The first in a new series and a fab YA fantasy book spanning 5 realms including purgatory, hell, heaven, Darklands and Antrum (realm of demon hunters). Myla a part wrath demon is called to serve in the arena, preventing the worst souls from getting into heaven. Purgatory is ruled by the Ghouls who took power after allying with Hell. The ghouls are rule bound beings (zombie like) and their rule is one of grey, drabness suppressing the Quasi (half demon-half human) and serving the demons of hell. After a run-in with Prince Lincoln of the Trax (demon hunters) her life quickly spins out of control.

Myla was a very funny character and I loved her strength in a world built to stamp out any individualism. Her journey of growth and discovery is fascinating and I became so invested in the main characters.

Myla is an 18 year old quasi demon who loves to fight in the purgatory arena. She’s been winning battles there since the age of 12. Now that Myla is in her last year of high school she has to think of what type of slave labor job she’ll want. Her mom is a seamstress yet Myla hardly has it in her to tell her mom she doesn’t want to do that type of job either. Soon she starts to question why things are the way they are. When Armageddon the King of Demons shows up at Myla’s school everything starts to go awry and throw in the mix that Myla is falling for a demon hunter…. her whole world is being turned upside down! This book was pretty good and now I want to read every book in this series! I chose to read and listen to the audiobook together. The author is the narrator of the audiobook and can I just say the voice acting skills were on point!! Christina Bauer did a voice for every single character likeeee how is that possible from one human being?? Definitely give this book a read or even better listen to the audiobook!!

As a gift from Netgalley, here is my honest review.

This threw me in a loop. I had no knowledge of this book back when it was first published in 2013 so it was a completely new world for me to experience. Right away I could tell the estimated date of when this book was written due to the writing style of other fantasy books during the 2010s. Whether that is a good thing is up to the reader's discretion. For me though, I felt sucked back to the time and got major nostalgia vibes.

Now when I requested an ARC, I had no idea it was going to be so long! Personally, I'm not usually a fan of super long books, but this was alright as I listened going to and fro work. Though I wished there could be another narrator for this for the author's delivery wasn't personally to my liking.

Huge fans of City of Bones would very much enjoy this.

The author narrates her own book and does a good job of it. It took me a while to tune into her voice and then I found her very engaging.

The book itself surprised me. It's YA and I'm on the outs with YA - especially with 18yr old characters who come across as a fair bit younger. BUT I really enjoyed this. The world building was original and immersive and the story hit a lot of 'pressure points' when it came to accessibility and enjoyment of the plot. I ended up really liking Myla as a MC and the supporting cast were also engaging. There are a lot of standard YA (and older!) tropes in use here - chosen one, competition/ Hunger Games style fights, forbidden love, snarky MC etc - but they're used really well in a way that feels fresh. While the story has some darker moments, it's balanced nicely by humour and action. My only criticism is that the plot itself could have done with a bit of a trim, but this is a minor issue and does not detract from the overall enjoyment of the whole. Will look out for the next book.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
The audiobook was just too much. The characters weren't likeable and I struggled to not DNF

This book stressed me out, I had a hard time getting into this book. I'm not sure if it was the audiobook or the 1st person POV that felt chaotic that I had a hard time with.
I can see where this book would appeal to people though I just think it wasn't for me.
It's funny and had a plot that was easy to follow without being simple,

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced reading copy of angelbound by Christina Bauer. This had so much in it. I listened over audiobook but I felt like it was just all too much. This could have been cut in half and I probably would have enjoyed it better.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Who doesn’t love a good angel/demon story, with a awesome female lead but with a twist?
Myla is a quasi (half demon, half angel) who has the skill of wrath which makes her an awesome fighter and someone who always wins. Her job in purgatory is to defeat the evil souls to prevent them from entering heaven.
While having to fight evil she also has a life of a teenager with friends (who are surprisingly real friends not these fake ass ones who always turn on the main character), issues with her mum (overbearing and fearful of letting Myla live her life), a love interest that is quite a slow build which is nice to see and all the other angst that comes with teenage life.
As per usual the author did not let me down with her writing. Although I felt there was some rambling and over sharing with non important things I enjoyed this from beginning to end.

This was absolutely not my cup of tea. The audio actor (author) over acted immensely. So I wouldn’t give it a 1 star, I DNF’d instead.

Audiobook review
Angelbound is a coming-of-age heroine story with a corky kick-a** and yet likeable character. It took me a few chapters to get over the teenage attitude, but it was well worth the read. The tension between the love interests have just the perfect steamy to it.

