Extinguish by J.M. Darhower

One...Two...Three...Four.

I declare war

Serah always believed the world around her was perfect. As a Power-one of the warrior angels-she has spent her entire existence defending the innocent from evil. After tragedy strikes and tears her brother Samuel from her life, she's given the task of stopping the approaching apocalypse before it's too late. There is only one tiny little problem, she has to venture into Hell to do it. Lucifer has been biding his time in Hell, longing for revenge against those who oh-so-easily cast him into the pit. When the heavenly beauty shows up at his gate, he's just as captivated by her presence as she becomes of him. The attraction between them is strong, and Serah's willpower slowly slips. How can this scarred Archangel be the one trying desperately to destroy the world she so loves? As the war wages on, the world entwined with chaos, Serah starts questioning everything she ever knew. When the light and dark, hot and cold finally collide, she has to make a choice-a choice that will set her world on fire, black and white exploding into colourful flames. 

I don't know where to even begin with this beautiful story. I just loved it so much I couldn't even stop to explore the techniques used or to analyse any of the scenes because I was just so enraptured with the entire novel. I did not stop reading for one second until it was sadly over because the perfect combination of characters, settings and story-line kept me in my bed smiling like an idiot most of the time. It was just such a heart-warming yet desolating story that nothing would have kept me from finishing it, not even the apocalypse. This is a story of the greys in between the perfect heaven and the worst hell, about two star-crossed lovers who seek redemption in each-other, and family, whose ties may be frayed, but never forgotten. Betrayal, love, sacrifice and hope, one of the best combinations of themes within any story, and Extinguish has these in spades. I would recommend this book to everyone, because you can't help but be inspired by it even a tiny bit.  Now I need the next book because you cannot leave people hanging like that, it's beyond cruel. 

Rating: 5/5 Archangels

"The world isn't always black and white. Sometimes it's grey, and sometimes that grey explodes into colours you never knew existed before."