Beckoning Darkness (The Damned and The Pure #1) by J.D. Stonebridge

Beckoning Darkness by J.D. Stonebridge

My Rating: ★★★★

After committing a terrible sin against heaven, Ariel spent centuries serving her heavenly prison sentence. She has finally been released and has had her memory swiped so that she will not be tempted to repeat the mistakes of her past. Freshly released, Ariel is selected for a special assignment on Earth, giving her the second chance she needs. However, mankind is not what it once was, which challenges her mission. A demon throws a wrench in her assignment, pushing her to her limits. However, all is not what it seems and she finds herself unwillingly teaming up with the odd demon that messed with her assignment so they can both find answers to their questions.

J.D. Stonebridge has taken the world we live in and added a supernatural and divine spin to it. Rather than following the perspective of a prophet, we follow an angel and a demon. Heaven and Hell meet in the human realm, and we see how these characters view our world. I love that Ariel is kept in the dark. She doesn't remember her sin, nor does she remember her punishment. She believes what the angels have told her, but she has questions that she is urged to keep to herself. It opens the door for more questions, which kept me on the lookout because I knew that all is not what it seems. There has to be more to Ariel's story, as well as her mission.

The story is a balancing act between Ariel and Caelum. Ariel is a devout angel determined to redeem herself, and Caelum is an odd demon who has no memories of anything other than his life as a demon. He is drawn to her because he's never seen an angel before, and she also reminds him of the women in the dreams he believes are his human memories. As the story continues, we see that there seems to be something bigger working against the pair. It ultimately cements the pair together in a seemingly temporary partnership that is interesting to watch. Ariel is so straight and narrow compared to Caelum, who is a fun spirited demon. I enjoyed watching the pair's interactions as well as their interactions with other characters as I was drawn deeper into the story. I knew that I was in for the whole series by the end of the book because it's such a compelling story that kept me glued to its pages.