Monday, December 24, 2018

SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: The Black Parade by Kyoko M




The Black Parade is the first in an urban fantasy/paranormal fantasy series by Kyoko M, with this book being currently available for free on Amazon.  Whereas other such series might include vampires or fae[ries], The Black Parade features Angels and Demons from Christian mythology alongside our woman of color protagonist.  And its the type of book that some readers might consider just a little bit "trashy" in its plot featuring romance/sexual-tension between that protagonist and a literal archangel.

And you know what?  It might be a bit "trashy" but it's oh so much fun.  The book has some pacing issues and things get a bit silly at times and the power levels of characters never seem to be consistent or make sense and none of that really matters in the end because our heroine is terrific, the dialogue is great (and peppered with fun references) and again to repeat myself its all so much fun.  Not every book needs to be a work of art to be worth reading, and The Black Parade is definitely worth reading.

BONUS:  Also in this post will be quick review of Kyoko M's "The Deadly Seven: Stories from The Black Parade" which is sort of a 200 pages collection of deleted scenes from this novel that take place between parts 2 and 3 of this novel.  
-------------------------------------------------Plot Summary-------------------------------------------------------
Jordan Amador appears to be an ordinary waitress in Albany, NY.  Well, except for the fact that she's a "seer," able to see ghosts and tasked by the Archangel Gabriel to help them cross over to the other side.  Due to a tragedy in her past, Jordan has to send on 100 souls within 2 years, or her soul will be sent to hell, and Jordan is closing in on that number just in the nick of time.

And then Jordan meets Michael, a soul unlike any she's ever seen before.  Michael's dead, but he can affect the physical world even though non-seers can't see him.  He remembers nothing about his past or even his last name or what ties him to this world.  But what he doesn't remember are secrets that will thrust Jordan into the middle of a war between the Angels and Demons, a war that could drastically affect the mortal world.

Jordan - stubborn, abrasive Jordan - isn't one to simply let all these things happen.  And as she gets more involved with the conflict between angels and demons, and finds out truths behind her own past, she finds herself being more and more attracted to the Archangel assigned to protect her and the attraction seems to be mutual.....
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jordan and Michael make up a wonderful combination in this book, with their interactions, dialogue, and relationship being an absolute joy to read.  Jordan's a great protagonist - she's got a tragic background in multiple ways and is a bit of a brash stubborn and obnoxious brat as a result, but her heart of gold is apparent right from the start which makes her very easy to root for.  And the plot gives her ways to shine, putting her in situations where those traits allow her to take actions to try and save the day....even if sometimes (but not always!) she's the one who needs saving.  And then of course there's her witty banter with her friend Lauren and more importantly with Michael, which well deserves more than a single sentence.

I mean the plot of this book isn't particularly great, it's in three parts and there are some severe pacing issues - the first part of this book comes to a head really abruptly and the final part involves a twist that the reader will see coming miles away for example.  But the dialogue and relationship between Jordan and Michael is just so well written and enjoyable that little of it mattered.  Again, this type of book - human falls in love with an angel and gets involved in a battle of angels and demons - is indeed quite cheesy and "trashy" (an almost sex scene includes some pretty damn hilarious language for instance) but it's the best type of cheesy and trashy in that the result just repeatedly put a smile on my face and had me caring about the characters involved.  To steal a bit from the book's blurb on amazon - there may be some cliches being used here, but these cliches became cliches because when done well, they work.  And in The Black Parade, they work.

I'm almost certainly going to go on with this series shortly, although the other books aren't free.  But since this book IS free, there's no reason why one shouldn't "buy" it and give it a try.  It's definitely worth your time.
-------------------------
Bonus Review of "The Deadly Seven: Stories from The Black Parade" - which isn't free but is available for Kindle Unlimited subscribers.  This short story collection is basically a 200 page collection of outtakes that occur between Chapters 15 and 16 of this book, told from Michael's perspective instead of Jordan's.  And it's a wonderful collection - the stories are thematically based around the 7 deadly sins (duh) and range from actual adventures of the duo against demons to just little vignettes of Jordan and Michael's interactions.  And those vignettes in particular are ust so so good and really really funny.  If you enjoyed The Black Parade, I'd strongly recommend picking htis up because it's just more of some of the best parts of that book, freed from the overarching plot.
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)