Esta's Reviews > The Book of Azrael

I didn’t expect this sassy, blood-drenched epic romantasy to whip out and perfectly execute one of my favourite SFF tropes/microtropes: the alien (or god in this case) observing what fragile, emotional, irrational, bizarre beings humans are, but that’s one of the main reasons why I fell in love with the Book of Azrael, amongst others, of course.

The other reasons are:

1. Dianna, my misunderstood fiery, shadowy baddie bestie who can rip memories from blood, shape shift into any being she wants, summon flame, who calls out privilege and skewers the patriarchy. And yet, she’s shackled by an abusive tyrant (Kaden) who keeps her controlled through the one thing she loves most, her sister.

2. Liam/Samkiel, our clinical, all-powerful traumatised god/“alien” with celestial baggage who isn’t quite sure about how to curse, how to love, the sanctity of pinkie promises ("does this require another pinkie?") or why people sit around pools when the ocean is mere feet away.

3. The banter and the one liners. I highlighted so many things. Amber V. Nicole's sense of humour is very much aligned with mine and things I find hilarious.

4. Representation: this is what I want in romantasy, effort, not tokenism. Amber Nicole writes main characters and cast with diverse skin tones in a queernormative world just so beautifully. It feels intentional and refreshing in a romantasy landscape that can skew very same-same.

5. The dynamic: TRUE vitriolic enemies to start with, where she pretty much attempts to kill him, to cautious truce, to precious delicate friends, then… oh, you know where it goes.

If this book has been languishing on your TBR, then you should change that. Amber Nicole is going in my favourite new-to-me authors for 2025 (alongside Scarlett St. Clair, L.J. Andrews and Kalie Cassidy), because I just adore how she interrogates why being human is both absurd and sacred, all while setting your heart on fire.
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Opened The Book of Azrael for just a peek but now at the stage where responsibilities and sleep are cancelled indefinitely.