A Touch of Crimson: A Renegade Angels Novel

I bought it while traveling...without reading reviews. I wasnt expecting anyrhing much... But sure too me on a surprising ride. Loved the characters and loved their world.
I read the nxt book - hunger so wild - almost immediately. Now i cant wait for the nxt installment. Im dying to see how this ends. :))

Really loved this book.I'm a huge Sylvia Day fan and this series definitely lived up to my expectations. Hot, sexy, dangerous, and lethal A Touch of Crimson will sweep you up and leave you wanting more and more

I definitely enjoyed the book I can't say that it was the best book I've ever read. Angels becoming vampires is just a little too strange and some of the dialogue was a little too much I tried imagining someone talking to me like that and it just didn't fly but otherwise it wasn't a bad read.

when you start loving the charactors for who they are and what they represent, you really can't put the book down. you get really involved and try to think what should happen next but then it goes into another direction which is more delicious.

Sylvia Day has yet to disappoint. This is a perfect read for lazy days or while flying.

This was the first series from Day that I've read since the Crossfire series. I very much enjoyed it and highly recommend it to Sylvia Day fans alike.

The first book of the Renegade series and I have to say a fantastic start. I was looking for another series to follow the "Eve" series and these definitely fit the bill. They are in the same genere as the Eve series so if you enjoyed the original you'll love this one!

I am hooked on Sylvia Day! I love her writing. If you read "Dark Kiss of Rapture" you will definitely be hooked and pulled into the Renegade Angels series. "A Touch of Crimson" is even better! I cannot get enough of this series! You will love it.

Great concept good story line BUT Sylvia Day can't meet a deadlin and this series has too many "novellas" (Seriously???) that takes away from the main story. I do not recommend buying any Sylvia Day books until she has all of the serious out because the woman can't meet a deadline

I'm a total fan of Silvia's books, so I was a bit disappointed with this one. When it was hot, the heat was definitely on, but, the story was slow and lacking something. Can't put my finger on it. My suggestion would be to stay out of vamp stories. Sorry :(

My usual genre preference is horror and action, but after reading A Dark Kiss of Rapture I had to read A Touch of Crimson and it was incredibly good, more than I anticipated. Without a doubt the best book I have ever read, it is a perfect blend of action and sexiness. I cannot wait until the third book, A Hunger So Wild is available, but I would most definitely reccomend this book!

I don't really go for the romance type novels but I love the supernatural stories. This one was really good. I really like the ending which has set up the new novel very well. I love the way the characters were very well developed. I can't wait for the next book.

I bought this at the Bangalore airport as one of the few English choices and I really regret the purchase. It read more like fanfic than a real edited, published book. I don't feel like the characters have distinct voices. They are all kind of similar. I feel like the "angels" could just as easily be military or pirates or construction workers or whatever, since nothing about how they're written comes across as angelic or immortal. Despite being described as calm and emotionless, among other things, their dialogue and actions in no way backed up those descriptions. They weren't angelic (not even warrior angel style angelic). If anything, I would guess cliche-y Wall Street types. And super racist and cruel, also. The vampires didn't seem particularly evil or soul less. They were basically the same as the angels in terms of behavior and dialogue, just with different backstories. And the lycans were just as similar. And the individual characters lacked distinct personalities as well. How the author described them was different, but not their actual behavior or dialogue. That's a big problem for me.

Now, for the plot itself. SPOILERS below, for those wishing to avoid them.

Bad characterization aside, the whole premise really really annoyed me. The main angel falls in love with a human, despite it being forbidden. Their love survives through multiple lifetimes, down through the ages. Ok, fine. Great. But he's a huge, huge hypocrite. He basically ripped away the souls of other angels for doing the exact same thing, and yet openly goes around with his human girlfriend, consequence and (largely) guilt free. In fact, his gf's (the main female character's) father is portrayed as his major nemesis, but his only crime was falling in love with the woman's mother and having her and her brother. So huge, huge hypocrite who's willing to kill, maim and torture others for doing exactly what he's doing. He doesn't step down. He doesn't volunteer for punishment. He just keeps on breaking the rules while also keeping on punishing and looking down on others for the same. This is a big problem for me.

Then their love itself is problematic for me. I don't really see it. I see lust, which we are just completely hit over the head with. Like, too much too soon (and too much later as well, frankly). This reads, again, like a fanfic porno not a paranormal romance. I ended up skimming quite a bit of the raunchier parts. Not seeing a lot of real connection between the characters, frankly. And a HUGE problem of the book is that it starts off describing Lindsay (or "Linds" as the immortal warrior angel of god decides to nickname her) as the reborn soul of his eternal love. But somewhere towards the end it turns out Lindsay is just hosting the reborn soul, alongside her own new soul, in her body. So, two souls in one body, one of them basically a parasite. A very different scenario than the one originally presented. And it turns out he decides he's in love with the new soul and doesn't seem to miss or feel particularly bad when the soul of his supposed eternal love is vanquished. She's portrayed as kind of a b*tch anyway, which frankly seems like a good match for him since he's no peach either.

So, overall, I really didn't enjoy this book. It would have been bad as a free Kindle offering and I'm feeling pretty resentful about how much I paid for it.

Sylvia Day's A Touch of Crimson: A Renegade Angels Novel is the start of a series. On the whole it's a fairly average erotic paranormal romance. When I got into the details, however, I liked it less.

I think of Adrian as a Slab O'Man. He doesn't seem to have a lot to him beyond that, physically and personality-wise. Lindsay is somewhat more interesting, as is Elijah, her lycan bodyguard, but the other seraphim are even sketchier than Adrian and seriously lacking in personality. I often felt as though the characters were posing for the reader instead of behaving naturally.

There are some frustrating character point-of-view oddities. Early on we're seeing things from Lindsay's perspective, although in the third person. Some vital information was left out of this part of the narrative just to make a revelation surprising a little while later. Since we had supposedly been getting Lindsay's PoV, this felt like a cheap cheat.

I have a real problem with plots that rely on someone having decided to "punish" a being by making them more powerful and/or more dangerous to all of those around them. It can work in stories with a certain mythical, fairy-tale feel, but A Touch of Crimson is about as far from that sort of feel as possible. Angels aren't wild and mythical; they're soldiers with wings. Thus, the fact that angels were turned into Vampires when they fell-Vampires who feed on humans and can spread vampirism to humans-vampires the angels aren't really supposed to kill because that negates the punishment aspect... that's just plain bad plotting.

And now for the quote that really gets me:

"Lindsay shook her head. "No."

Adrian's features lit with a glorious smile. He twisted swiftly and she found herself beneath him ...

"I know what it means when you say that," he murmured."

Yes, by all means, let's put a scene into a romance that indicates that the man not only knows better than the woman does what she means when she says "no," but feels it appropriate to act on his imagined "yes" rather than her spoken "no." WTF. There are better ways to produce a dynamic where Lindsay is reluctant-but-wanting and Adrian draws her out, that don't imply that it's not only okay but desirable for a man to decide he knows better than a woman what she really wants in bed, and to act on that without her agreement.

There are a few similar tidbits. There's also a set of decisions later on-one by Lindsay and one by Shadoe-that get made ridiculously easily given what each of them would have to pay for her decision. (I'm not specifying further to avoid spoilers.)

I was going to give this book a 2 out of 5, but honestly that bit about `no' meaning `yes' pisses me off enough that I'm demoting the book to a 1 out of 5.

[NOTE; review book provided by publisher]

My Review:
What an amazing first book in the series!! This is a complicated world with a complicated set of rules governing it, but the book was NOT confusing. That being said though, I do feel like I need to re-read it to catch all the nuances of this world. There are three basic groups to these books:
1. The Sentinels: a special ops group of angels in charge of taking care of the vampires and protecting mortals.
2. The Lycan: Shifters who are basically indentured servants of the Sentinels. They can sniff out vampires and act as bodyguards for the Sentinels.
3. The Fallen: Vampires who were angels, but procreated with humans and thus lost their wings and gained a need for blood.
None of these groups truly trust the either, and all are on the verge of war. It's a fragile stability that falls apart in this book.

This book is about Adrian. He is an angel. In fact, he is the angel in charge of the Sentinels. He fell in love with Shadoe, a Nephilum and daughter to the leader of the Fallen, many centuries ago and is now cursed with meeting with her lifetime after lifetime where she dies over and over leaving him alone in his immortality. The book starts with him meeting Lindsey in an airport. She is carrying Shadoe's soul, although she has no idea. She does have an idea of immortals though because she saw her birth mother murdered by vampires when she was only 5 years old. Since then, she has hunted vampires searching for vengeance.

Adrian is an Alpha with a capital A, and for the first time, Shadoe is in a form (under Lindsey) where she is not willing to bow down to his every want and need. She has a brain of her own and skills of her own and she is NOT going to sit on the sideline. Lindsey is tough and not willing to just sit back and accept things as they are...in life or with Adrian. She is proactive and she can kick butt with any one of these tough angels. Her personal bodyguard is Elijah. He's a Lycan and being watched because he shows signs of being an Alpha for the Lycan. The issue is that the Sentinels are in charge of the Lycan and they cannot allow a Lycan to usurp that role. I LOVED Elijah's character. He and Lindsey form a special friendship that was really truly sweet. His book is the next one in this trilogy and I cannot wait!!!

There is a lot going on, and I know that it sounds confusing, but it was such a freaking good book!!! Just trust me when I say that if you enjoy paranormal, you will enjoy this one. I really waffled between an A and an A- rating. The reason it ended up with an A- is because the book left it with so many questions still hanging, but it wasn't done in a bad way...no cliffhangers. There is definitely something/someone interfering with the peace between these three groups, and there is no clarity on that in this book. I foresee Lindsey having a hand in figuring it out since she is integral and tied to all three groups, but I could be totally wrong about that. I just know that I am excited to see where it goes from here!

I’m a fan of Ms. Day’s Crossfire series, although this book has been on my to-read list longer then I’ve known about her more popular read. I’ve owned this book for a while now and finally decided I need to get around to clearing off some of the titles that have been on my to-read list for too long. I added this one back in Oct 25 2011, shortly after it was published and just never got around to it. I’m a fan of angel and vampire paranormal stories, so thought this one would be right up my alley. It wasn’t…

It was alright, but I just never got excited about the action or invested in the characters. Around page 100 I seriously thought about DNFing this title, but stuck it out a little longer and ended up finishing the book. The story must have picked up and I started sorting everything out. I didn’t hate the book, hence finishing it and not giving it one star, but I’m also not burning from desire to go out and read the next one. Book three isn’t going to be published until she finishes the Crossfire series, and who the hell knows when that is going to be… If I do continue to book two, which isn’t very likely, it will be all for the character Elijah who is the only character that was able to catch my interest in book one.

So what was the problem? What didn’t work for me? Part of it was a case of too many plot threads. There was just too much going on and we never got the chance to get invested in one dilemma before moving onto the next. Each chapter in the beginning felt like a different book, the action and events didn’t start piecing together until it was almost too late for me. If I had been going my normal DNF guidelines I would have given up before the story started making sense. I never did come to care for the lead characters. I could tell at the end where I would have normally been in tears over the sacrifices they were making for each other I though oh look only 60 more pages til I’m done. I didn’t care one way or the other if they ended up together. I just wanted to be done.

