Land of the Beautiful Dead

"<strong>Beautiful guilty pleasure </strong><br/><br/>Well that is three for three for R. Lee Smith. I have yet to find a book from her that I didn't enjoy. My guilty pleasures if you will. The very beginning of this book was quite vague but since I knew the author I also knew it wouldn't last. She has a way with details and amazing character arcs. I quickly became immersed in the plot.<br/><br/>Lan of course as with all of the female main characters this author portrays is amazing and self sufficient. I enjoyed her quick tounge and brass nature. Azrael's character conflicted me immensely. The world is not as black and white as people believe. In a normal lifespan you are subject to certain flaws and realities. But what if you lived forever? If every look or touched you recieved was full of hate and disgust? For all these things I could not fault him for his reasonings. When you look at a tyrant or a monster to them their thoughts are pure and sound. There is truth behind the madness.<br/><br/>Really let yourself consider the possibilities. If humans were gone tomorrow the world would not suffer in the slightest. It would take millennia but even so the planet would repair itself, become greater than it once was. We are a plague and destroy everything we touch. So from that prospective is Azrael's way so unthinkably wrong? The best stories are the ones that shatters your perspective and pieces it back together again.<br/><br/>R. Lee Smith's words have a way of eating at you and conflicting your emotions. I could never get a good grip on what was right and wrong. Yes Azrael killed. Does it count against him if he was provoked? I personally could forgive him of all his faults. The world is cruel and his life long. He wanted to make it a better place even if it meant destroying humanity. Also the humans needed someone to blame for their actions and who better than a unholy monster. He didn't deserve it. I understand now that's what I have always loved about Smith's books. She teaches you to look beyond the differences of others. You may see a monster, a creature, but you forget the soul beneath. It only takes one act of kindness. Do not presume to now when you dare not look behind the mask.<br/><br/>The writing was very atmospheric to me. It always felt as though the world was at an end and so many details that the story played out before my eyes. It did seem long at times but I enjoyed it all the same. I was unsure how much more my heart could break in this book. I became so invested in the characters I was physically depressed at times. Just couldn't stop reading though. The writer makes everything so real it hurts.<br/><br/>I won't lie, the covers of Smith's books are nothing great to look at. I wonder if it is a test of sorts to see beyond the exterior. Well I have passed and came out better for it. As always I have enjoyed her writing and will continue till she has nothing left to give.<br/><br/>(Reading music)<br/>Artist: Bensound<br/>Track: Ofelia's dream"

"very intense slow burn romance "