3/5 Stars

I received a Free E-Arc in exchange for an honest review through Netgalley. Thank you to the Publisher and Netgalley.

I did DNF this book because I was pushing myself too much to try and get through it which I knew would in the end make me not enjoy a book that I was not hating. I want to eventually come back to this book in the future as it has a cool magic system and I actually liked Dianna as a main character. This book starts off very slow which I am no longer used to but it feels like it would eventually speed up.

Also to be fully transparent, I kinda accidentally got this book after not reading what the button had said thinking it said request but instead it was read now.

I do recommend this book if you are in the mood for slow pace (At least in the first quarter if not more), urban fantasy, you might really enjoy this. It’s well written and the characters are well developed and three dimensional feeling.

The start is a bit slow, but I was able to really submerse myself in this book! This isn’t the typical book I would read but it had some good spicy bits (slow burn romance). Also, loved the MC’s and all their tension! It had all the good stuff of a romance, magical and gothic thriller. Wasn’t a fan of the cliffhanger at the end but I can’t wait for the rest of the series to come out!

This book is my new obsession the entire world was beautifully crafted and i loved the sister relationship between Dianna and Gabby. the fact i have to wait so long for the next book is breaking my heart ! i might have to reread it when it’s published

The starting of this book was really slow as is with the most fantasy books. I do think there was a lot of filler content in the first few chapter specially. But once you make it past those first few chapters I swear it is good. I honestly lost interest a few times in the start due to so much world building being thrown at me ( not understand half of it) and so much theories about politics and war just bored me.

But once you actually get into the book and Liam and Dianne are actually introduced and we get to see their banter I swear this book out of nowhere becomes 1000x more better. The chemistry between Liam and Dianna was so good. The way they hated each other in the start but then got to know each other’s true self and you could literally feel the moment they both fell for each other.

Also I don’t know if Kaden the villain guy was actually meant to be hated because some rational part of my brain does realise that he is a bad person but I’m so irrational that’s why I kind of like him 😭😭😭 .No but he is so bad that he is hot at this point.

The books ends in a really really big cliffhanger and I just cannot wait for the next book.

What you can expect from this book:
• true well written enemies to lovers
• morally gray characters
• casual representation
• brilliant world building with no info dumps
• mc as a female sort of villain? Kind of anti hero?
• queer main characters
• dual pov
• the perfect mix of fluff and chemistry as the main relationship
• banter

(Wouldn't reccomend for people who don't like the hot headed badass kind of main characters because even if I feel the mc is well written not everyone will like her)

Amber Nicole, I don't know how you did it but you created a masterpiece. Genuinely, I don't know if I have enough words to to describe how amazing this book was.

Throwing me into the series right from the get go and because I have never heard of this author or this book before I had no expectations going in but honest to god it's one of the best things I've ever read.

I mean it's like all my prayers have been answered I have wanted a book like this for so long. It's exciting, it's romantic, it's filled with all of my favorite tropes and wow, just wow.

You get rich worldbuilding with somehow zero info dumps (besides a tiny one in the very beginning I'm not even sure counts) filled with otherworldly creatures with their own politics, powers and everything

Along with that, the characters and god I love the romantic tension it's the perfect mix of chemistry and fluff. I would read this in class sometimes and just giggle to myself because of how much I love the relationship and characters. It's truly beautiful to watch the development and most of all I love that before anything the characters are their own people.

You have the main character, Dianna (my love, thank you, liam move over) and for the sake of spoilers I don't want to define her very much in this review but god, I love her and her personality. With the other main character Liam, I actually didn't expect to like him but eventually he melted my little heart too.

Oh and thank you miss author because I FINALLY HAVE A WELL WRITTEN ENEMIES TO LOVERS. it's not even just oh I mildly dislike you because of this miscommunication thing we refuse to talk about no it's actually legitimately people on the opposite sides of war and I love the way it's written, truly encompassing how complex politics and war are by showing us the different sides and I have a hunch this will be expanded on more. It's already been hinted by several characters.

I think if I had to change one thing I might have made them last as enemies a little longer but I absolutely understand and appreciate the writer took anyway.

Also, I should mention this: I love how casual the representation is. Offhand comments about both the main characters having slept with guys and girls and it's all very normal y'know? And that's lovely to read tbh

Is this a review or just me gushing? At this point I'm not sure

There's only one thing that stuck out to me and that was twice I noticed it was spelled barley (and I remember thinking, like the plant? Then going oh right context) instead of barely and a few commas here and there I would have placed or removed.

