A Review for Oracle of Philadelphia (Earthbound Angels #1) by Elizabeth Corrigan

Posted by Melanie
Release Date: February 22nd, 2014

Finished Date: 7th March, 2014
Publishers: Red Adept Publishing
Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal
Source: For Review

Format: eBook
Pages: 222

Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US / The Book Depo

Carrie works at a diner in South Philadelphia, dispensing advice to humans and angels wise enough to seek her counsel. But there are some problems that even the best advice can’t solve.

Her latest supplicant, Sebastian, is unique among those who have sought her aid. He sold his soul to a demon in exchange for his sister’s life, but his heart remains pure.

Carrie has lived for millennia with the knowledge that her immortality is due to the suffering of others, and she cannot bear to see another good man damned when it is within her power to prevent it.

In order to renegotiate his contract, Carrie must travel into the depths of hell and parley with the demons that control its pathways. As the cost of her journey rises, Carrie must determine how much she is willing to sacrifice to save one good soul.

The review: 2.5 Flowers!

I really dislike having to write less than favourable reviews but this book was just ok for me and I can’t fault the writing or anything because it all just comes down to my personal preference.
The first 40% really dragged for me and I had to force myself to read it. A major problem for me was that during that 40% we keep flitting off to the past, meeting people, finding out about a few things but we weren’t spending enough time in the present to engage me in what was going to happen, just what was past and even though I totally get why we needed to hear these stories of the past, I feel that they could have been better placed so that something current could grip me. It’s really hard for me to explain but that made the book feel off to me. That being said, I did enjoy a good few things about the book as well and as I mentioned, it was well written. I liked the idea behind the book, the reason for Carrie’s immortality is a puzzle that isn’t really answered until the very end and it’s very surprising but good! The book is very much tied to Christianity through Angels & Demons but isn’t afraid to bend the truth of some of the most famous biblical stories and actually injected some humour into them. I liked how many of the fallen angels are Arch-Demons and own their own place in Hell, free to tempt humans into giving up their souls. I really liked the visits to Hell and what came with them, it was a great way to become acquainted with the Arch-Demons and get a feel for each of them and also showing us what Carrie is capable of, it had a quest feel to it and I liked that a lot. I really liked the character Bedlam/Azazel, he was so fun loving and had a great sense of humour – I often found myself smiling when he was off on one of his explanations of disasters he had caused, I enjoyed him better than Carrie to be honest and I was really interested in his & Keziel’s love for each other. I did like Carrie but I wanted her personality to shine through and whilst she did have some nice qualities, she was overshadowed by the personality of Bedlam. As I said this was an OK read for me, the pacing & content at the beginning totally spoiled the feel of the book for me which was a shame because it did get better and I did get more interested and involved but not sure whether I would read a sequel. 

Thank you to Elizabeth Corrigan for the opportunity to review this book, in exchange for an honest review.