a seamstress to the ghouls once she graduates. Their classes in Purgatory High are...interesting, focused on best serving their ghoul overlords, and I got quite a kick reading about their curriculum.

“That means robe-cleaning, foot massage, and groveling etiquette, as well as our lesson for today, meal preparation.”

And making worm souffle. Worm souffle All of a sudden, my low-carb diet doesn't seem so bad.

And as for fighting? The Quasi-demons are only suited to be cannon fodder in case their ghoul overlords get attacked.

“Let’s get started.” Tank blasts his whistle again. “I want you all to practice running around the yard, flailing your arms, and screaming ‘Take me! Take me!’ On my mark. Set. Go!”

*snickers*

It is a very complex world, and I do admit to being confused sometimes, because there is a lot going on here. There are thraxes, angels, demons, the queen of Heaven, the king of Hell, there are Overlords, Earls, Princes, many different types of leading family, lots of different races and hierarchies. My head spun trying to keep track of these, at times, but overall, it is a very creative, very interesting world.

The Characters: Mostly well done. I do wish that the side characters had more personality, and I thought Myla was rather too perfect. Overall, I do like Myla; she's got fire, she's got spunk. She is irreverent without crossing the line into bitchiness. She's got a bit of a foul mouth on her too, and I snorted in laughter whenever Myla screws up, and goes "Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck." Yeah, girl!

And she is a fighter. Unlike certain assassins who do not act like assassins who shall remain unnamed (CELAENA *cough*), Myla kicks some fucking ass.

My rage boils over. Jumping super-high, I haul up my knees, then kick my opponent squarely in the chest with both feet. The Choker falls flat on his back with a satisfying thud. Meanwhile, I use the momentum from my chest-kick to flip backwards into a somersault, landing right by his head.

But you know what I want? I wanted more uncertainty. I wanted more doubt. I wanted a heroine who is just a little bit, a tiny bit vulnerable. I want to be able to relate to her a bit. I love that Myla is strong, don't get me wrong, but I like it when my heroine breaks down into pieces, I love it when they have a moment of catharsis, and I don't feel that I got this from Myla.

I said that this book was reminiscent of P&P earlier, and if there's a Caroline in the book, it's that full-of-herself rhymes-with-witch, Adair. I pretty much laughed my ass off whenever that chick appeared.

Adair clears her throat, then sings with a warbling old-lady voice:

Who will worship the Scala Adair?
All the thrax if given the time
My powers are great, my face is so fair
Who won’t want the love that is mine?

The Romance: Believable, if a little too fast for my liking, because it seems as if they went from HATE HATE HATE to "truce" to "I LOVES YOU!!!!" within 50% of the book. Lincoln gave me some serious Darcy feels, even if he's rather less...subtle about it. He's a holier-than-thou high Thrax prince. She is a lowly Quasi-demon. Everyone hates demons. Remember the part up there where we were talking about the Quasi-demons being slaves to the Ghouls? Yeah. It's kind of a scandal for a Prince to even look sideways at a demon, and their earlier hate of each other (with a little lust thrown in on the side) was understandable.

Pride and Prejudice? Yep. The "I'm sick so I have to stay at your house" thing? Yep. The overbearing mother? Yep. The bitchy girl who wants Lincoln? Yep. The misunderstanding? Yep.

He looks at me out of his slate-blue eye. “Well, it’s not like I wowed you with my dazzling personality when we met.”
I can’t help but chuckle. “No, you didn’t.”
“In fact, I was closed-minded and awful for far too long. I’m very sorry.”

[Shelby *trains flying monkeys* · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a limited time this book is free!!!
Find it here http://www.amazon.com/Angelbound-Chri...

Welcome to Purgatory!


You have Quasi's (half demon half human) ghouls, angels and a whole new world to fall in love with. Myla is a quasi who's special talent is wrath..and man this chick is major kick ass. She takes on demons, bad seed humans and anyone who generally pisses her off. She fights to the death in an arena as ordered to by the ghouls who are in charge of purgatory. While the King of Hell Armageddon looks on. (PS this guy is a total turdknocker)
I was so into the book even in this part.Then you meet Lincoln. I'm not one to get all girl crazy over the male leads in books but guess what? I'm totally in love with this character!

This book made me laugh, shed a couple of tears and at one point I actually had chill bumps and was shaking.


I can NOT wait for the second installment of this series. These characters are some that you care about and want to know what goes on with in this magical world. Even the bad ones keep your attention. I'm going to go take a cold shower and see if I can calm down some.
One of my new favorites of all time book. Thank you Netgalley.

[Carol [Goodreads Addict] · Rating 3 out of 5]

RATING: 3.5 STARS



Angelbound is book one in the Angelbound series by Christina Bauer. In the pages of this book you will meet Myla Lewis, an 18 year old, strong willed quasi-demon, one handsome Thrax, Lincoln, beautiful angels, lots of nasty demons and of course, Armageddon, the King of Hell.



As I said, Myla is a quasi-demon, half demon and half human. Myla is one of a few quasi’s that have a pointed tail perfect for battle. And that is what Myla lives for. She loves to fight. If a soul chooses, he may fight in the arena for the right to choose whether his/her soul goes to heaven or hell. And that is when Myla is called to the arena, when a soul chooses to battle. She has never lost a fight yet.



Myla lives in Pergatory with her mother. Her Mom has never told her who her father is or will speak of her former life as a senator before the war in Pergatory. More than anything Myla wants to know this. So finally, the head of the angels, Verus, grants Myla the information she so craves in the form of dreams. Little by little, Myla learns of the life her mother once led and eventually learns who her father really and truly is.

Things in Pergatory seem off, though, lately. The King of Hell, Armageddon, is acting strangely. Myla has a bad feeling about this. Something is going on.



At the same time, Myla meets the Thrax Prince, Lincoln. At first their meetings don’t go so well, horribly actually. But they eventually give in to the attraction that sparks between them. But their time together awakens something new in Myla. It is the beginning of a destiny no-one could have imagined, no one but Verus that is.



“What did I think would happen, taking on Armageddon with untested powers? I’m an eighteen-year old girl, he’s immortal evil personified. I’m a fool.”

Myla is a tough, brave, snarky girl who quickly evolves from a typical high school senior to a girl with the weight of Pergatory on her shoulders. Why the lower rating? Although I did enjoy the book, it dragged for me. It was a long book and I had trouble really connecting with the characters. I never felt that swirly tummy feeling that I love to feel when a new romance is born. I am interested enough, though, to continue on with book two to see what comes next.

