Review: Contrition by Haven Cage

In the end, everyone must pay for their sins.

Trial after trial, Nevaeh's loved-ones have struggled to save her from a dark destiny. The time has finally come for her to return home and join the Earth-bound angels in a war threatening to destroy the Human race. 

Is it really Nev who's walking the Earthly plane, though? 

True, being surrounded by evil for weeks on end would change anyone, but Nev's friends suspect something is wrong with the Nevaeh they've extracted from Hell's grip.

Archard, Arkin, Maggie, and Malach prepare to fight the impending apocalypse brought on by the rebellious Dominions, while trying to accept the new Nevaeh and help her gain control over her powers. 

Will Nevaeh be able to save the world, or will she make everyone pay with their lives?

***

Contrition is the third and final install in Haven Cage's Faltering Souls Series. You can read my review of the previous books here. Contrition (with its gorgeous cover) picks up where Severance left off and though it remains true in so many ways to the first two books, it shines with a depth of spirit and empowerment in strong contrast to the darkness and depravity of Severance.

For starters, I don't read many alternating first-person POV books. What doesn't always come through is distinction from one character's inner voice to the next. In Cage's books, we get to know her characters from the inside out. They let us know who they are and also give us their own unique perspectives of each other.

I love how Cage ties everything together from the first two books. Characters wrenched from us earlier in the series are taken from us again, for good or not, and others make devastating choices. Again, Cage lets her darlings tell their stories and I found their twists, turns, and heartbreak all the more real because of it.

Finally, Cage brings us home to the places and settings we've come to know. Her reminders and backstory  don't leave me feeling like I'm skimming through an overdone rehash or having my face shoved in to a big, self-serving block of text. Ties to the past are light, complete, and extremely balanced with and complementary of the current part of her storyline.

If you like your dark paranormal to quicken your breath, your villains unforgivably rotten and your heroes (and heroines) to wrap your heartstrings around their fist a good half-dozen times before they pull them then I recommend Falter, Severance and Contrition. I'm sad this series is over and I've become a fan of the author.

I received a review copy of Contrition in exchange for my honest review.