Angel Dust
by Sarah Mussi
Genre: young adult paranormal romance
Publisher: Hot key books
Publication date: August 2nd 2012
Pages: 352 (paperback)
Source: ARC from publisher
Purchase this book | GoodReads

Would you move heaven and earth for the one you love? ANGEL DUST is a powerful, gritty and utterly modern tragic love story with a twist. When Serafina, the brightest and most beloved of all God's angels, is sent to collect Marcus Montague - the original badman - and take him to Hell, she finds herself powerfully drawn to him and makes a decision that places her in the middle of a war between Heaven and Hell. Can Serafina fall in love without falling from grace? Can Marcus's soul be saved? And just who is the mysterious and ever-so-helpful stranger Harry?

The thing about Angel Dust is that it isn't your average paranormal romance. We usually have a pseudo-human girl with a supernatural love interest. In Angel Dust, the roles are reversed and Sarah Mussi weaves an incredible witty and thrilling tale that redefines the paranormal romance genre.

The story is told in Seraphina's point of view. Being an angel of death who knows close to nil about the world her beloved Marcus lives in, she is anything but street smart. She doesn't know a thing about human emotions, and yet I found myself marveling at how she described human actions and emotions. Every little thing was fascinating and beautifully strange. The way she readily trusts people often creates problems for her. Her innocence is her Achilles' heel, I think. She has a curious and extremely naive personality, but the author succeeds in not making it come across as whiny or stupid.

Marcus is the gangsta that stole the angel of death's heart. He wasn't in the book as much as I would like him to be and I really didn't get to know him too well, but he is my favorite character. He has this aura that practically screams danger, but there's a reason why he built a bad-boy image around himself. He has incredibly plausible reasons for his actions and I could see why Serpahina didn't want him to be condemned to hell, despite all of the sins he has committed. He is such a tormented character with a beautiful soul- definitely not what you would expect!

Seraphina was entirely convinced that Marcus is her fate and her destiny. She would give up everything for him- her immortality included. She did so many stupid things just to save him and all I could do was shake my head. I didn't really like Seraphina's silly little infatuation at first. I thought it was just a little crush on someone forbidden; a temptation. I mean, who would fall in love with a person who she barely spoke to? But halfway into the book Seraphina didn't even care if Marcus didn't care for her, she just wanted to save his soul no matter what. That was what convinced me that Seraphina's love was real. Her love for him was so strong it stirred heaven and hell.


The book really drew me in and I could not put it down. I constantly wanted to know what happened next, even if the whole story was slightly predictable. The plot line was unique and definitely not what you would expect. It's perfectly paced and it never had a boring moment. The forbidden love between Seraphina and Marcus didn't overtake the book, and I loved that. It was more serious than I expected and started to deal with heavy topics halfway into the book, but I think it needed that heavy does of reality. The characters that surround the protagonists are just as beautiful and perfectly crafted with imperfections. Their growth and struggle with the idea of free will vs fate and all the other painful and yet true to life realities of this universe gave me a reading experience that i would not soon forget.

THE NUB AND GIST: 5 STARS