The idea behind the story was great, but too many plot lines made it thin for me. I also felt there was a serious lacking of ‘bad’ guy in this story. The vamps were set up to be the fall guy, but they were pretty weak and you could see the author was setting them up to be redeemed by the end of the series. Which is great, everyone ends up a good guy, but makes the story lack a real motivator for the action. We needed someone to hate or blame to become more supporting of the ‘good’ guys.

So was there anything I liked? There must have been for me to finish the story. I did like Elijah and his friendship with Lindsay. I also was intrigued to learn more about the other angels living and work at the compound, but we never learned much about them beyond their not approving of Lindsay. I also kinda liked the Vamps and how they were not such bad guys as the angels would lead us to believe, but again they were not in the story much. I also did like the idea that these two had this great love and been forced apart over cycles of reincarnation of Shadoe’s soul.

I wanted to like the story more, but in its current form it just didn’t work for me. Don’t let that stop you from giving it a go though. This book had the unfortunate timing of following a book I was crazy for, so that may have colored my thoughts a bit…but then again maybe not. I think I will probably just stick to her Crossfire series which I enjoyed a lot more.

Adrian Mitchell is a Seraphim Angel, leader of a group of Sentinels created to punish The Watchers, sent by the Creator to watch over mankind, who break the rules and have relationships with mortals. The punished Watchers have their wings torn off and lose their souls, becoming vampires, also known as Fallen Angels. Adrian fell in love with Shadoe, the daughter of Syre, the first Fallen Angel he had to tear the wings from. When Shadoe was mortally wounded Adrian took her back to her father not understanding that while he could save her, it was by making her a vampire. Adrian killed the woman he loved. But the Seraphim are under the same rules as the Watchers, so even though they find each other through each of her reincarnations, he risks his own soul by being with her.

Lindsey Gibson's young life was changed forever when she witnessed a vampire kill her mother when she was only five. She's always been able to feel evil and trained herself to kill any non-humans she comes across. Meeting Adrian in an airport as she's flying out to start a new job on the West Coast, she's immediately attracted. This reincarnation is different from earlier ones as Lindsey not only has non-human abilities, but her love for Adrian is purer and even though it's painful, she's willing to walk away to save him.

There are three general groups in this story. The Fallen or vampires, led by Syre. They have the ability to create more vampires, called minions. Lycans--shifters but not the same as a werewolf--carry the blood of the Seraphims but were created to serve them in the role of indentured servant in the Seraphim's efforts to police The Watchers and Vampires. And the Sentinels, Seraphim Angels who are vastly outnumbered by those they police and count on the Lycans to aid them. Someone is setting up the vampires and Sentinnels to fight each other by planting evidence when attacking each of their groups.

Adrian and Lindsey definitely give us plenty of lust and sexual tension, and the words are correct to show how much they love the other, but I couldn't connect with Lindsey, so I never felt their love.

What I really appreciated is the overall world with the various groups all coming from basically the same source with different twists, and the challenges they face. Not only do we have three groups where one is supposed to be the "bad guy," the story is told from various angles. No overall group is the "bad guy" and I could feel for each of their situations.

Overall a decent book with an interesting plot and characters I'd like to learn more about.

This is the first book in the Renegade Angels series, although a prequel ebook titled A Dark Kiss of Rapture, is available for free.

Reviewed via ARC for LibraryThing

Review by Shannon
Review originally posted at Romancing the Book

This book was one hell of a ride! I've never been a huge fan of books with Angels, but this one changed my mind!

Adrian Mitchell has one mission on earth and that's to protect mortals from the Fallen (angels who broke the rules and are now vampires). He's content, most days, to hunt those who break the rule and ensure they are properly punished. He does this with the rest of his special ops group of Seraphim, along with the help of the lycans (werewolves who are basically slaves to the seraphim). The most important rule to all Seraphim, not to fall in love.

Lindsey Gibson is moving across the country to start a new life and to hunt the things that go bump in the night. She's taken aback when she sees the most gorgeous man waiting in line for her same flight to California. When they make eye contact, they have an instant connection. But despite this connection, Lindsey doesn't see anything other than a one night stand happening. She's not able to explain her special abilities or that she hunts vampires. No one would understand her need to avenge the death of her mother by a vampire attack when she was five. Except she can't seem to say no to Adrian and the more she's with him, the more she begins to realize there is more to him than meets the eye.

I loved this story. Adrian was a heartbreakingly (is that even a word??) wonderful character. Often it seemed like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders while he tried to do the right thing. But then there were other times when he was willing to let it all go so he could have the one thing he truly...Lindsey. It didn't matter how many times he told himself he'd let her go or how he was going to use her to bring the Vampires down, he could never let go of her. She was essential to him.

Lindsey was just as great. Strong and stubborn, she was hell bent on revenge for her mother's death and willing to use Adrian's resources to help her get that. But once she got to know what Adrian was and what would happen if they let their urges tempt them, she put Adrian's well-being in front of hers. She was selfishly selfless at times, thinking she knew what was better for Adrian than he did, but it was generally to ensure that he kept those gorgeous wings and not become one of the things she'd sworn to kill.

The series was set up beautifully. We have our evil Vampire lord, Sayre, and his minions out to try and get rid of the Seraphim. Then there's the lycan, tired of being slaves to the Seraphim and wanted to install the proper order to the pack system with Elijah, an assumed Alpha.

Can't wait for the next installment. Hope it's not a long!

** spoiler alert ** After reading the Crossfire series I had high hopes for this book...
while the story was good I just found it lacking details. It could have been so much better and I think seeing the potential in it ruined what was actually there.

For the most part its a good book, but it's not something that I'll be continuing on with. It didn't keep my attention and there really isn't anything significant that happens as far as action, or even romance. A few small trysts in the bedroom and mentions of fights, but where are the details?
For all the talk about Adrian being a hunter and always in the field there was no action. If he is SO worried about them changing her over, why didn't he try to get there to stop it instead of wondering if it happened and a few weeks later the enemy just drops her off at the doorstep no questions asked?! Why did Shadoe just give up in the end without a fight after holding on for centuries?
It just didn't work for me, but that's not to say that it doesn't appeal to other people - I just prefer lots of action in my books!

This was an almost good story for me, but a few things cause it to fall short. One was that the characters did not take my heart. Lindsay was a little shallow. She is supposed to be the vessel of Shadow's soul, Adrians great love.. It reincarnates into humans every so often. He's being punished for loving Shadow - a vampire. Adrian is a Seraph=a warrior angel who keeps humankind safe. Shadow's father, Syre, and Adrian are at war over her when she appears - each wanting her to commit to them and end the cycle. When Shadow incarnates within Lindsay, Adrian recognizes her immediately. He also finds that she has some supernatural abilities. He brings her to where he lives with the other seraphs he leads and they make love. The love making was a bit too lewdly described - not angelic at all. That was the other thing that made it fall short for me. The third thing was it was schmaltzy - like, paleeeze. Last, some of the situations are not believable because the characters are not.

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: Elite heavenly warrior in love with Shadoe that has been reincarnated into the body of Lyndsay Gibson.

Opening Sentence: "Phineas is dead."

The Review:

Let me first say with no spoilers, I hate the way that this book ends. My recommendation is that you ensure you have book 2, A Hunger So Wild, on hand so you can continue this epic tale. Unfortunately, I don't have that luxury but I will add it to my list of must read in the near future.

Now to what you really want to know, does this book live up to Sylvia Day's name or does it fall a feather short? This is world I was sucked into from the very first line and every time I had to put the book down I was itching to pick it back up. This sort of story telling is a true gift. Many authors have wonderful sense of timing and flow but Ms. Day grips you in a special way and doesn't let go until her story has been told.

Adrian Mitchell is our Captain of the Elite squadron of seraphim whose mission is to ensure that all Fallen angels live with the knowledge that they will never ascend back to heaven. Throughout the span of time, Adrian has weathered this responsibility with only one flaw. He fell in love with Shadoe, who is the daughter of the highest ranking Fallen. Her life is threatened and Adrian turns to her father to heal her but instead her father starts to change her into a vampire. Adrian has no choice but to kill her before she is turned completely.

Because Shadoe was on the verge of being changed her soul becomes immortal and has been reincarnated in various times through out the centuries. This time her soul has joined up with Lindsey Gibson, who has her own special giftedness.

We are thrown quite forcefully into the path of Adrian and meet him when he is being informed of the death of his second in command and brother. The insight we get into his psych is an interesting one. This man is full of complexity. He bears the weight of his rank and stature but isn't afraid to use it when necessary. The way his emotions are mirrored in the weather is an inspiring touch.

Lindsay's arrival on the scene is the typical boy meets girl but all of that is thrown into chaos when she takes down a dragon demon. All of my preconceptions about her character were thrown out with the bath water and in its place comes an amazing woman of depth, selflessness and drive. This is my favorite type of female character in part because many times woman are seen as dependent in some way. Lindsay is so independent it is scary but with a heart of gold.

The thread that is woven into this story is seamless and is one that I am looking forward to returning to in A Hunger So Wild. Overall, this is a masterful touch of writing by Ms. Day.

FTC Advisory: Signet/Penguin provided me with a copy of A Touch of Crimson. No goody bags, sponsorships, "material connections," or bribes were exchanged for my review.

First in the Renegade Angels paranormal romance series set in Southern California. The couple focus is on Adrian Mitchell and Lindsay Gibson.

My Take
A good story with lots of complex plots within it. And it's that which makes me want to read the next installment, A Hunger So Wild (Renegade Angels, #2). Day's writing lacks maturity with some of her sentences making me cringe.

I do love the sacrificing she has created between the primary characters, Lindsay and Adrian. A nice, complex twist for which I would have preferred a more drawn-out end. It was too easy at the very last.

The situation Day has created with the lycans...whoa... She's blown me away with those twists and turns and used very few words doing it! This is what I want to know. Elijah is so torn up and I have to know what happened? Where did he go? Who is pulling the strings? Who took Lindsay? I definitely have my suspicions of Jason and his crowd!

The whole lycan indenture seems pretty unfair. They don't live forever and here their children's children's children are being punished for what their ancestors did.

The battle over Shadoe's soul confused me. Syre and Adrian seem to have Shadoe's best interests at heart, but they don't trust the other...which is reasonable, all things considered.

In some ways, I don't blame Syre. it doesn't seem evil to fall in love and one shouldn't be punished for it. Adrian is certainly caring and supportive even if he is also dictatorial.


No, Day doesn't handle Lindsay's outing herself to Adrian's crew well at all. I suspect Day gave up on trying to segue into it.

Adrian will throw it all away for her, but Lindsay refuses him. Yes, she's falling in love, but she also understands the greater issue and all the angels and lycans are curious about this woman who so obsesses their captain.

Nope, I am not buying Lindsay choosing with so little information on what is entailed in becoming a vampire. It's what? An hour into waking up and meeting Syre and Torque. When she knows of the rivalry between Syre and Adrian? Nope, just put me off.

Whose decision was it really to force all the packs to Navajo Lake? And Jason is just using Eli, taunting him. The Jason who hates lycans.

