This was a light, cute read with a fun premise and some sweet moments. I liked the idea of angels and romance mixed together, and the main characters had decent chemistry. That said, some of the plot felt a bit rushed or predictable, and I didn’t connect as deeply with the characters as I’d hoped. Still, it’s an easy, feel-good story if you’re in the mood for something quick and charming.

NOT ALWAYS AN ANGEL - Christi Barth

#3 in the Unlocking His Heart paranormal romance series

FUN and ENTERTAINING - 4 stars

Plot - 4 stars - Liss Jemison is now the only powerless human among her friends, which makes her a target. To complicate things, she's also developing feelings for the fiercest Nephilim warrior, Zavier Carranza. With the apocalypse breathing down their necks, the fate of the world—along with Heaven and Hell—depends on whether Zavier and Liss (and the rest) can find a way to pull off a miracle.

Writing - 4 stars - As always, Barth grabbed my attention right from the first page. The characters have developed nicely, and the story has been established, with the tension building throughout the trilogy.

Characters - 4.5 stars - This is where the story shone for me. Liss is a strong, intelligent woman, and she has grown throughout the story into a solid part of the team, despite her limitations as a plain old human. She's struggling with feelings of inadequacy, so she spends a lot of time studying and researching, providing plenty of valuable information as her contribution. Zavier has always been the moody, dark Nephilim, and this time is no exception. But as he and Liss become closer, his mood begins to lighten in the face of her bright optimism. They make a cute power couple.

Title - 4 stars - I suppose this refers to Zavier and his snarkiness--not exactly angel behavior.

Cover - 3.5 stars - The cover doesn't especially represent the story, although the color is pretty and eye-catching. However, a stronger, brighter color might have been better.

Overall - 4 stars - This is a satisfying ending to what's been an entertaining trilogy. The human characters have developed into strong members of the team, discovering their skills and talents. The male characters continue to work together closely, and they also are adding to their knowledge and learning how to work well with the women. I felt the story got confusing from time to time, but that may have been my inattention rather than any flaw from the author. It's just that the many names and types of gods/angels, etc. sometimes bogged things down. This particular book had a nice edge to it, and it built to a very agreeable conclusion.

Oops, this is book 3 of a series I have not read. Maybe book 3 of 3? I didn’t really have any issue catching up given my expertise in paranormal romance at this point. Out of 3 angelic warriors, we are down to the last single one, so you can kind of assume what will happen.

Liss is the only human in the bunch, having had her BFF paired off, then expanded her social circle to include a belly dancing witch and an ex-hell resident lady. No matter how hard she tries, though, she feels like she is not contributing enough to the cause. That cause? There is some big world ending threat in the form of the Titans or something like that. Even without this threat over her head, I think Liss would have still felt inadequate. She is one tough cookie, though, as seen in how eagerly she is able to hit back when a sleazy guy attacks her.

Zavier is the last single warrior guy in the bunch, but he’s got some issues to work through. He was kidnapped for… a very long time and tortured. His brothers in arms ended up rescuing him, but he’s a big messed up because of it. He acknowledges his attraction to Liss early on, but fights it for the same martyr reasons guys always fight the attraction in these types of books. He doesn’t want to sully her with his darkness, etc. etc. etc.

Liss, of course, ends up being the one to push the issue of their attraction to the forefront. And then, shocker, the only human person involved in supernatural insanity gets hurt by some supernatural bad guys. This forces Zavier to break some rules to save the woman he denies loving. This continues, but it gets even more twisty-turny, with new powers emerging, lots of creatures I’ve never heard of, Atlantis, some old mentor showing back up, an angel with a broken wing, demons, and all of the other things you can think of. The showdown is epic, but we still get our beloved HEA.

This was not my favorite read. It’s a light, fluffy paranormal romance — the kind you’d read on a plane and likely forget. If you’re after escapism with no desire for intellectual or emotional nourishment, you may find it “sweet” or “adorable.” But if you prefer your angels with a bit of grit, gravitas, or even theological bite — look elsewhere.

I would recommended this to those who have a very high tolerance for cheese and a soft spot for Harlequin-esque heavenly hijinks.

This book introduces us to Liss, who recently learned about otherworldly beings and is now in danger of losing her life, and Zavier, a Nephilim who is trying to save her (while dealing with his own dark past). Overall, the book is cute but I struggled to get into it. I think it’s because it’s the third book in a series – while it states it can be a standalone, I feel like I was missing too much information and the story was a bit disjointed because of that. Thank you NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the eARC.

