Angelology

Author: Danielle Trussoni
Average Goodreads Rating: 3.22
My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.


I listened to this book as an audiobook, given that information, it took me a long time from when I started it to when I finished it. It was a twenty hour book that took me two months to read, sometimes listening to it a lot, sometimes not for a month. That being said, some little facts are forgotten between starting and ending it. My opinion of this book also changed knowing that it was the first in a series, although I think that it would have been better as a standalone.


Synopses from Goodreads.com:

A thrilling epic about an ancient clash reignited in our time- between a hidden society and heaven's darkest creatures

There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them.
Genesis 6:5

Sister Evangeline was just a girl when her father entrusted her to the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in upstate New York. Now, at twenty-three, her discovery of a 1943 letter from the famous philanthropist Abigail Rockefeller to the late mother superior of Saint Rose Convent plunges Evangeline into a secret history that stretches back a thousand years: an ancient conflict between the Society of Angelologists and the monstrously beautiful descendants of angels and humans, the Nephilim.

For the secrets these letters guard are desperately coveted by the once-powerful Nephilim, who aim to perpetuate war, subvert the good in humanity, and dominate mankind. Generations of angelologists have devoted their lives to stopping them, and their shared mission, which Evangeline has long been destined to join, reaches from her bucolic abbey on the Hudson to the apex of insular wealth in New York, to the Montparnasse cemetery in Paris and the mountains of Bulgaria.

Rich in history, full of mesmerizing characters, and wondrously conceived, Angelology blends biblical lore, the myth of Orpheus and the Miltonic visions of Paradise Lost into a riveting tale of ordinary people engaged in a battle that will determine the fate of the world.

My review after the jump!

So knowing that this book is part of a series makes me take it easier on my criticism of this book. The ending was terrible, but it does let you know that there will be more to the story. This book begins following the life of a nun, Evangeline, who seems to have a very bland existence. As the story progresses we are introduced to Verlane, an adjunct professor at Columbia working for Percival Gregori an evil Nephilim. For now I'll stick with their story since it is Verlane who starts the whole domino effect that leads to the end of the book. If Verlane hadn't been so efficient, none of this would have happened. Percival is dying because of some disease and despite the wealth of his family, there is nothing that he can do about it. This disease that destroyed his wings can be cured by one thing: Orpheus's Lyre which was cast down to earth by Gabriel.

I really enjoyed the mythology behind the Angels, the Watchers, and the Nephilim. I'm not sure that this was all created or it was something that Trussoni did extensive research, either way, it was amazing. I really enjoyed that which was why I didn't give the book a worse rating. What I also enjoyed out of the book was a small interlude into the life of Celestine Clochet(Which was spelt wrong because its a French name and I only had the audio!). For a short period of the book, we were given what seems like a short journal which explains the world of Angelology to Evangeline.

If this seems all over the place, it has something to do with the fact that this book was a 464 page monster, and so there was a lot of information in it.

A lot of the fun was figuring out the ending which I don't want to give away, but you find out really interesting information about Gabrielle who is Evangeline's grandmother and her relationship with Percival. It was a lot of fun to connect the dots as everyone told their different stories told from an omniscient narrator.

I gave my audiobook to my mother for her to read and I'm still considering if I should warn her. I do think that knowing that its part of a series really helps to find love for this book. Since I'm already invested, I think that I will get the second book, but for sure not the hardcover. I got this book as a super cheap audiobook, so hears hoping for the next one.

Who would I recommend this book to: I think people that are Catholic will enjoy the little tidbits about the bible in there (on the other side of that coin they may also find it blasphemous). On Goodreads, one reviewer said that lovers of Dan Brown would also love this book, so I'm going to second that motion.

If you have any suggestions for how to better my blog or recommendations for what I should read next, feel free comment!