Review: Redemption by Erica Hayes

REDEMPTION (A Novel of the Seven Signs #2)
by Erica Hayes

PUBLISHED: Berkley US

PUBLISHED: 6 June 2013

GENRE: Fiction / Paranormal Romance

Japheth the Tainted is on the hunt for a mysterious demon vampire. But meeting her face-to-face might disarm his warrior spirit - and spark an unquenchable passion with apocalyptic consequences.

As a fallen angel, Japheth is determined to make his way back to heaven by staying pure and slaying hellspawn. With a new scourge of vampires, unleashed by a blood-drinking demon, the Prince of Thirst, there's plenty to be done. But Japeth is after one vampire in particular - the one they call the Angel Slayer.

Rose Harley never wanted to be a vampire, but the Prince of Thirst can turn even the kindest soul into a soldier of hell. Feeling abandoned by God, she stalks the West Village taking revenge on his angels - until she meets her match.

When Japheth and Rose encounter each other, the battle is fierce and charged with desire. But when they discover a common enemy - the Prince of Thirst himself - they form a dangerous alliance that could either cost them their eternal lives, or spark a love more powerful than heaven or hell.

My Thoughts:                    ***WARNING - CONTAINS SPOILERS***

You might remember me mentioning this book in my Teaser Tuesday post.  Well, it's the second in Erica Hayes' Seven Signs series and it follows on from the events in the first book, Revelation, which I reviewed here.  I was nervous starting it because I wasn't sold on the character of Japheth at all. The fact we learned in Revelation that he'd had a relationship with Michael - who's as full of sin as they come - made me think he had seriously flawed judgment and questionable morals. Well, how wrong was I??!!

I totally fell in love with Japheth and his quest for redemption. He is one seriously hot character and yes, I know he's fictional but I would be happy to redeem him over and over! Rose is another fabulous character, tormented by her own demons and conflicted between wanting to believe that she can be saved but knowing that in her hour of need, God didn't care. I loved the relationship between them, how it developed and the sizzle, my goodness!

I thought I'd guessed how the plot would play out but the author caught me out several times, which was nice. I thought we'd find out that Rose hadn't killed her 6 year old niece, Bridie, but that the Prince of Thirst had and he'd let her believe that she was responsible. I didn't anticipate that he would actually have turned her into a tiny child vampire.  I also couldn't believe it when Jadzia was killed! I was gutted, as I'd been so looking forwards to reading more about her. Fortunately, we find out she's been resurrected by her demon lover but then we're hit with the HUGE revelation of who he actually is! How did I not see that coming? How?

I'm still not a fan of the swearing and could really do without all the "hellshit" and "heavenshit" references but that's my only gripe. This series is shaping up nicely and I cannot wait to read the next book!