[Maja (The Nocturnal Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every once in a while, I read a book that has no ratings or reviews by people I trust, hoping to discover a hidden gem. And every once in a while, though not as often as I’d like, I actually succeed (which, I freely admit, happens to be very good for my ego). Angelbound is one of those gems I’m thrilled to have discovered. I picked it up on Netgalley not expecting much at all and I ended up reading it in one sitting. This YA paranormal fantasy is cute, compulsively readable and above all fun.

Myla is a quasi-demon – a half demon, half human 17-year-old girl enslaved by ghouls in the Purgatory. She did nothing wrong to end up there; her species used to rule the realm until Armageddon, the King of Hell, allied himself with the ghouls and helped them in their rise to power. Aside from going to school where she learns all about being a good slave to the ghouls, Myla fights in the Arena against souls that choose trial by combat in their afterlife. Her opponents are always the most wicked of souls and it’s Myla’s job to make sure they don’t win against her, thus earning a one-way ticket to Heaven. Luckily for everyone, Myla is very good at what she does.

Myla is a magnificent heroine, fierce and outspoken, hilarious and mischievous, and yet compassionate and mature when the need arises. As fascinated as I was by the worldbuilding, it was Myla who turned this book into something memorable. This girl never faltered, she fought back with a healthy dose of humor and an arrogance I would probably hate in anyone else. I do love a girl who knows her strengths. And did I mention that her demon tail is sentient? Best. Sidekick. Ever.

When Lincoln, the High Prince of the Thrax first appeared, I disliked him so intensely, I didn’t think there was any hope for his character. But only a boy equally skilled and equally arrogant could ever hold Myla’s interest for a longer period of time, and the prophecies soon proved true – they were indeed perfectly matched. What started as an awfully antagonistic relationship, ended up being one of the sweetest, drama-free romances I’ve come across in a very long time. Don’t you just love it when couples present a unified front in all things?

Ah, but here’s the real treat: Bauer took the very basic Heaven-and-Hell outline and then built upon it, creating five realms with rich history, each ruled by a different race. Usually, the word ‘angel’ on the cover of any book is enough to make me shudder, but thankfully, I didn’t let my prejudice stop me from requesting this, and thank Heavens for that!

The secondary characters, with the unfortunate exception of Myla’s best friend Cissy, are all very lovable and interesting. I could have done without the focus on Cissy and her love life in the first half, but when Myla and Lincoln took center stage, the annoyance was quickly forgotten. As far as narrative techniques go, I’m usually not a fan of flashbacks, but these dreamscapes in which Myla discovered the truth about her mother’s past were perfectly timed and reasonably short, so I found myself enjoying them despite myself.

Fans of interesting worldbuilding, fans of romance, fans of kickass heroines, fans of great fight scenes, fans of all of the above… I believe you’ll all find plenty to love about Angelbound. Although it ends cleanly and beautifully, I can’t wait for the release of Scala in May 2014.

[Ash Wednesday · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 STARS

WHAT I LIKED

1. The Arena. The idea reminded me a little of shonen anime series like Yu Yu Hakusho and Flame of Recca where each episode centers on a member of the cocky hero’s crew battles with a gruesome demon in a tournament that seeds its warriors, much like in a tennis match. The Arena battles, unfortunately, were few, figuring in the plot only at the beginning, and since they are designed to decide a soul’s fate, singular. Battles and duels eventually figured in the story under different circumstances and I found myself enjoying those better than the actual plot this was trying to sell.

2. The Creatures. The imagination behind the various demons and creatures populating Purgatory was very rich and rightfully deserves, maybe even needs, a companion book cataloguing their abilities, their weaknesses, classifications, methods of killing them and origins. And perhaps a separate companion piece detailing the history of the angels, thrax, quasis, ghouls and demons. Because the interbreeding of these species and their resulting phenotypes were quite confusing at certain stretches. So yes, A Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and a (Not) Hogwarts: A History would probably make me want to revisit Bauer’s imagination.

WHAT DIDN’T WORK FOR ME

1. The Rambling Narrative. The actual point to the story starts right around the halfway mark I think. Before that, there was a whole lot of annoying nothing going on. And I suppose this was just trying to cover EVERYTHING. But when it didn’t, it started to randomly bust out convenient plot points to make a generic scene 200-pages ago seem like it was foreshadowing into something. The Awakening of the Heir Scala was just rife with plot holes that got patched up rather sloppily towards the end. I hate plot twists of convenience, and while I’ve seen where Myla’s character was heading early on, I found the execution to get her from point A to point B forced and inorganic.

2. ADD World Building I like intricate world building, I do. But what I don’t like is the endless piling up of details. For example, creature A gets injured during a fight right around the 75% mark. The author suddenly reveals he’s descended from a race that heals themselves. I wouldn’t have minded this tidbit of information if it impacts the bigger plot, but no, this was added in there at that most opportune time as if an afterthought. At a point when the plot should be reaping what it sowed in the earlier chapters, this just kept on sowing its way down to the climax.

3. MYLA.

“I’m not like everyone else and I don’t want to be like everyone else.”

Thank fuck.

I can see how other readers might like her for being snarky and kickass but I always have trouble with this kind of heroine when the story is told from 1st person POV. I started to substitute her “I’s” with “Her’s” or “She’s” and found it a massive improvement.

Reading her thoughts and actions just makes me wince: I’m supposed to like Myla because instead of wanting to dress up and do girly things, she likes wearing fighting suits and has an encyclopaedic knowledge of demons and how to kill them. She has no interest in boys (up to a certain point), she takes care of herself and defies the oppressive and misogynistic environment she survives in by sticking out her tongue on authority figures, giving them the finger and releasing mischief demons on the guests of stiff royal parties.

And she’s 18.

Granted, this is purgatory and she’s not human, it was still quite difficult for me to like her interpretation of a strong heroine. It’s so much easier to communicate a heroine’s strength by wielding cool weapons and making idiots out of the men around her. The challenge lies on making her outsmart the conventions and bend it to her will while wearing lipstick, pearls and high heels.

Panic rips through me. Sitting next to a bunch of girly-girls for who-knows-how long? I’ve lived this nightmare a few times at school. They’ll want to talk about stuff like eyelash extensions, panty liners and cuticle cream. It’s torture.

I suppose I was meant to take her with a grain of humour but I didn’t find her funny at all. Her humour lacked elegance in its delivery and came across desperate. And every time she complains about her mom’s overprotectiveness when she still gets to do what she wants ANYWAY, I wanted to slap the whining out of her.

