In Maci Aurora’s THE ACCIDENTAL SEREPH, Atlas Black and his brothers are seraphs who have been fighting against demons for years and protecting their small town of Carran Hallow. They’re not well liked because humans can’t see monsters, and when the Blacks fight them, the townspeople only see the brothers wreaking havoc. Until now.
When Atlas walks into a bar, he encounters a woman passing through town and feels an immediate sense that she’s his calix (or fated mate). Ivy is looking for her sister Hazel, who is being held hostage in Onyx City, and she doesn’t have much time to save her. When her bus breaks down in Carran Hallow, she’s stuck with no means of calling for help, and the last thing she needs is a ruggedly handsome bad boy getting in her way under the guise of helping her. Unfortunately, she has no choice but to rely on Atlas after a group of demons catch her scent and try to attack her.
After Atlas fights them off, he takes Ivy to a secret hideout where Ivy learns about her origins as a calix, a species hunted by demons—which might be why her sister was taken. She also learns that if she wants to save Hazel, she and Atlas need to make their fated bond official to activate their powers and fight against evil.
Aurora does a great job in building strong chemistry between Atlas and Ivy. From the pull they have at their first meeting, there are palpable moments of magnetic attraction, and readers don’t have to wait long for them to give into their feelings. All these moments culminate into steamy scenes of desire, and the vivid descriptions about their mutual want show just how much they’re at the mercy of their intrinsic bond. That being said, they know very little about each other, and there aren’t enough emotional reasons shown for why they should be a couple beyond their fated connection. Ivy thinks about these very same doubts later in the book: “Casting the incredible sex aside, what do I have with Atlas beyond a few conversations? Nothing really.”
This limited context extends to the rest of the story, where the action and conflict buckle under the lack of foundation and make it hard to identify the stakes in the novel. The worldbuilding is at a minimum, as readers immediately jump into the action of the long-standing enmity between the demons and the demon hunters, which seemingly sounds straightforward. But then readers learn about the various names of the demons, the gaining of wings and powers upon a fated bond, and demons’ motives for chasing the calyxes—all of which THE ACCIDENTAL SEREPH merely scratches the surface of. It’s easy to lose sight of what’s going on.
One has to suspend their disbelief at how quickly it all unfolds, along with the fact that two strangers automatically bond and fall for each other without understanding the implications of their love. Although the book is in dual points of view, and we see firsthand how Ivy and Atlas feel about each other, there isn’t enough time spent on Ivy’s reevaluation of her life and new identity as a non-human. Instead, the focus is primarily on her and Atlas’s physical relationship.
Even though the story moves a little too quickly to dig into any specifics, its fast-paced writing does build into an intense, page-flipping fight between the demons and the demon hunters. There is a dynamic cast of characters introduced who will no doubt get their own stories, as THE ACCIDENTAL SEREPH is merely the beginning of a series. Each of Atlas’s brothers brings his own skills to the table, and even Atlas and Ivy’s newfound powers coalesce into a battle scene that will leave readers wanting more. The brotherly banter is funny, too, like when they try to figure out whom Ivy called a “dipshit” in a misunderstanding that leads to some good laughs. Overall, though the sequels hopefully improve upon this first installment’s weaknesses, the series shows lots of potential.
Maci Aurora’s THE ACCIDENTAL SEREPH is a high-octane fantasy romance of fated mates, daredevil demon hunters, ruthless demons, and steamy moments.
~K. Nesa for IndieReader