ANGELOLOGY by Danielle Trussoni, 2010.

When I read several reviews of this, I was really interested: intriguing premise, some history, a quest, action, and interesting characters. And while I did enjoy the story, unfortunately, it felt as though the pace was off. The whole middle section, which was a flashback, seemed somewhat slow and heavy. The last third of the book was very enjoyable; however, the ending left me a bit dissatisfied. In a nutshell, the novel concerns the Nephilim (offspring of angels and humans, mentioned in Genesis) and angelologists (scholars who study and track angels), and the ancient (and continuing) conflicts between them. For the Nephilim are not very nice--they are beautiful, powerful, monstrous creatures whose total desire is to subvert humans to evil and encourage war and oppression. They have infiltrated high levels of society and are deadly, but their power is weakening due to a mysterious debilitating condition they aren't able to cure, and this has led them to search for Orpheus' lyre, an instrument that is supposed to possess unimaginable power, and the angelologists are in all-out battle mode to stop them. The main character, Sister Evangeline of the St. Rose Convent, a young woman with many questions about her past, is drawn into this situation by a researcher who is unknowingly working for one of the Nephilim. As the story unfolds and Evangeline discovers more about her past and realizes what her role in the current events really is, the pressure is on and the situation crucial. I found the writing and pacing be rather uneven in spots, very smooth and exciting in parts but slow in much of it. I liked the story on the whole, but perhaps it would have been better if it had been more tightly written and faster paced.