The Story
Adrian has loved and lost and lost his beloved Shadoe lifetime after lifetime. Always she is taken from him, but now... It has been two hundred years and she's back.

It's a delightful agony to have her back, yet, he must win her all over again. The injunction against their love? Adrian doesn't care, she completes him.

His life, though, will be complicated. Unknown forces are plotting. Turning each side against the other. It doesn't help Adrian or his Sentinels that Lindsay is so fiercely intent on killing her mother's murderer that her attacks could start a war the world has not seen for eons.

The Characters
Adrian Mitchell, the captain of the Sentinels, is in love with Shadoe, a love that is forbidden. It's the same crime for which he punished her father. The world, however, sees him as the owner of Mitchell Aeronautics--think Howard Hughes. With Phineas` death, Jason moves up as Adrian's second-in-command. He has NO empathy for lycans. Other Sentinels include Damien, Aaron, Reese, Siobhán, Oliver, Malachai, and Geoffrey.

Helena Bardon is another angel and in love with one of her lycans, Mark. It's Mark's point that lycans, vampires, and demons are not mortals which is the only love that is forbidden. So why is it wrong for her. I get Adrian's argument that he can't encourage her even as he is falling, although if the rule is only about mortals??

Lindsay Gibson is the reincarnation of Shadoe and, jesus, is she ever trigger-happy. I think she's related to Princess Adele in Greyfriar. She has accepted a job working for Raguel as the Belladonna's assistant manager.

Elijah is a lycan suspected of Alpha traits. It's an unspoken rule that lycans look to the Sentinels for leadership, but the lycans are raging for freedom and Elijah is torn. Assigned to guard Lindsay, they become friends. Other lycans include Micah, Jonas, Rachel, and Rage.

Raguel Gadara heads up Gadara Enterprises and is an earthbound archangel. It seems that being an angel does not preclude wanting to one up another.

Syre is the first Watcher punished for taking a mortal to mate. He became leader of the Vampires. Shadoe is his daughter and Torque is the son remaining to him, one he protects. Torque does run Syre's spy networks. Nikki is Torque's wife; she's also the rabid vampire who tried to kill Adrian.
Vashti is second-in-command of the vampires and the woman whom Lindsay believes killed her mother. Viktor is another vampire.

Sentinels are an elite group of the Seraphim and are charged with policing the Watchers. Watchers are angels charged with observing humans. They were forbidden from taking mortals as mates. Should they fall from grace, their wings and souls are stripped from them and they will have to drink blood to survive nor can they have children. They become Vampires, the Fallen. Lycans are a subgroup of the Fallen. If they agreed to serve the Sentinels, they are not turned into vampires and they can shapeshift into wolves. But they are not werewolves. Nephalim are children born of a mortal and a Watcher. They require blood to survive. The archangels police demons.

The Cover
The cover is primarily the blues of a night sky and and the buildings of a city with a kneeling angel in a tan T-shirt and light brown pants, his crimson-tipped wings flaring behind him as they frame the title, one knee to the roof of the building, the other a rest for his forearm.

The title refers to A Touch of Crimson on Adrian's wings. A reminder of the first blood he spilled. The blood of a fellow angel.

This was an entertaining read. I can't say that it was very original, as I saw many familiar elements mixed together, but that's not something I require for every read. What matters most is that the author took the world and tweaked it enough to make it her own. The world rules occasionally felt a bit complicated and bulky, but the author explained it all well and kept me from getting confused. I liked the unique spin Day gave on the reason lycans and vampires existed in the world. I, unfortunately, felt that some of the elements she featured were not given the weight they needed, but I'll get into that more shortly.

I was uncertain about whether or not I would like this book in the beginning. It felt a bit overdone and I got tired of the overuse of adjectives and the fawning adoration of how hot the angels were. I was surprised by how modern the ancient angels felt, as well. I had to adjust mindsets and shed the expectations I had for a more serious, intense PNR, so I could enjoy what the book actually was.

I thought the premise of this book was pretty interesting. I'm not much of a fan of reincarnation, but I didn't mind how the author handled it here. I originally got the impression that the author was just going to throw it in there without delving into it much but she surprised me at the end. I wasn't too keen on Adrian punishing others for the same transgressions he was committing, but I understood why he thought it was necessary. It did make it a bit ridiculous, though.

I liked the angle about Shadoe dying again and again throughout time as a punishment for Adrian. But after getting a peek at Shadoe's core personality I thought Adrian wasn't missing much with her gone. She seemed very unlikable and it was hard to see what inspired the love that drove him to reunite with her again and again. Lindsay, on the other hand, I liked. I felt her character occasionally lacked nuance, but she stood out as thoughtful, considerate, strong, and a fighter. She was completely unlike the previous incarnations of Shadoe and we got to see Adrian fall for Lindsay instead of just falling for the girl housing Shadoe's soul.

I thought the attraction and the desperation to be together before time ran out was really well done. Lindsay finds herself unable to resist Adrian without knowing why. Finding him attractive would be normal, but she feels a compulsion to touch him, to claim him. She's a straightforward girl and is willing to act on those feelings--which I liked--but she also finds herself "falling" for him within just a few hours of knowing him--which I didn't like. In addition to that, she has no problem sleeping over the first night (not for sex) despite barely knowing him and having already heard him proclaim that she couldn't leave. Once we got into the thick of the romance I liked it, but I winced over how unrealistic I found some of the beginning stages, before that point.

Although I liked the world Day created, I thought she played with things that I felt needed to have more weight to them. For one, she linked the angels to God and by extension, religion, instead of going the usual route and casting the angels as removed from religion. Souls were mentioned frequently, but they didn't seem to be an important factor in the world (other than to create a line between angels, lycans, and vampires) which surprised me because God/religion was brought into play, and souls are definitely important in that. And reading about the actual transgressions that made the angels lose their wings led the reader to regard God as the villain more than anyone else. Added to that, the way the lycan slavery was treated made me uncomfortable. Lindsay, a girl from the regular world, didn't like it, but she didn't really make a stand against it either. Even though her friend/guard, Elijah (loved him), was directly impacted by it and was in a particularly dangerous situation for a lycan. I just needed more focus placed on these things so I could feel more comfortable with it.

I'm curious to see where Day is planning to take us in this trilogy. I'm a bit nervous about the punishment that might eventually come down on Adrian, but I'm trying not to lose my HEA high by dwelling on it. I'm eager to get my hands on the second book so I can delve into Elijah's story. He ended this book in a tight spot and it'll be interesting seeing him try to wiggle out of it.

Favorite Quote:

"I'm yours."

Lindsay shook her head. "No."

Adrian's features lit with a glorious smile. He twisted swiftly and she found herself beneath him, filled with him.

"I know what it means when you say that," he murmured, hooking his arm beneath her leg and drawing it up, opening her so completely he hit the end of her.

Panting in exquisite torture, she managed, "It means run. Save yourself."

"All of which says, 'I'm falling for you. Adrian.'"

*Review originally posted on Fiction Vixen*

I am always on the lookout for a new paranormal romance series, so when I saw this book on Net Galley, I was eager to see if this would be a series I would be hooked into. Now that I am finished I am intrigued by this world and the characters in it, but was not completely wowed.

Let's start off with what I enjoyed about this book. The relationship between Adrian and Lindsay was by far the best element in this book. It is an instant attraction since she is a reincarnated version of his lost love, but they do not give into it right away. Their courtship develops naturally and Adrian gives Lindsay the time to get to know him and his world, which I appreciated. She is also not a damsel in distress; she could handle her own and had a few tricks up her sleeve. She gets taken along on a mission with Adrian and while there she has to fight off some vamps. She looks like just your average human, but turns into Buffy when the vamps try to attack her. Those moments when she is kicking vamp butt were awesome!

I also enjoyed the secondary characters that we are introduced to in this book. My favorite out of them is Elijah. He is the Lycan assigned to help and guard Lindsay. He starts as her protector, but they quickly bond and become friends. He seems distant at times, but underneath he cares deeply about his people and he comes to care for Lindsay as well. He is also the only alpha among his group of Lycans right now so they all look to him for leadership, which he does not want to give. I am sure this will play a role in the future, but for now I was content with what we did get to see from him.

There were a couple of confusing points in the story which is why I would say the book is pretty good, but not great. Most of the confusion for me was rooted in the mythology. The story of how the angels, Lycans, and vampires all came to be was introduced in pieces and I found myself struggling to put it all in sequential order. There were also many terms that went with each sub group and those were also difficult to keep track of. There is a glossary at the beginning so you can flip back and forth if needed, but I can usually keep up with these terms. I am not sure if it was the way the information was delivered, but I was lost a couple of times and did not like that feeling.

That being said though, I did like the whole idea behind the reason the angels fell and why they are here on Earth. Sylvia developed her characters well and as a reader you come to care for them easily. Not just the angels, but the Lycans too. I could even understand where the vampires are coming from and commiserated with their plight in this world. I am hoping we will get to see more from all three species in future books.

The only other aspect I struggled with was the abrupt ending. The whole book builds to Lindsay discovering who she is, why she is so fiercely attracted to Adrian and who her father is. When most of those events unfold, they happen so quickly I was left with my head spinning. I wished there was more time devoted to her inner struggles with that or just coming to terms with her true family. I enjoyed the beginning and middle of this book, but because the ending happened in fast forward I was left disappointed.

Overall, this is a good book and I am interested to see where it goes from here, especially since Elijah's story is next, but I was not blown away by it. If you are thinking about reading it then I would go ahead and give it a try or at least check out some other reviews before you make up your mind. It is an interesting world to get lost for a while and Adrian alone really is reading the book for, hehe.

I've read mixed reviews on this book, so I was a little hesitant to give it a try, but I am glad I did. The more I read of this story, the more I enjoyed it.

Adrian is the leader of the angelic soldiers who oversee the vampires on earth. These vampires were once angels themselves, but they broke the rules that prevented them from mating with mortals. Adrian and his fellow Seraphim were dispatched to punish them... divest them of their wings... the very act, turning them into vamps.

Long ago, Adrian fell in love with Shadoe, daughter to the ruler of the vampires. But she was partly mortal and when she was nearly killed, her father tried turning her into one of his kind. Adrian killed her before she could turn, trying to save her from turning into a monster. As a result, her soul was reborn into another mortal and has continued to do so over and over through the centuries.

Lindsay is Shadoe's newest incarnation. She has no history of her past lives, but when she runs into Adrian in an airport, she is drawn to him in a way she can't ignore. He recognizes her for who she is and is thrilled with the opportunity to win her love all over again. He is shocked when he learns that she has special abilities... ones that allow her to sense inhumanity and amazing physical skills to help her fight. This is important, since she has been killing vamps and demons for years... and hunting the vampires who killed her mother.

The story was ok at the beginning. It took me a while to warm up to it as we set everything up, but it picked up speed along the way. The sexual tension was really good and I loved it when Adrian talked dirty. The heat between these two was off the charts and their previous connection helped me deal with the fast feelings. There are some interesting supporting characters, like Elijah, who is fantastic. And I really was impressed to see many shades of gray between the good guys and the bad guys. The further I got into the story, the less clear it was who held the high ground, giving the book an added layer of complexity. And there were some poignant moments of longing and loss for many of our characters as well.