Hard to get info, lacked background, and felt like fanfic writing, and fairly disjointed. Not my jam.

This was very cute but I just had a hard time getting into it. Giving it 3 stars because to me it's a type of book that I have to be in a certain mood to read it but I just haven't been able to get into it unfortunately

I could not get into this story. There was little to remind you of the previous story and so many characters that have already been introduced that I couldn't follow along.

Not Always an Angel was a cute paranormal romance read. The primary mythos is the battle between angles and demons and the end of the world from the releasing of the Titans but more magical and fantasy aspects are revealed as the tale evolves. The main characters are well developed and the banter and tension is on point. The diverse cast is fun and keeps the story engaging. While this can be read as a standalone, I feel I would have connected to the story more and felt a little more depth had I read the first two novels before this one. So, I would definitely recommend starting with book one. All in all an enjoyable easy read. 3.5 🌟s

Many thanks to NetGalley, Christi Barth, and Entangled: Amara for the opportunity to read this in advance. All opinions are my own.

It was ok. Not sure if it was meant as a romcom or romantasy but it was more romcom to me. I honestly thought it was a fanfic of ACOTAR. The similarly through me off. Not my usual read. I didn’t love it.

This book could not be read as a standalone!!!! You NEED to read the first two books to have any idea of the world or the story line. I was extremely confused while reading this and only finished because I was gifted the ARC. I had a really difficult time following along to the storyline and found it all really confusing with the mix of mythology. I think this book would probably be a really good read if i had know to read the first two books to get some backstory as to why the world is ending. But I’m happy that the main characters got their happily ever after. I will say that the whole only human in the group of friends eventually gains some kind of power and is the turning point for saving the world was a little predictable, I didn’t really believe that the main character was going to stay a human through the whole book especially if she was falling love with one of the Nephilim. Long story short, read the first two books before reading this one otherwise you will be very lost.

Not Always an Angel is the 3rd book in the Unlocking His Heart series, but can be read as a standalone book. I didn’t read the first two books, and technically it isn’t necessary but I felt like it would have been better to read them since the characters from the first two book are prevalent in this one. I wished the book centered more on Liss navigating the magical world of angels and demons as a human. I did enjoy reading about Liss and Zavier’s relationship development!

I think this book has potential, but I did not finish reading it. They say it can be read as a standalone, but I do not think that is a good idea. I started with this book, the third in the series, and felt lost and confused at times. The prose was very juvenile for a fast-paced fantasy book with some spice. The banter was spunky and enjoyable. I may try this series again, but I will start at Book 1.

I am thankful for the eARC copy from NetGalley.

Christi Barth's novels are like candy to me. I know they're going to give me cavities but I can't stop eating them. Every time I read one of her books I fully acknowledge that the plot is made of tissue paper and the dialogue is often super cringey, but I keep coming back for more. I will most likely continue reading everything she publishes. There's just something about her books that hooks me...

"Not Always an Angel" is (I believe) the final book in her paranormal trilogy about angels that live in Buffalo, New York of all places. While not my favorite in the series, "Not Always an Angel" was a solid entry. I liked both Liss and Zavier as characters and I enjoyed their romance, even if I thought Zavier needed to pull his head out of his ass sometimes. Maybe that was the point.

The plot in these books feels like set dressing for the romance. If you're someone who can enjoy a book without thinking too hard about the plot, I think you'll enjoy this. I believe these have been advertised as standalones but I would recommend reading them in order.

I will say, something that irked me a little in this book was that the group of three women was always referred to in relation to the men as "their women" which felt very dated to me. Not even for any ideological reason, but there are so many other options that sound better "their girlfriends", "their partners", or just call them by their names (what a concept).

Finally, and I can't believe I am about to type this but I am committed to using my platform to discuss portrayals of safe sex in romance novels: There is one scene where Zavier suggests to Liss that he can use his powers to cool down his ejaculate to "almost freezing" as a pregnancy prevention method. Liss (wisely) opts to use a condom. I don't think Zavier was being malicious, but this would absolutely not prevent pregnancy. Sperm is often frozen to sub-zero temperatures as a method of preservation (so cooling down sperm to freezing, let alone "almost freezing" would not kill it). Additionally, body heat would return it to a warmer temperature, and sperm can survive inside the female reproductive system for 3-5 days.