There was no point to this character that would make a reader sympathise with her. I mean, she’s PERFECT. She’s always right. She wins all her battles. She solves EVERYONE’S problems. Her imperfection is that she’s too curvy. And she has a temper because she’s a redhead. Yeah I can sympathise with THAT. *EYEROLL*

4. The characters are too simplistic. Every character who pisses Myla off is an idiot, an incapable nitwit, or beyond-redemption evil while every character she likes is kind, brave and smart.

5. The lack of swoon.

Myla and Lincoln... partners in crime on a new mission to rain trouble onto tight-assed thrax everywhere. Yay.

The romance was meh for me, mostly because I don’t find square jaws, heterochromia, full lips and scooped out cheeks attractive. I think someone was watching Dear John when Lincoln was imagined. I’m sorry but the only time I find Channing Tatum attractive is when he’s a stripper, when he’s being funny or when he's being a funny stripper. I do appreciate the lack of insta-love and mushiness from both characters down the line.

6. Confusing maturity of the story. I’m really confused if I should label this as YA, because this had some of the usual elements of YA-PNR… but there was also some humping going on. Myla behaved like a 15 year old but with the sexual libido of someone from a NACR book. No, not the billionaire ones, the biker ones. Again the premise of her character being a quasi demon sporting serious wrath and lust excuses this I suppose, but it was still a bit awkward for me.

7. Loopy Sleeves. EVERYONE was wearing something with loopy sleeves at any given scene in the story. What gives?

Overall, I think it all boiled down to my personal quirks that led me to enjoy this less than I expected. I had such high hopes for this one that I requested the second book’s galley even before I finished reading this. A pity that Scala will probably be pushed way way behind my TBR list now.

Also on BookLikes.

[Dianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the spirit of ancient gladiators fighting to the death, one fighter stands out as Pugatory’s best. Meet Myla, quasi-demon, Purgatory high school student and all around lethal fighting machine, sending souls packing on a one way trip to Hell. Myla was born to fight a quasi-demon, half human, half demon, rage fuels her wicked skills in the arena, just like frustration fuels her life at home with her mom. The woman who, no matter what, will tell Myla her father’s identity.

In a society where ghouls have enslaved quasi –demons, Myla questions far more than she should and her irreverent behavior makes her a thorn in everyone’s side. But nothing can prepare her world for what happens when the king of demons arrives and Armageddon isn’t looking to make life better for his subjects. To really stir the pot, Myla finds she cannot help but be attracted to Lincoln, high prince of the Thrax, a half human, half angel demon hunter. Probably not her best move, but in true Myla fashion, she is going to rock the demon world and have fun doing it!

ANGELBOUND by Christina Bauer puts the attitude in young heroines and names it Myla! Sassy, mouthy, and able to back her mouth with her mad fighting skills, she is like a fish out of water when it comes to courtly manners and young love. I absolutely loved Christina Bauer’s style, full of action, intense scenes, and characters that will test one’s imaginations to the max! A fun read filled with moments of pure teen attitude, without relying on pages of gore in the arena, Myla is a character to remember! And, Lincoln, yep, he certainly proves that opposites do attract! I have the feeling this series is just going to get better!

Series: Angelbound Origins - Book 1
Publisher: Monster House Books, LLC (December 17, 2013)
Publication Date: December 17, 2013
Genre: Paranormal
Print Length: 525 pages
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
For Reviews & More: http://tometender.blogspot.com

[Sharon L · Rating 5 out of 5]

UPDATE: 0.99$ on kinlde. 15/4/14


This review is going to be a tough one to write. Why? Because it is so rare for me to have so much to say yet not enough words.

Most times I'm either speechless or you can't shut me up. Right now I'm both. Yes, I'm very well aware of the paradox. That's me, full of contradictions.
But I don't give a damn.

Anyway, let's start this.

Lately I've given many 5 starts, more than I'm used to, and I consider myself lucky for that. But a 5 stars rating can mean so many different things- it can mean I loved the book, it can mean the book is really well written, and it can be a 4.5 stars rounded up, and it can be my gut telling me that even if I have tons to complain about it is a 5 stars book.

In Angelbound's case it is because the book is well written and the ARC had only 8 typos (in a book that is more than 300 pages, that's little, almost nothing). But more importantly, it's because this book is perfect for me.

There aren't so many books that I loved and managed to hold my interest from start to end. If you need an example I'd say- anything written by Ilona Andrews, The Fever series by Karen Marie Moning, Binding the Shadows by Jenn Bennett, Through the Smoke by Brenda Novak.
That's it. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. Girl from Above series by Pippa Dacosta.
Now I can add to the list Christina Bauer.

Yes, there are many books I loved, but I'm an impatient reader. I'm a bottom line kind of girl. I need a fast paced read (mostly, there are exceptions like Jane Austen and Sharon Shinn). It's a gurantee somewhere along the ride I'd loose interest. Not here.

As I've already said this book is perfect for me- it has EVERY damn thing I want in a book- interesting world, great world building, realistic and great sidekicks- most characters have some hidden depth and we get to glimpse it, Myla is an amazing character, the love interest is totally swoon worthy, the relationship is mature with no love triangle, the love is building slowly and believably enough. You know what else? Myla has a true best friend that is a girl- not some stupid "Best" friend.

Most of the women here are strong willed and reliable just as the men.

No slut-shaming or stupidity.

With all this, I think this book is a breath of fresh air. But then I wonder fresh air to what? The answer: to almost every genre you'd like to put it in. New Adult or Young Adult, Fantasy or Urban Fantasy.

This book avoids my most hated tropes in all of them.

Now, I'll talk on every aspect the best I can:

The World Building:
Christina Bauer has created a really intriguing world in Angelbound beside the human world there are five realms-
1. Heaven (with angels, obviously)
2. Hell (with demons, because we can't avoid it and maybe don't really want to)
3. The Dark Land (with Ghouls. Most of them are semi hated by me)
4. Autrum (with Thrax- half human half angels. Because they are cool) 5.Purgatory(with Quasi-Demons because damn are they hot?!)

The roles of the angels and the demons are no mystery, the ghouls keep order and rules (they also portal people between the realms). While the thrax are hunting demons in the human world the Quasis are in charge of the souls- which ones go to heaven and which ones go to hell.

This is where Myla comes in, but I'll get to it in a bit.

Sometimes, the residents of those realms mingle- an angel will mate with a ghoul or some other pairings.

Our story takes place in Purgatory- where the Quasis live. Purgatory is run by the ghouls and the Quasis are their servants, I'm not going to explain it because you need to read the book for that!