I did have some issues. Like why didn't Adrian fall when he started sleeping with Shadoe? This is a big one. Maybe it's because she is not 100% human, but that is quite a loophole and it's a significant question that is never answered. I also struggle with why Adrian fell in love with Shadoe to begin with. She certainly seems like no prize. And the ending seemed kind of easy after what seemed like insurmountable odds.

However, the groundwork is all in place for the story to continue. In fact, there are many threads left open, practically begging me to pick up the next story. Who was pulling the strings in the angel/ vampire war? What will happen with the Lycans? Who is the traitor among the Seraphim? Why was Lindsay's mother killed and by whom? Will Elijah be as hot in the sack as I think he will?

I can't wait to find out.

Adrian Mitchell is a sexy and deadly angel, a Sentinel, who has the job of punishing angels. Angels that fraternize with humans must have their wings and power taken away from them and in turn, they become vampires. So angels and vampires are in a war. Lycans are with the angels, but they want to be on their own and not the angels' servants. Consequently, Adrian himself has fallen prey to human love when the woman he loves has been reincarnated again. Yes, reincarnated. Her father wanted her to be a vampire so she wouldn't be with Adrian and she died before the process took place. Now she is in the body of a woman named Lindsay who has a few tricks up her sleeve the angels and lycans didn't see coming. Now Adrian has to fight with his feelings for her and the spirit of his long lost love.

This is my first experience with a Sylvia Day book. I initially wanted this because the cover is so incredible. Can't help it, I am a sucker for wings. But Day has found herself a new fan here. I loved this. I did expect it to be a mixture of Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy, but it is more PNR. That isn't a bad thing; it did take away from some of the tension I expected to come in the book. Nonetheless, I am very excited about this book and I am even more excited for book 2.

This book was well written and the pace was great. I love where the story goes. I love the idea of angels fighting to stay angels while still resisting temptation. That couldn't be truer for Mitchell. He was the top dog, but he got weaker and weaker everytime he finds his lost love, Shadoe. I like that Day wrote it in a way that he loves Shadoe, but he starts falling for the vessel, Lindsay, her spirit is in. This lead to a very interesting storyline, not necessarily a love triangle, but will he fight for Lindsay or for Shadoe?

All the characters were great. Adrian and Lindsay were great together. I love that Lindsay was never intimidated by being surrounded by angels and lycans. She was able to hold her own. Definitely not a damsel in distress. I also liked that she actually tried not to damn Adrian by sleeping with him. But when they did, boy was it hot. I did want to slap Adrian though for being a hypocrite. He has to punish angels who sleep with humans, yet he continues to search and be with the woman he loves. There was actually a scene where a fellow angel asked for his help to be with the man she loves and well, it didn't end well. I wanted to punch him. This was one of my little issues with this book.

My favorite character though was Elijah. I loved Adrian, he was a great lead character, but I must be honest, I actually found Elijah more interesting. I am not the only one to say so either. He is the alpha for the lycans, they all look up to him and want him to lead them away from the angels. He has the potential to be a threat to the angels, but he is so loyal to Adrian. I can't help it, I navigate to the alphas. I also loved the friendship between him and Lindsay. Elijah comes off cold and serious, but Lindsay brings a smile to his face. I honestly would have like this book just as much if Elijah was our lead character. I know he will get a story and I can't wait for it.

Now back to some issues. Besides me wanting to punch Adrian. Another issue I had was that we weren't given a clear picture of what happened between Shadoe and Lindsay. I won't spoil it, but it just happened and that was the end. I liked how it ended, just not sure of what was in the middle. Something else I was on the fence about was the villains. I liked them, I mean to the point that I was sort of rooting for them because they weren't all that bad. They actually have a real reason to be pissed at the angels. But in a way I like that Day wrote it this way because she gave us a little surprise. Something much bigger is happening; we just don't know what yet.

Overall, this is worth checking out. It was a great read and it was very steamy. Like I said, I am so looking forward to A Hunger So Wild (Elijah's story, WOOHOO!). So there may be a few kinks and crannies, but they don't take away from the story as a whole. You will have fun with this one.

I have to start by saying that I really enjoyed this book! I am totally a "judge a book by it's cover girl" and I was immediately taken with crimson tipped wings in this cover image the minute it popped up in my recommended the store list. When I got access to the galley for the 2nd book in the series on NetGalley, I knew I was going to have to pick this one up as well.

I have read a couple different Angel series, starting with a couple of YA series a couple years ago, but this is my favorite of the adult series that I have read. I love the world that Sylvia built for this series. I didn't feel totally overwhelmed by all the specifics and the details like I do in the first book of some series. I think that she told me just enough for this specific part of the story and I know that I will learn what I need to in the next part of the series. I also really really like this take on the Fallen Angel story.

The gist is this, the Sentinels were sent to police the Watchers (also angels who were sent to watch over mankind). Many of the Watchers fell by interacting too much with the humans they were sent to watch over. They interfered with humans, shared their knowledge and became intimate with them. The Sentinels were sent to strip them of their wings. These Fallen became Vampires. They are able to create more vampires. The result of their pro-creation (before becoming vampires) with humans are The Nephilim. The Lycans were also created from the Fallen who chose to essentially be indentured to the service of the Sentinels. They were spared the vampirism in exchange for their service, but they were transfused with demon blood which gave them the ability to shift to animal form. They can also pro-create. The Sentinels, however, can not so they have a fixed number that is much, much smaller than either other group. The Sentinels, with the help of the Lycan packs, now police the vampires who go rogue and try to keep them under control diminishing their numbers when necessary. The Sentinels also are forbidden to have physical relationships with any mortal creature. With the exception of only a few, they don't experience any real human emotion at all.

Adrian is one of those exceptions He also happens to be the highest ranking Seraphim on earth. Enter Lindsay... They meet and are immediately drawn to each other. It's a fast ride as they discover amazing things about each other within the first couple hours of meeting. I love that you can feel the connection between them immediately and it's intense.

Lindsay is a tough cookie and she is used to taking care of herself so she is totally taken aback by this need of Adrian's to protect her. She certainly doesn't know what he is protecting her from and he isn't about to spill that secret one second before it's absolutely necessary.

Adrian is caught in this cycle of losing the woman he loves over and over as her soul is reincarnated. They never have enough time together and he is desperate to end the cycle once and for all even if that means losing her forever. This time it's different though, he knows Shadoe is there, but Lindsay's soul has more control. Not only that, but her physical body is "more" than just human. She senses things and has abilities that have never manifested in any other reincarnation. As they face the difficulties ahead they both have choices to make that can alter the fate of their entire world.

There are some really great supporting characters in this book. I know that Elijah's book is next and I really loved that he played such a big part in this story. It was nice to get to know him in this story and see how close he became to Lindsay. It gives me hope that we will get to see more of she and Adrian in this next book.

I would definitely read this book again and I recommend it for anyone who likes Paranormal Romance especially if you like Angel stories.

Touch of Crimson by Sylvia Day
Paranormal Romance - Oct. 4th, 2011
4 stars

An electrifying new series that includes angels, vampires, demons and a very unique heroine will keep paranormal fans spellbound.

Adrian is the powerful leader of the Sentinels. He is an angel charged with enforcing the fallen angels because angels are forbidden to mate with mortals. Long ago, Adrian severed the wings of one angel named Syre. But Syre had a child named Shadoe and Adrian fell in love with her, breaking the law he was sent to enforce. To his grief, Shadoe died but she has been reincarnated throughout the years. The only way to stop her endless cycle and let her be free is to kill her father. A chance meeting brings him to her latest incarnation. But will their love have a chance especially when Syre has become a powerful vampire leader?

Lindsay Gibson is struck by the beautiful man she meets at the Phoenix airport. And when he notices her and asks her out, she is stunned and intrigued. She has no idea of her past history with Adrian or the danger that awaits her.

This is a spectacular debut. I enjoyed the complex and alluring world the author created. Adrian almost seems too good to be true and very otherworldly. I also enjoyed reading about Lindsay who is no innocent and has many surprises of her own. Lindsay's father Syre is very captivating. He is not a one dimensional villain, and this leads to a plot that has many twists that are very unexpected. This story is definitely not black and white. I was also particularly intrigued by the lycans, Adrian's guards/servants who seem to be on the bottom of the totem pole and would like to read more about them. The only difficulty I had with this book was that initially there was so much information that it took me a while to get myself oriented and involved into the story. But once I did, I found myself feeling it was worth it.

The first book in the Renegade Angels sparkles with imagination. It is a vivid and sensual treat for paranormal fans.

Reviewed by Steph from the Bookaholics Romance Book Club

I wasn't sure what to expect with this book since I hadn't read any of Sylvia's work before, but I had heard good things about her so my expectations were high. I'm happy to say that she didn't disappoint! I found A Touch of Crimson to be very easy to read, with good characters who were easy to like for the most part. There was a lot going on in this book, and thus a lot to remember while you were reading it, and I felt that the Glossary at the beginning of the book was a big help. You have the angels, including the Sentinels and their subgroups, the vampires, and the lycans (not to be confused with werewolves - they're more like shape shifters who change into wolves), among others. Each group is explained in detail - how they were made, what their job is, etc., so it didn't get too confusing while reading it. I did find that I had to go back and double check the glossary for a while, but it didn't take too long before I could figure it out without help. I thought the relationships and interactions between the groups were very interesting, and added a lot to the story.

I enjoyed the pairing of Adrian and Lindsay, especially when you consider their whole back story (Adrian is the head honcho angel in charge of policing the Fallen angels, and is supposed to be above reproach, but he was seduced by the head vampire's daughter, Shadoe, a long, long time ago, and is now facing the possibility of being turned into one of the Fallen himself, and Lindsay is the reincarnated soul of Shadoe, who feels inexplicably drawn to Adrian but doesn't know why). The only problem that I had with the story was the fact that Adrian is totally consumed with thoughts of sex and even though he knows it could lead to an eternity of suffering and the very real possibility that he would lose his soul, I didn't feel that he really wrestled with himself as much as I would have expected him to. I realize that he's had thousands of years and many reincarnations of Shadoe to come to terms with it, but something just didn't gel for me there. I was glad that Lindsay really tried to be the moral compass with regards to Adrian's soul, though. I also liked that Lindsay's reincarnation of Shadoe was different from all of her previous incarnations, and that that threw Adrian for a loop!

One other area I had trouble with was all of the major cursing that the angels, especially Adrian, did! I mean, come on! They're angels for Pete's sake! You'd think they would be worried about getting struck by a lightning bolt or something the way they talked! Sailors on shore leave have nothing on these guys!

Other than those two small things, I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the rest of the series. One of my favorite characters in this book was Elijah, the alpha lycan, and I hear that the next book is going to be his, so I'm definitely looking forward to that! I had read that nobody does a sex scene like Sylvia Day and I can tell you that that is 100% true! Steamy doesn't even begin to describe it! I give this book an enthusiastic 4 stars :D

Sylvia Day's first installment in the new Renegade Angels Trilogy delivers a well written plot and well defined characters. We are introduced to a world of Sentinel Seraphim, Vampires and Lycans with an unusual hierarchy and history. The Vampires were once angels who broke the golden rule and became involved with humans. Their punishment was losing their angel status and their wings. Since the angels survive by absorbing energy and the Fallen could no longer do so, they need blood to survive and became Vampires. The Lycan became servants to the Angels.

