Israfil's Future (Celestial Justice #3) by Serena Yates

Story: 6.5
Presentation: 8
Total: 14.5
Publisher: Silver Publishing
GBLT Fantasy
To Purchase

Blurb: What if you’re a police angel used to taking orders but suddenly find yourself facing a situation where you need to think for yourself?

Israfil is an excellent police angel. He doesn’t like checking up on other angels to make sure they follow the dictates of Heaven’s middle management, but he’s very good at it. When a mission goes painfully wrong and he’s faced with prosecution, he’s sure he will be severely punished. Instead, he’s sent to Earth and told to 'get a life'.

Chris is a professor of psychology at Buffalo Community College in Flagstaff, Arizona, who is taking a much needed vacation in the Coconino National Forest. When he goes hiking one day he finds a very naked, very confused man with amnesia in a clearing. The only thing the stranger remembers is that his name is Israfil.

Will the two men be able to solve the riddle of Israfil’s past? And once they do, can they decide what to do about Israfil’s future?

Review: Ms. Yates has a nice style and flow to her writing. It’s a pleasure to read. I liked both Israfil and Chris. I just wished I’d gotten to their story sooner. The first 40 pages (of 117 page story) is setup. I understood the need for more info on Israfil, but I admit I found myself wanting to skim forward, but I didn’t. The first third of the book felt like the story before the story…but keep reading. When you finally get to Chris and Israfil together (much later in the book) it does deliver on a great m/m romance.

I didn’t enjoy Chris’s introduction to the story. A scene is played out then we’re told “three weeks pass.” A little more story is played out, and then it’s written “a week passes.” Finally Chris goes camping and I had to wonder what all the build up was for because it didn’t do much but give an oversized helping of setup that I didn’t enjoy.

But get to page 40 because from there the book is what we all love in m/m romance. Hot, sexy, emotional. Without the front heavy filler this book would have garnered a fantastic review. There is nothing to criticize in the development of the relationship or in the satisfying ending. Chris and Israfil make a compelling couple and the sex between them is hot (the last few pages of the book will overheat your ereader)

I know this is a mixed review. There were some amazing parts to this story and some that just didn’t give me much to get into.