Blood and Feathers by Lou Morgan: book review

Blood and Feathers by Lou Morgan. Solaris £7.99

Reviewed by Jan Edwards

Alice blocked out the trauma of her mother’s passing. People do that when things they cannot comprehend happen to those they love the most. She carries on her life as normally as she and her grief-stricken father can when a mother and wife has been taken from them. And then things go really bad. She gets home, wet, tired and really pissed off, to find two men who are vaguely familiar and extremely ominous. Once hands had reached down through the ceiling to grab her father she knows her life has gone pear shaped in a way that won’t ever be repaired. To say more would give away the plot and that would be a tragedy, because Blood and Feathers romps away into a world of angels and demons at such a speed that you are nearing the end before you’ve had a chance to breathe.

The subject matter did put me off reading this book, to tell the truth. I am not an angel person and I avoid the usual angst-ridden Angel romances that seem to weigh down the paranormal romance shelves. But this is like no other angel book you have come across: no weeping or swooning involved. In fact, not a paranormal romance at all. Plenty of the paranormal, but more in the true urban fantasy vein, with battles and blood and vengeance being wreaked right and left through the city streets – and below! Blood and Feathers is peopled by beings with bigger issues to be dealt with, rather than random inter-species bonking. Alice is fighting for her own life, and the survival of the world, and there isn’t the time or energy for much else.

There is plenty of subterfuge and double dealing, however, and Alice is never quite sure who she can trust. The reader is presented with a well- constructed story: edgy, and with tension that is never predictable – and still allows breathing space to take in what’s going on. It is, perhaps, slightly confusing through the early chapters; it must be said, a basic knowledge of Angelology (that I didn’t possess) might be useful. Fortunately, Lou Morgan’s characters step up and look you in the eye, and dare you to question their motives – so much so that you are compelled to read on.  

Witty and well paced with plenty of scope for things to come, Blood and Feathers is an impressive debut novel that I highly recommend.