I really enjoyed this book but found the opening few paragraphs a little convoluted and confusing. I'm sure this is because Ms. Day is setting mythology in place but I felt it could have been a smoother introduction to the characters and their lives. As the story unfolds we find Adrian, the lead Sentinel Angel, experiencing a very difficult day. His second in command has been murdered by a Vampire, and an attempt has been made on his own life. He also encounters his "soul mate" Lindsay, who is eternally re-incarnated thanks to a failed attempt to turn her into a vampire by her Father, Syre, the leader of the vampires. Adrian has lived through many lifetimes with his love with no idea how long he will be allowed with her or what type of woman she will be. He does know that selfishly he has held the key to releasing her soul but has not been able to bring himself to kill her Father. It would mean losing her for all eternity. This time things develop differently though. He senses a difference in her and in his feelings for her. Rather than being his lost love, he finds himself falling in love with her human host, Lindsay. While dealing with one crisis after another (including the threat of an uprising among the Lycans) Adrian comes to the realization that he must release her this time. Lindsay becomes very close to her Lycan bodyguard, Elijah. I found the relationship between Lindsay and Elijah to almost have a little more depth than her relationship with Adrian. When there is an uprising, Elijah disappears and tries to contact her but is not successful. A set up, I am sure, for one of the upcoming books.

Lindsay meets her Father and decides that she will let him turn her, even thought she has been fighting and killing vampires for much of her life. She feels that she is an albatross around Adrian's neck and that the repercussions of their relationship will be severe. She believes that all traces of her own personality will be lost with the change and only Shadoe, Adrian's original love will remain. This turns out to be untrue. She realizes during the change how much she loves Adrian and fights to retain her personality, which she does. She and Adrian are reunited and we get a long set up for the next book. I had an issue with the fact that Adrian had been involved with his love through many incarnations and yet had not suffered any punishment when he had punished so many others for the same offense. It also seemed to me that there was perhaps a bit too much set up at the end of the book. Overall, this was a very good read once you get past the opening few chapters. I look forward to the next Renegade Angels release!

~Review by: Ms. Bliss from When Pen Met Paper

Sylvia Day has once again written brilliantly, and has even thought of newbie readers with a detailed introduction into the paranormal world. There's something for everyone - whether you like a bit of angel, lycan, demon or even vampire action. Day writes with such skill, she has you addicted to at least one character, making you want to know more about them.

The story is broken down into three groups, giving a better understanding the war that rages throughout the book. It's a good read, the few light erotic scenes between humans and paranormal beings make it that bit more exciting, and you can feel the lust and sexual tension between Adrian and Lindsay. Packed with action, romance and some unexpected twists, this story will keep you reading on - especially if you're a paranormal romance fan! It makes your imagination flow, great for the story and the erotic scenes, and as the story ends you know it leads to a sequel, which makes you look forward to the next book. But personally, as an erotic fan, it didn't really hit the spot. Yes, there are a few sex scenes but Adrian and Lindsay's relationship is only just beginning, making it to slow to start. Overall it's a good book. It is well thought out and the storyline keeps you interested - I'd highly recommended to all those paranormal romance fans out there, or if you like a hot male Angel

Review by Stacey Vincent on behalf of BestChickLit.com

Adrian Mitchell is a powerful angel. It is his job to lead the Seraphim on the hunt for the Fallen. Adrian is fierce in his purpose to rid the world of the Fallen vampires. He has only one weakness; his love for Shadoe the daughter of the Fallen's leader Syre. Many moons ago Shadoe died but her soul is reborn over and over into the body of a mortal. It is forbidden for an Angel to be with a mortal but every time Shadoe is reborn she finds her way to Adrian and he loses her all over again. It has been over two hundred years since Adrian has been with his Shadoe but that is about to change.

Lindsay Gibson is headed to California to start her new job. She is startled by the feelings a perfect stranger evokes in her. Lindsay has no knowledge of her past life as Shadoe but she cannot deny the connection she feels towards Adrian. It doesn't take much for him to convince her to go out with him but things escalate quickly as she prematurely reveals a secret of her own. She soon learns of a paranormal world filled with Angels, Demons, Vampires and Lycans. Lindsay becomes the center of a fight brewing between the Angels and Lycans. The target on her back comes not only from them but from the vampires as well. When Syre learns his daughter has been born again he will stop at nothing to get her back. Can Adrian protect the woman he loves and keep control of those he governs?

A Touch of Crimson is a remarkable, resplendent and rapturous love story with panache! Sylvia Day has started her Renegade Angel series off with a bang! A Touch of Crimson is set in a complex world filled with ingenious characters that are so easy to fall for. There are so many facets to the story that my head is spinning with the amazing possibilities that lie ahead for this stellar series. A war is building and Adrian and Lindsay are right in the middle of it. Adrian and Lindsay have sizzling chemistry; when they are together the pages light up with passion! What I really love about this story is that you can totally tell the difference between Lindsay and Shadoe. Just because Shadoe's soul lies within Lindsay it doesn't mean they are the same. It sounds weird but while reading A Touch of Crimson you will soon understand what I mean.

Another thing I love about this story is that the circumstances are constantly forcing these characters to question their motives and beliefs. Who truly determines what is wrong and right? What is worth fighting for? A Touch of Crimson set up an exquisite romance and laid the ground work for more fascinating stories to come. A Touch of Crimson's nail-biting ending will leave you gasping and begging for more of Adrian and Lindsay. I can't wait to find out what happens next in Ms. Day's Renegade Angel world. A Touch of Crimson's clever story and witty characters will have you racing through the pages!

Miranda
For Joyfully Reviewed

A Touch of Crimson is the first book in the Renegade Angels trilogy and the first book I've read by Sylvia Day. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will look into her other PNR/UF work.

Adrian Mitchell is the leader of the seraphim, an elite group of angels sent to police the Fallen. I love that in this world there is an angel hierarchy and that vampires and lycan were made from fallen angels. Adrian's purpose is to punish the Fallen, angels who have become vampires, and to keep his indentured lycans in line. Thing is eons ago Adrian secretly fell in love with a mortal woman and though she died her soul has been reincarnated many, many times. She always comes back to him and he always loses her no matter what he does to try and stop it. She is not only tied to Adrian, she is also tied to Syre, her father and first of the Fallen. Adrian recognizes Shadoe's soul as soon as he sees her no matter what her mortal body looks like. At the start of this book, it's been 200 years since his beloved Shadoe has been in his life. He is miserably lonely and just suffered a terrible loss. The second he sees Lindsay in the airport his life is turned upside-down.

Lindsay Gibson has always been different and has never felt like she fit in anywhere she's been. She's had to hide the darker side of herself and has never connected with anyone. She decides to pick up, move across country and start over. Little did she know that her move would bring someone into her life that no only understands her gift but gets her.

I enjoyed this book from the beginning; the world building, the character development. I felt so much for Adrian and all that he's been through. He has suffered so much throughout his life and has such a huge responsibility with the rest of the seraphim and the lycans. Last thing he needs is war to break out between the seraphim, lycans and vampires but someone or something has created a disease that is infecting the vampires and making them little more than rabid beasts. On top of that, the lycans have a pack member that shows alpha traits (which isn't allowed) and are hoping that he will free them and lead them to their salvation. Who is responsible for the turmoil? Angel, vampire or lycan?

A Touch of Crimson was a book I found myself saying "just one more chapter and I'll put it aside" but just couldn't do it. Once I got sucked into the world I was hooked and needed to know what happened next. The chemistry between Adrian and Lindsay was HOT. That being said, as much as I liked the main characters in this book the character that stood out to me the most was Elijah, the reluctant alpha lycan. He seems like such a good guy and like Adrian he is thrown into a mess he doesn't know how to clean up. I can't wait to see what happens in the next book, A Hunger So Wild, which is Elijah's story.

A Touch of Crimson is set in a slightly different corner of Day's Marked universe - the former dealt with the Infernal half of the universe and Touch of Crimson deals with the angelic half.

Seraphim Adrian is the leader of the warrior band of angels who keep their former brethren the Fallen (vampires) in check. Because of his forbidden love, Adrian has barely skirted the line that would make him Fallen. He has loved Shadoe, the daughter of the leader of the Fallen, Syre, over many of her incarnations.

Now Adrian has found her again in Lindsay, a woman who is more than human and who shares his dislike for vampires. However, as has happened over many lifetimes, Shadoe's father also seeks his daughter to free her from the eternal cycle of death and rebirth by turning her into a vampire. And if keeping Lindsay out of Syre's grasp wasn't enough of a challenge, there is trouble in the world that Adrian is tasked to guard: angels are being assassinated, vampires are going rabid and there is unrest in the Lycan population - some feel that they have endured servitude to the angels for far too long.

I really enjoyed reading a Touch of Crimson but there were a few things that bugged me a bit. One was that conflict with Syre ended oddly, I even went back and reread the last few chapters to figure out why I had that reaction. What actually cleared this up for me reading the prequel short A Dark Kiss of Rapture, I had found the behavior of leader Syre with respect to Lindsay and Adrian at the end of the story to be sort of weird.
(******SPOILER)[ Since Syre and Adrian are at odds throughout the story, I had come away with the impression that the Fallen were bad guys - and the behavior of Sayre's enforcer Vashti - bolstered by Lindsay's conviction and Vash's treatment of one of the 'dogs' - also lead me to the same impression. But having the framework from the short story and knowing now that the Fallen are not the bad guys, despite the uneasy relationship with Adrian and the Seraphim who were their former brethren. Syre, who lost his wings by falling in love with his mortal wife and having children, just really loved his daughter and wanted her free from the endless cycle of reincarnation. So, that love along with the way that the turning ended up playing out, makes returning Lindsay to Adrian at the end make a lot more sense. ](end SPOILER*******)

My other issue was that the big love scene between Adrian and Lindsay was kind of iffy and had me asking consentual or not? Which was enough to pull me out of the story.

But hero-centric me wasn't totally in love with Adrian anyway, I was bothered by the fact that he was so hypocritical - loving a human, many times over the centuries - when the Fallen that he guards lost their wings for love as well and are cursed with no hope of redemption. I also wasn't keen on Lindsay and Adrian's relationship, there was good chemistry because of the forbidden romance, but but he is bossy and possessive and with Adrian, Lindsay was sort of a very supportive accessory. What I did love though is that Adrian is actually portrayed as a winged being and his wings are transportation, a weapon, an indicator of his mood as well.

I liked Lindsay's relationship with Elijah much better. Elijah is a Lycan who is trying really hard not to be the alpha he is - the angels are supposed to be top dog. I didn't want Elijah to be with Lindsay but I really enjoyed their friendship and I really liked Elijah as a character and am happy that the next book A Hunger So Wild: A Renegade Angels Novel has him in the lead, apparently with bad girl Fallen Vashti sharing the spotlight.

This book was one hell of a ride! I've never been a huge fan of books with Angels, but this one changed my mind!

