Oracle of Philadelphia by Elizabeth CorriganEarthbound Angels #1
Publisher: Red Adept Publishing
Released: March 20th, 2013
Carrie works at a diner in South Philadelphia, dispensing advice to humans and angels wise enough to seek her counsel. But there are some problems that even the best advice can’t solve.
Her latest supplicant, Sebastian, is unique among those who have sought her aid. He sold his soul to a demon in exchange for his sister’s life, but his heart remains pure.
Carrie has lived for millennia with the knowledge that her immortality is due to the suffering of others, and she cannot bear to see another good man damned when it is within her power to prevent it.
In order to renegotiate his contract, Carrie must travel into the depths of hell and parley with the demons that control its pathways. As the cost of her journey rises, Carrie must determine how much she is willing to sacrifice to save one good soul.
Taken from Goodreads
Start: 3/17/2014 | End: 3/24/2014 | Pages: 222 | Rating: 3.5 Stars
My Thoughts:
I received an e-copy of this book from the publisher.
I had a couple of first impressions from looking at the cover and reading the summary of Oracle of Philadelphia. One: that the cover looks absolutely amazing, so dark and mysterious. Two: There's definitely going to be romance between Carrie and Sebastian. Three: This is going to be one heck of an adventure, traveling through the depths of hell.
My impressions, or my assumptions in this case, didn't do anything for me. There were some things I loved about the story and I wouldn't have had it any other way. On the other hand, some things could have been better.
When I first started reading, I immediately was hooked. I remember thinking in the beginning, "wow, I could definitely rate this 4-5 stars." I don't know about you guys, but I am a sucker for funny, historical retellings. The fact that our main character is over six thousand years old proves to be an amazing tool to use for storytelling. Corrigan uses this to her advantage, flashing back to her life in Egypt, Greece, and Ancient Mesopotamia. Even though she doesn't provide as much detail as I would've liked, who has the time to research all that stuff anyways? And then in come all the angels and "fallen angels" interacting with each other, and POOF, it's gold.
Some parts were actually, pretty hilarious, and fit straight in the context of the bible. Since I used to go to Sunday School when I was younger, it was very relatable
Yes, so basically, Carrie, or Khet, or whatever her real name is, is friends with Gabriel, an angel, and Bedlam, a demon. Each angel specializes in something, like mercy, glory, etc. Michael became the main angel to God after Lucifer rebelled against Him.
I'm not sure how I feel about Carrie. Since she's lived for more than 6000 years, she constantly changes her name, so the name Carrie is associated with her working at the diner in Philadelphia, which is the present time. I actually went into the book not knowing that it was YA fantasy. So you know what I did? I envisioned her to be around 30 years old. I don't know why I did, but I did.
And then halfway through the book she mentions her real age is 16.
Wait a minute, Goodreads labels this as adult fantasy/paranormal. I'm confused.
Well whatever! This is besides the point, because the halfway point is where my interest started to drift off. Because first off, I did not understand the intentions of Carrie going into hell, risking her life, to try to rescue Sebastian, someone she met for about 20 minutes. She literally just assumed, "oh, he's waaaaay to nice and good to be in hell. I gotta save him! I have to do something this time!"
No, but what really annoyed me the most, was the ending of Carrie's journey through hell. Again, I don't want to spoil anything for anyone who also got this in exchange for a review, but I'm warning you now!
Here I am, reading, excited what's going to happen between Azarael, the one who made the deal with Sebastian for his soul in the first place, and Carrie, and nothing happens. There's no intense scene, or fight scene, between the people protecting Carrie, and the demon herself. Everything is magically solved in the end. The whole journey to hell, and the build-up resulting from that, was a complete waste. Like okay. If that's how it's gonna be. Maybe this is one of those books where the journey is emphasized rather than the outcome.
Other than that, I really enjoyed reading through the flashbacks, and the journey through hell. I wish more of my questions were answered, like why did Lucifer "treasure" Carrie so much, or how Carrie got the power of reading minds and emotions. I'm not sure who I would recommend this to, though. I still enjoyed reading it though.
I had a couple of first impressions from looking at the cover and reading the summary of Oracle of Philadelphia. One: that the cover looks absolutely amazing, so dark and mysterious. Two: There's definitely going to be romance between Carrie and Sebastian. Three: This is going to be one heck of an adventure, traveling through the depths of hell.
My impressions, or my assumptions in this case, didn't do anything for me. There were some things I loved about the story and I wouldn't have had it any other way. On the other hand, some things could have been better.
When I first started reading, I immediately was hooked. I remember thinking in the beginning, "wow, I could definitely rate this 4-5 stars." I don't know about you guys, but I am a sucker for funny, historical retellings. The fact that our main character is over six thousand years old proves to be an amazing tool to use for storytelling. Corrigan uses this to her advantage, flashing back to her life in Egypt, Greece, and Ancient Mesopotamia. Even though she doesn't provide as much detail as I would've liked, who has the time to research all that stuff anyways? And then in come all the angels and "fallen angels" interacting with each other, and POOF, it's gold.
Some parts were actually, pretty hilarious, and fit straight in the context of the bible. Since I used to go to Sunday School when I was younger, it was very relatable
"Gabriel's eyes looked as though they might pop out of his head. "What did you do, Bedlam?"
Bedlam shrugged. "I added a few angels flying in the sky. And they sang happy things. Gloria in excelsis Deo and such. Totally in keeping with the theme."
Yes, so basically, Carrie, or Khet, or whatever her real name is, is friends with Gabriel, an angel, and Bedlam, a demon. Each angel specializes in something, like mercy, glory, etc. Michael became the main angel to God after Lucifer rebelled against Him.
I'm not sure how I feel about Carrie. Since she's lived for more than 6000 years, she constantly changes her name, so the name Carrie is associated with her working at the diner in Philadelphia, which is the present time. I actually went into the book not knowing that it was YA fantasy. So you know what I did? I envisioned her to be around 30 years old. I don't know why I did, but I did.
And then halfway through the book she mentions her real age is 16.
Wait a minute, Goodreads labels this as adult fantasy/paranormal. I'm confused.
Well whatever! This is besides the point, because the halfway point is where my interest started to drift off. Because first off, I did not understand the intentions of Carrie going into hell, risking her life, to try to rescue Sebastian, someone she met for about 20 minutes. She literally just assumed, "oh, he's waaaaay to nice and good to be in hell. I gotta save him! I have to do something this time!"
No, but what really annoyed me the most, was the ending of Carrie's journey through hell. Again, I don't want to spoil anything for anyone who also got this in exchange for a review, but I'm warning you now!
Here I am, reading, excited what's going to happen between Azarael, the one who made the deal with Sebastian for his soul in the first place, and Carrie, and nothing happens. There's no intense scene, or fight scene, between the people protecting Carrie, and the demon herself. Everything is magically solved in the end. The whole journey to hell, and the build-up resulting from that, was a complete waste. Like okay. If that's how it's gonna be. Maybe this is one of those books where the journey is emphasized rather than the outcome.
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I totally pictured Carrie about 30 too, but when she said the 16 year old thing I sort of ignored it, because she has lived for so long, I figured she must look like an adult and she definitely has enough life experience lol
ReplyDeleteLove the quote you used, that part literally made me chuckle.
Totally agree with you about the journeys to hell, they didn't work for me.
Hahahaha I totally ignored it too. When I read that she was 16, I was like what. How. It makes sense historically, but I just didn't wrap my mind around it.
DeleteI am really excited to read this one! Glad for your forewarning though!
ReplyDeleteMissie @ A Flurry of Ponderings