The Taken: Celestial Blues Book Review

The Taken: Celestial Blues by Vicki Pettersson

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Blurb:

Griffin Shaw used to be a PI, but that was back when gunshoes hoofed the streets...and he was still alive. Fifty years later, he's an angel, but that doesn't make him a saint. One small mistake has altered fate, and now he's been dumped back into the mortal mudflat to collect another soul - Katherine "Kit" Craig, a journalist whose latest investigation is about to get her clipped.

Bucking heavenly orders, Grif refuses to let the sable-haired siren come to harm. Besides, protecting her offers a chance to solve the mystery of his own unsolved murder - and dole out some overdue payback for the death of his beloved wife, Evie.

Joining forces, Kit and Grif's search for answers leads beyond the blinding lights of the Strip into the dark heart of an evil conspiracy. But a ruthless killer determined to destroy them isn't Grif's biggest threat. His growing attraction to Kit could cost them both their lives, along with the answer to the haunting question of his long afterlife...

Review by Brittany:

One of the things I first noticed about this book was the quirky banter that Grif has with the other characters. I love when dialogue is enjoyable at the same time as doling out the necessary information. He's also kind of a hard character, very much known for his lack of sensitivity, especially considering how close he is to those who are on the edge of death.

The news that Grif is going to have to watch kit die was an intense and surprising opening to the story, and it sets high stakes for the rest of the book.

Parts of the book were surprisingly emotional, like when Kit is dealing with the death of a friend at the beginning of the book. Her grief is made palpable by just a few sentences on the author's part, but it's enough to give her some depth as a character. Even Grif is given some fleeting moments when he shows some sincerity and some heart throughout the book, which is a nice change of pace from him being insensitive and makes him more of a three-dimensional character.

I also enjoyed the slow burn between Kit and Grif. Even though it's made quite obvious that feelings are developed, it's not a plotline that gets immediately jumped into, which is refreshing after reading so many books where the attraction of feelings are immediate.

My one complaint is that I felt like the author took an easy way out, giving the readers a happy ending instead of doing the hard thing and possibly making them sad. The author changes the foundation of what Grif is, and I think it will be interesting to see how that progresses throughout the series.

Overall, I do think this was a really good book that was well-written, and I would be interested in reading more in the series.

Notable quotes:

But how was she to be alone with this grief?

It was odd, Grif thought. He knew what she looked like close to death, close to naked, close to him...yet didn't really know her at all.

What was it about this generation that they needed to be so connected?

But she was exhausted, too. Tired of lukewarm relationships, tired of feeling hope only to be let down.

"That's the human condition, Anne. As long as you're alive, you're dying."

"Being single," she corrected, "is about hope. It's about the future...the person you might meet at Starbucks or online or in the next aisle at the grocery store. But being married is about the past. How you met, what choices you made early on when there were still choices to make."