Adrian Mitchell has one mission on earth and that's to protect mortals from the Fallen (angels who broke the rules and are now vampires). He's content, most days, to hunt those who break the rule and ensure they are properly punished. He does this with the rest of his special ops group of Seraphim, along with the help of the lycans (werewolves who are basically slaves to the seraphim). The most important rule to all Seraphim, not to fall in love.

Lindsey Gibson is moving across the country to start a new life and to hunt the things that go bump in the night. She's taken aback when she sees the most gorgeous man waiting in line for her same flight to California. When they make eye contact, they have an instant connection. But despite this connection, Lindsey doesn't see anything other than a one night stand happening. She's not able to explain her special abilities or that she hunts vampires. No one would understand her need to avenge the death of her mother by a vampire attack when she was five. Except she can't seem to say no to Adrian and the more she's with him, the more she begins to realize there is more to him than meets the eye.

I loved this story. Adrian was a heartbreakingly (is that even a word??) wonderful character. Often it seemed like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders while he tried to do the right thing. But then there were other times when he was willing to let it all go so he could have the one thing he truly...Lindsey. It didn't matter how many times he told himself he'd let her go or how he was going to use her to bring the Vampires down, he could never let go of her. She was essential to him.

Lindsey was just as great. Strong and stubborn, she was hell bent on revenge for her mother's death and willing to use Adrian's resources to help her get that. But once she got to know what Adrian was and what would happen if they let their urges tempt them, she put Adrian's well-being in front of hers. She was selfishly selfless at times, thinking she knew what was better for Adrian than he did, but it was generally to ensure that he kept those gorgeous wings and not become one of the things she'd sworn to kill.

The series was set up beautifully. We have our evil Vampire lord, Sayre, and his minions out to try and get rid of the Seraphim. Then there's the lycan, tired of being slaves to the Seraphim and wanted to install the proper order to the pack system with Elijah, an assumed Alpha.

Can't wait for the next installment. Hope it's not a long wait.

4 STARS
I liked the story line. But it had too much swearing and sex scenes for me. The idea of head Angel swearing for me was bad.
Adrian was the head of Sentinels. They were too enforce the punishment of the Watchers or Fallen the Vampires. They had strict rules when they could kill the fallen and when not. Adrian had fallen in love with the lead Fallen's daughter Shadoe. Her father was in the process of bringing her over to be a vampire but Adrian killed her rather than see her become vampire. Because she was half human and have angel why her body died her sole lives and comes back every so often. Her father still wants to bring her over to vampire. Adrian is still in love for with her. Shadoe never remembers her past and she always looks different. This time she has been gone 200 years.
Lindsay is now the host of Shadoe soul. Her mother was killed in front of her at age 5 and she can tell when someone is not human and kills them. Lindsey is drawn to Adrian and goes with him. Lindsey killed a demon in front of him so Adrian told her he was a Angel.
The watchers became the fallen because they fell in love and had human families. They became Vampire and lost their wings.
Some of them became shifters who were bound to serve and protect the Angels but they lived and had children and died. They want their freedom some of them. Elijah is an alpha and their are many trying to get him to rebel and lead them.
Elijah is also Lindsey's bodyguard and friend. Lindsey saved his life. I really like Elijah.
Their are a lot of story lines that kept getting me messed up. I really want to know what happens next because their are so many lines that continue. But the F word too many times and confusing different lines not sure if I really want to invest in this series. Did enjoy most of it and I probably will read at least one more.
I was given this ebook to read in exchange of honest review.

Contemporary Paranormal

Adrian Mitchell is the commander of an elite group of Serephim that is in charge of keeping fallen angels in line. Since the fallen angels are now vampires sometimes keeping them in line isn't easy and throw in the fact that Adrian also has to keep the lycans under control as they are indentured to the Serephim at times it can become overwhelming. It also doesn't help that Adrian has falling in love with a mortal that keep being reincarnated but has no memories of her past lives or of her time with Adrian.

Lindsay Gibson is the latest reincarnation of Shadoe, Adrian's love. Lindsay has no memory of her time in the past with Adrian but one thing she is very sure of is that she can't seem to stay away from Adrian. He is sex personified and the hottest man she has ever met. She also doesn't realize that she is the one carrying Shadoe's soul. Now Lindsay is suddenly drawn into the war between the Serephim and the fallen angels and she is finding her self in the middle of it all.

Lindsay is in the middle with her lover Adrian and a father that is a vampire and a friend that is a lycan. With a full lycan revolt going on Lindsay is suddenly finding herself in a lot of trouble and even with her life in danger the one thing that she might be in the biggest danger of losing is her soul this time around.

This story that a very fresh look at the world of angels, vampires and lycans. This is a very unique story that will have readers wanting to have the next book in the series. The world building is fascinating to read about. This one is hard to put down as you are dying to find out how it will end and if Lindsay and Adrian will have chance at the future and to be together. It has plenty of action to keep the story line moving along. This is one that is worth picking up and trying as the reader will not be disappointed in the story. This promises to be an excellent series. The start of the series is a great beginning.

I wouldn't even know were to begin with this one. It's a clusterfu@@ of Angels, Sentinels, vampires, Lyman's, werewolves, minions, Fallen & Watchers...sorry if I forgot some. The only thing separating them is a very slippery slope.

Side note, none of the names seem to fit with the characters.Yo Adrian!!!! Insert Sylvester Stalone's voice...

I like the book enough but I am sorry I even read it. I just believe this author has her eggs in too many baskets. Her TBR dates always get pushed back and then she adds more volumes. Like the CF series. I thought the last was the last but now there are like 35 more coming out. And this series, what's is with all the novellas?

But on a positive note, I really did like Elijah. So I will read that but I'll wait and check it out form the library. I just don't think her books are quite worth the $$$$

The world of angels, lycans and vampires is very new to me but after understanding the terminology (thanks to the Glossary at the front of the novels), I really got into the books. The more I read the more I enjoyed them. It is complicated fantasy world which starts to make a lot more sense over time. I read these books over the course of a few weeks, with a few books in between

You can read my full review as well as see the reading order guide at my Bec's Book Blog!

Sylvia Day (author of the Crossfire Series) is my favourite author of the moment. If you like her other books then you will like these books as well! They are very sexy with powerful, intense men who are 'out of this world'. I would recommend you read this book if you like intense paranormal romances. Each book focuses on a new character but they all intermingle and are characters in the other stories.

I did enjoy this book even though it took me a little while to get into it and understand who was who. Now I have a better idea of paranormal characters so it will be easier to read the rest of the series.

I would give this book 4.5 stars but the series as a whole 5 stars!

In Phoenix, Seraphim Sentinel leader Adrian Mitchell is stunned when Jason Taylor informs him that second in command Phineas died from a vampire ambush. Adrian finds problems with the scenario as described since one of Phineas'' werewolf dogs survived and know one detected a vamp in the area.

At the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Lindsay Gibson notices Adrian as he does her. She is confused with her instant attraction to the CEO of Mitchell Aeronautics while he understands their need. He knows she possesses the soul of his beloved Nephilim Shadoe who he has watched die several times over the centuries. Vowing not this time, he plans to keep his soulmate safe from her Fallen father the vampire. At the same time all hell has broken loose as someone has discovered a dangerous bloody connection between the Sentinel, their bitter Lycan foot soldiers and the Fallen watchers.

This entertaining urban romantic fantasy contains a heated reincarnation love story that grips the audience with its fervor between two intriguing protagonists with quite a history and DNA. However, the overarching theme of the enforcement war between Seraphim and their Fallen former angelic brothers never fully comes across although the plight of the angry Lycan on the verge of rebelling anchors a fascinating spin in which the good guys use a volunteer group of the Fallen as expendables. Overall the first Renegade Angels tale is an exciting thriller.

Harriet Klausner

Without a doubt I was surprised by how good this book was.

I could not put it down.

At first, reading the guide as to who was what and what category was who I thought a little egotistical. Until I started reading and realized that all the stereotypes I have of angels, demons, vampires and werewolves was going to be turned upside down artfully.

The characters had so much depth that I realized they were also fighting the absence of divine love while the Sentinels tried to keep order. But chaos keeps squeaking out and threatens Adrian's eternal love for Shadoe. I never saw the split between Shadoe and Lindsay coming and was speed reading to see what happened.

I can only surmise that the divine order of things has gone awol and the Sentinels are becoming "mortalized" with only a few left to keep the hierarchy.

I cannot wait to read the next in the series. This is beyond a romeo and juliet archetype -- this is a story resolved only by love at the highest order.

One can only wonder why God created all his angels, who are supposed to be asexual, with massive *ahem* members, gorgeous tits and sexually attractive bodies that makes every mortal swoon in the first place... Nevertheless, isn't that what we all dream of;-) Ah, except for tortured Lindsay of course, who is willing to sacrifice herself for an angel, pays a heavy price and in the end finds love. Sylvia Day does a good job of making us sympathise with all factions in this book. Except for God, who seems like a massive, heartless dick for punishing his fallen angels and sentinel angels with either vampirism or neverending battles, just because they are becoming too human... the species they were sent to Earth to look after/care for in the first place. Oh well, God works in mysterious ways I guess... Will def be reading the rest of the series as well as the novellas. I prefer this series to the Crossfire series. But then again, I am a sucker for sexy angels and hot, tortured vampires - not nightly serial wankers. (I am looking at YOU, Gideon Cross;-)

And guess what; book 2 is even better!

One: I LOVE this story. I had never read anything by Sylvia Day in the past, but that is soon to change. I love it when I find new/old authors that have a back list I can fly through.

Adrian's job as an Angel (yes, he's an angel) is to punish those like him--severing their wings, which turns them into blood-sucking vampires. Yikes! Now that's a spin I'd never seen before. There are lots of things an Angel can do to get his/her wings severed. The most important? Having a relationship with a human. That's forbidden.

Lindsay is human, and she's also carting around the sole of Adrian's long-lost lover in her body. And Adrian wants her back. Lindsay has no memory of this, and she got some pretty wicked talents of her own. Instantly smitten with the girl, Adrian must choose to break the very law that he enforces, or loose her forever.

The romance aspect of this story is AMAZING. The author couldn't have done a better job in my book. The world, the stakes, everything is so perfectly in tune and flows so well. It's believable, the emotions feel so real, and I found myself in love with both the H/H quickly. It was wonderful to see a different take on a vampire/angel/lycans story. Well done.

However, there are A LOT of characters in this story. And while a majority of the story was spent building the relationship between the H/H, there were a lot of other people doing a lot of different things. At points, it was confusing. And mainly it seems as thought the author used those points as fodder in order to confuse the reader as to who was really the bad guy. At the end of the book, you still didn't know.

Between the Seraphim, The Fallen, the Archangels, the wolves/lycans (there IS a different between those two in this book), and others, the hierarchy of everything was also a little confusing. Even at the end of the story when the heroine figured it out and summed it up for us, I was shaking my head at how everything was connected. Even with that, though, the author was still able to keep my focus and had me wanting to turn the pages to find out what was going to happen next between the H/H.

I guess I should have known the world/characters themselves would be confusing, because the author provides us with a glossary at the beginning of the book to make sure we understand everything/everyone. That's a red flag to me. And my point was proven as I kept reading.

