Angelopolis

As much as I'd like to, I'm struggling to mask my disappointment with [b:Angelology 6691426 Angelology (Angelology, #1) Danielle Trussoni http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347562444s/6691426.jpg 6886872]'s sequel, [b:Angelopolis 16158489 Angelopolis (Angelology, #2) Danielle Trussoni http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1362380627s/16158489.jpg 13523893]. Eager to read the next installment, I walked away feeling like the richness the first book provided had been stripped away in the second.1. The Fight ScenesVera, Azov, and Sveti are attacked by Gibborim in a helicopter. Excellent scene to create tension, yes? They're trying to crash them into the ground. Great scene to illustrate the ruthlessness of the gibborim and create tension for the survival of the passengers.Nope. It was glazed over in half a page, and I was left confused. ALL of the fight scenes are like this; glazed emotionlessly over with no building of tension or drive whatsoever. I started laughing at scenes like this, so lackluster in their creation that it felt textbook-esque. The ‘threat' that the angels supposedly possessed for humans was utterly absent. 2. The CharactersIn [b:Angelopolis 16158489 Angelopolis (Angelology, #2) Danielle Trussoni http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1362380627s/16158489.jpg 13523893], we are introduced to a myriad of characters in which the story roughly splits: Azov, Vera, and Sveti in one, Verlaine, Bruno, and Yana in the other. A wonderful chance for development but, as stated above, most of these characters and their relationships were glazed over. For example, I was constantly told about a strong mentor-like relationship between Bruno and Verlaine that had formed in the ten years since [b:Angelology 6691426 Angelology (Angelology, #1) Danielle Trussoni http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347562444s/6691426.jpg 6886872]; yet I did not feel nor believe any of it. This tread continues for nearly every character and interpersonal relationship in this novel. The ONLY character I truly cared about was Dr. Raphael Valko, and I believe that was formed because of the events that occurred in [b:Angelology 6691426 Angelology (Angelology, #1) Danielle Trussoni http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347562444s/6691426.jpg 6886872]. 3. Verlaine, Evangeline, and the Shittiness that Unites ThemThroughout Angelopolis, Verlaine hammers away at our skulls insisting that he must save Evangeline, that she's his TRU LUUUUUUUV, that it took him nearly two books to realize that's what he felt (Really dude. Really.) I glean no other personality characteristics other than this point of focus. How have those ten years changed him, besides his ‘toughening' with becoming an angel hunter? What of his love of art so openly shown in Angelology? He continuously makes stupid decisions, to the point where it became a theme. “I cannot believe I'm going to freeze to death.” Well, I can. You practically waltzed into a Nephilim train car and begged her to kill you. The fuck did you expect?“I can't believe Dr. Godwin captured me.” Really? Your rash decision to flounder about the prison like a dumbass, risking everyone in the process, certainly reflects your other shitty decision-making skills. You are bordering on TSTL here, dude. Through all of this, we are banged against the head with the fact that Verlaine is tough, a seasoned angel hunter who is the best of the best. Evangeline was, in my opinion, the most irritating character I had the misfortune of reading about in this second installment. A farcry from [b:Angelology 6691426 Angelology (Angelology, #1) Danielle Trussoni http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347562444s/6691426.jpg 6886872], she must have had a total of five pages in which we directly interact with her in any meaningful way. She felt beige and flat, a character so rich before now flattened to a concept. With the cliffhanger in [b:Angelology 6691426 Angelology (Angelology, #1) Danielle Trussoni http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347562444s/6691426.jpg 6886872], I was excited to read about her growth. How has she coped? Where has she been living, with whom has she associated with, did she ever return to the convent? Why ten years to make contact with Verlaine and the others? What of her belief in God now? I feel like a lot of the drama could have been cut in half if she had just showed up to the angelologists and come clean. Her childlike behavior, annoying at first, became creepy as the story progressed.But, in my opinion, they deserve each other. Why? Because they both fucking suck.-When Verlaine meets with Evangeline and she fights Eno, instead of killing her which would have saved lives Evangeline takes this bullshit holier-than-thou route, allowing her capture to make some stupid statement. What? Did Evangeline not think the angelologists wouldn't pursue her? Why would she give the Nephilim what they wanted? Thanks for all that unnecessary goddamn work. -When Verlaine acts like an idiot (a common theme) and he's imprisoned with her, they are (quite quickly) rescued by Yana and Bruno, who are also fighting Eno. Does Evangeline, who fought Eno before AND WON, step in and help them escape? No. THEY FUCKING RUN OUT THE DOOR AND ABANDON THEM BOTH WITH A COLLAPSING, EXPLODING PRISON AND A DANGEROUS ANGEL.4. The EndingWhat? Did I miss something? In love with her for nearly two whole books, and now Verlaine is going to capture and kill Evangeline? Are you high? You must be high. [b:Angelopolis 16158489 Angelopolis (Angelology, #2) Danielle Trussoni http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1362380627s/16158489.jpg 13523893] was given three stars because I did love the concept. The way Russian history was entwined with Nephilim, Evangeline's parentage reveal, it was basically the only reason I kept reading. The storyline's cliffhanger, with the Apocalypse arriving upon the Watcher's release, makes for an excellent setup for an action-packed final installment. I can only hope that the third takes after the first, and brings life back to the story.

Angelopolis Similar to Angelolgy, there was a lot that I liked about Angelopolis despite any qualms I may have had. In fact, I'm here to say that I actually enjoyed this book much better than the first. Perhaps it's because of the ample amounts of action, or maybe because of the discoveries that are slowly unearthed, but Danielle Trussoni managed to capture my imagination, and I eagerly paged through this book.
 
Evangeline doesn't play as big of a role in Angelopolis, instead giving way to more information about Verlaine and his posse of angelologists. As Nephilim become more of a threat, Verlaine must work even harder to keep humanity safe. It was so fun to follow him on the hunts, and be introduced to new characters. I'm a huge fan of the tough female characters that make an appearance here. Being an angelologist definitely isn't an easy job. Add in a mystery involving the Romanov family, and you have quite a story.
 
My one gripe, and this is the same one I had before, is that there is a large amount of descriptive writing that slowly bogs down the action. There are pages upon pages of historical information and angelic races. Although interesting in its own right, it does manage to pull the reader out of the overall mystery that surrounds the angels themselves. I'll admit that I skimmed more than a few pages, and yet I still managed to follow the story just fine. Still, this was done much better than the first novel so kudos on that!
 
As I said though, despite anything else I did actually enjoy the story in its entirety. The ending is a huge cliffhanger and so I know that there will be more to come. I'm in for the long haul now. Bring on more angels, more holy wars, and more action. I'll be here waiting for it.