This re-imagining of the fall of Lucifer from heaven didn't really grab me. The world wasn't terribly interesting, the characters were somewhat flat and underdeveloped.

Rating: 4/5
I received an eARC for my honest opinion

It’s been a while since I last read an angel fantasy, and this one did not let me down at all. Evangeline is Lucifer's daughter. She was raised to believe that her father wanted the best for them, and the class of angels called the Commoner. However, the more and more that she starts to think things through she starts seeing a different side to her father and she doesn’t know what to believe anymore. So, she starts to piece together what she can with the help of a Dominion class angel named Michael and her whole life will change before her eyes.

I really did enjoy this book a lot. I thought the story was fast paced after the first 25% and filled with a lot of action and dived deeper in the plot of the story. I wish that there was a little more to the book I do, but I am also hoping that Jen will give us another book with more from Evangeline and the other angels.

The world building was done beautifully, I could picture all the worlds that they had to pass through, and the writing style was engaging and easy to follow along. The plot was more for me a character driven than plot driven, you will see Evangeline’s character growth and from Michael a little. I thought the characters were easy to connect with.

I would recommend this book to any younger YA readers that love fantasy books that are easy to keep pace with.

I want to thank NetGalley and She Writes Press/Spark Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Evangeline's Heaven is the story of Lucifer's daughter Evangeline. I found it a bit slow initially, but the last half makes up for that. The plot is interesting and I thought it was pretty unique. The characters were well-written and the setting was neat with them having to get through all the different Heavens. All in all, it is a solid YA fantasy. A bit slow at times, but worth a read.

It’s book review time! This month, I decided to go with another fantasy in the hopes of having a better experience than last month. Evangeline’s Heaven by Jen Braaksma was released from SparkPress yesterday (the 30th). As usual, I must thank them and NetGalley for giving me access to an ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Let’s get to it!

Evangeline’s Heaven is basically a retelling of the fall of Lucifer from his daughter’s perspective. Throw in a little Romeo and Juliet romance arc and you’ve got the story. War between the Commoners (fought for by the Dragons) and Dominions (fought for by the Archangels) rock the Seven Heavens. Evangeline (a mixed blood angel who happens to be the daughter of the leader of the Dragons) wants to save her father’s life, but makes some unsettling discoveries along the way. She’s forced to team up with Michael, the son of the leader of the Archangels in order to save the Heavens from more chaos. But things just keep getting more complicated.

I’ll be honest with you… I was hoping for something more like Angel Sanctuary and less of a thinly veiled ‘eat the rich’ rant that randomly waffles between God sucks and God is great and settles somewhere around God might be okay. C’mon. Do better. I don’t mind a story with the moral of ‘the upper class is horrible and needs to realize the lower class are people who deserve rights too.’ But don’t force it down my throat repeatedly on every page. Let it unfold naturally in the story. Otherwise, especially in a story about angels and shit, it feels super preachy. No one wants that. And I know. You’re judging me right now and assuming I’m a heartless asshat just because I get annoyed when writers don’t know how to be subtle. I assure you that I’m not. I completely agree with the message. It’s the method of how to get that message across that I disagree with. This book is basically the equivalent of shouting down at someone until they play dead just to get you to shut up. That doesn’t work when trying to persuade people to think your way. It just isn’t a healthy form of communication.

Aside from that, I wanted more from the characters. We’re constantly with Evangeline who is super whiny and annoying. Now, I don’t have to like the main character in order to like a story as long as I like the side characters. The problem here is that all of the characters are flat and beyond stereotypical. Lucifer is suave and manipulative and hiding dark deeds and desires. But he loves his daughter. But, does he really? The couple of times he shows this love could also just be him manipulating her for future plans. And then there’s Michael. He’s just a lovesick teenager, really. There’s nothing special about him. The few other characters we get to meet are just filling their role. They don’t have any personality. It’s sad.

The plot had potential, but it needed a little more thought. Some things were great, like the key/book thing, but a lot of it felt rushed and random. It definitely seemed like it was written by a pantser (someone who writes without plotting things out first) who didn’t bother to go back and smooth out certain details. I’m a pantser. It happens. And maybe this was completely plotted. I have no idea. It’s just a feeling I get.

