This is the last book that I bought at the church bazaar, and unsurprisingly, I’m regretting not getting more! But a friend did loan me two of her books, so I still have those and a lot of ebooks to read.

I remember reading and really enjoying The Shadow of the Wind (Goodreads Review), so I was looking forward to reading The Angel’s Game! And luckily for me, I don’t have to remember much of the events in The Shadow of the Wind to enjoy this (although I finally figured out how they are connected) – although now that I read it, the book does feel very similar in tone and style.

The Angel’s Game stars David Martin, a young writer whose big break involves writing Penny dreadfuls under a pseudonym. When a mysterious publisher offers him wealth in order to write a religion, he accepts. And then almost immediately starts to regret it and because of that, starts investigating the house that he has rented and the mysterious death of its owner. 

David is an interesting character. He’s talented at writing and he knows it. He’s also madly in love with Cristina and also in debt to Don Pedro, Cristina’s employer turned husband. His writing is, in part, at least to forget Cristina. But honestly, this love triangle felt a little melodramatic – but this is the part of me that isn’t a huge fan of romance. Because from what I can tell, all three people here like one another, but David is unable to just talk to Pedro properly and that causes him a lot of heartache.

For me, the most interesting yet frustrating part of the book is David’s mysterious writing contract. His employer is clearly supernatural but for some reason, David doesn’t seem to realise it (maybe it’s wilful?). And because of that, he takes what I think are weird decisions that would obviously make his life worse. I’d go so far as to say that most of the trouble in the second half of the book is because David underestimates his boss. 

There is a mystery here and it is connected to David’s writing job, but honestly, the mystery and the supernatural get so tangled up that while I knew what was going to happen even before we entered the final act, I was still confused. It’s just a lot and maybe it’s supposed to mimic David’s confused state of mind, but I wasn’t too fond of how things played out. 

Overall, an interesting book, but not one I liked as much as The Shadow of the Wind. Like I mentioned, I wasn’t fond of the love triangle and the ending was a bit confusing for me. But, it still kept me hooked while reading so if you enjoyed The Shadow of the wind, you’ll probably enjoy this one.