Archangel Errant

Archangel Errant is the third in Elizabeth Corrigan's Earthbound Angels series, something I didn't realize when I picked it up for review on NetGalley. Nevertheless, I believe that every book in a series should be able to stand on its own, and that a reader who is not familiar with previous books in the series should be able to pick up the thread of the story.

Yeah... not so much with this one. Archangel Errant is purportedly about Gabriel, who returning to Heaven after a long stint on Earth, finds himself struggling to find his true purpose. Gabriel was actually a really intriguing character, and the romance between him and the immortal human Cassia was one of the most interesting parts of the book.

The big problem I had was that Gabriel was hardly in the book. The author jumps from one PoV to the other to tell seemingly unrelated parts of the story; we spend most of the book in the head of either Michael (who has an appalling case of OCD) and Bedlam, a demon turned angel who spends half the book whining about being blamed for everything that goes wrong when by his own admission, in the past most things that go wrong were actually his fault.

If I'd read the first two books in the series, maybe I could have enjoyed this, but as it was I was just utterly confused and wishing to see more of what Gabriel (the supposed hero of the book) was doing and less of everyone else.

The book is well written with few errors, but even so, I can't give it any more than three stars.

After adoring Rising Chaos, I was looking forward to the third book in the Earthbound Angels series, Archangel Errant. It didn’t disappoint.

With Heaven under attack, all suspicion is placed on Bedlam. But despite being the Angel of Chaos, this one wasn’t on him. He wouldn’t have even been in Heaven at the time if Michael hadn’t dragged him there! Along with a reluctant Siren, Bedlam attempts to find the real culprit while Gabriel assists the angels. It would be easier if Michael wasn’t on Earth with Cassia the entire time!

I loved this book was about Gabriel and Michael. Gabriel has been a flickering presence for the first two books, but we only see him properly through Cassia’s eyes. After Bedlam’s announcement at the end of Rising Chaos, it was fun to learn that Gabs’ feelings for Cassia were the reason why he spent two thousand years hiding from his Heavenly duties and remaining on Earth.

Despite being the Angel of Joy, Gabriel’s character definitely has a certain amount of innocence. He wants to find where he belongs and is struggling to fit back into a place he used to help rule. But his compassion for others is why he is the only one who can wake the angels up – he is the one who understands and connects with them.

Although I love Gabriel, I was more excited to see Michael. He has been this formidable figure for two books, stern and unshakeable in his belief that Cassia is destined for Hell.

Only this time, the reader gets to experience just how human Michael is. He has made some of the toughest decisions but questions everything and constantly doubts what he is doing. He is jittery, nervous and scared of airplanes. He is such a relatable character in so many ways and the fact that he is ultimately prepared to accept he was wrong about Cassia, and has been for a few thousand years, just made me melt. I think he might have kicked Bedlam out of the favourite character spot!

Despite the plot (Heaven under attack!), the pacing is steady. It’s not about building tension and big battles. It’s about empathy and understanding and knowing what motivates someone to act as they do. I got completely swept up in the story!

Considering it is a relatively short book, there were perhaps too many angels involved. The majority we had met before, but Gabriel’s connection to each of them, plus the usual back story that takes place, meant the plot didn’t move on for a lot of the book. It made it slow, but as it added depth and complexity to the characters, it worked in its own way!

Overall, I thought this was a very satisfying third book to the series. Characters are given more depth and we even learn more about Heaven’s prayer system! I hope there is more in this series, as Corrigan has swept me up on a magical adventure here. Definitely recommend this series!