4.5 Stars

I really enjoyed the book. I loved the concepts and how they were presented with the Principality, demons and the arch angels. I appreciated the fast pacing of the book. As well as the build of two great characters, Thomas and Elijah, and their relationship. I was captivated by Thomas’ internal struggle and the storytelling. Where Demons Reside was an engaging, thought provoking read and definitely left a positive impression on me.

After the Fall, a book about grief, drowning in it and how to possibly heal from it and the unexpected glimmer of hope from choosing to keep living.

I believe this book does a wonderful job of building up the characters. Gabriel Fox has gone through a lot; I was attached to him by the opening scene. Rooting for his happiness and getting better. Celebrating all his victories and tearing up with him during the heavy moments.

June Calloway was a mystery character that I was wary off, worried about how her actions and presences would affect Gabriel’s healing. Always holding her at a distance to see if she would prove herself.

Overall, After the Fall is a mid to quick pace book, covering some sensitive topics attempting suicide, murder, and car accidents. Something that Henry D. Parrish Jr. was able to write in a mature way that add to the book and had a more impact on the reader and had a way to move the reader to really connect with the characters and the book. The suspense between pages had me more eager to turn the page and read as fast as possible

I would be interested in a longer Epilogue that is spaced out years after the story ended to get more happy closure from Gabriel. Or I would be excited to see June Calloway and read about her taking on her next investigation, maybe dragging Gabriel along to help her.

A compelling tale that was descriptive and really caught my attention and was a page turner. I was attractive to the book due to the cover and the promise of romance and adventure with mythology. The book really delivered in telling Lorcan's journey and made me care and root for his success. I absolutely look forward to the next installment!

This book drew me in with due to the LGBTQIA+ tag, fantasy tag, and the mention of queer disability joy. I would say that this book delivered that and so much more.

This is definitely one of my top books of 2025. It was a cozy fantasy and I’m big on cozy genre of things and took a chance with the fantasy aspect and glad I did.

I adore the characters and the idea of the story, where bad feelings can manifest with wild magic. The ending was sweet, I wish there was more in the sense of I wasn’t ready to put the book down or leave the characters just yet. I think it was a beautiful word setting, with some minor hiccups but nothing that shattered the world or reality for me.

This is a one-of-a-kind book and I hope to see more from Michael Coolwood, whether it is building off of this book and a series or launching into another cozy adventure.

The book at first was a little weird. I think some of the preface could be easily written into the story than info dumped but with that said, I think the author needed time to build everything up.

Around page 60, was the turning point for me. Almost half way through and I couldn’t put the book down. I had made my assumptions and what I thought would happen so I was surprised and excited when I was wrong!

I think the story could benefit from being longer. I craved more than the ending I got. I think this is good bones, especially once it felt like the author was in their element and crafting the story.

Overall, I do think it’s a decent read, it’s a quick read as well. Moral gray characters and the LGBT was a bit trope. I would love to see more of the story, more before than the info dump in the beginning. I’m definitely interested in seeing what comes nexts!