Book safety, content warnings and tropes down below.

I'll start with the audiobook part. I am a huge fan of Kirt Graves, so I was very excited to see he was the narrator. I feel like we got another level of him in this one, though. I could *feel* the emotions through his voice, which only added to the impact of the book. I am not a native english speaker, so I can't speak to the accuracy of his accents, but to me at least, it sounded very well done.

Oh boy. I went into this thinking 'ooh, paranormal and BDSM? Sign me up!', and I was NOT ready for the absolutely emotional punch to the damn face that this book was. I either had tears in my eyes or was openly weeping through most of it, lol (I cry very easily, but still). There's so much depth here that I didn't see coming, which is totally my own fault as I didn't do more than take a cursory glance at the blurb or any reviews until after. It deals heavily with grief and alcoholism, and just about every emotion under the sun, but most of all love in so many forms. It was incredibly beautiful.

Halfway through the first chapter, I texted my friend and asked if Uriel becomes a nicer person, especially towards Jesse, eventually, and... yes? Sort of. They do build some sort of friendship after a while, but it's not an easy journey getting there. I think this book captures the difficulty of loving someone with an addiction very well. You love them no matter what, but it hurts you more than anything. I think this line from the blurb captures the book very well:

"A grieving Archangel searching for hope and a reason to live. A hybrid yearning for a firm, loving hand, and a place to belong. Join Uriel and Jesse as they test the boundaries of love and the infinite limits of grace."

The kink and BDSM were definitely important parts of the book, but don't let it scare you off reading this if it's not your thing. It was used well to showcase the building relationship between Uriel and Jesse, and getting to see how their kink dynamic didn't work as soon as their friendship (and especially trust) deterioritated was quite powerful.

I haven't read the series this book is a spin-off from, but I navigated the world well enough, I think. I enjoyed it a lot, with all the recognizable names of the archangels, for example. Jesse was an absolute sweetheart with nothing but unconditional love for those he cares about. It was painful at times to see how he was treated, both by Uriel and others around him, but he was strong enough to carry that for as long as needed. I just wanted to give the big teddy bear a big bear hug.

I also have to say that I'm incredibly thankful that we got a great, long and lighthearted epilogue. The boys (and I) needed it after that emotional rollercoaster. I loved this book.

⚠️ Spoiler warning ⚠️

Book safety
Cheating: No
OM drama: No
Third-act breakup: No, but there is a three year gap between their first encounter and 'present day' in the book (from prologue to chapter 1).
POV: 1st person, dual POV
Genre: Paranormal romance
Strict roles or versatile: Versatile
MCs age: Several hundred years age difference. Specifics unknown.

Content warnings
Brief mentions of past suicide attempt
Suicidal thoughts
Alcoholism
Withdrawal symptoms
Bondage
Impact play
Breath play
Nearly violent situation between MCs
Vomiting
Consensual face-slapping
Humiliation kink
Self harm
Grief
Mentions of the death of past partners

Tropes & tags
Addiction
Paranormal
BDSM
Twink Dom
Widower
Slight age gap
Big sub/small dom
Size difference
Emotional slow burn
Lucifer’s son