Ultimately, in case you didn’t pick up on it, I did not like Evangeline’s Heaven. I was hoping for so much more, but it fell flat. Oh well.

Overall, I gave it 2 out of 5 stars. Mostly because I can’t do one and a half on most sites. If you’re super into the fall of Lucifer stories, check it out. I guess. But you’re not missing anything by giving it a pass.

Evangeline's Heaven by Jen Braaksma is an interesting, addictive read. The writing style in this book is definitely on the younger side of the young adult genre.

Holy rollercoaster. I loved this book, Evangeline is amazing, strong, and so ridiculously stubborn that I want to scream. Michael is an incredible character and his loyalty is A+. This book had me feeling so many emotions, Excitement, suspense, happiness, and heartache. Absolutely recommend this gem!

I just want to start off that the writing style in this book is definitely on the younger side of YA and below my preferred reading level so that might have made this a less enjoyable read for me. But otherwise, the action was good. There was a LOT of internal monologue and I would have preferred more character interaction.

Thank you for approving me for this book! I definitely recommend it for any YA lover who enjoys Angel fantasies! I loved the take on Lucifer's story.

Evangeline''s Heaven is about a fifteen-year-old girl who was always treated poorly by almost everyone around her because she is of mixed races.. We find out her father Lucifer has decided to try to take over the world by attempting to kill God.

Along the way we meet her crush Michael, his family, and her beloved uncle. While her father is busy being a villain , she and Michael start a quest to find the hidden keys before Lucifer gets them.

The first half of this book was really difficult for me to enjoy, there is a lot of telling the readers what has happened as opposed to letting us watch it unfold. Evangeline was constantly talking to herself in her thoughts and busy having your typical teenage attitude.

Adding more interaction and talking with other characters would have helped it a lot.

Once half of the story was over is when things really picked up and got more interesting. Her adventure in trying to stop her dad with Michael was written well. I enjoyed all of the action scenes and love that Evangeline loves a good fight.

Evangeline and Lucifer's interactions gave me Clock Work Angel vibes.

From the various creatures, multi-level heavens, and names of every one the world building was pretty solid.

There is a bit of a twist towards the end concerning her heritage and I didn't see it coming.

Evangeline's Heaven is very much a YA story, no dirty steamy scenes, & only mild cussing. The only warning I can think to add is that anyone outside of the Christian religion may not appreciate this story because it might come across as a little preachy..

Overall this was a pretty decent story.

I really, really really enjoyed this book. It's been a while since I've read an angel fantasy, and let me tell you I was hooked from the first few chapters. Evangeline is the daughter of Lucifer, who is leading the Commoners in their rebellion against the upper elitist heavens. Evangeline believes in her father's cause whole heartedly. When she learns her father is in danger of being hunted down my Archangels Michael and Gabriel, she sets off to find him before they can. Along her journey, she hears horror stories of her father's actions - cutting off food supplies from their own people, raiding refugee camps, and even his consorting with dark forces. She doesn't believe anything she hears, but when she is confronted with a truth she cannot deny, she must look deep inside herself and figure out where her morals lie.

Beautifully written, fantastic and immersive world building - this book will have you up all night reading.

Thank you NetGalley for this eARC. I did enjoy this book! I was a little slow to start it but once I got into it, I was all systems forward. I did not stop until I got to the end. I wish I had more back story and there was so much more i wanted to know. But i did enjoy this!

Although i quite enjoyed this novel in the end, it took me up until halfway through to really get into it. The character development was quite slow and i felt like it would have been more exciting if there had been more conversation between the main characters rather than just reading about Evangeline's previous experiences or her thoughts/ feelings. For all the lead up to the 'battle', i was disappointed at how quickly it was over. It was a good book though in the end, but not sure it is one i would read again, although i felt like the story could have been left open for additional novels so would find myself keen to read a follow on.

This book was definetely not what I expected, in a good way. I really enjoyed the plot, there were unexpected twists that keept me wanting to read more and more. I loved how Evangeline's character was portraid, a strong fierced love driven woman. If you are a fan of Lucifer this is a must.