Sympathy for the Devil (Ballad of Fallen Angels #1) by Alex Stevens
Lieutenant Colonel Tyler Graven is a certified genius known as the “Demon of Kyoto” and he specializes in death.
When an assassin attempts to kill pharmaceutical mogul Mortimer Sackler, Tyler becomes the lead suspect and the target of a $100 million dollar hit. To save himself and clear his name, he must hunt down the true killer, a deadly entity known only as The Priest.
Tyler teams up with his former military unit, The Four Horseman, including his brother, crack-shot Corporal Jack Graven, the mysterious Lance Corporal Jin Xialong, and his one-time flame Colonel Diana Levitas. Once, they were an elite fighting team known for completing two of the most successful campaigns against terrorism ever launched. Now, they’ll find themselves locked in a war with The Church, the most influential organization on the planet–and pitted against the supernatural forces of the Underworld itself.
During their mission, Tyler and Jack learn of the legendary Black Muramasa, the Immortal Ending Blade, the only weapon that can destroy immortals such as demons, angels, vampires, seraphim, and nephilim. As they uncover the secrets of the ancient black blade–and their own heritage–they are faced with unforetold powers and infinite evils. If the Four Horsemen succeed, they may save themselves. If they fail, it’ll cost them their sanity, their lives, and even their souls. . .
Here comes an action-packed, gun-slinging fantasy adventure that packs the punch of a military thriller combined with high-stakes supernatural intrigue.
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and here is my honest review. I feel bad rating this book so low because I think the premise is really intriguing, but honestly it was a bit confusing. The books is told from multiple different perspectives and many of the characters have multiple names and references and the names they are called in the story vs. the names on the title of the chapter really threw me off. It took me like a quarter of the book in to confirm who was actually who. Also, the book time jumps and since it was already a bit confusing, I think I would have preferred chronological order.
This book is like a mafia / paranormal crossover, but you don’t actually get much of the paranormal stuff until the end, and when you do, it just creates more questions. I get that it is suppose to add to the mystery of everything, but in all honesty, I wish we would have been given more explanations so I could form opinions, instead of just being a jumble of questions.
I do like two of the main characters, Jack and Tyler, and their complexity of ruthlessness and compassion. I can’t believe how how selfless and caring they were towards each other and their significant others when they were raised with such violence. I think it really showed the bond of brotherhood and sticking together. However, I hated what was done to them and their upbringing, so I cannot, in good conscience, like the many of the other characters so they better have one hell of a redemption arc later on lol.
Overall, I really wish I would have liked this book more because the premise and genre of it are 100% up my alley; the execution just fell a little short for me. Maybe it is just me and I didn’t read between the lines well enough, but I don’t like to be confused for so long while reading. I encourage you guys to give this book a shot, because maybe it was just me? Who knows? Though I will say, I am intrigued to see how everything turns out so I would consider reading the sequel. This book is available on October 20, 2020.
The Travelling Reader 
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