Danann Frost Falls From Grace by Joanne Valiukas - Book Review

Title: Danann Frost Falls from Grace

Author: Joanne Valiukas

Publisher: Self-Published

Publication Date: September 2010 (2009)

Pages: 392

Format: E-book - PDF

Genre: Paranormal

Source: Won in a Giveaway




Danann Frost is thousands of years old, yet young for her kind. She is a creature of the Light, an Angel, one of the Seraphim; a race of beings that live beyond our world. She has been cast out of paradise and Fallen from Grace, all for the love of a Dark One - a vampire. The only problem is, Seth did not want her and told her to go and not come back. Danann has made a life for herself amongst the vampires of this world and they protect her fragile nature. She and the vampire Asher live on the fringes of the human world; love and loyalty cannot separate them but trouble and vengeance are on their way. After two hundred years of enduring the crippling punishments of her Fall, Seth walks back into her life but he is bitter and angry and out for revenge. Thank God he is after someone else...or is he? Can Danann escape the dark intentions of her once-beloved for whom she Fell from Grace, or has she put all those that she holds dear in danger? Journey with Danann as she takes the path to taking back her Light and ascending to be Angel once more. Will the Archangel Uriel surrender her Light or will Danann be doomed to walk in darkness forever? (Goodreads Synopsis)


I really wish I could have given this book three stars, but I couldn't quite bring myself to do it. There were things I like about this piece, but there were also a few negatives, so let me start with those and get them out of the way.

The book opens in third person narrative, but the point of view shifts back and forth between Seth and Danann in the middle of scenes, which I found distracting. Then, suddenly we are moved into first person narrative as Danann tells her own story. This improved the pov issues considerably and I was able to relax into the story a bit more until the bizarre switch back to third person for the last few pages.

An excessive use of italics for emphasis also began to irritate me, especially when some of the words emphasised just didn't make sense. I found myself stopping my reading to sound them out just to be sure I wasn't imagining it.

I did find myself skim reading chunks of the middle section of the book too as it became very repetitive, with what was essentially the same argument/scene playing out between Seth and Danann many times. As an editor, I would have made a few hefty cuts to improve the pace. The dialogue in this middle section also became rather stilted and unbelievable.

So those were my gripes, but, as I said, there were also things I enjoyed about the book. I loved the story idea. The limitations placed on a fallen angel were well conceived and original and I wish they had been explored more deeply. The idea of an angel loving a vampire and her subsequent fall interested me and it was that initial interest that kept me reading. Danann and Seth are both great characters and the spark is there, it was just that, for me, some of problems with the book eclipsed that at times. I also liked some of the secondary characters such as Mia and Asher. Both came across well and played important roles in the story.

As I said, I wish I could have stretched to three stars for this book as it did have promise, but sadly I could not overlook some of the problems that spoilt my enjoyment of the piece.