Angelology by Danielle Trussoni
March 9, 2010
Urban Fantasy
Hardback, 452 Pages
Viking Adult
Reviewed by Amanda
You may or may not have heard/read/seen the hype surrounding this book. It has already been tipped to be a best seller by the media.
Reading the back cover blurb I was really excited to get the chance to read this book before the release date. It sounded like a great read (and that was before I read the hype, by the way I believe the story has already been optioned as a movie.) This is Danielle Trussoni’s debut fiction novel, she already has a much acclaimed non-fiction novel under her belt.
The story is told mainly by three characters. Evangeline is the main narrator of the story. Evangeline is a 23 year old nun who has lived in the St. Rose convent in upstate New York since the age of 12. The narration is also told from the point of view of Verlaine, an academic whose area of expertise is the Rockefeller family. He has been hired by a wealthy and influential family to conduct investigations on their behalf. The third point of view is Grigori Percivil. Grigori is a Nephilim (an angel) who has hired Verlaine to the answers he seeks. Early on in the story you come to realize that Grigori is sick, it transpires that he has a degenerative condition that is affecting his race and is slowly killing him. Due to this he needs the answers to his questions as soon as possible as time is running out.
Verlaine believes that the answers they seek are held in a correspondence he has discovered between the philanthropist Abigail Rockefeller and the late Mother Superior of the Convent, Mother Innocenta of St. Rose Convent. But there are two sides to every story, in this case it is the age old battle of good vs evil, and the information sought has the potential to turn the tide of this battle. If the information falls into the wrong hands it has the ability to change the world as we know it. The Nephilim are the bad guys and the Angelologists have striven for centuries to defeat them, and to keep the world from falling into the servitude of the Nephilim.
Unknown to Evangeline, she has a key part to play in this battle. Her mother and grandmother were both Angelologists. The fate of the world lies in her hands.
The story is told in a variety of ways, through character narration, letters and journals and going back in time. At first I found the story hard to get into and I initially felt I didn’t like it. But as I delved deeper into the story, I was sucked in and was hooked. At times I was a little confused with the story details, although that could have been my fault rather than the story’s fault.
All in all I enjoyed the book and it is one I would recommend. Although I do feel that it may be a book that while destined to be a bestseller will either be loved or hated depending on each individual reader and will come down to one’s own personal preference.
I can honestly say that its the first non-romance book that I found myself wanting to put everything else off to read and I didn’t want to put it down. I was completely caught up in the story and have told everyone that will listen the bones of the story just enough to get their attention and want to read it as soon as they can!
Rating: 3.5/5
Recent Reviews:
Parajunkee – 3.5/5
Wicked Little Pixie – 4/5
Leontine’s Book Realm – 4/5
Goodreads
I hear you on the confusion in story details, especially in the second Sphere…that's when I had to keep so very focussed on all the info given. And what did you think of the love angle between Verlaine and Evangeline?
The way Angelology ended really made me curious for Angelopolis and I hope it will be released early next year. I really want to delve more in the Nephilim families and the Angelologists :)
Seems interesting but I'm still deciding if this is for me or not. Nice review.
Very nice review. After reading this I realized that the book wasn't at all about what I thought it would be.
Which is a good thing. lol
Nice review Amanda! This books looks really intriguing :)
Would you say this book is somewhat like Brown's Da Vinci Code but with supernatural elements?
Great review Amanda!
I second KB's question.
:) VFG
I like some of your praise there, it sounds good ;D
Thank you all!!
Leontine, I think my jury is still out on Verlaine and Evangaline's relationship…….
To answer KB and VFG yes I suppose that would be a good way of describing it, I think that this book will generate the same critical acclaim that Dan Brown's books got…… But I could be wrong on this.
If I'm being honest I actually want to go back and reread this story already and work out a couple of elements of the story more in my head.
And like Leontine, I want to read the next in the series even though up till now I didnt realise there def was going to be a next one!
I am totally jealous you got to read this! It sounds pretty good. I have it on hold at my library and I'm just waiting for it to come in. :)
I am filled with anticipation waiting for this book! Very excited about being the first person in the librayr queue for it!
Great review! I am very curious of this book. I have read many reviews and they do vary. So I am curious of this book for my self. Thanks for a great review and insight into the book a little more.
Wonderful review. I plan on picking this one up in the near future! :)
I'm so curious about reading this one. I really liked Da Vinci Code, and if this is anywhere near as good then I definitely need to check it out.