I had to go back and check that this scene really occurred, I thought I made it up in a fever dream. I can't believe this is what I'm using my master's degree for.

3 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Entangled: Amara for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ (2.75 stars, rounded up)

Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book had an interesting concept with angels, humans, and a looming apocalypse, but overall it didn’t work for me. The pacing felt slow, and the writing reminded me of something a younger writer might produce—there just wasn’t a lot of depth.

The romance between Liss and Zavier felt rushed and unnatural, like it was there because it had to be, not because it grew organically from the characters. I wanted to feel more of a spark between them, but it never really clicked.

That said, I appreciate the creativity behind the story and the effort to build a unique world. While it wasn’t a hit for me, others looking for a light paranormal romance might still enjoy it.

This was cute. The characters were likable and I wanted to root for their relationship. They didn't take themselves too seriously, and I really enjoyed the lightness of it. Zavier is a book boyfriend that I could get behind and sassy Liss was fun to project myself into.

That being said, I would definitely read the other books first. There were parts that I felt did not make sense and I think that's because I didn't read the first two in the series.

Thanks for the advanced read.

Thank you to NetGalley and entangled publishing for providing me an arc of this book! Full disclosure, I stopped reading it at approximately 45% when I realized I was not the intended audience for this book.


This book is a third in a series of paranormal romance’s following half angels (called Nephilim) in their quest to protect and save the world. In this third book which was marketed as a book that can be read as a standalone, though it is the third in a series. The two main characters, Liss who is a human and Zavier (nephilim), fall for one another as the bad guys try to release the titans and overthrow both heaven and hell.

I frankly did not get to a point in the book where I felt like Liss‘s character developed, she was a strong human, but one who through no fault of her own felt very out of place in this world of paranormal beings, and therefore felt weak by comparison. Zavier gave me broody vibes but not much else, he is just grumpy but then lovely to Liss.
The main reason why I chose to DNF is the pacing and the info dumping. I felt like the pace was fineISH, however, the book over the first several chapters was very informational dumpy trying to set up a world for readers who haven’t read the first two books. But it wasn’t done as tactfully as I would prefer, it felt like I was just getting a summary of the first two books and what is going on in this war, rather than just finding out through challenges or issues with the characters.
More than anything, I struggled with feeling like Liss and Zavier were supposed to be characters who really disliked each other, but almost instantly were attracted to one another and soon were engaged in the romance. It felt like there was not enough preamble.
I think you’ll enjoy this book if you like paranormal romances, but more than anything if you read the whole series, rather than just this particular book. I do think that you’ll enjoy it if you like books where the fallen angels specifically do their best to protect others, because that is the main goal of the Nephilim and that was very lovely to read.
I am usually a fan of urban fantasy, but this one felt a little bit too unbelievable and the current real world settings took me out of the paranormal story a little bit. I think you’ll really enjoy this if the kind of books you read include paranormal fantasy, or mysticism in a real world setting, especially if places like Niagara Falls and London are mentioned.
I wish this book had been a cup of tea, unfortunately it wasn’t, but just because it wasn’t for me doesn’t mean it will not be a hit for others!

You will like this one if you love the tropes
💜Forced Proximity
🗝️Found Family
💜He Falls First
🗝️Apocalyptic Stakes

💜🗝️💜🗝️💜🗝️

My Review
So this is a stand alone series book. Basically it was something I should have been able to read without reading the others. I got this as an arc and I had not read the others. I feel like everyone needs to read the others before they start this one. I know you shouldn’t have to but trust me. I was confused at parts and I think had I known more about the world besides what this book told me I would have really enjoyed it more. Overall the characters were fun and the world was so interesting. I really might have to read the first two books to catch up.

When you see an angel, especially a grumpy one and a warrior to boot, try not to moon over a human girl and fall head over in heels you go awwww. This book was as fun, a gang of angels, semi angels and humans have to protect hell from breaking loose. Have fun read books 1 and 2 and just go for the ride.

#NotAlwaysanAngel #NetGalley

This one is Angel/demon romance. Filled with great banter, a fun storyline and some steamy scenes.

If you’re looking for a fun paranormal series to get into this is a great choice. While the books can be read as standalones I highly recommend reading them in order, to get the most out of your reading experience.