As I've already mentioned Quasis are the off springs of humans and demons- or at least they were at first, since there are plenty of them in Purgatory the Quasis breeds among themselves (mostly).
Each Quasi has a tail of some sort of animal- dragon tail (Myla) pig tail, dog tail, really the options are infinite. Also, each and every Quasi has an affinity to one of the seven deadly sins-
Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Envy, Wrath and Pride.
With each one comes certain skills- Envy can feel when someone's envy them, Lust are seductive and irresistible, Wrath are natural born warriors.

When a human dies, there's need to decide where the soul would go to. This can be decided by trial or combat. When choosing combat the soul can choose it's opponent from three options- ghoul, demon or Quasi. If the opponent is defeated the soul goes to heaven, if not then hell. Myla (our SUPER KICKASS heroine) is one of the arena's warriors. Fighting evil souls and beating them so they'll never get to heaven is her job, and she does it fantastically. (Make no mistake Myla's job isn't easy. sometimes hard things happen)

the fighting and action scenes in this book are enough to keep anyone happy- quantity and quality wise.

The one responsible for transferring the soul to heaven or hell is the Scala- the one creature with human, demon and angel blood. Usually there are two of those- the Scala and the Scala heir.

I'll stop now, because I see I'm getting carried away.

The thing is, Christina Bauer has created a well-rounded world with definite rules and what I told you is just the tip of the iceberg.

Also, the world building is done gradually without over tiring info-dumps. Each information comes exactly when it needed to come- not only in order to move the plot forward but also to allow the reader to understand things while the happen. There are no contradictions in the world building and no dropping of weird terms that will be discovered later once the author needs a way out .

As I already said The world and the book are so well built it is obvious the author paid great attention and thought to them both.

Before I continue to other aspects of the book, let me just say, even though I don't complain much about world building in other books- for me this aspect is the difference between 4 and 5 stars. So rarely do I really enjoy the world building in a book as much as I enjoyed it here

The characters:
beside the really not important characters, those I doubt would appear on the second book, Each and every of the characters is rounded with depth and contradictions. And even as we learn of those, all their actions stay true to their nature

I'll talk about some of the characters right now.

Cissy- Myla's best friend. Hell, I can't explain how fucking annoying she was at times. I was really tempted to reach into the book, grab her by the shoulders and yell at her "Pay attention to your best friend!!!" she made mistakes, she ignored Myla's feelings at times, she was far from a perfect best friend and yet, she was there for Myla when she needed her most. She understood Myla most times, and she apologized when she fucked up. And that is what made her a true friend, because really, no one is perfect. In most UF books the heroine does not have a best friend that is that much present in her friend's adventures and life. In NA books the best friend is rarely a real friend and in YA books with paranormal elements most of the times the best friend is just there to show how amazing and extraordinary the MC is. Well, Myla is extraordinary, but so is her friend. Cissy is this gentle girl that saves lost things, she is this girl who had an obsessive crush on someone for years, she's the girl who stands on her own when she wants something and will not be pushed and stomped on. And it's wonderful to see that the author paid attention to her character while writing this book. It's wonderful to know that Myla has such a good best friend, even if annoying at times.

Zeke- Myla's friend and Cissy's huge crush. Honestly, he's a player and he can't shut his mouth. But he also shows other sides of him later, he takes risks to help Myla, he cares about Cissy. And his playboy acts are just a façade as much as they are real.

Walker- I wouldn't go so far as to say he is made of contradictions. But he is there for Myla, he's a true friend and he knows more than he lets on.

Armageddon- The king of hell and the big bad guy. Really, you can't be the king of hell and not being the big bad guy. At least not in this book. But damn, he was terrifying, of the pure evil kind. He's a power hungry sadist, and he's so good at what he does. His level of scheming can compete Verus's.

Verus- The representative of the angels. Sweet heavens, I simply adore the little minx- while everyone on the board play backgammon she plays chess. You can never take her words of what they are, because even if she can't lie, there are plenty of other things she can do.

Myla's mom- I think she is one of the most complex characters in this book. an overbearing mother, she's a scardy cat, she worries about her daughter constantly, she has depressions and every so often you catch a glimpse of something else- of fire and steel. I can’t talk about her in details as her contradictions are very important to the plot.

Lincoln's Mother- the Thrax queen. I won't say much about her, but she is a warrior and a fighter in society that is dominated by men. Where women are mainly there to be protected.

Myla- I've talked about other characters so much, it's time to cut the bullshit. Myla is amazing by every standard possible, in my opinion. She looks good (and she knows it), she fights (damn well), she stands on her own, she's a warrior and she takes shit from no one. Myla is a Quasi furor demon, which means that beside being a natural born warrior she has an affinity to both wrath and lust and she has a dragon tail. When she wants to know something she'd push all the buttons and go to anywhere she needs and any length in order to get the information she sought. Even when she meets Lincoln and is instantly attracted to him physically she acknowledge that he's a jerk, and she doesn't caught him some slack just because he looks good. She demands his respect, and she doesn't respect him until he proves worthy of it. She's also very kind. In my humble opinion Myla balances well between being a total Kickass and being gentle. She cares, she is not a tomboy and she does not mock girls- only irrational and foolish behavior. She cries, she gets injured and hurt, she's not perfect. She's afraid at times, she doesn't always think things through, but she learns from her mistakes. And she stays true to herself and her nature throughout the book.

It is no secret I'm a fan of Kate Daniels (Seriously, how can you not love that girl?), well, I love Myla just as much. She's just as kickass as kate, just as sharped tongued, almost just as funny, but unlike Kate, Myla is not emotionally detached (yes, Kate is a little detached and she's closed. Make no mistake I love her for it). Myla doesn't push people away, she's mature and childish in a balanced way. She is fun. If Kate is a bad guy that chose to be good, than Myla is a good humble guy that stays good. I know, it might make her less interesting compared to Kate, but I think they are just different.

Lincoln- The Thrax prince, the love interest and a royal pain in the ass…at first. It is not hard to make me swoon over a swoon worthy guy, and it is not hard to make me hate/dislike a jackass. But you know what? I hardly can do both. I know, I know that many women around the world love Mr. Darcy, I'm not one of them. He was a stupid, prideful jackass in the beginning and even as his intentions became clear, even as he was redeemed, even as he apologized, I couldn't help but hold a grudge. He hadn't changed, not entirely. And what made me not like him from start remained there by the end [edit: 2.5 years later, things have changed. I love Mr. Darcy, I really do. Not because he was redeemed. he was never redeemed, rather I understand him better now. he was prideful but besides that he never needed redemption]. On the other hand I like Jericho Barrons (even though he doesn't turn my oven on) and I liked Curran even though he was annoying at first, because I understood why both men acted like they did from start. And here we have Lincoln- he starts out like a prejudiced jackass, calling Quasis 'demons', refusing to understand the difference while acting so high and mighty. That pissed me off. I black listed him right away .
I really found it impossible to think that I'll like him in the end. That he would end up worthy of Myla . but he did, he so did. And not by doing a sudden change of 180 degrees. No. By slowly unraveling and showing his true nature and good points. Little by little he showed respect for Myla when she proved worthy of it. He showed his gentle side. He showed his fair side- the side that would care for a demon because this demon could not protect itself. He thanks Myla for saving one of his own and stands up for her even when the idiot she saved fails to understand that he is an idiot. And when Myla gets injured he takes care of her. He also apologize once he realizes his mistakes. And the way he supports and loves Myla is so swoon worthy that I call dibs on Lincoln as my book boyfriend and main squeeze

Other interesting aspects to talk about in this book

I won't say who, what or when, but let's just say Christina Bauer knows how to create totally swoon worthy guys- the kind that is dependable, supportive, cute, nice, manly and totally loves you.

