GUEST REVIEW: Reignite by J.M. Darhower

Hi everyone, Marta is back with her guest review of Reignite, 

sequel to amazing Extinguish by talented J.M. Darhower! Happy reading :)

Reignite (Extinguish #2)

Written by J.M. Darhower

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Release date: October 13th 2014

Pre-order: Amazon US / Amazon UK

Synopsis:

The moment the short-lived apocalypse came to an end, life returned to normal. Mortals continued on with their oblivious existences while the earth healed and flowers again bloomed, the devastation instantly wiped away. It was as if it had never happened.

But it did.

Luce knows. He’s cursed to remember every moment, forced to live with everything he has done. Suddenly finding himself out of confinement, he’s faced with a decision: where to call “home”. Free will turns out not to be the freedom he expects when the only thing he wants doesn’t know he exists.

Serah woke up with no memory of where she came from or who she was before that moment. Struggling to adapt to the world as a mortal, she’s haunted by a set of bright blue eyes that always seem to be watching her. She can’t shake the feeling that he could be her salvation… if only she can remember him before it’s too late.

Lucifer didn’t fall from Grace alone. He’s not the only angel with a grudge, nor is he the only one fascinated by his beautiful mortal.

The road to Hell is paved with good intentions...

Marta's * 5 STARS * Review:

Because time passes, and memories fade, but a beating heart never truly forgets anything. Never.

I had to start this review with a quote from book one, because this quote, people. This quote. The very last line of book one. It just struck me with so much tragedy, hope and closure, all in one. Extinguish blew me away with its brilliance and when the ending is so perfect, it’s always risky when a sequel gets released. It can either be really good or really bad. I can’t lie. I am a sucker for tragedy and the ending of book one was very tragic, but despite that, I am so glad J.M. Darhower decided to give this story a continuation. And I am so glad the lovely Lucia gave me the opportunity to review this amazing story for her blog

Reignite continues right where Extinguish stops, so it feels like you’re still reading Extinguish and it’s amazing. I had missed being in that world. I don’t have to acquaint you all with the story, I’m sure. If you haven’t read Extinguish yet, I strongly urge you to do so and stop reading this review. You can read my review for Extinguish here.

Extinguish taught me the nuances, and showed me the gray area between the black and the white. Reignite told me the story of how it all came to be, and how venturing over to the gray area might push you straight into the black.

“What’s their purpose?”
“To exist, and to love, and to worship.” 

God had Angels and Archangels to work for him, but he created the Earth and humans with the sole purpose of existing, loving and worshiping. He gave them Paradise and assigned the Angels to protect them. The sin that led to Luce’s venture into the gray and black area was envy. What Luce was the most envious of was free will. Humans were free to do as they chose, free to do good or bad. And would you not rather suffer by choice than be happy by force? Luce had always sought out freedom and fought for freedom. He wanted the choice and demanded it. But when he finally got it, he didn't know what to do with it anymore.

Free will. It didn't quite feel as freeing as Luce thought it would. 

The epilogue of the first book kind of gives us an idea of what happens after it all ends. Serah becomes a mortal and her memory is wiped clean, while Luce continues roaming the earth, doing nothing special, except for watching Serah. He is obsessed with Serah’s heartbeat, he follows her around and loves her from afar, until she notices him. And she always notices him.

He once envied the humans because they were given the Earth, but looking at her, he wondered if maybe Paradise was to be found in a person and not a place. 

While Serah’s slate is wiped clean, Luce’s is not. He is left to face his actions, to live with the knowledge that he manipulated Serah, and most importantly, he is left to live without her. While Serah is desperately trying to remember her life, her past and even her name, Luce is trying to forget.

I wish I could forget everything you no longer remember. 

Lucifer has lost his will to fight and has given up on the war. When another war threatens to break out, he no longer fights for himself, but he fights for her.

Luce’s priorities had changed. He wasn't sure when it happened, or even why, but eventually his fight against the world turned into a fight for one soul, a soul that almost got damned for him. 

Why did Eve eat from the forbidden apple? Why did God’s son turn against him? And who can save him? Darhower has given us her own brilliant version of the answers to those questions. Serah had saved Lucifer once from the pits of Hell, but this time she saves him from the darkness inside his soul.

“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things,” Michael said. “Love never ends”. 

I admit, while reading this, I fell victim to the line of thinking that starts with but why doesn't God just…, but I got my answer without having to stalk the author and ask. For the sake of avoiding spoilers, I’m just going to go very cheesy on you and say that God works in mysterious ways.

Once again, I have nothing but praise for this series. The author managed to add so many layers to this fairly short story and had me swooning so bad when I read the epilogue. This is a beautiful and well-crafted story about love and sacrifice. About envy and redemption. About choices and consequences. About an angel falling for a devil. About a devil giving it all up for the angel.

His lips lightly touched hers, barely a kiss, a soft graze, but it ignited something inside of her, rekindling an extinguished flame.