I mean this book is really competing with furyborn up there in my favorites category I can't decide if I should be placing this as my first favorite, second, or third I'M JUST SO CONFLICTED OKAY IT WAS SO GOOD

I must insist that whoever you are, reading this review, you HAVE to read this book. There are so many things, so many little things and big things that make this gem of a book and I know I will spend the next couple of months just non stop talking about this I have found a new obsession
--> 4.8 stars (less)

I read this in maybe 4 hours. It was so good. I usually expect books like this to be really predictable but, while there was some of that, overall it kept me on my toes. If you are reading for the romance: there is looooooots of tension, and this is a slow burn. If you are reading for the fantasy: there is really good world building, lots of the history and a lot of different magics/beings. The start is a bit slow, but no slower than most fantasy. It is dual POV but it takes a wee while to get there. I would say this is not suitable for YA readers.

The Book of Azrael is Amber Nicole’s debut fantasy novel. We follow our main characters, Dianna and Liam-sworn enemies in a centuries long war, as they are forced to team up to track down an artifact that is thought to be only a legend.
Dianna is the monster under the bed, a ruthless killer who will do whatever it takes to keep her sister safe. Liam is a god nicknamed the World Ender who is trying to figure out what is going on the the world after being gone for so long.

The story itself is a very slow burn. It starts in a super intriguing way and then dips down into a much slower pace after about the 20 percent mark. The characters start traveling around and learning more about who the other one is in the process. While I do think that part moved very slowly, it was important to the overall character arcs. Amber Nicole did this in a very smart way because even though these characters were on a mission, it wasn’t something that had to be done in an hour or anything so allowing the characters this slower build made it so they could hit the final act full force and it not feel disjointed.

I really loved this fantasy world. It was really interesting with a blend of fantasy creatures you already know and a lot that were made just for this story.

The ending of this book gets wild. I think anyone who has read and loved Crescent City by Sarah J. Maas will enjoy this book in that the way the story unfold feels similar. There is some high action at the beginning and then character development and growth in the middle and then 200 pages that you can’t put down! This book definitely feels like it has a darker overall tone and higher stakes than Crescent City but I think people who enjoyed one will enjoy the other.

I ordered a physical copy of this before I had made it 100 pages into my NetGalley copy because I knew this was a book I was going to really enjoy and I’m so glad I did.

This book just personally wasn't for me at this time. It had a great flow and style but not something I was able to get in at the time.

A thousand years ago Dianna gave up her life in the deserts of Erioa to save her dying sister she called upon anyone who would listen not expecting a monster far worse than any nightmare to answer now Dianna does what Kaden asks even if it means securing an ancient relic from the very creatures that hunt her a king thought long dead and long forgotten in the old world his name was Samkiel in the new world it is Liam but one title remains true throughout time he is the world ender a myth to his enemies a saviour and king to those loyal to him after the gods war he locked himself away hiding from the world he denied his crown and responsibilities leaving the very ones who needed him back to the one realm he never wished to visit again and into the sights of an enemy he thought imprisoned eons ago now enemies must put their differences aside and work together
What can I say a cliffhanger ending and I loved how it also had a female villain as a main character I highly recommend if you love fantasy romance books than this is a must read because you will find it hard to put down
Thank You NetGalley And Rose And Star Publishing LLC
I just reviewed The Book of Azrael by Amber Nicole. #TheBookofAzrael #NetGalley

This was an incredible read. It was so well written with a fantastic storyline and well developed characters.It was such an intense read and the world bulding was really good.
I loved Liam and Dianna and I cannot wait for the rest of this series.

** Thanks to NetGalley, Amber Nicole, and Rose and Star Publishing, LLC for this ARC **

The Book of Azrael is the first book in a new series by Amber Nicole and her debut novel, out June 26th, 2022. I cannot BELIEVE that this was the author's first book!

The Book of Azrael tells the story of Dianna, a woman who sold her life and her humanity to a monster a thousand years ago to save the life of her sister. Dianna has been functioning as his semi-human weapon ever since, and has been tasked with finding The Book of Azrael, a book said to contain the secrets to opening up the doors between realms.

Liam, formerly Samkiel, is a king of the gods, known as The World Ender. Traumatized by the long-ago Gods War, he has been living in depressed isolation. When one of his soldiers dies unexpectedly, he is ripped back into the land of the living and forced to confront his worse nightmare - the beings he fought centuries ago are coming back, and they're more powerful than ever.

When Liam and Dianna meet, the two must question their loyalties, their prejudices, and their ideas of who the bad guys really are.