Also, the relationship between Myla and Lincoln is one of the best I've ever seen. While the attraction between them might be instant, their relationship and love are not. It takes time for the feelings to appear and grow, but once they do- well let's just say it's the mature kind and not the stupidly obsessive kind.

They are synchronized- even when they fight something together. They understand each other perfectly. They support each other. When Myla decides to do something dangerous Lincoln tells her he is not happy with that and that he is worried but he doesn't try to change her mind. He understand her choices and supports her. Myla does the same for him. Considering how many stakes are against them, it's lovely to see that they work as one unit and don't add wood to the fire.
They care so much about each other that whenever one of them is insecure the other chases those insecurities away. If Lincoln thinks some guy is interested in Myla and that she may be somewhat interested too, Myla quickly tells him it's not like that, and vice versa. They trust each other. If Lincoln has some bad news and Myla is already aware of them, she lets him know that she's aware of the situation because she doesn't want him to hurt while saying that. He tells her he has a plan and she tells him she trust him. their bond is that deep .

Myla's tail- that thing can only be described as BEST SIDEKCIK IN THE HISTORY OF TIME. Witches would give up their familiars for such a tail if they knew it existed. Really, that tail is another character and a wonderful one at that. Funny too. I absolutely freaking love it!

The end of the book is somewhat bittersweet, both Lincoln and Myla make some tough choices, both understand and respect those choices. Still, somehow, I know they will be OK.
So, the next book comes out on May 2014, and It is one of my top five most anticipated books of 2014. I would attach myself a tail and take a picture with it if it would help me get an early copy of the book.

If so far, I haven't been clear as to how much I loved this book I would give you more indication- This is one of the books I REALLY want in print. If it was available in paperback or even hardcover I'd totally buy it! [yep, I loved it that much to the moon and back and round earth 20 M times].

A copy was kindly provided to me by Ink Monster through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I'm grateful for the opportunity to read it.


For this Review and more visit my blog The Accidental Reader

Pre Review
SUPER AWESOME.

moooore please, I need the second book ASAP. More of Myla and Lincoln, pleeease :D

anyway, review to come in a few short days. and it's one I'm going to really enjoy writing.

[❤Ninja Bunneh❤ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hand me a book chock full of demons, angels, ghouls, and all creatures creepy, I am in book heaven. Angelbound is chock full.

Myla is a 17 year old quasi (part demon/part human). Her home sweet home is a little known place called Purgatory. She goes to school, has a BFF, a somewhat annoyingly over-protective mom, and a ghoul for a babysitter (so to speak). In her spare time, she heads on down to the arena and battles souls in order to send them to hell. Myla is snarky, bitchy, and totally kick-ass, complete with a demon pointed tail. I liked her.

Potential love interest Lincoln is an ass and a half when we first meet him. Though to his defense, most guys in books these days are introduced this way. He is a self-centered Prince, who hunts demons in his spare time. There is the hate/attraction thing that goes on for while which then evolves into lovie dovie land. Yes, it's typical. However, I really enjoyed the relationship that grew between Myla and Lincoln. He has a bad-ass side that matches her kick-ass side. Match made in, well, heaven.

I have to mention Myla's BFF, Cissy. Simply because I couldn't stand the girl. She is shallow, self-absorbed, her boyfriend is a mindless ego inflated douche, I couldn't stand either of them. Add to this, she has a Golden Retriever tail. Every time she was mentioned I automatically pictured this: in female form.

At least it provided some comic relief. I would have enjoyed the book even more, had Cissy not been in it. I felt no connection between her and Myla. She was more the obligatory book friend. Walker, the ghoul, did the job better.

My only other tiny issue with the book was that it was a tad too long. A bit too drawn out. I enjoyed the plot, and it kept me entertained, but cutting some pages would have made it a 5 star book for me. The twist was kind of obvious early on, but that didn't deter from the fun I had reading.

The ending was done just right. Action packed, and left not with an unbearable cliffie, just a kick-ass ending.


This is definitely a series my bunneh spies will be keeping an eye on.

3.5 - 4 Ninja-Bunnehs-With-Pointy-Demon-Tails

(Thank you to Ink Monster and Ms. Bauer for the arc, and Shelby for the rec. A special fluffeh bunneh kiss for Inky.)

[Aneta Bak · Rating 5 out of 5]

"His eyes almost glow with intensity. "I like this. Feeling like I have a peer, a partner." He cups my face in his hands. "I like you, Myla."

Christian Bauer created a fantastic new world, filled with beautiful and dark creatures. With amazing kick-ass characters, Angelbound is a perfect YA novel.

Myla Lewis is a kick-ass type of girl that doesn't take crap from anyone. But who would dare fight her anyways? Myla is a quasi-demon, half demon, half human. She looks just like you and me, with an addition of an awesome tail that's meant for killing. Myla spends her time ditching school and fighting souls in the Purgatory arena.
But then things start to get crazy! The demons and angels are acting weird, and her land is filled with incoming Thrax (half angel, half human demon hunters). It looks like everyone is preparing for battle, but who's side will Myla chose? Either way, Purgatory will never be the same.

This book is so wonderful. It's filled with action, mystery, and a forbidden romance. Who doesn't love that?
I absolutely loved Myla as a character, shes beautiful, witty, smart, and she has a license to kill. I absolutely loved reading about her fighting, the author definitely did a good job with making me feel like I was in the book.

The world that she created is also pretty amazing. Angels and Demons are pretty common in books nowadays, same with the half angel half human species. But I've never read a book where the half demon half human species were actually considered good, it was so awesome seeing their demon emotions come out during specific parts of the book. And the whole idea of Ghouls was pretty brilliant as well. I'm impressed.

