Carrie has the ability to read thoughts. She is human but immortal, having been cursed by Lucifer eight thousand years earlier. Of necessity, she is pretty much a loner as it is frustrating that, with all her special abilities, she is rarely able to effect a more desirable outcome for those who are suffering. She tries to hide her abilities, even going as far as hiring a stand-in psychic to greet supplicants in her place. Carrie has one true friend Bedlam. Bedlam is a fallen angel who is quite protective of Carrie but who also loves to create mischief. He adds humor and fun to a book that otherwise might have become dark and depressive. The rapport between Carrie and Bedlam just shines. I love that they are so supportive of each other. When Carrie meets Sebastian she recognizes he has a rare, truly selfless soul; she sets out to help him despite the high personal cost she must agree too. During the course of the story the reader learns more about Carrie through short flashbacks. I particularly enjoyed these short journeys back in time. This is a rollicking adventure that twists biblical beliefs with sometimes disturbing creativity challenging readers to take a different view of demons and angels, the damned and divine.This book was given to me in exchange for my honest review.Reviewed by Laurie-J I received a complimentary copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.Epic! That's the first word I thought of after reading this book. The author is awesome! Twisting the bible stories yet still retaining the generally accepted facts and mixing it with mythology is truly brilliant. This is the first book I've read from the author and I'm pretty sure I'll be reading her other books after tasting her unique narration of angels and demons in this book.The narration is in the heroine's POV, but it is also in the POV of the other characters since she can read minds, lol. The setting is in modern times in Philadelphia but most of the story narrates about the past in different historical times and about the heroine's hell visits.One of the reasons I loved this book is the author's portrayal of the immortal characters. The angels and demons were not written in black and white. Unlike the stereotype good angels and evil demons, the angels in this book were self-righteous and think highly of themselves. The demons, on the other hand, were more human in terms of their emotions. Even though most were evil I can't hate them much since they still have some redeeming qualities.Our heroine, presently called Carrie, also known as the Oracle, goes by many different names depending on the time and the place where she's living. She's an immortal and she's 8000 years old, cursed by Satan to live forever in exchange for 10 human souls (not her fault, though). I like her character. She's wise, strong, loyal to her friends (Bedlam and Gabriel), and is willing to do what she thinks is right or for the best.My favorite character in the book is Bedlam, or Azazel when he was still an angel. He's the Demon of Chaos. He's trying to be good in his own ways but is somehow causing more trouble than good. He's really funny and tries to make his life and Khet's (Carrie's other name) life livelier with his antics. In the book, he's responsible for some of the things that happened in the bible, which were really funny. He's Khet's loyal best friend and he's always there for her. Honestly, this book would have been boring if not for Bedlam's character.The plot was brilliant. I especially loved the heroine's travels to hell. Her conversations with the archdemons were entertaining, but not in a funny way. It was always a battle of wits between the heroine and the demon. I ended up liking the demons more than I liked the angels (with the exception of Gabriel, of course).The ending was a bit predictable, but not. Lol! Just when you thought you had it all figured out, the author throws in something that makes you say WTH?!! Another biblical story twisted by the author and it was amazing.Overall, this is 4.5 for me. I really enjoyed the book and I'm hoping I can read the next book soon. Hats off to the author! I was really impressed by the imagination and creativity in this book. The writing is also excellent. Even though the plot is a little complicated, with so many characters and so many things going on, the readers won't have a hard time understanding the story. Some parts were a bit anachronistic (like Bedlam's lingo in ancient Egypt) but I figured the author did it on purpose for added entertainment.I would recommend this to anyone who loves to read. But most especially to Paranormal, UF and Fantasy fans. This is a book worth your time and money.
What do You think about Oracle Of Philadelphia (2013)?