This was really fantastic! Romance, magic, betrayal, plotting, soul mates, ancient beings learning about cars!! My only complaint is that I wish the next book had a release date! I already know that I will be reading it :)

What an amazing start. This book is everything. Intense storyline, enemies to lovers, all the angst, and so much more. Liam and Dianna have such heartbreaking stories, but are both so strong in their own ways. Dianna may be a villain in some eyes, but her strength, loyalty, and overall badassery totally overrides that. Liam may have been naive in his younger years, but tragedy and love are making him into so much more than anyone expected. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

This book was really good! I would give it more stars if it wasn't for the fact that i couldn't get through the first 100 pages. Worldbuilding in this book was really good and characters and plot were interesting, I really recommend it!

I was super excited for this book. It had some of my favorite fantasy elements, and the opening of the book was so strong.

I struggled to get past the 10% point, though. I couldn’t truly connect with the characters and while the story had a strong opening, the writing itself wasn’t good.

The book was a lot longer than it needed to be, which I think is partly due to the weak writing. The story is great, it just needs work to be a finished product.

I had seen this book making its rounds on TikTok and thought that the premise was very interesting. It has a lot of the traits and tropes I love in a fantasy, especially enemies to lovers. While reading, I still thought that the plot was super interesting but it was a very difficult read, and not for good reasons.

The characters make a really strong first impression, but there isn’t much character development. Dianna is a very hard main character to relate to – the fact that she’s overpowered, snarky and loves her sister are really her only personality traits. There is not much to her character beneath the surface.

It was really difficult to actually read as well. The writing was very juvenile. It told me everything instead of showing me what was going on and it definitely needed a few rounds of editing. There were missing or extra punctuation, sentences that didn’t make sense and repeated phrases consistently through the entire book. The length of the book was questionable and I feel as though several parts could be taken out to streamline the experience.

This is more of a 2.5 stars for the plot only. I probably wouldn’t pick up the sequel unless it is vastly different to this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing a free copy of this book.

Oh. My. God. This book is amazing! The world building is well done. This is a perfect mix of sci-fi and fantasy. If you liked Crescent City, you will love this book. The characters are complex and interesting and develop so much throughout the book. Dianna and Liam are both very morally grey characters, especially Dianna. She is strong and fierce and would do anything for those she loves. Liam is the definition of a cinnamon roll who could also absolutely kill you if he wanted to. There is the tiniest bit of spice in this book, but it’s done in a way that’s not overwhelming and doesn’t distract from the actual story. I’m really excited to read the next one and it cannot come soon enough!

A dark and twisty novel with so many unexpected findings! I am so thankful for the publishers and Netgalley so I could read The Book of Azreal by Amber Nicole. I will be reading more of her books soon!

Soooo i finished this book in about 2 days and absolutely loved it. The world building was so intractly done at times so you understood the fantasy world you were reading and to become invested in.

Liam and Diana's development were slowly developed as the book goes on. I would definitely say the book is a slow burn and the firsr part of the book focuses on the world building and the foundation of the story before the characters come together and we see their journey together towards their goals

The ending made me physically gasp and makes me want the 2nd book already because i need to know how the story ends and how the characters end.

Overall i would give it 4/5 stars and 2/5 for spice currently

That was a rollercoaster. I enjoyed it a lot! It was gritty, dark, and intriguing.
Dianna is an amazing lead! She is strong and capable, no damsel in distress. I love Liam, obviously. And I know Kaden is not a good guy but am I still intrigued by him? Of course. Love the fast pacing and nice flow between POVs and events. I also love how the characters grow.
THAT ENDING THO. It broke my heart to pieces and I need book 2 ASAP

Rating: 5 STARS ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

I am at a loss for words. I don’t even know what to say. This might be one of my favourite reads of the year so far. It was so fucking good.

I don’t even know where to start. The world building: Beautifully done. The plot: Greatly executed. Character Development: Beautifully done. Slow burn romance: Burned so fucking good, the tension was immaculate, the romance was fucking beautiful. I loved it so so so so much.

The world building was out of this world. Though it jumped from different worlds at time, they were beautifully distinct and painted so clearly. The different creatures were distinct and well developed. Each character was also extremely well developed.

At first when I received the ARC I was like “WTF 2000 pages??” But fuck I WANT MORE. I finished the book not even realizing how quickly I just finished 2000+ pages. I could not stop reading no matter how hard I tried. This book was a perfect balance of an intricate fantasy world that had a plot of a war uprising and a beautifully executed slow burn romance that was enemies-friends- to lovers. As much as I love Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas, Liam and Dianna’s relationship development is what SJM wished Aelin and Rowan’s relationship development was.

The ending had my dropping for the last 10 or so pages. I will be thinking of this book a lot for the next few days.

IT WAS SO GOOD SO FUCKING BEAUTIFUL. I DONT KNOW WHAT ELSE TO SAY. EVERYONE PLEASE DO YOURSELF A FAVOUR AND GO READ!!! I NEED BOOK 2 NOWWW