The Sinner

Angels and Demons, Book 1

By: Emma Scott

Narrated by: Zachary Johnson, Caitlin Kelly

Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

Shy, introverted Lucy Dennings lives a quiet little life in New York City, working for a nonprofit and keeping to herself.

Every afternoon, she goes home to her empty apartment and Edgar, her houseplant, and every night, she loses herself in the pages of her beloved romance novels. Her lonely heart seeks solace in tales of passionate, enduring, all-consuming love, but more and more, Lucy feels she's not just reading for pleasure but searching for a lost piece of herself in the pages. As if she once touched something beautiful, but it's been ripped away.

One day Lucy discovers a dead body in the alley behind her apartment. Even if it's too late, her first instinct is to help. Her second is to run.

Because the dead body isn't so very dead, and suddenly, her little world isn't so little but one in which dreams feel like memories, "inner demons" lurk in dark alleys, and a beautiful creature of darkness with amber eyes and wings like night might hold the key to what her heart has been aching for... if she doesn't fall down the path of eternal damnation first.

From USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Emma Scott comes an emotional paranormal love story of passion, sacrifice, and the soul-deep love of a lifetime... more than one.

©2021 Emma Scott Books, LLC (P)2023 Podium Audio

A story of true love

It was a PNR and a standalone smut is none exciting so if these aren't what you want then it won't be for you.

It took me about a min to truly love if only because it was a lil slow to begin at least in my opinion but I've loved this author in the past so I stayed and as the story developed the Heroine started to show a stronger side of self, at 1st she was a push over a kind beautiful human but one who didn't stand up for herself.

The Hero could be considered the Anti if only because he's the Sinner / Demon but in the end he was what some of us would dreamed be loved like. I don't want to spoil the story just say it's definitely one to take a chance to jump in and check out.

Emma Scott writes paranormal romance!

The first book in the Angels and Demons duet introduces us to a new side of Scott’s writing, but still with all of the emotional, beautiful storytelling that I love about her books. This is a heartwrenching story of soulmates and true love, with drama, angst and all the feels, and I loved it.

Lucy lives a quiet, introverted life in New York City. She works for an environmental non-profit and spends her night losing herself in romance novels, experiencing the love that she doesn’t have in her life, but that feels so real to her, filling a hole in her heart that feels more like an ache.

Her small little life is shaken when she finds a body in the lot behind her apartment. She initially thinks the man is dead, but he rouses in front of her and, being the kind-hearted soul that she is, she rushes in to help. But this isn’t a man. It’s a winged being from the underworld, a demon in real life who has 11 days to earn his redemption, and Lucy is the one to help him do it by allowing him to help her.

It's a great beginning to the story as Lucy welcomes Caszeil into her world, and as he settles into her life, questioning her isolation and teaching her about her (literal) demons, he encourages her to actually start living and promises to help her win the man that she’s crushed on for years. The dynamic between them is so good, especially because Lucy is attracted to the darkly intelligent male, and as he steps in to become a part of her day-to-day life (as her fake boyfriend, no less), all the lines are blurred as Lucy starts to have dreams of long-ago times, remembering a love that existed thousands of years ago that feels familiar and so close.

"Every minute with Casziel was a battle with my own sense of reality. Like living in a lucid dream; I was sure I was going to wake up at any moment and he’d be gone.
And I’ll lose him all over again."

Though there are some unexpected twists and turns, it’s not a surprise where the story is going, because we get some chapters from Cas’s POV, so we know him, his past, and his motivation for wanting to help Lucy. But while his heart is in the right place, their situation is way more complicated than either of them anticipated as they work through their feelings. And when Cas’s presence in Lucy’s life makes her a target of his enemies, they’ll have to fight hell itself while also figuring out what they mean to each other, and what possible kind of future they can have together.

The feels are intense, and I was feeling the romance, and the heartache that Lucy and Cas endure throughout their story. It’s not an easy road for them but their connection is beautifully explored, their passion for each other is all-consuming, and the love story is heart-clenchingly intense and swoony.

"She is my weakness. The sweetest vice. Lifetime after lifetime. I find her and protect her."

The paranormal element is really well developed, and given that a lot of it is built around souls, personal demons, death and life, there is some really thoughtful, beautiful lore in the story, adding to the emotion, and making this such an easy book to lose yourself in. The introduction of Lucy and Cas’s respective best friends provides a great lead in to the next book in the duet, and I look forward to reading Cole and Ambri’s story.

Loved this one!

Amazing love story

This book for me started out a little slow and it was hard to get into, but as soon as things started falling into place, I was hooked. It is truly a romance for the centuries. To find your soulmate in every life and know they are it, would be a miracle. Lucy starts off down on herself and a sad lonely girl going through the loss of her dad, but once Cas comes into the picture, she becomes who she was always meant to be. I’m still really confused on the third epilogue though and it’s going to drive me bonkers until I find out what that was all about. The narrators did an amazing job and I’ll definitely be looking for more books by this author.