Definitely recommending this book to all the fans of other Demon/Angel books, and all the fans of kick-ass girl characters. You will definitely love this.

I'd like to thank Netgalley and Ink Monster publishing for giving me this amazing opportunity to read this book. And a huge thanks to Christian Bauer for writing this beautiful masterpiece. And thanks to everyone who reads this. You're all awesome!

Happy Reading!

[Aileen Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Myla is so bad ass that I kind of want to be her. Who know being a half-demon living in Purgatory could be so freaking cool? Not only that, but Lincoln is hawt! Myla made me literally LOL throughout the book. She's strong, funny, and can kick some serious ass. When shit goes down, she doesn't just sit by and let it happen. Nope. She fights with everything she has to save the day. The world Christina builds is original and rich. And the cast of characters are just so much damned fun that I missed them as soon as I was done reading. Can't wait for the next book in the series out in May 2014!

[Bridge D'urso · Rating 5 out of 5]

1. Bad-ass female protagonist
2. Fabulously funny
3. Super cool magical world full of creative creatures unlike any super cool magical world I've encountered
4. Edge-of-your-seat action
5. Super original
6. Characters you care about and fall in love with.
7. Can't put it down
8. Who needs an eighth?!

[Maria Dimitrova · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this on sale on Audible and it was money well spend :) Which was quite the surprise considering that this is an young adult novel, a genre I find more and more tedious as I grow older. To be honest if I knew that it was young adult I wouldn't have bought it. But that cover sucked me in and I have no regrets.

I liked the story but mostly I liked the idea behind it - the 5 realms and the different races that rule and live in them. Myla was a bit annoying at times but then again is there a teen that isn't annoying? Still she grows on you after a while and she has the potential to grow into a kickass adult one day. I'm looking forward to the moment when she grow out of her whininess. Because I am planning to stick around and see what happens next. Though maybe I'll switch to ebook instead of audio.

My only real complaint is the narration - it sucked. There was little difference between the different characters and the way they were voiced made them sound like idiots. Myla particularly sounded like someone with brain damage. I'm pretty sure that part of the reason why I think of Myla as excessively whiny persona is due to the way she sounded on the recording. I even debated if I should lower my rating because of it but decided against. After all it was a really good book :)

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy of the audiobook through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

As a woman in my mid 30s I didn't expect to like this book nearly as much as I did. With that said, my teenage self would have liked it even more. Yes the characters are juvenile, they are meant to be! The world building was incredible.

Myla, an 18 year old quasi demon (half human, half demon) who lives in Purgatory has been fighting in the arena to keep evil out of heaven since she was 12. Her home had been overthrown by demons before she was born and has been ruled by ghouls ever since. Quasis now live in slavery where they àre forced to serve the ghouls. Myla's service was in the arena, and although it worried her mother, she was good at it, and she loved doing it.

Myla begins getting more and more curious about her mother's secretive past and the father she never knew. On her quest to find the answers she meets new people, finds new truths about both the past and the present, and ultimately uncovers her true identity. Just in time for the demons to wage war on Purgatory again.

[Al *the semi serial series skipper* · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty good. I enjoyed Myla's spunk and also loved her interaction with Lincoln. Can't wait to read the rest of the series.

[Lučka]

DNF @ 75%

Ugh, another one bites the dust. I'm sorry.


The world building was very interesting and I loved the different types of "creatures"; demons, half-demons, angels, half-angels, ghouls, etc. The fighting scenes at the Arena were really entertaining.

Heroine is a kickass, snarky quasi-demon, a rebel at heart and at times really immature. But this is YA and juvenile 1st POV narration is acceptable for me. I actually liked her.

Then there was an enemies-lovers trope and you know I'm a sucker for that. The H wasn't my type TBH, but he was likeable when they "hated" each other.

The main problem for me was the nonexistent chemistry between the H and h. Their first kiss was so anticlimatic. Not a single spark, I tell ya. Their touchy-feely endeavour felt like


Pity. Such a pity.

I had some minor and major issues. Mainly with the h's Mom. She kept secrets about the h's real father, what happened to her in the past, etc. Instead of telling her by herself, the head of Angels was showing the heroine, her Mom's past through the dreams. It was so ridiculous I can't even explain it in English.

Then the relevation of the "big" secret...


Yeah. Shocking. We didn't see it coming from a mile away...

[Olive]

DNF at 10%. I won’t be giving a rating. This is not a bad book, but it’s not what I expected. The characters are juvenile in a way that I don’t enjoy. Also, the audiobook is not great. The portrayal of the mother is downright grating on the nerves.

[Donita · Rating 5 out of 5]

The herald lowers his silver trumpet. "Miss Myla Lewis without escort." I stifle the urge to groan. Without escort? Really?! How about with the ability to kick ass? They need to leave the Middle Ages, STAT.

See that cover? That freaking girl with the wicked tail? It was already screaming KICK-ASS! And those kind of books are always welcome in my realm, Always.



Myla Lewis is a quasi-demon,(mostly human with a little demon DNA) and every quasi has a bit of a demon DNA that is aligned to one of the seven deadly sins, Myla's sin is wrath, which explains her ass-kicking ability. She fights in the arena and she hasn’t lost a battle yet. The girl has a nasty temper and you don't want to see the girl get angry!

Myla-la's character is not the only thing in this book that managed to win my heart. The setting and the plot are all perfection in my eyes! The setting was in friggin Purgatory. This was where the human souls get judged for Heaven or Hell. Purgatory belongs to the quasi demons - until Armageddon, a great demon, took over and make Ghouls as the quasi's overlord, and them, the quasi demons as slaves.

This is rather a complex world. There were actually a lot of things, creatures invloved in this book it was hard for me to keep up! There were Angels, Demons, Ghouls, quasi-demons, demon hunter Thrax, which has a sexy mismatched eye color - yep a total Graceling rip off- which also has a lot family hierarchies, with Monarchs. I can't memorize them all, not for the lack of trying. **Snickers

Then there's the Romance.

The romance in this story was believable, cocky, maybe a little bit too fast, but incredibly sweet. Myla's also a descendant from the Furor demons which are known for having two deadly sins: lust and wrath. So you see, our little Myla-la's know how to flirt, but that sin only comes out when Lincoln, the high prince of the Thrax is the one involved.

Cissy Groans."What is it between you two?" "Uh, hatred?" "No." Cissy slowly scans me from head to toe. "No, it's not"

Well, they had this attraction - hate - super hate - flirting - love relationship throughout the book. Although Myla tries to deny it, she was attracted to the high prince the moment she first land her eyes on him.

