Ignite by Erica Crouch
Series: Ingite #1
Publisher: Patchwork Press
Source: Netgalley
ISBN: 0991789741
Release Date: June 11, 2013
Pages: 346
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Penemuel (Pen) fell from grace over a millennium ago, yet there are still times she questions her decision to follow her twin brother, Azael, to Hell. Now that the archangel Michael has returned, threatening Lucifer’s vie for the throne, she begins questioning everything she has always believed.
As Hell prepares for war - spreading a demonic virus and pilfering innocent souls to build an army - the lines separating the worlds blur. Fates erase and the future is left unwritten. Azael is determined that he and his sister will continue to serve as demons together, but for the first time in her life, Pen is not ruled by destiny. She has the freedom of choice.
With choice comes sacrifice, and Pen must decide which side she’s willing to risk everything fighting for: the light, or the dark.
Ignite was a beautifully written novel. I usually don’t enjoy books about angels and demons. They just aren’t my thing, but Ignite I truly enjoyed from start to finish. I came across it while reading a blog post from Books for a Delicate Eternity about Chiara’s favourite books, so I decided to give it a try. And am I glad I did. I was really surprised to see that Ignite was the author’s debut work.
Pen, a fallen angel, was an intriguing main character. It was refreshing to read from the “evil” point-of-view as oppose to the protagonist always being innocent and pure, two things that are main character definitely was not. Pen fell from heaven a very long time ago after her brother, Azael, lost his faith and decided to follow Lucifer. Pen has always been a loner and had only Azael to lean on. Pen’s relationship with her brother was very close. They were a team. An evil duo. Pen killed. Azael reaped. While Pen had done terrible things, things she think she can never repent for, she is strong even if she doesn’t think so. She was quick witted, well read, and a well written character.
Michael was the sweetest boy I have ever come across of in fiction. He had this sweet innocence to him. From the start there was a connection with Pen. It wasn’t a romantic connection at first, but something was there. He believed that Pen still had good in her no matter what she had done in her past. He believed that she could still be saved. His pure faith that Pen was still good and wasn’t soulless was so sweet. The romance was nicely developed. It wasn’t too quick, but slowly built to an epic Romeo and Juliet romance. The scene with Pen and Azael while Michael was hiding killed me.
“I’m an angel, and so are you. You’ve fallen, sure, but you are still an angel. I can feel who you are, your true spirit. I can see the soul you believe you lost. It’s still there inside you.”
Both Michael and Pen are struggling with their sides. Michael is questioning Heaven’s view of what’s right and wrong and Pen thinks her past can never be redeemed and is struggling with leaving her brother, her only family. I feel like Pen's struggle with leaving her brother was incredibly important in her journey.
“You want to fit in, stay with Azael. But what he does, and what you’ve done, isn’t who you are inside. You don’t belong in Hell.”
