Eve of Chaos

Eve of Chaos is the latest entry in S.J. Day’s series featuring demon slayer Evangeline (Eve) Hollis. I found the premise interesting, but had some difficulties with it as a standalone read.

Eve is one of “The Marked” humans recruited into God’s army to fight demons. This is especially unusual, since Eve is an agnostic. In addition to fighting demons on behalf of God, Eve is torn between two men - and one of them is the original bad boy.

That’s right, Eve has feelings for both Cain and Abel, the first brothers. She’s been in love with Alec (Cain) since she was 18. However, Alec, now an archangel, was stripped of his ability to love anyone other than God. Despite this, he still feels a strong sexual need for Eve and doesn’t want her to have anything to do with his brother. More recently, Eve has been attracted to Reed (Abel). Reed and Alec have hated each other since time began, and those feelings are just as strong today.

The two brothers couldn’t be more different. Reed likes rough sex and designer clothing. Although an archangel, Alec drives a Harley and used to be a gentle lover. Complicating Eve’s feelings for the two is the fact that she is linked with them through a mental communication pathway in which they hear her thoughts and communicate with her telepathically.

The author has built an interesting, complex world, filled with ambiguities and secrets. There were a lot of details that were difficult for me to pick up on. It was never clear to me if either Alec or Reed is supposed to be the “good” brother.

I found myself online a lot while reading the book, looking up Biblical references. In this book, a whole host of evil creatures pursues Eve. But the biggest, baddest villain in the piece Is Satan, the big guy himself, who seems to want Eve for some mysterious purpose.

I liked some of the secondary characters and was intrigued by a priest who featured rather prominently toward the end of the book. At one point, the original Adam and Eve visit Alec and Reed, making for some interesting interactions.

If you’re looking for a strong romance, this isn’t the book for you. There are a lot of sexual feelings, but no real romance. There isn’t even a lot of sex in the book, but what there is, is very raw. I’m not a big fan of villain sex, so I had problems with a few, admittedly brief, scenes.

The book was confusing for me at first, but after awhile I really got into the story, and found it to be interesting. If you have read and enjoyed the previous entries in the series, you may enjoy this more than I did. The book ends with a real cliffhanger. At this point, I’m just not sure if I’ll pick up the next entry.

-- LinnieGayl Kimmel

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