Angel Blue by Jennifer Silverwood

In Angel Blue, Episode One of author Jennifer Silverwood’s new paranormal series, Seven Deadly Sins, we are introduced to Anu, the last of the House of Eanna and a princess of the “Chosen” as she celebrates her ‘20th’ birthday at some human dive bar (she's actually around 1200 human years old.) She meets, dances, and shares a smoldering interlude with sexy Wil of the emerald-flecked eyes and broad shoulders. This does not end well when his companion, Izzie, discovers them and we find out that neither she nor Wil are human either. They are the “Cursed” – creatures that centuries before had murdered all the members of the House of Eanna and burned their castle to the ground – and they are hunting Anu as well. The dive bar burns, trapping many of its occupants inside. Anu and her guardian, Etlu, escape but are soon tracked down and surrounded by Wil, Izzie, and the rest of his group. They fend off their attackers and return to the home of Lady Tiamata, the House of Gisnu, where they are awaiting the arrival of Malku, the self-appointed leader of the “Chosen” and the man Anu is to wed. Betrothed at birth, Anu is not in favor of the union. Malku is known as a cruel man and she has loved Etlu for years. She plots to escape the House of Gisnu and persuade the honorable Etlu to run away with her. However, the “Cursed” ones are not done. The attack at the bar was only a single skirmish in a much more elaborate and longer developing plan to wipe the “Chosen” out entirely.

I enjoyed all the characters introduced so far especially Anu, Etlu, and Wil, and will most definitely be looking for Devil Red, Episode Two to find out what happens next. I am still in the dark as to who or what the “Chosen” are and the back story remains shadowy for me. The “Cursed” seem to be werewolves of “shifters” of some kind. I am willing to keep reading under the ambiguity because I’ve enjoyed this author’s previous work, but it’s not comfortable, and this may not be for every reader of fantasy out there. But the writing is SO GOOD, the characters so compelling, and the plot keeps slowly unfolding, and for now, I’m happy.