"Part of me wonders if I'm hoing too far, too fast, feeling things for a guy who I thought was a major jerk only a few days ago. Good thing another part of me takes the worrying part out back and kicks the shit out of it"

I'm not gonna lie to you, there is an insta love thing going on here, but it was believable. I mean, don't you get attracted to someone who is just perfectly built? Don't you worry Myla dear, no ones going to fault you for lusting over the high prince..

In fact..



If I just have a wicked tail and a demon blood on my body maybe I could..

Overall: This book is incredibly enjoyable, exciting and entertaining read! Highly recommended, definitely a must read. I might be a little late for this, but one good thing is that I don't have to wait for a long time for the sequel to come out! How great is that?

**I received the copy of the whole trilogy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you so much!**

[Literary George (For Your Literary Pleasure Blog) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't think I would love this book, especially reading it immediately following a 5 star book like "Becoming Alpha"... But sweet mother of mercy "Angelbound" is beyond fabulous! Bauer creates a whole new world that had me bowing down and praising the universe for whatever is responsible for inspiring this creative genius.


I haven't been this in love with something since my King and Queen Beyonce. Argh I didn't think anyone could pack this much amazing into a book anymore! I don't know where to start my loving.


The characters are pure perfection. Myla is a wonderful mix of kick yo' ass attitude and compassionate sweetheart. I love Myla as much as I love Kate Daniels, Mercy Thompson and all my other paranormal heroines. Lincoln is a pain in the ass, handsome, hilarious, snobby and intelligent male. Their dialogue is amusing, witty and worth every word used. He is strong in his own right and admires Myla's strength. He wants to be with her because she is his equal *fans self* and could take him in a fight.


The concept of half demons, demons, half humans, half angels, angels and ghouls is mind blowing! A fresh take on paranormal staples - FINALLY! Being an avid fan of paranormal, it's hard to read the tired cliche of angels, demons etc. in their typical situations, powers yadda yadda. Bauer throws it all out the window with a flourish, bringing me life once again! Purgatory isn't a soul waiting room and quasi-demons are like humans but with bad ass powers inherited by their demon parents. Thrax are equivalent of quasi-demons but instead of being half demon they are half angel. Thrax are slightly snobby but Myla quickly puts them in their place - get it, girl!

The plot keeps you on your toes while giving you enough information not to be lost in this new land. There are twists a plenty and also more than one kick ass female. The quasi-demon history is rich with potential for future novels and I loved everything about the ending minus well... the fact that it was the ending. If you don't read this book you are going to be missing out on one of the best New Adult Paranormal novels to be released in 2013. I swear on Beyonce you should read this book because I loved it so much I can't even. I'm going to stop gushing now.


xxx Literary George
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[Sam (Rescue Dog Mom, Writer, Hugger) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is book one in a series of five books with two spin-off books.

This story takes place in another realm filled with angels, demons, ghouls, quasi-demons (half-demon, half-human) and Thrax (half-human half-angel demon hunters comprised of several royal families). Myla, the main character, is a quasi-demon in her senior year of high school. Much to her mother's anxiety, Myla is often called to serve the oligarchy by fighting the human souls wishing to challenge being assigned to hell upon their death. Having never lost a battle in her five years of service, Myla has become an expert warrior. She also enjoys missing her classes at school, which she finds mostly boring and useless. After all, quasi-demons don't graduate high school and go to college to learn to be scientists. Quasi-demons don't go to college. They graduate high school and serve the oligarchy for the rest of their lives, something Myla also considers boring and useless, even though her own mother is a seamstress.

It's not long before things begin to happen that will change her future forever. In this installment, Myla learns the truth about her family and the history of their civilization. More importantly, she learns a lot about herself, not just about what she is, but who she wants to be. At the beginning of the story, her primary focus is on fighting in arena matches and bragging about them to her friends. At the end, Myla has the weight of the realm on her shoulders and the love of her life is elsewhere, but she's happier. She knows who she is and she knows what she has to do, what she wants to do. This will make for an interesting series.

[Belle · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW.. I seriously am surprised.. honestly loved reading this book. It kept me on my toes and I could not put a page down. I will admit I love books where the lead heroine is seriously kick ass, so this was no exception. Loved how she was unafraid to show the world what she could do, and that she stood up against the prejudices laid against her.

It was not even the fact that the lead male Prince Thrax was an amazing book boyfriend (got to love relationships that begin with hate and end with love.. can anyone say Mr. Darcy?), but it was the setting of the storyline that made this book a five star PR read. I loved the mythology and character backgrounds that were created and how demons, angels and the world between played a big part in shaping the story.

Awaiting the next book eagerly!
Definitely a read for those who love butt-kicking heroines and story's involving angels and demons.

[Lillian ☁ Cloud 9 Books ☁ · Rating 5 out of 5]

***** 4.5 Stars *****

An amazing beginning to a great series! Myla is a strong quasi-demon that enjoys fighting demons and evil spirits. She would rather battle at the arena than go to a school that brainwashes students to worship and serve.

When angels and demons notice her unbeatable strength, strange things start to unravel. She discovers secrets about her past and learns about her true destiny.

I enjoyed this more than Christina Bauer's Beholder series. I loved background between demons and angels. The characters were also easy to get attached to. The romance was light and safe for young adults. I can't wait to move on to the next book in the series.

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A new look on Purgatory, demons, and the forces of darkness.

I enjoyed reading this immensely! Angelbound is a fun read with creative world building and multiple strong, female leads. Snarky humor, teen romance, and lots of kicking ass. Give this new series a shot; 5 stars.

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Source* Angelbound Origins Box Set
(Angelbound Origins #1–3 omnibus)
*Genre* Fantasy / Paranormal Romance
*Rating* 3.5-4

*Thoughts*

Christina Bauer's Angelbound is the first installment in what's being called the Angelbound Origins. 18-year-old Myla Lewis is a Quasi-Demon, mostly human, with demon DNA. Myla lives in Purgatory with her mother Camilla. She has no clue as to who her father was due to her mother's failure to enlighten her about what happened 20 years ago that saw the Quasi become slaves to Ghouls. Purgatory is populated by Demons, Ghouls, and Quasi. What makes Myla interesting is that she's an arena fighter who is called to service whenever a soul is to be judged.

*Full Review @ Gizmos Reviews*

https://gizmosreviews.blogspot.com/20...

[unravelingthepages · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hi! Angelbound by Christina Bauer is a fantasy romance I absolutely loved!! I listened to its audiobook which may be the reason it worked out so well for me. The book is written in first person and is basically the inside of an extremely chaotic person’s brain. So hearing the book in an audiobook format was like hearing the inside commentary firsthand and I absolutely loved that. It made me snort out loud, multiple times.

