Title: Wormwood
Author: D.H. Nevins
Publisher: Black Wraith Books
Published Date: 10th December 2011
Page Count: 419
ASIN: B005V55BQM
Price: Free
Reviewer: Gwendoline SK Terry (15 Dec 2022)
Blurb
Tiamat and his brothers, a legion of 100 half-angels, have orders to end the lives of all humans. Yet in a moment of weakness, he risks everything to rescue a hiker named Kali from the very destruction he initiated. Kali, plagued by a legion of Nephilim bent on sending her on, is forced to trust Tiamat – the one being who could prove to be her greatest enemy.
Review – may contain spoilers!
I want to preface my review by pointing out that this is the first novel I’ve read in the angel/demon genre. I don’t tend to read post-apocalyptic books either so this novel was all kinds of firsts for me. Struck with the urge to branch out, “Wormwood” seemed like an intriguing novel to try considering I’m not religious by any means, and I lean towards historical fiction or historical romance the majority of the time.
This novel was STUNNING. Well-written and richly detailed, it was gripping for almost every page, an excellent introduction to this genre. I plan to pick up the second in the series ASAP. I was extremely pleased that there wasn’t any preaching in this novel but for one character and one antagonist whose religious diatribe suited their zealotry. The author hurls the reader immediately into the devastating apocalypse, a world so immersive, you’re grateful for the occasional flashback so that you have a moment to take a breath.
I only had a couple of issues with this novel. I do not like the love-at-first-sight trope and that felt like exactly what happened between Kali and Tiamat. I didn’t like how quickly Kali forgave Tiamat for literally causing the death of her dad, on top of everyone and everything she ever knew. Despite how cute someone is, I feel like murdering your family is a surefire way to stomp out any attraction whether the murder is God-ordered or not. Their romance was not believable at all, and honestly, I wasn’t rooting for them as a couple – the world and their situation were far more exciting and intriguing than their hurried relationship.
Kali gaining superpowers after having sex with Tiamat was a little eye-rolling, and the way the couple spoke so formally with each other struck me as odd. Kali did not speak like a normal person of her age group at all during the dialogue.
Tiamat kept too many secrets from Kali, despite his reasonings, I really don’t think it was necessary. She seemed to get over the fact that Nephilim exist and the world was ending pretty fast, I think she would’ve understood everything else.
Again, all in all, I intend to read the next novel in the series. There were still some mysteries left to uncover, and the novel ended on quite an exciting cliffhanger.
gwensalir 