Two-fer Review – Silk Road (Seals of Destiny Book 1) by T.J. Michaels

Description:
The first Descendant in millennia with the power to use an ancient artifact is being hunted. By the good, the bad…and the worst.

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Every rogue longs for a second chance, right? Wrong. Larien, former angel of The Host is not looking for redemption. What he needs hasn’t been seen in millennia but he’ll search the ends of the Earth to find it – from the hills of San Francisco all the way to…the Silk Road.

Jayla Protegenu learned as a child to call her protectors to keep at bay the things that prowled the night. Now, as a woman grown, she never expected one of those protectors would be a Fallen angel – Larien. His job: to help Jayla find the mythical and mystical Seal of Solomon.

Even among those who created the very meaning of good and evil, nothing is black and white. Neither friends nor enemies are what they appear.

T.J. Michaels totally opened my eyes to a whole new world of Fallen Angels. Strong, sexy, loving, mean and just plain irritating. Silk Roads was written with many facets to it. Ms. Michaels brings us Larien and Jayla in the first installment of “The Seals of Destiny” series and I so look forward to see where everything is going.

This is Larien and Jayla’s story but there were so many other characters introduced in this first book that she had me wondering how she was going to really keep the story moving with so many Angels written into the story line. But, keep it moving, she did. She had me guessing with every turn of the page. I was a bit confused at the beginning of the book, but then everything started falling into place as the story wove itself around all the characters. We learn of how and why the Angels fell from Heaven. Why some of the “Fallen” were ruled by Lucifer and why others were still in partially good-graces with the powers that be. Larien is a “Fallen” that fell in the second falling – banished because of his love of sex. Yes, sex. And, when he finally gives into his attraction to Jayla, we find out why … an insatiable fallen angel! He is sent to earth to find the Seal of Solomon which has something to do with Jayla, a strong, free-willed, open woman, who throws him totally off of his game. The former Angel of War is totally taken in by the beautiful Jayla who, we find out, is a direct descendant of Solomon and has powers that she doesn’t even know about. Jayla gives as good as she gets. She doesn’t back down, makes fun of the powerful Larien and any other angel that she can, and loves with her whole heart.

We are also introduced to Gabriel, Chel, Talan, Isthus, Ambriel, Azrael, Abaddon and a slew of other angels, demons, daemons, eudaemons that all played an important part in this story. I became more and more drawn into the story as it progressed – interested in seeing how she was going to bring this to an end and how and if she was going to give Jayla and Larien a life together. Larien’s history and Jayla’s flashbacks to times with her father and grandmother played a very important part in this book. I don’t normally enjoy all the “background” on characters but they definitely brought everything together for me and made the story complete.

Now, this isn’t an easy, put your feet up and read kind of book. You have to pay attention, you have to focus on what is going on in the book and, if you do, you will be totally blown away with how this story plays out. Fallen Angels with big, beautiful wings have just become a new Guilty Pleasure for me.

Kitty gives Silk Road

I feel I must be upfront and honest before I start this review, before this book I’ve never (ever) read a book of this genre before. I’ve read a few about vampire/aliens but never have I read one dealing with angels (fallen and not), demons, leprechauns, and other mythical (or not) creatures. I’ll be the first to admit that these sorts of books, television shows, and movies just aren’t my thing. I mean I don’t even do “Superheroes”! However, DiDi asked me to read and review this one for a 2-fer and since I’ve been trying to branch out into other genres, I thought this was a good place to start because I know that Kitty Angel is a big fan of this genre and thus, we’d give reviews from differing perspectives. I’ll admit it took me a little while to find my footing in this book BUT it wasn’t the book, it was me. There is a lot that was foreign to me and so I really had to let go and open my mind (not an easy thing). I came away from this experience with great respect for the author, her characters, and readers who enjoy this genre regularly because I have to tell you my brain was very tired upon finishing this book!

Silk Road by T.J. Michaels is the story of a fallen angel who has been tasked with helping a human woman find the Seal of Solomon. From the first chapter I was absolutely enamored with both Larien (God, I love that name) and Jayla. Larien is our hero and fallen angel; he’s complicated, brooding, and so damn sexy. Jayla is a special human; she can call angels for protection, she can read auras, and she (unlike me) has no problems opening her mind to all things seen and unseen. Jayla is also one smart mouthed, kick ass, sassy woman and I so admire her for all of those traits. I will admit (and again I think it’s because I am new to this genre) I had a really hard time keeping up with all the different types of characters in this book. At times I found myself confused and I’d have to go back and re-read previous sections. There were a lot of characters in this book and I found some to be annoying, some endearing, and others I wanted to kick to the curb. But, it all comes back to Larien and Jayla and honestly you can’t ask for a more perfect couple. I thoroughly enjoyed watching these two come to terms with their changing relationship and discovering that despite their circumstances, they are so totally right for each other. I did feel at times, that their story was on the back burner which was sad because it was the part of the book I enjoyed the most.

The adventure to find the Seal of Solomon was truly the main focus in this book. Their search led to many different kinds of encounters some of which were scary and somewhat bloody. Along the way we get to know many of the characters and they do bring different angles and viewpoints all of which I found intriguing. I also very much enjoyed the often witty banter throughout this book. The scenes between Larien and his cousin, Ambriel had me laughing out loud at times. I also liked the “buddy” relationship that grew between Jayla’s friend, Talan and Larien. Jayla’s other friend Chel, added some interesting and often spot on commentary.

I found T.J. Michaels to be a gifted writer and able to transport the reader into all sorts of interesting scenes. The characters were captivating and the dialog amusing and interesting. I’ll admit I was a little disappointed there wasn’t more time devoted to the developing relationship between Larien and Jayla. What was there was remarkable and I would have loved to see more of them together. I was overwhelmed with the sheer amount and types of characters in this book, but I think that’s because I’m a novice reader of this genre. I have no doubts that someone who reads this genre will very much enjoy the effort the author went to in creating such a varied and appealing cast. Overall I found this book to be entertaining and well written and I have no doubts that those who love this genre will enjoy it immensely because even I fell hard for the main characters, had no problem imagining myself in another time, and immediately wondered if there would be a sequel.

Slick gives Silk Road 3.75 Stars