Read more as I try to convince you why you should listen to the audiobook too (or read the book, though I loved listening to the audiobook at 1.75x speed).

Why you should read it

Myla, the protagonist is honestly great. I found her actually relatable- never mind the amazing fighting skills and the tail (so cool??!). She hadn’t found anyone she liked and/ or found hot, nor had her first kiss, but wasn’t naïve either.

The hilarity?? I’m sorry but this book had no business being so funny. I pretty much cackled throughout its entirety. I’m convinced my Dadi (Dadi means paternal grandmother) thought I went mad, though it’s not like she didn’t already think that.

And lastly the plot. It wasn’t underdone nor was it excessively focused on- rather it just fit in perfectly with the commentary and character interactions. At times, I did wish it would progress faster but I’m pretty sure that was just my brain computing the already sped up audio as slow lol.

All-in-all, I genuinely recommend this read! Angelbound is actually the first book in a (quite) long series though I read this read as a standalone and loved it (I really hope to listen to the rest of the series someday though). Regardless, go read/ listen to this book!!!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my free audiobook of this read.

If you’re planning on purchasing this read, please consider using the following amazon affiliate link to purchase it. It would be at no extra cost to you and would really help me out, thank you!

purchase this read: https://amzn.to/3PZXzw9 (It’s free on KU!)

[Molly Mortensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t know what it is about me and tail fascination. I’ve just always wanted one. So naturally the reason Angelbound caught my eye is the main character has a tail. (The author actually uses her tail to show emotion and humor too.)

Angelbound is told in a fun voice with plenty of humor and I liked the strong sassy heroine, Myla. It might just be me, (because I couldn’t pry the book out of my fingers to go to bed.) but this book was a quick read. I think Angelbound will appeal to fans of the Mortal Instruments.

Myla is a quasi demon (meaning part human) living in purgatory. Around twenty years ago demons invaded purgatory and left ghouls running things. Myla’s mom is super over-protective and won’t say anything about her life before the war with the demons or even about Myla’s father.

Myla spends most of her time at school, but every so often she’s called to duty. When a soul enters purgatory they can choose trial by combat. Since she was twelve Myla’s been required to fight to the death in the arena against theses souls. As the best fighter they save the nastiest ones for her, but she’s not your typical almost eighteen year-old. She enjoys her battles in the arena, particularly when it’s against a demon and she keeps extensive notebooks on how to beat the various demon races.

Myla’s best friend Cissy (who has the tail of a golden retriever, yes it does wag when she’s happy. Okay, enough about tails…) has a huge crush on a boy at school, so when said boy invites Myla and a guest to his party she can’t say no. At the party, abandoned by her friend, Myla meets the frustrating prince Lincoln. He’s a demon hunter who thinks all quasis are evil, but Myla can’t stop thinking about him and not just about punching him. Well, that too.

The Good:

Romance is a strong part of this book and it’s well done. Though the conversation where they got to really know each other is only told about afterwards.

Angelbound has interesting characters and good world building. The author takes her time to really make us care about the characters and to establish the world.

The Bad:

There are a few slow spots towards the beginning, but I’m glad I kept reading, because it quickly picks up.

I did notice several errors, but I’m very nit picky about that sort of thing and often find such in books.

Would I recommend this book? Yes. Will I read the next one? For sure!

POV: First (Myla)

Predictability: 5 out of 5 (Where 1 is George RR Martin (If the characters make a plan or think about the future I know it isn’t going to go that way.) And 5 is Cinder (where I guessed what was going to happen long before it did, but it was still a great book.)

Age Rating: Older YA, due to one make out session. (Not sex, but parts are named.)

[Viking Jam · Rating 5 out of 5]

http://koeur.wordpress.com/2013/10/30...

Publisher Description: Eighteen year old Myla Lewis is a girl who loves two things: kicking ass and kicking ass. She’s not your every day quasi-demon, half-demon and half-human, girl. For the past five years, Myla has lived for the days she gets to fight in Purgatory’s arena. When souls want a trial by combat for their right to enter heaven or hell, they go up against her, and she hasn’t lost a battle yet.

Review: This was a great teen angst/daemon novel set in Purgatory, where the Quasi-demons reside under the fateful rule of ghouls that are aligned with the King of Hell. Our heroine, Myla and her friend Cissy make for a dynamic duo that is both funny and poignant. Cissy is the best of friends, until her envy side rears it’s ugly head and Myla is only interested in invoking her wrath in the purgatory arena to take out truly evil souls that have chosen trial by combat.

The author creates some great interactions in descriptive settings and has a splendid imagination with regard to the various daemons and angels in her world. There are arachnid daemons, Queen of Angels, King of Hell, Ghouls that can open portals, Gelatinous daemons and a high school with quasi demons (human and daemon) that sport different tails. Myla is an expert at killing demons of every kind imaginable. She is tough and tender with a great sense of witty self-deprecation that allows for the reader to genuinely care what happens to her. the cover art is really good. Myla in a dragon suit,…kewl.

Wow, I loved this novel. The novels concept and subsequent story-line is fantastic. The scene development really transports you to a different alternate reality. Although primarily written for the Teen/YA crowd, adults should really take a look at a wonderful talent in the fantasy genre. Much like my fave new writer, AJ Salem, I plan on adding Ms. Bauer to that list.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW...I enjoyed this book. If I didn't have to go to work I would have read it in one sitting.

I loved the world that Bauer created as well as the additional "species". Loved Myla! She was spunky, sarcastic, and could give better than she got. Lincoln was great once he had his rectal-cranial-inversion. I wasn't a big fan of Myla's Mom until we knew more of her back story and I loved the whole "big brother" vibe of Walker.

This book was a total roller coaster from the build-up of the first chapter until you started down the hill with Myla's first battle and the ride didn't let up once. Can't wait to read the second book in the series, Scala, and I've got the release date from Goodreads marked on my calendar.

[Colleen Reddington · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first foray into fantasy/paranormal and I am glad I gave it a try. Bauer's character development and humor are right on. Looking forward to the next!!

[Angela]

6 January 2016: $0.00 FREE on Kindle

4 December 2014: $0.00 FREE on Kindle
2 September 2014: $0.00 FREE on Kindle

[☆☆Hannah☆☆ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Right now I'm leaving this unrated because I'm trying to decide if I want to give it a 1 or 2. I will begin by saying that this was way too long. If this had been less than 300 pages or around that this would have been more likable. I also really had a hard time liking the characters. I did mostly enjoy Myla but she tended to spend time with unlikable people all the time. I definitely will not be continuing this series because quite frankly all the books are too long.