Review: Lucian Divine by Renée Carlino

Note: This ARC was provided by the author via InkSlinger PR in exchange for an honest review.

Renée Carlino gives fans and readers something different with the release of her latest standalone, Lucian Divine, a paranormal romance that has a somewhat surly, alcohol-slinging guardian angel falling for his human ward, and vice-versa. An author writing something outside of their usual comfort zone can be both a good and not-so-good thing--the former if it works out well and the latter if...well...not so much. There's no denying that it's a risk, but I always admire authors who are willing to take that risk in order to not just give their readers fresh material to peruse, but also to push themselves as storytellers. It keeps them from stagnating and just rehashing the old stuff.

In the case of Lucian Divine, Carlino's making her guardian angel someone who was more naughty than nice was a twist that made this worth the read. An angel with a devilish streak? Yes, please! And while there were moments that Lucian's behavior bordered on boorish, he was the true star of this novel, deservedly having it titled after him. As far as female main character Evelyn "Evey" Casey is concerned, though, it was all a bit iffy. It wasn't that she wasn't likable, but more of her thoughts and emotions being all over the place. Heck, if I was living the kind of life she was living, I'd get drunk too, so I get why Lucian felt the need to wade his way through every glass and bottle.

As far as the story itself goes, I admittedly loved the first few chapters as well as the last three chapters...which were kinda like the beginning chapters (read the book so you'll get what I'm saying). There was, however, a point in the book, where everything seemed to go haywire. The pacing was suddenly off, almost as if there was this rush to just get to the highlights, skipping over anything else, so as to get to the finish line and have them all live happily ever after. Taking everything into consideration--originality, creativity, character development, and story development--Lucian Divine gets four stars. It isn't my favorite Carlino read but it's one that kept me entertained. ♥

Release Date: 09 January 2017

Date Read: 08 January 2017

Learn more about Renée Carlino.

Pre-order Lucian Divine on Amazon | B&N | iBooks | Kobo.