Age Group: Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Release Date: February 4, 2014
Buy Links:
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Book Description:
When good fails, chaos rises to the challenge. The daily life of a chaos demon is delightfully sinful—overindulging in Sri Lankan delicacies, trespassing on private beaches in Hawaii, and getting soused at the best angel bar on the planet.
But when Bedlam learns that the archdemon Azrael has escaped from the Abyss in order to wreak vengeance against the person who sent her there—Bedlam’s best friend, Khet—he can’t sit idly by. Only one relic possesses the power to kill Khet, who suffers immortality at Lucifer’s request: the mythical Spear of Destiny, which pierced Christ’s side at His crucifixion.
Neither angel nor demon has seen the Spear in two thousand years, but Azrael claims to know its location. Bedlam has no choice but to interpret woefully outdated clues and race her to its ancient resting place.
His quest is made nearly impossible by the interference of a persnickety archivist, Keziel—his angelic ex—and a dedicated cult intent on keeping the Spear out of the wrong hands. But to Bedlam, “wrong” is just an arbitrary word, and there’s no way he’s letting Khet die without a fight
When I was asked to review "Raising Chaos" by Elizabeth Corrigan, I was excited. I had already read her first book in the "Earthbound Angels" series, "Oracle of Philadelphia" and loved it, and was excited for more. The first book had me hooked with all of its mythos and biblical tie-ins, and "Raising Chaos" did a great job of keeping me interested. The second book in this series definitely did not let me down, and I couldn't be happier for it.
The one big change that happened in "Raising Chaos" is that, unlike its predecessor, it is told from multiple perspectives. We are given the story from Caela (who we knew as Carrie, the main protagonist in "Oracle of Philadelphia"), Bedlam the chaos demon, and the angel, Siren. While we know Caela and Bedlam from the first book, Siren is a new addition and we get a lot of the angels' back story through some flashbacks in her chapters.
I loved Bedlam in book one and I was happy to see that I was going to get some story from his point of view. While he was mostly used for comic relief before, now he's the driving force of the story. Even though at times it seems to be confusing to be in Bedlam's head with all of his voices (although he wouldn't be the demon of chaos if it wasn't), his chapters were interesting as he went on a quest in order to save his best friend.
There isn't a lot of overlap with the characters that we got to know during the first book, but instead, they are all on their own journeys. Caela has gotten out of Philadelphia and is trying to branch out, Bedlam is on his mission, and Gabriel is still up in Heaven. We still get a lot from Caela and Bedlam, but since Gabriel is not with either, we don't see him much in "Raising Chaos.” The reader gets a few glimpses of him in some of Siren's chapters since she is in and out of Heaven, and he's of course mentioned in Caela's chapters, but there's nowhere near as much characterization for him as there was in "Oracle.”
Even though Caela, Bedlam, and Siren are on different paths and places in the world, their stories are still all interwoven with each other. Everything clashes and comes together at the end, and the reader is stuck at the edge of their seat, waiting to see what all is going to happen. Like any book in a series, the main problems of the "Raising Chaos" story are solved, but there is also room for the next book that will come in the series.
Do I recommend "Raising Chaos?” I don't only recommend it, but also the whole "Earthbound Angels" series. Even if you don't know much about biblical lore, Corrigan does a great job explaining which angels are in charge of what, and gives you all the back story you need in order to figure out everyone's relationships and their impact on history. Seriously, check this series out.
Elizabeth Corrigan has degrees in English and psychology and has spent several years working as a data analyst in various branches of the healthcare industry. When she’s not hard at work on her next novel, Elizabeth enjoys singing, reading teen vampire novels, and making Sims of her characters. She drinks more Diet Coke than is probably optimal for the human body and is pathologically afraid of bees. She lives in Maryland with two cats and a purple Smart Car.
Thanks so much for hosting my tour!
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