In any case, the romance was wonderful. The perfect heat level for me, and the authors voice was strong and captivating. I'd read more of her stuff based on this book. And you better be certain I will be reading the rest of this series.

My rating:

**** 4 Yummy Purrs

A new series about angels, vampires, lycans and their struggle to protect humankind. I found the dynamics of the relationships of these three groups very intriguing. The vampires are Fallen angels and the lycans guard the angels. There were a few places that I got confused, but overall the story is great.

Adrian is the leader of the Sentinels, an elite group of angels that enforce punishment, who has lost the mortal women he loves over and over again. When he meets Lindsey in an airport he realizes he has found her after two hundred years. Lindsey feels an immediate attraction for Adrian, but has no memory of him. She is on her way to relocating for a new job with Gadara Enterprises (from the Marked series Ms. Day wrote under the name of S.J. Day). Of course things don't go very smoothly and they along with their lycan guard are thrown into a very dangerous situation where things aren't what they seem.

I'm really looking forward to more books in this series.

Well this book had a lot of potential but for me just didnt realize it. I am all for the "bad guys" if you can call them that in this book. This whole book is about a head Angel warrior Adrian Mitchell, who is hunting and killing angels that have done the same thing that he did - fall in love and mate with a human. He is doing all this while he chases his human Shadoe's soul all across the ages. We really do not learn more about Shadow until toward the end of the book, she was not a nice person and deserved what she got, because she brought it on herself. Shadoe's soul has returned in a form that Adrian loves even more than he did the original Shadoe, which is good becuase he could definatley do better than her. The bad guys were apparently punished horribly by God for falling in love and having families and being good parents to those kids born of those unions? The good guys killed them for it. They never did anything bad just tried to survive as far as I could tell. Of course there are actual bad guys on both sides but they were never revealed just hinted at.

I really did not like the development of the other angels besides Adrian but liked the Lycans and the Vampires. It was just one series of misunderstandings after another, even for a romance book it was alot. Sometimes the story just seemed to stop and start someplace else, I had to retrace my steps and see if I skipped some pages, which I didnt the information just was not there.

All that being said, it was OK, so much potential if the plot line had been thought out a little more. Elijah was my favorite....

Mmmmm Adrian you are one sexy angel! One word to describe Adrian besides sexy, is Alpha. He is defiantly used to getting his way. So when he meets Lindsay, the reincarnation of Shadoe his long lost love, he is put to the test, because she is head strong and is not willing to sit on the side lines. This confuses Adrian because she is nothing like any of the reincarnations before her. Lindsay is a fighter, she is compassionate and when she likes/loves someone she is willing to do anything for them. So even though she is falling for Adrian she is not willing to be with him if it will cost him his wings. She loves him that much, that she would put him above her own desires and happiness.

This was a good read, I enjoyed it. There were a few things that kind of annoyed me with the romance part, but the story more than makes up for it. There are a few sexy scenes, nothing too graphic, one that had me looking like this. ~.^ Really? lol Sorry I had to do that. But over all I enjoyed the book, strong plot, good characters with a nice touch of romance.

I absolutely loved this book! The whole Angelic Hierarchy system is fascinating. I cannot wait to start the second book! I do not understand the negative reviews. I think some people may have thought the book would be packed with sex, but there are maybe 3 intense scenes like that, and they don't occur until pretty far in the story. The story is so engrossing that it doesn't need sex on every other page! Mind you, the sex they do have is very hot! lol Very Gideon-esque.... I love all these characters and highly recommend the series.

I picked up Sylvia Day' A Touch of Crimson hoping to find a new author with a fresh PNR perspective. Instead I found this first book in the Renegade Angels series as anoher copy and past in the latest trend of the fallen/renegade/Arch angel as romantice lead. Obviously with this book, Ms. Day is jumping on the latest faux Urban Fantasy money train.

In this particular offering, we have Whereas the plotline sounds interesting, the lead characters are mediocre, unremarkble, and in the heroine's case, just plain stupid. Lindsay acts like an over grown child playing at being a fierce vampire huntress and Adrian comes across as a wealthy, pampered, metro-sexual who uses his indentured servants, the lycans, to do most of his dirty work. Adrian spends most of the book panting after Lindsay, with Lindsay acting like an immature brat...their only real connection is sexual attraction and that's not really hot.

The only break out character that showed promise to be a true hero was the lycan alpha, Elijah, and I was looking forward to reading his book but it looks like he'll be turned into a sex-craved dog in heat for uber-vamp, Vashti.

Apparently, Ms. Day has no intention of developing her characters beyond heated,sexual mating with a violent, bloody civil war as the backdrop. A Touch of Crimson read more like a second-rate graphic novel populated with cartoonish characters rather than a work of fantasy. One star is for Elijah and and the second star is for a decent plot that held so much promise to be unique but fell flat.

Lindsay Gibson has always known she's a bit...different...than other people. The weather speaks to her, for one thing. She can sense evil, for another. Oh...and she hunts and kills vampires. Not as a day job or anything, because the pay sucks, but because when she was five years old she watched in horror as a vampire murdered her mother. Since Lindsay was old enough to wield a knife, she's been driven to find the one responsible and end her...taking out as many of the monsters as she can along the way.

The differences that define her also segregate her, forcing her to keep relationships superficial at best, non-existent most of the time. And until she looks across a crowded airport and set eyes on Adrian Mitchell, she was mostly okay with those sacrifices. One glance of such a powerfully, viscerally stunning male, though, changes all of that.

Actually, it changes absolutely everything about and in her life. Lindsay just doesn't know it yet.

As soon as Adrian meets Lindsay's eyes across a crowded terminal, he knows. His beloved Shadoe, the mortal woman who both damns his soul and completes it, has returned in yet another vessel. Generation after generation he's waited for her rebirth, his existence focused on savoring her for however long he has with each new incarnation. The past two hundred years without her have been the longest she's been gone from him and he's been going a little insane from the loss. Now she's returned to him and the cycle has started once again.

Her father Syre, the former Watcher whose wings Adrian himself had severed, spawning the race of Fallen and their vampire children, will be vying to claim her, to turn her into one of his kind. Adrian, head of the elite group of Seraphim warriors tasked with keeping the Fallen in line and slaying the vampires that break their laws, will do everything to stop him. Even though his own crimes match those that caused the Watchers to Fall in the first place.

As loyal as Adrian is to his Creator, as dedicated as he is to his job as the Seraphim Special Ops leader, he will stop at nothing, do anything, to save Shadoe's soul from Syre's clutches. He loves her with a passion that is frightening in its intensity, however wrong that love is, and he will not fail her again.

Even if he has to wage a war to keep her.

~*~

I have to give Sylvia Day credit, she doesn't start small. There are so many different story elements and plot points, rising insurgencies, conflicting motivations, character backstory, and conflicts in this very full series debut that it could have been comfortably split into three separate books. On one hand, it made for a very complex world and story, the kind I like with lots of gray areas and no clear black or white lines which too easily differentiate the alleged good guys from the not-so-good guys, or even the totally-bad-guys. On the other hand, I felt too much of the meat of the external conflict book arc took a back seat to the will-they/won't-they tug of war that was the romance arc between Adrian and Lindsay, to the detriment of the book as a whole.

That being said, I had absolutely no trouble seeing the wealth of potential in the series. I love that the Seraphim aren't perfect. The Sentinels treat the lycan like slaves - like dogs, even. The Fallen aren't all bad, either, and I found them sympathetic after spending some time with Syre and Torque. The Sentinels' opinions of both lycan and Fallen is terribly antiquated.

The lycans' growing dissatisfaction is completely understandable. It's so easy to sympathize with their desire to be free from the angels who consider them indentured servants. I loved Elijah and want much more of him. One thing is very clear, as a war seems to be imminent, the enmity between the Fallen and Sentinels will need to change if either have hope of surviving.

Despite the truly meaty world building, intricate mythos, and densely-woven plot threads that made the best parts of the book shine brightly, several issues popped up as I was reading and many things didn't thrill me. I can't say I enjoyed how it all began. The first third of the book felt rushed and crammed with what felt like repetitious reiteration of the dangers inherent in the relationship between Lindsay and Adrian. The last couple of chapters felt abrupt and lacking in any sort of solid conclusion or sense of accomplishment for any of the many and varied external conflict plot threads.

I also have to admit, the longer I think about the mythos that's been created for this series, the more I struggle with seeming contradictions, murky definitions, and hypocrisy. If I understand what I read (and believe me, at this point, that's debatable), souls seem to be what makes a person a person, imbuing them with their identity, and souls don't survive the Change. But Syre is Fallen and his son Torque is Minion. Both seem to be who they were before Falling/Changing, even though they would have lost their souls in the Change. They certainly seemed intent on recovering Shadoe's soul as their daughter/sister, and Adrian is all about Lindsay's soul being what makes her Linds.

So...which is it? Are souls tied inextricably with personality or not? What personality changes do Fallen and Minions go through when they lose their souls? It doesn't seem to make them inherently evil...Lindsay didn't sense evil in Syre and Torque. It doesn't seem to always change their personalities, either. I found that all very nebulous and confusing, and given that it's such a major element of the main plotline of this book, the lack of any clear definition and the seeming contradictions were an issue for me.

Not my largest one, however. That's reserved for Adrian's hypocrisy. There are hundreds of instances in which he committed the same crime as the Watchers - during every one of Shadoe's incarnations, in fact. So why hasn't he been punished as grievously as the Watchers were? Why hasn't he at least stepped down long before now if he's at all honorable? He chases down Helena days after he finds out about her indiscretions. He sliced the wings off Syre so shortly after his that his mortal children were still young (though I'm still unclear if Nephalim are mortal, so I may be wrong about that). Why does Adrian get a pass for thousands of years?

The book addresses Adrian's hypocrisy, and he acknowledges it, but that certainly doesn't excuse it. It also doesn't forgive the seeming contradiction between what Adrian tells Helena and his own situation with Lindsay at the end of the book. Unless, of course, I seriously misunderstood or missed something in the story - which, like I said, is entirely possible.

I have to admit, it sure feels like I did. And I guess, when I think about it, that's its own problem, isn't it? I started the book, read through it, enjoyed some parts more than others, had a few problems of varying significance, and finished the book. Still, despite my excitement over the potential for subsequent books in the series, I can't help feeling like I missed something big in this one.

Disclosure: An ARC of this book was provided to me by Signet Book publisher Penguin Group USA via NetGalley. This rating, review, and all included thoughts and comments are my own.

~*~*~*~
Reviewed for One Good Book Deserves Another.

I'm an avid paranormal reader, so I was excited to try out this new series. But there were so many inconsistencies (many noted by other reviewers here) that I can't decide if I enjoyed the book or not.

The first one is about how Adrian is punishing angels, who then become The Fallen. As I read on, I learned about how the Angels are outnumbered by all the other beings -- yet the Angels are their own worst enemy as they keep creating them through the punishment! Talk about a slippery slope!

Nothing any of the immortal societies did made a lot of sense. There were huge holes in the fabric of this world. Souls -- who has them, who doesn't and why -- was all over the map. I found myself returning to the definitions of each being to see if I missed something.

Shadoe's father and his motivations combined with the dance he and Adrian danced through the centuries over Shadoe's soul made absolutely no sense whatsoever.

