Author: Devyn Sinclair

Series: War of Heavenly Fire

First Published: 27 October 2020

“You belong in Haven, I won’t be the monster who drags you to Hell.”

I will start by saying that I wI will start by saying that I was given an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. Thank so much Devyn and the team over Chaotic Creatives for sending a copy my way!

This is a sequel; I will try and keep my review as spoiler free as possible but just be wary if you haven’t read first book, Queen of Darkness.

She sacrificed everything to save them. Now they’ll risk it all to save her.

Betrayal has consequences, and the price is my life.

Tortured every day for my betrayal, I’d choose it again if it meant the angels I love are safe. No matter the cost.

I don’t deserve their rescue, but my angels come for me anyway, risking the entire world to save my life.

Even though I’m free, Hell will never stop hunting me, and never stop trying to destroy Heaven. We have to end this.

But ending the war means going back to Hell once again, and this time, I may never come back.

Wow, this was an emotional rollercoaster. Thankfully Queen of Torment picks up right where Queen of Darkness left off. The way Devyn Sinclair was able to explore Arielle’s pain and trauma was hauntingly beautiful and felt authentic.

Arielle is back in Hell and has spent months facing endless torture after she failed her mission to save the Holy Trinity. Her body has been desensitised to feel nothing but pain. While we do see some on-page violence, it’s not too gory since Cassian is there to stop things from getting too bad. Also, we are in Arielle’s point of view, and she’s trying to focus on why she’s here and is justifying her choice. Thankfully, The Holy Trinity rocks up and manages to help Arielle escape within the first few chapters.

Most of this novel explores Arielle’s healing process. I adore how each of the angels’ supports Arielle to heal. Surprisingly, Sol is ready to jump back into their relationship. The way he held her and said that he would be her walls so Arielle could break down and grieve melted my heart. Kai is the one who’s hesitant to jump back into the relationship after her betrayal in the Queen of Darkness. He’s equal parts hurt by her betrayal and devastated that they didn’t come for her sooner knowing what torture she endured. Even though this is a short book, I loved the way Devyn took the time to explore these complex feelings.

Then we have Cassian, whose oath to serve the ruler of Hell means he can’t be with Arielle without risking her life. We find out what caused Cassian to fall and, honestly, just raises more questions. Cassian stopped further corruption even if he did commit a crime against Heaven and the holy fire by killing the previous Holy Trinity. This creates a truce of sorts between Cassian and Sol, Atlas and Kai.

Also, from learning about Cassian’s past, we uncover more about angel lore and the holy fire. We discover that Arielle might be the only person who can take on the Infernal Flame and the ruler of hell, which is harrowing, especially after what she has escaped. I adore that Sol, Atlas and Kai are willing to find another way because they do not want to risk her life again. But Arielle is a stronger woman than I am – I would 100% let the angles protect me and find another way – and she pushes aside her own feelings and safety to risk her life to end the war.

The ending was wild and another cliffhanger, so you better believe I will be diving into the final book, Queen of Annihilation, right away because I need to know what will happen to Arielle and her angels. I think now that Nissa is Queen of Hell, things are about to get 1000 times worse for Arielle and her guys.