The world building with angels & demons was unique and strongly introduced to the reader in a well-organized/planned manner. I wish I could give this book a 4.5-star rating. The author does a surprisingly amazing job narrating all the voices. Especially, since I’m a very picky audio book listeners

My first thought was that the narrator sounded too much like a valley girl. Once I got through the first chapter, the voice didn't bother me. As I got into the story, the character's personality can be attributed to the voice. Given that the author narrated it, the audiobook was surprisingly good. The story was great, and the narration, while a bit overdone in some instances, did keep with the tone of the story. Overall, a great audiobook that has me interested in continuing the series!
Thank you to Monster House Audio and NetGalley for this audiobook ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

Honestly, the book itself wasn’t that bad. In fact, I enjoyed a lot of it. Myla was a great protagonist (I’m always on the lookout for kickass women). My main complaint about the story is that it’s just too long. There were a lot of scenes that could have been taken out without changing the plot at all, mainly in the first third of the book. Other than that, it was a fun read. Unfortunately, the audiobook was not great. It suffered by having not been read by a professional narrator with experience. Most of the characters sounded the same and were choppy in ways that people don’t speak in real life. Also, it could have used a younger voice.

What a great start to a series! The author did an amazing job with the narration. Her inflection and voices made this a fantastic listen. I like the world building and the story kept me interested the whole time.
The setting was unique and I actually loved her cockiness! However, I found myself questioning a few of her choices and had to remind myself that she is only 18.
I do recommend this action packed audiobook! Definitely for fans of forbidden love and a bit of mystery! I can't wait to listen to more of this series!

Thank you NetGalley and Monster House Audio for this copy in exchange for my honest opinion!

This is such a fun paranormal book. This had a lot of world building, to understand who lives where, and the lay of the land, so to speak. Add in fighting, power plays, some romance, and multiple twists and you have a book that had me looking forward to the best in the series. Oh, and Christina Bauer narrates this audiobook herself (and apparently scared a Starbucks barista so much he dropped a latte when she was practicing a voice) lol count me as a new fan!

When most people think about the afterlife, they think of heaven and hell. But most people don’t think about the process of getting there. Welcome to Purgatory, land of the quasi demons. Ruled by the ghouls, this is the realm between heaven and hell. Angels and demons come together to watch when souls choose to be judged by battle: to the death. And Mika? She’s an innocent looking quasi demon who everyone ends up choosing when she is the most deadly of them all. But when purgatory starts going to hell in a handbasket, who will stand up to help prevent that?

This reminds me of Underworld x Ultraviolet kind of vibes. If the box office returns of those movies are any indicator, it also has similar themes and success for me about this book.

You know the part where the story is not really new new but when you listen or when you read it, you are still surprised by the turn or events or how the characters were built? Yeah, I got that from this book

It's pretty awesome overall, there were just some weird transitions that I can't get over with BUT it was still a pleasant story to listen into

I enjoyed this story it kept me interested and guessing. There were times I was sure I knew what was going to happen and she went left instead, The Audiobook was excellent you can tell how much Ms. Bauer loves her characters by her reading of her novel. It is appropriate for Young Adult readers but can keep an adult interested.
Myla is an interesting character with a snarky voice and all the insecurities of being a teen ager, The characters are rich and the descriptions bring the story to life. This novel will leave you wanting more.

If you enjoy a kickass hardcore heroine then you should enjoy the main character, Myla, of this book. I enjoyed reading Angelbound by Christina Bauer. It did drag on in the beginning with some things that I felt wouldn't hurt the plot if left out. If you can get past that then the book has great action with tales of demons, ghouls and angels in a way I have yet to have read. Overall I do recommend powering through the beginning and completing this book.

Angelbound, by Christina Bauer, is witty, charming, and definitely worth the read. I love this new monster trend and Angelbound holds its own in the growing trend. A fantastic strong female lead with twists and turns along their journey. Grab this and settle in, you're going to love it.

My Ranking: 1 star

I received an audio copy from NETGALLEY. I really wanted to like this book. The idea would have made for a great story. I just didn’t like the execution. None of the characters were likable, especially the main character. She’s supposed to be a badass but she was just overly cocky and annoying. I was so annoyed with the whole mom having to have dreams sent to her to tell her about her past. It’s like come on this is unrealistic. The book was also filled with so much “filler” I found myself skimming a lot of it.

To each their own but I wouldn’t recommend this.

I received a free copy of the audiobook through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Everything about this book was so good! And what made the book even better was this audiobook!

The way the story was told made everything come even more to life. I can't wait to read the other books in this series!

The fmc is so strong and just so badass! She isn't scared of anything and she is just awesome!