By Balogun Iyanu

Cover Blurb:

Two years ago, Jordan accidentally shot and killed a Seer: a person who can see, hear, and talk to ghosts with unfinished business. Her crime came with a hefty price, too. She has two years to help a hundred souls cross over to the afterlife or her soul is bound for hell. Tough break. As if that weren't bad enough, two days before her deadline a handsome pain-in-the-ass poltergeist named Michael strolls into her life. His soul is the key to her salvation, but the cost just might be more than she can handle. Solving his death puts her right in the crosshairs of Belial: a vain, bloodthirsty archdemon who won't rest until she's his slave. Can she rescue Michael and save her own soul, or will they both be dragged down into the clutches of the eternal black parade? "I didn't have to force myself to finish it. I finished it, because I wanted to, and I put the book I was reading and very much looked forward to aside, so I could read The Black Parade. There is a fine line between cliche and classic, and Black Parade stays just on the right side of that line. We have all the traditional staples of UF: the secret world of angels, demons, and ghosts; an orphan heroine, who will fight against overwhelming odds to help other people but is terrified to let people close; a hot angel; a frightening seductive demon; magic, action, fate of the world hanging in the balance. This doesn't just dip a toe into the stereotypical UF land, it takes a swan dive into the deep water, and I should've bounced off of it, but for some reason this worked for me." -Ilona Andrews, Author of the Kate Daniels and Innkeeper urban fantasy series, March 19, 2018 The Black Parade is also in the Top 300 Books in the 2022 Self Published Fantasy Blog Off Competition.

The Black Parade by Kyoko M. – Book Review

The Book Dragon was given a copy of The Black Parade by Kyoko M, directly from the Author via the Voracious Readers Website in exchange for an honest review.

The Black Parade is “a panorama fantasy perfect for escapism.”

Charged with the task of assisting a hundred roaming souls to cross over from Earth to the afterlife as retribution for killing a man. Jordan is an anti-social strong, witty, woman of Spanish and African American heritage with a viper’s tongue. She is also a waitress that happens to be a kick-ass seer. The story integrates archangels Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, and Uriel, making elements reminiscent of the TV show and film “Ghost Whisper & Constantine”. Hence, readers of Jim Butcher novels will promptly get attracted to this. Jordan has met the hundredth soul, a rock musician named Michael who happens to be a poltergeist who can’t remember anything about himself. Solving his death puts her in a fight against ferocious arch demon Belial, who won’t rest until he takes her soul and she becomes his slave. Jordan must rescue Michael and save her soul to get retribution, or she would be sent to hell with all her efforts to waste.

Kyoko’s writing style is an engaging storytelling artistry with an excellent premise that promises to be addictive. The conspiracy characterization of Jordan’s amusing banter and sexual innuendos with the Archangel might prove disappointing to readers, murdering promising impressions in an episodic array of clichés.

This is a book of escapism that let panorama readers escape into the world of religious fantasy with ambiguous ideology. However, it fails to motivate readers to take its intentions significant, or envision it into reality.

I award, The Black Parade, 4 stars.

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