This was my first C.N. Crawford book. Set in an Angel’s and Demons fantasy world, this was a notable tale of Lila in the town of Dovren. It is the first in a trilogy series. I really loved Lila as the main character as her skills were a nice surprise for her plan to murder the Town Count, who also happens to be a fallen angel. I liked the interplay between Lila and, Count Saklas. I thought her characters were well defined and the plot built to a burst ending. I gave this a 3.5/5 rating. If you haven’t read this, it is worth a look and can be checked out on KU.
**Spoiler Alert**
Lila was born in Dovren, but the woman who raised her wasn’t her real mother. Raised with a sister, they taught themselves to fight and defend themselves. Lila began working as a thief at 7, for a local smuggling ring. Her stand in mother racked up lots of debt to pay for her Gin addiction. The collectors set out to find Lila and mutilate her to incentivize her mother to pay them back. While she manages to escape into the upstairs portion of their club by trading places with her courtesan friend, Zahra. Her first customer happens to be Count Sarkas, himself, and he is looking for her. He purchase her services to live at the local castle and be his courtesan for an obscene yearly wages.
When she moves into the castle she becomes stuck between the angels and the Free Men of the city. Claiming to want independence from the angels and create their own country, they identify themselves by a cuff link symbol. They claim the angels are planning to wipe out the mortals but things aren’t as they seem. They try to employ Lila to seduce Sarkas, which makes him mortal for a time, and strap a bomb to his rooms in the castle. She must work through what’s real after her childhood friend betrays her. The future of the realm stands in the balance between the Free Men and the Fallen Angels.