Imperfect Angel

by Christi Barth

Overview

Three days ago, all Maisy Norgate had was a stack of bills, about a gazillion jobs, and her sunny-as-hell outlook. Now, thanks to an uncle she never knew about, she’s inherited an ornate skeleton key with absolutely no idea what it’s for—or why she has it. Which is exactly when a ridiculously handsome guy claiming to be an angel shows up at her door and all hell breaks loose…

Nephilim Rhys Boyce cannot believe that Maisy is the new Keeper of the Key. Why would anyone bequeath this warm, bubbly redhead the key to Hell? And to make matters worse, she’s given the key to the first person who asked for it. A demon. Yep, Maisy is determined to make his job—not to mention some seriously inconvenient temptation—as hard as possible.

First a half angel with a very human chip on his shoulder must find a way to convince Maisy that angels and demons do exist. Then Rhys will have to break the really bad news…that she might have accidentally ended the world.

Each book in the Unlocking His Heart series is STANDALONE:
* Imperfect Angel
* Hell of an Angel

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781649372116
Publisher:	Entangled Publishing, LLC
Publication date:	10/25/2022
Series:	Unlocking His Heart , #1
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	1,034,145
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

USA Today bestselling author Christi Barth earned a Masters degree in vocal performance and embarked upon a career on the stage. A love of romance then drew her to wedding planning. Ultimately she succumbed to her lifelong love of books and now writes award-winning contemporary romance, including the Aisle Bound series.

Christi can always be found either whipping up gourmet meals (for fun, honest!) or with her nose in a book. She lives in Maryland with the best husband in the world.

christibarth.com

Editorial Reviews

09/12/2022

For this lighthearted paranormal rom-com, Barth (Hottie on Her Shelf) introduces a trio of Niagara Falls Nephilim (half angels) who doggedly protect humanity from demonic forces. Lately, Rhys Boyce and his team have been extra busy: the Keeper of the Key to the Gates of Hell has died unexpectedly, leaving the key to his mortal niece, recently laid-off art teacher Maisy Norgate. Now working as a cupcake decorator, Maisy always looks for the silver lining, but she’s frustrated by her baffling inheritance from an uncle she never knew. Rhys quickly educates Maisy about her responsibilities to humanity—and it becomes much easier to believe his wild stories after escaped demons try to kill her. It’s Rhys’s task to insure her worthiness as the new Keeper, and though he initially doubts that someone so cheerful and sweet will be able to stand up to the armies of hell, Maisy soon surprises him with her gumption and determination. It’s a cute, breezy take on a classic paranormal setup. Readers will be excited to see all the Nephilim find their matches in the series to come. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

2022-09-07
A struggling artist’s sudden inheritance opens her eyes to a world of angels, demons, and an attractive but curmudgeonly Nephilim in Barth’s paranormal romance.

Maisy Norgate dreams of becoming a full-time painter, but she’s closer to being a starving artist. Working at a coffee shop and rooming with her best friend to help pay the bills don’t seem to be enough to satisfy her: “It was a job, though, so she couldn’t complain….Life was too short to wallow in badness. Better to focus on the good.” One day, Maisy learns she’s inherited something from a recently deceased uncle she never even knew she had, which turns out to be a mysterious skeleton key that comes with a surprising number of strings attached—one of whom is a man named Rhys Boyce. He’s a Nephilim (half-angel, half-man) whose mission is to protect the Keeper of the Key that opens one of the Gates of Hell prisons. But Maisy, his new charge, knows nothing about this dangerous world, so he must convince her that demons are truly out to get her. Maisy accidentally loses the Key and now has a mission she never asked for—and it’s one that could lead to the end of the world. She only has two weeks to complete her transition to becoming a Keeper and to find the Key before all Hell breaks loose. Over the course of this entertaining paranormal romance, Barth ably presents a well-developed, sexy romance between grumpy Rhys and sunshiny Maisy. The overall lightness of the narrative softens any sense that the pair are truly in danger despite the odds stacked against them, the high stakes involved, and the presence of several well-paced action scenes ending in blood. Still, the pair do face the emotional peril of opening their hearts and becoming vulnerable to each other. By the time the finale rolls around, there are a few intriguing narrative threads that remain untied as well as a cast of charming secondary characters that will hopefully reappear in future volumes.

Fans of light supernatural love stories will enjoy this promising series starter.

Kirkus Reviews