AH@BadassBookReviews

I first fell in love with this series when I read The Demon Lover. I liked how the author created a magical world nestled in the Catskills Mountains at a fictional college. I could picture in my head the college buildings covered in ivy, the quaint little town surrounding the college and the lush green of the hills surrounding the town. Then, when I met the town’s inhabitants, I was intrigued. Fairwick was not your ordinary town. The inhabitants were quite special.

The Angel Stone picks up right where The Water Witch left off. Callie McFay is teaching a course at the “new” Fairwick College. Things just aren’t the same since the door to Faerie was closed. There’s a new Dean at the college and his agenda is a little sinister. Callie and her colleagues vow to defeat the Dean and his supporters who happen to be nephilim. Callie learns that she must retrieve the Angel Stone, an opal with special powers, in order to defeat the nephilim. Problem is, the stone was last seen in 17th century Scotland.

There’s a bit of a rich dark, Gothic feel to this book. The author layers myth and folklore together to form a compelling narrative. The story is told mostly from Callie’s point of view. There are some intriguing dream sequences that felt almost too real when Callie awoke to sprigs of heather in her bed.

I liked how the element of time travel was handled in this book. Callie realizes that since she is a doorkeeper, she can use the hallow door to travel to Faerie. In Faerie, she rescues William Duffy from the fae queen and they travel back in time to 17th century Scotland in order to find the Angel Stone. I loved the scenes in Scotland (yes, I am a sucker for a brawny highlander).

The magic was so cool, especially the weaving of the plaid. I loved how the witches worked together and combined their powers to help defeat the nephilim.

The Angel Stone had a diverse and eccentric cast of characters. Not only did it include the usual supernatural suspects – witches, vampires, fae, etc., the book also had a character with Down’s syndrome (go, Jessica!) and another who suffered from a mental illness.

I enjoyed The Angel Stone and I’m keeping my eye out for more books by this author, who also writes as Carol Goodman.

Series Reading Order:

1. The Demon Lover
2. The Water Witch
3. The Angel Stone

Thank you to Edelweiss and Ballantine Books for a review copy of this book.

Review posted on Badass Book Reviews.