The Muse
Angels and Demons, Book 2
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The Muse
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Narrated by:
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Zachary Johnson
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Liam DiCosimo
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By:
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Emma Scott
About this listen
Cole Matheson didn't think the road to being a successful painter would be paved in gold, but he hoped there'd be fewer potholes.
Insidious self-doubt that whispers that he's no good, talentless, and hopeless has him on the brink of despair. Maybe it would be better to just give up. A midnight visitation by a beautiful creature of darkness changes everything…
Ambrosius Edward Meade-Finch surrendered to darkness centuries ago after knowing only pain and suffering during his short life. Now, Ambri makes humans dance on his strings, feeding on their desire for his own pleasure.
When his liege lord questions his loyalty and commands him to bring a human soul into their dark realm, Ambri thinks Cole Matheson seems like an easy mark. But Ambri didn't count on his goodness or the depth of his generous soul that wants Ambri just as he is. Cole never expected to find in Ambri a muse who unlocks his talent and might also be who his lonely heart has been searching for. Something fragile yet powerful grows between them, and the possibility of soul-deep love hangs in the balance—if only they have the courage to reach for it.
Fairy tale endings don't come without a price. The dark forces Ambri answers to have been promised a soul, and they're coming to collect…
From USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Emma Scott comes an emotional, paranormal love story of sacrifice, redemption, and the power of love over darkness.
The Muse is book two in the Angels and Demons series but can be enjoyed as a complete standalone.
©2023 Emma Scott Books, LLC (P)2023 Podium AudioListeners also enjoyed...
Slightly better than book 1
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A love story through the veil
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I wanted to like The Muse more than I did. The premise – a struggling artist meets a broodingly beautiful demon who becomes his artistic muse and the love of his life; the demon wreathed in darkness meets a truly good and generous man who loves him exactly as he is - is a really good one and I had high hopes for the story - but sadly, they were not met. The author does some things really well; Cole’s doubts and fears and his descent into depression feel very real, and I felt for Ambri, who has gone through some truly traumatic experiences and who, despite being well aware of his physical beauty, has learned through bitter experience that he’s not the sort of person others fall in love with or want to keep around. But the biggest problem with the book is that it’s not sure what it wants to be. It tries to be dark and angsty, but isn’t; it has a lot of dark themes, and should feel weightier than it does, but it doesn’t. Cole is likeable but bland, although I did like the way he refused to let Ambri turn away from the love and affection he wanted to give him, and while Ambri is the more interesting character of the two, he’s not so much demonic as he is bitter and sharp-tongued. I assume that over the three hundred or so years of his existence he must have done some really bad stuff, but we never see any of it, so I never really believed he’d ever be able to go through with his plan to ruin Cole. (It reminded me of all those ‘rogues’, ‘scoundrels’, ‘rakes’ and ‘devils’ in historicals who are never seen behaving badly on the page!)
The chemistry between Cole and Ambri is decent, but the romance is pretty insta-love-y. There are a couple of moments that tug at the heartstrings in the later part of the book, but for a novel billed as an “emotional” romance, I didn’t feel there was much of an emotional connection between the characters, and I never felt connected to them either. I enjoyed the final chapters the most – Ambri has always known he doesn’t have infinite time to comply with Ashmodai’s demands, but as he realises he’s running out of time to save Cole the pacing picks up and things start to get really interesting – only for the climax to be rushed and more of a damp squib than fireworks. And the reveal of the guardian angel is overkill.
Zachary Johnson (who deserves ALL the stars!) delivers a wonderfully nuanced performance and could - should - have narrated this solo. As it is, his co-narrator is just not up to the same high standard. Liam DiCosimo is great as Cole - but as Ambri, he sounds like a stuffy, fifty-something professor rather than a gorgeous sex-god who can drive people mad with desire. His English accent is awful, and his attempts at a French one aren't any better.
Doubt I'll be returning to this one.
The perils of dual narration
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