The basic premise of the romance angle is supposed to be Adrian's undying love for Shadoe -- through centuries no less. Yet we find out toward the end of the book that Shadoe was a selfish seducer, always motivated by her own interests. Huh? How can we as readers empathize with Adrian when we are aware 1) that he has has been the biggest hypocrite in existence for centuries as he punishes others for the very thing he's been doing -- loving a mortal and 2)now we know that in his case, it was a selfish mortal?! Doesn't say much for his judgement at all.

Then we are supposed to believe that in a few days Adrian's centuries-old love for Shadoe is replaced by his love for Lindsay. Really? So now what are the romance readers supposed to be rooting for? We started with Shadoe and Adrian -- who's souls have recognized each other across the ages. Now we need to readjust and root for Lindsay and Adrian who have known each other a handful of days??

Then we have Adrian's extremely out-dated view of his fellow immortal beings. Even after centuries together he has gained no empathy or understanding of their natures. No desire to develop changes in a dying society. He's just blindly dedicated to his duty as a soldier; meanwhile he ignores that duty when it is in regard to his own love interests.

And the other beings go along with their sad lives, planning uprisings quietly in their own groupings. Yet no faction considers forming a delegation to discuss what is going on. It was ridiculous to consider intelligent immortal beings sharing the planet for centuries while still harboring such incredible misunderstandings ... and making no effort to get to the bottom of the issues.

And just how blind are the mortals in this world? There was no attention paid to how the immortal societies make any efforts to hide their existence from the mortals. No one at all sees the Angels soaring around Angel's Point? No one notices huge Lycan wolves in the forests?

I was left at the end of the book feeling very confused -- and frustrated by what could have been a good book if it had 1)provided a bit more consistency and depth around the important basic concepts of the immortal world(s). And 2) given us a hero and heroine who's love affair we could relate to and understand.

I received this book through the Early Reviewers Giveaway for Library Things and I am glad I did. While this first in a new angel paranormal romance may not be as good as Caris Roane's hot angel/vampire series, I think it was a solid start. If you like your male hero types like alphas-- strong, possessive, take charge-- then you will enjoy this new ride. I think what is most surprising is that even though Adrian was hot and convincing as the leader of the Sentinels, I was more interested in Elijah, the lycan alpha leader who befriended Adrian's mate, Lindsey. Yummy, yummy! I hate to keep comparing it to Caris Roane's Guardian of Ascension series, it's hard not to since both dabble with angel and vampire lore. Sylvia Day goes one step ahead and adds lycans into the pot so I give her credit for not only trying to give us a steamy romance, but for balancing that with world building since this is the first in her new series.

The only reason I didn't give it a complete 5 star rating is because some things didn't quite add up in the mythology of the book. I am not sure if that is because its the first book in a new series, therefore it will get explained later, or if it is just something that completely slipped the author's mind. I won't get into details since it was just a couple of minor things that may get explained in the next book. Either way, I am excited about this new series and patiently wait for book 2!

I picked up this book hoping for the best, but it turns out I was right all along. This is just another jumping on the money train of using angels in the story line, but this author doesn't even do it in a manner worth reading. I finished the novel going, "what did I just read", because the plot was hardly there and there was no character development whatsoever! It is just a long list of the main angel constantly whining, and the heorine acting like a spoiled rich brat who is complaining that she's not getting her way and she's suppose to be a bad huntress, but she comes across as stupid and immature. It pains me how good this novel could have been, but it is one of those novels where, "do as I say and not as I do", and that is just utter nonsense and crap to put that kind of personality into your hero. Don't waste your time with this novel, it is not worth it.

I am an avid reader of paranormal romances, so I picked this one up while waiting for my regular series books to be published. I thought I would try a new writer because the story sounded intriguing. Sorry to say Sylvia Day is not a good paranormal writer. None of the story came alive. It was just words on a page that flitted from scene to scene in such a way that I did not know where I was or where the characters were. The dialogue was weak and hard to follow or even care about. There was no depth or reality to any of the scenes or creatures in them. The author did not create a believable world or a single character that made me like, hate or care one iota about. I will not continue this series. I do not care who comes next or who came before. Ms. Day did not set the stage for a series that makes me anxious for the next book. I certainly was anxious to finish this one and not in a good way.

Sylvia Day scores again with her new paranormal romance, A Touch of Crimson. This book is captivating with the story of angel who's forbidden love lasts through time, age, and body. Adrian Mitchell is an angel, a very powerful angel. He is a sentinel, a soldier, in charge of keeping the fallen (vampires) in line and acting as the alpha over the shape-shifting wolf packs. Adrian has one fatal flaw, he loves a forbidden woman. The woman's soul is in an endless cycle. She dies, only to reborn in a new body, she finds Adrian, and she dies again. This time, she comes back stronger, as Lindsay Gibson, and Adrian is determined to end this cycle for good. However, his enemies also want the woman and the wolves are tired of their indentured servitude to the angels. This time Adrian's love appears, everything is different.

With books based on paranormal elements, learning new mythologies, powers, and worlds can often be confusing. In A Touch of Crimson, Sylvia Day has created a complex and very intriguing world, but it is written in a way that is easy to understand. The concepts are fairly complex. Lindsay is a vessel for the soul of Adrian's love interest. She is human, however she has supernatural abilities inherited from the soul that is part of her, and no memory of her past lives. When Lindsay meets Adrian, she goes with her instincts, follows her heart so to speak. I love her character, she is a modern, strong woman, but does not deny her attraction or her instincts. I also really like Adrian, he holds a position of great power and responsibility and I really felt for him. He bears the weight of his responsibilities very well, and he has really difficult decisions he has to make. The relationship between Adrian and Lindsay is not an easy romance. They have to face opposition, reality, and make difficult decisions which creates a truly beautiful love story.

The plot turns are quite unexpected in A Touch of Crimson. Lindsay's vampire family wants her back, and they bring quite a few surprises to the mix. Adrian has to make really tough decisions involving his most loyal soldiers and friends. The wolves are tired of being so closely tied to the angels, and their side plots and plans are heavily mixed in with the other drama and plots. At the end of the book, while certain story lines are answered, there are still many questions and possibilities. Really, I enjoyed all the characters in this book, the good and the bad. There are plenty of fascinating side stories and secondary characters, and I am looking forward to reading more about these characters in the future. I am officially hooked on this series, and I will be very eagerly awaiting book 2.

Paranormal fans will absolutely love A Touch of Crimson. The romance is beautiful, the action is thrilling, and the plot is unexpected, making A Touch of Crimson a must-read.

*I received this book for review*

Loved the book and all the characters. Not so patiently waiting for the last book. "A Taste of Seduction". It was suppose to be out Feb. 5th and already a month late. I hate waiting but what are you gonna do???? I am afraid I will forget some of what I have already read in the previous books, as I read a lot of books. Come on Sylvia, get the lead out!!!!!! Every book in this series has been fantastic. I don't want to put them down! I highly recommend this series!!!

A new world where Sentenial Angels are the law when it comes to vampires and lycans. Lycans have been recruited to help keep vampires in line. But a revolution is brewing within the lycan race and the world may be in for a big change. These angels are not supposed to mingle with others. But for Adrian, he has been chasing after the love of his life for many years. Every time she dies, her soul is transported to another body which inevitably finds him. Adrian falls in love with Shadoe's soul over and over again. But Lindsay is different. When Lindsay appears in his life, he finds himself falling in love all over again. So what's Adrian going to do. I give this book 3.5 stars.

I won't be saying much about the book because I don't know if I could stop my self from giving spoilers. SO instead i will tell you that if you are looking for a book that will pretty much blowing your f-ing mind then this is the book for you. I recently found Sylvia Day myself and she has quickly become one of my favorite writers of all time. The way she writes just puts the images into your head and they just don't want to get out. Her stories have made it into my dreams and that is saying something. So buy the book or buy one of her other stories I PROMISE you will not regret it

It took me a while to get into this book. At about the 60% point, it got to the bulk of the action where it's difficult to put the book down. I think before that point was a lot of set up, necessary but not as exciting. The ending came as a surprise and I'm interested to see where Day takes this series.

I enjoyed this particular book. Interesting characters, interesting situations...even though I found the plot towards the end to be a bit weak and predictable. I felt Lindsay/Shadoes situation was weakly resolved...but that's really my only main complaint. I definitely enjoyed this one more than I did the second in the series.

I enjoyed the plot. but I feel like they could have done more character progrssion, along with a better plot. I am not going to sit here and give spoiler alert after spoiler alert, but it was enjoyable, and it was the first romance novel I have picked up in years. I even got the second one.

Great book, I have to say I was completely confused in the beginning though. I read the prequel an it doesn't ease you into this story imo. I kind of wish I wouldn't have started with it. Other than that it was great and I can't wait to read the rest!

Another great book by Sylvia Day...since I have started reading her stuff I am completely hooked. I am waiting for the next one in the Renegade Angels to come out and the Bared to You Series to come out as well in October. So hot from start to finish you keep on reading until all hours of the morning because you want to find out what is going to happen. These are true page turners!

Sylvia,
U R the Bomb. I love me some Angels.Just keep on writing and I will surely keep on reading and purchasing what U write. A friend of mine gave me her copy of Crimson. I am going 2 put it on my Nook.

I liked the whole dynamics that this book has to offer. You get angels, vampires and lycans. There is a lot of action in this book with a smidgen of romance. The storyline progressed throughout the book fine but for some reason I just could not seem to get into the story.

My favorite character was Elijah, the alpha lycan. I loved his personality and he was pretty much the only character keeping me interested. At first he is very distant and professional when it comes to Lindsay but then they become friends and he lightens up.

Favorite part...
Lindsay- "Let's go pig out, then ride a rollercoaster until we vomit."
Elijah- "You saved my ass for this?"
Lindsay- "It's either that or run away."
Elijah-" Fine. But I'll warn you now - you really don't want to puke on me."
Lindsay- "Why not?"
Elijah- "I'll puke back. I guarantee I eat more than you do."

I was excited to start a new sci-fi series. The idea of angels, lycans and vampires is always intriguing. Unfortunately, I had not done any previous research on books written by Sylvia Day. The book had an interesting plot but this was quickly overshadowed by the continuous LUST that took up way more pages than necessary. I think this book would do well as a "fantasy story" in a Penthouse Magazine. I couldn't even finish the read because the author payed so much attention to the sexuality rather than the story itself. Horrible read in my opinion.

Im not usually into supernatural themed books but i am i to romantic novels so after reading the sample i was hooked because of the passion behind the story. Read the whole book in a day then the sequal the next day. This is a really addictive series like the crossfire novels. Adrian is a cross between edward cullen and gideon cross. Love it

This is by far the funnest series of books I have read in a long time. I read all the books and mini books in this series way to quickly because I wanted to know what was going to happen next. Definitley ready for the next book to come out.

I haven't read this book however I have read the fallen series. The fallen series is this book minus vampires. I'm sure the book is great since the one it's copying is. I like Sylvia day but the fact that this book is a redo of another series just as the bared to you series copied 50 shades of grey, makes me wonder can this woman rally write an original plot? Not sure if I will read because of all the copying.