Lucian Divine by Renee Carlino
Published by Indie
Published on: January 9, 2017
Genres: Fantasy Romance
Pages: 226
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
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“My guardian angel is a drunk.”
Evelyn Casey’s life is at a standstill. She’s in her mid-twenties, struggling with the dating scene in San Francisco. Nothing seems to be working out, and she’s starting to think that she’ll live out her days in her crummy apartment with her overbearing roommate, Brooklyn. It’s absurd, but sometimes Evey longs for a guardian angel to show up and save the day.
And then he does. Seriously. His name is Lucian and he’s a guardian angel, been on the job for two thousand years. His sudden presence in her life is both good—he’s brilliant, witty, and warm—and bad—he’s brilliant, witty, warm, and hot as —-. But as perfect as Lucian seems, he’s got problems of his own. He’s taken up drinking and he’s brazenly inserted himself into Evey’s life, going against the greatest cosmic law ever created.
For Evey, the rules are simple: You are not allowed to hook up with your guardian angel. But sometimes fulfilling your destiny requires a leap of faith, a confrontation with God.
Yes, God as in God.
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Guardian Angels. Ever wondered if you have one? And if so, what would they look like or act like? Well wonder no more, as Renee Carlino’s vision of guardian angels comes to life in Lucian Divine. This was a book I had been anticipating due to loving other books by this author, books that fall into the contemporary romance genre.
Lucian has been Evey’s guardian angel since she was born, and he has loved her dearly her whole life. When Evey grows up, Lucian’s love for her grew up as well. Now he’s hopelessly in love with her and spends his time away from her getting wasted, his only solace, whiskey. Evey is only twenty four, but she is fed up with the dating scene. Her roommate Brooklyn is a serial dater, only one date and she is off to the next guy. Evey is starting to see the wisdom in that when she first sees Lucian. Lucian should never have allowed Evey to see him, but it happens accidentally. Lucian is not like anyone she’s ever met, he is literally the best looking man she has ever seen. And on Lucian’s part, he can’t say no to actually interacting with her.
Lucian is not like any angel that you can imagine. Oh, of course he’s beautiful, has all kinds of fantastic powers, wings when he wants them, but he isn’t strong when it comes to Evey. He’s been around for thousands of years, been guardian angel to many people, but this is a first for him. So whiskey is his best friend-but only when he is sure she is safe. Evey is a good person, designs clothes, and manages to be Brooklyn’s whipping boy at times. They are supposedly best friends from childhood, but Brooklyn shamelessly uses Evey at times, and even tries for Lucian when she meets him.
There’s some good world building as well. We meet other guardian angels and they are pretty much just like people, some are good, some are bad. They get in trouble, get banished into spending eternity stuck in one place-like as a bartender or something like that. There’s supervisors, in this case, Mona. Mona comes off as a tough broad, but she does have some redeeming qualities in the end. These angels don’t visit heaven or talk directly to God, and Jesus, while not a character in this book, does get mentioned quite a bit-he has his own twitter account to keep in touch. And of course, there’s more as well.
I enjoyed the characters, the story, and of course Carlino’s writing. This was my second guardian angel book I’ve read, James Patterson’s, Sunday’s at Tiffany’s, was another good one. This book isn’t anything like Carlino’s previous stories I’ve read, and it doesn’t take itself too seriously for at least the first half of the book. The story did change and became a bit more heart wrenching than I thought it would be. Guardian angels aren’t supposed to interact with their souls, and there is a price to be paid. The ending was good in one way, but not so much in another. But don’t worry, it’s not a cry fest or anything.
Having said all that, I still highly recommend this read to adult paranormal romance or fantasy romance fans. Adult due to lots of sensual scenes. Definitely a worthy addition to my list of Renee Carlino books I have loved. If you haven’t read her, you’re missing out.
I’m Lorna and I live in Maryland. Since retiring, I spend my time mostly reading and reviewing books. My favorite reads are Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, and Young Adult. I read a lot of indie books in addition to traditionally published books. Favorite paranormal creature? Vampires, but I am really liking werewolves more everyday.
I love the premises for this one, kind of unusual and fun at the same time. Wonderful review for this!
kindlemom1 recently posted…Review: Martians Abroad by Carrie Vaughn
You hit the nail on the head-Unusual and fun fit’s this read perfectly. Thank you!
Lorna recently posted…Review: Lucian Divine by Renee Carlino (@Mollykatie112, @renayz)
For some reason I just have a hard time with angels in my romances, etc. It sounds good though and I am glad you enjoyed it. Great review! 🙂
Stormi Johnson recently posted…Audiobook review of Shadow Over the Fens
Well there are angels and then there are angels. I totally understand, I went through lots of angel books there for awhile and I am pretty much over them. However, this was so different from those, PNR while those were UF so that was okay for me. It’s really the writer that made the difference for me here. Carlino wrote two of the books I adored last year and I couldn’t say no to this one. Thanks!
Neat! A guardian angel world. I read one of her contemporaries and it had some serious feels going on.
Sophia Rose recently posted…Good Boy by Anne Tenino, Narrated by Nick J. Russo #AfternoonDelight
I’ve only read three now and loved them all. I bought another one this weekend. Swear on This Life was on my list of top reads of 2016. She surely knows how to give you feels!
I struggle with angel books but this sounds a little different. I will have to check out this author 🙂
kimbacaffeinate recently posted…Seven Years by Dannika Dark
Yes. I have quit with the Angel books mostly though who knows how many freebies with angels I have in my tbr. But this one sounded different to me. And the big reason is Renee Carlino. She’s such a good author. Swear on This Life and Before We Were Strangers are wonderful by her.
I will try that one as I’ve never tried her Lorna.
kimbacaffeinate recently posted…Eleventh Grave in Moonlight by Darynda Jones
I have yet to read anything by her
blodeuedd recently posted…Spectyr – Philippa Ballantine
You should if you enjoy romance. She’s a really good author 🙂
Lorna recently posted…Review: Lucian Divine by Renee Carlino (@Mollykatie112, @renayz)
It does sound like an unique premise for as book, I don’t think I’ve seen a book about guardian angels before. And I am glad to hear you enjoyed it.
Lola recently posted…Lola’s Kitchen: Curry Rice Recipe
It was pretty unique, I agree. It was a fun read with a healthy dose of angst 🙂
Lorna recently posted…Review: Lucian Divine by Renee Carlino (@Mollykatie112, @renayz)
that’s nice! I like the idea of a topic about Guardian Angels. I didn’t know about this one but why not! thanks for the review!
Melliane recently posted…The Turn by Kim Harrison
She writes contemporary romances mostly. Swear on This Life was in my top ten for 2016. When We Were Strangers is fantastic as well.
I’ve only read one book from Carlino but I loved it and have acquired more. 😉 But when I saw this one I knew I was going to have to read it. I love guardian angel stories, honestly, so I’m very interested in Carlino’s take. I so happy you enjoyed it, Lorna. Evey sounds like a great heroine, even if her choice in friends is questionable, and Lucian…well, he sounds like fun! 🙂
Bookworm Brandee recently posted…Brandee’s Bookish Babble #29 ~ Dilemma
I hope you enjoy it Brandee! It was my third by her. And I just bought my fourth. I’ve really liked them all. This was a good read 🙂
Oh wow! This sounds like a lot of fun! I do love myself a good guardian angel read!
Naomi Hop recently posted…Taking Turns by J.A. Huss ~ Review & Swoon Thursday (@jahuss)