Carole's Sunday: The book of angels

Author: Maya El
Title: The Book of Angels -Twin Flames Rising
Genre: Fiction, Romance, & drama
Pages: 132
Published: September 10, 2017
Where I Got It: My shelf (Given to me by the author/publisher for my honest opinion)



A city on Lockdown. A nation in turmoil. A president promising to "Make America a Safe Place to Live Again." A secret so ugly, it could destroy everything. Nathalie Parker is the pastor's wife at the largest "black" Baptist church in Chicago. From the outside she seems to have it all: A gorgeous house, a beautiful pool, a powerful husband. But things aren't always as they appear from the outside. Nathalie knows something isn't right with her husband, and the truth is far worse than she ever dreamed... 

In a city full of lies, cover-ups, and injustice, can Nathalie uncover the truth in her own marriage before it's too late? And what about the hauntingly seductive mystery man who keeps appearing in Nathalie's dreams?


A quick story, but filled with a lot of cultural concepts. There are the racial discrimination issues, being stuck in an abusive relationship, dark secrets, and true love. Nathalie is stuck in a city in turmoil and a relationship that looks perfect on the outside, but she is really a prisoner to a terrible man who is more horrible than anyone realized. 

I felt so bad for Nathalie. It is so easy to say JUST LEAVE LADY! But when your hubbie is a powerful man and beloved by the city and it a manipulator it is not so easy. Where do you go? How do you go? Poor girl. Not an easy situation. On top of all this, there is racism and bad cops harassing and killing innocents. Power is a terrible thing. See what it did to her hubbie and some of the cops? Power can truly corrupt anyone. During all this, Nathalie is having crazy real dream about this random guy. A little hope at the end of the tunnel! Always hope. 

Like a mentioned, it was a quick story. This could've been longer in my opinion. There was so much that needed to be expanded! So many good ideas shoved into 100 or so pages. Overall, it did seem to generally work so short, but I think it would've been even better longer. 

I wanted to learn more about Nathalie. Maybe some backstory? I was rooting for her to get free of that terrible man. UGH! I WANTED TO PUNCH HIM! I also wanted to punch that Becca girl. UGH!!!! I also wanted to punch some people at the church who are SO blinded!!! For heaven's sake, one of them overheard Nathalie talking ill about Carson, her hubbie, and how she wanted to leave him. The lady kneeled down and started praying that God would help Nathalie wake up and realize Carson is AMAZING and realize she needs to stay with him. WHAT????? You crazy lady. Also, darn those bad cops! You are an embarrassment to the badge you wear. I have cop friends and they would ashamed of those racist jerks. I think all departments that have these issues need to be re-evaluated and punish/fire those bad eggs. 

There was a scene that had me fuming. Kuddos to Nathalie and her friend for keeping it cool...I don't think I would've been able to. 

My only issue with the story was how black-and-white this could be. I always have issues with stories like this be it white/black, German/Jews, Japanese/Chinese, Natives/Americans, and etc. Yes, there is racism on both sides of all conflicts. However, it bothers me when it is SO just simply put. Whites and cops are ALL evil and bad, while blacks are just victims of evil. Yes, there are HORRIBLE white people and EVIL cops. All of them need to be thrown into prison to rot! Yes. However, there are amazingly kind whites and nice cops. I think the author realized this near the end and tried to show that it is not so simple and that there is more complexity to this issue of racism. People of any color can be evil or good.

Speaking of the ending.....I had zero ideas about one thing happening. Cannot say, but I did not expect a character to do something. I also wanted cry at one point. Made me feel super bad. Trying not to give away any spoilers ;)

I go back and forth on the romance. I liked it and I liked the guy. However, I felt it was SO rushed. Thus why I wanted this to be longer. It felt rushed and unrealistic. I LOVED them together, but I wanted to see it slowly build to be something amazing. He was a hottie, so I don't blame her for wanting to get that off the market quickly. Haha. Maybe in the next one we will be able to see more of them grow and bound even deeper. 

This was an interesting book for sure. I enjoyed watching Nathalie try to make it in this terrible town and marriage. Poor girl went through a lot. I wonder if the next book will still be about her? I'm curious to see! In the end, I'll stamp this with 3 stars.