Divine Intervention by RM Virtues is a supernatural romance, one that is part of the Black Rose Auction anthology. I’ve reviewed two other books in the collection and loved them both, so I figured I’d continue on the winning streak.
Keeping in theme with the other Black Rose Auction books, Divine Intervention is a fairytale romance retelling, this time reimagining Goldilocks as a half-witch, half-angel in a polyamorous MMF love story involving her ex’s father and a disillusioned fellow angel.
Tlalli is not at the Black Rose Auction for pleasure. She’s on assignment from the archangels in Heaven, sent to retrieve an ancient chalice with her awful ex Anthony, and Elias, an immortal angel who is over Heaven and everything else. Cahuani, Anthony’s father, is after the same chalice, but on behalf of the demon faction. With a war between Heaven and Hell all but inevitable, tensions are high and loyalties are tested.
While the other Black Rose Auction books I have read and reviewed were all set in a contemporary world, Divine Intervention clearly adds a supernatural element that was a bit jarring. There is a lot of world-building to fit into a book that is around 200 pages, and as a result, there is a ton of information dumped on the reader in the beginning that is overwhelming and tricky to grasp.
The dynamics between Cahuani and Tlalli are well-established from the outset. The attraction is clear, but Elias, while clearly a player in this game, still remains somewhat of a question mark until the very last portion of the book. Even by the end, I didn’t feel as though I had gotten to know any of these characters as well as I would have liked.
The spice goes from zero to sixty very quickly. Tlalli and Cahuani have one conversation and then enter into a business negotiation which concludes with a kinky sex scene. I don’t necessarily have a problem with this, but something about the sex scenes themselves didn’t sit quite right. The movements feel a little unnatural and disconnected.
If you are reading this book for the spice, be prepared to have one of the characters call another one “Papa Bear”, a clear Goldilocks reference, in a sexual context. While I generally love a creative pet name in a sexy scene, this one just felt weird, especially given the whole angels and demons thing. It didn’t fit well enough to justify the discomfort. Maybe Goldilocks just isn’t a good fairytale for a romance retelling.
The framework of this story’s supernatural elements is wonderful, but I found myself wishing there was more time to get my bearings and explore this world of angels and demons. The reader is left with several unanswered questions. Divine Intervention is clearly part of a larger series and universe. Perhaps if readers have already been introduced to this world in other books, the results won’t be quite as disjointed.
I so badly wanted to love this book. I love mythological retellings, and I have always been fond of the fight between angels and demons. The blend of Catholic mythology and indigenous magic is a fascinating layer in this story, but it felt like the author was trying to wedge this expansive universe into a box where it didn’t fit in this anthology.
Leave a Reply