Intriguing Blend of Gods, Heroes, Mythology, Time Travel and Romance
I enjoy reading as much as I like writing. One of the frustrating parts of trying to publish and promote a book is that it cuts into my reading time. Now that things are slowing down a little it is nice to catch back up on my TBR and Review pile.
In particular, by Immortal Honor Bound by Danielle Ancona involving Angels, Alchemy, Gods, Heroes and other supernatural creatures. Before I dive into my review, I want to be honest and give you a hint of how much liked this book. I rarely buy books for other people because I feel that books are a highly personal thing. But in this case, I bought several copies for the female members of my family and couple of my close friends when it was released. I wrote a piece of fan fiction as part of my blog. I also had the honor of beta reading this story in the early stages three years before it was published and seeing how it evolved, so I had an idea what the final product was going to look like.
So yes…I’m a fan of this story and the stories that are (hopefully) to come in this series.
Danielle’s writing blends historical fiction and paranormal romance with strong heroines and heroes. She takes us on a STEM-based, paranormal adventure through history, blending Greek, Egyptian, and Christian Theology/Mythology/Lore with warrior angel Malachi.
Main Character Malachi
A battle is raging between the Seraphs led by renegade Angel Gideon who wishes to subjugate humankind and the Celestials in Heaven. Unorthodox (and incredibly sexy) Malachi leads forces to thwart him. At the same time, his brash manner and closeness with deities of other backgrounds and humans irritates the Celestials—in other words, makes them look bad. Kind of like the competent blue-collar worker pointing out the flaws in the CEO’s plan. I picture him almost like a cross between Han Solo, Geralt in the Witcher and Maximus in the Gladiator. Competent, not afraid to get his hands dirty, gets the job done, but of course, totally embarrasses the insecure along the way. As punishment, they sentence him to being an immortal earthbound guardian.
Time Travel
He moves forward through time, protecting numerous important historical figures whom the Gideon and the Seraph wish to destroy or manipulate. Because of the success of book like Outlander, there’s a lot of people rushing to write “time travel” romance. Danielle’s version of time travel, having a supernatural character who can move through time, allows for more flexibility/believability than taking a character out of one time and placing them into another. It helps avoid many of the paradox and social issues that turn the story more toward scifi.
Romance Element
Malachi comes forward into 1600’s England where he meets Alchemist, Daphne. I always chuckled growing up when I would read my mom’s “bodice ripper” novels and they would say something along the lines of, “the head strong, sassy, intelligent <female protagonist’s name> did x.” And usually, it was something that a female character of that time period really wouldn’t do. Sure, I get it, they are selling a fantasy. Still always made me laugh. Right there along with whenever they had people taking an unrealistic number of baths in the medieval era or portrayed women with silky, clean shaven legs. I always wanted to re-write in, hairy, you mean hairy right? Maybe they meant the silky hair on her legs. I digress…
Instead of telling us what a smart, strong female protagonist Daphne is, Danielle shows us. Daphne is a female alchemist studying under Dante, a renowned Alchemist in Yorkshire. She walks a fine line this era of England, when women are getting tried for witchcraft and hung/burned just for having the wrong attitude in life, let alone having thoughts and knowledge uncommon to a woman. Not to mention, she is also harboring supernatural capabilities of her own, which Gideon and the Seraph are hoping to bring over to their cause.
The attraction between Daphne and Malachi is intense and immediate. At the risk of avoiding spoilers, there is also a dark fate hanging over the couple. They are drawn together, but forces are conspiring to rip them apart by any means necessary.
Side Characters
Danielle gives us an intriguing cast of side characters who ally with Malachi and eventually Daphne along the way. The heat between Egyptian God Thoth and Warrior Katherine the Adamantine is off the scale. Picture Bridgerton level of desire and wanting, but between a god and an Amazon, instead of Regency England. Danielle has hinted that there may be more instore for these two characters, which I hope is coming soon.
The only negative I would have with Immortal Honor Bound is that Danielle could probably have split the material into two if not three stories and stretched it out. Over all, it is a great and compelling story, and I am looking forward to the rest of her Angels and Alchemy series.
Thanks for Reading!
About the Author
I joined the Navy at 18 to escape a small town in the Mojave Desert. A diagnosis of MS disrupted my dreams of becoming an astronaut or a super spy. I made limoncello from my lemons and became a super electrical engineer instead. My fascination with live high voltage drew me to Alaska. I came for the job, but stayed for the adventure. I enjoy blogging about my journey as a woman working in STEM, my experiences dealing with everything MS has handed me, and the wonder of the Alaska wilderness. My husband and I have undertaken the task of turning 30 acres of remote land into an off-grid retreat. I write stories about unique women in STEM who save the day and the hot guys who sometimes help along the way, as well as historical fiction about the Klondike Gold Rush. Teasers for these stories can be found on my website. I self-published my first horror novella, The Dark Land, on Amazon in May of 2020. I released the sequel, The Devil’s Valley, in May of 2021. Both stories are set in the wilderness of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, and draw on the Athabascan “Head Waters Peoples” legends of the Cet’ann, or “The People With Tails”.
Subscribe to our newsletter!
Ancient evil stalks the Alaska Backcountry. Some places were never meant for humans to trespass.