Guest Review: Dark Angels by Katherine Langrish

Title: Dark Angels
Author: Katherine Langrish
Publisher: Harper Collins Children's Books
Publication Date: 30 April 2009

Synopsis from Goodreads

When Wolf runs away from the monastery where he grew up, he finds himself lost on Devil's Edge - a hill riddled with old mine shafts, said to be infested with ghosts, boggarts, elves, and perhaps even the Devil himself. Wolf meets a local knight out hunting, who offers him work and shelter in his castle - a place inhabited by a host of unexpected characters - a hearth hob, a ghostly white lady and a mysterious wandering juggler...Together Wolf and Nest, the knight's daughter, become embroiled in a mystery which leads Wolf into the very darkest depths of Devil's Edge...

GUEST REVIEW BY SUSAN K MANN

If you are looking for a gripping book, which will suck you in from the start, then Dark Angels is the book for you. The book is quite dark and has a creepy setting, the imagery Katherine uses will have the hairs on the back of your neck standing on edge at times.

Dark Angels is a great fantasy novel, a genre I am fussy about. I either like or hate them, this I liked. Set in the time of the Crusades, when people saw things differently. They feared elves and demons; this is what the book is drawn on. These mysterious creatures which are caught somewhere between Heaven and Hell.

The characters are ones you will fall in love with Elfgift the elf child and Wolf, you will empathise and root for them throughout. Not forgetting the heroine of the story Nest, who speaks to the Hearth Hob as natural as we speak to our friends. She was my favourite character, the daughter of a knight, who wanted to do something special with her life.

Katherine’s descriptions of the world are so vivid and wonderful you can’t help being caught up in them. It is as if you can smell the wood burning stove, taste the food and feel the wind on your face.

The ending was unexpected, but a great way to end it, one I very much enjoyed. A great book for early teen readers upwards and perfect for both boys and girls, with its strong characters of both genders. One I would highly recommend.