Christina Henry - Black Night

The second book in the Black Wings series, published July 26, 2011.
Genre: urban fantasy
Cover: good



Madeline Black is an Agent of death, meaning she escorts the souls of people who have died to the afterlife. Of course, not everyone is happy to see her...
If obstinate dead people were all that Maddy had to worry about, life would be much easier. But the best-laid plans of Agents and fallen angels often go awry. Deaths are occurring contrary to the natural order, Maddy's being stalked by foes inside and outside of her family, and her two loves-her bodyguard, Gabriel, and her gargoyle, Beezle-have disappeared. But because Maddy is Lucifer's granddaughter, things are expected of her, things like delicate diplomatic missions to other realms.
Dear old granddad wants Maddy to go to the faerie court and negotiate a new land and power treaty. The fallen's last emissary was decapacitated, so it's up to Maddy to keep her head - both literally and figuratively.


Maddie is just flying back home after a job, and some grocery shopping for Beezle, when a strange magical pulse knows out her powers, and she falls out of the sky. Gabriel has no chance to rescue her, but luckily, JB is there. Her former boss and co-worker. But they land right in the middle of a massacre. Something has torn a werewolf to pieces, literally. And in the vicinity, is her grandfather's messenger, another Fallen Angel.
As he needs to discuss something with Gabriel, Maddie and JB are going home, where a nasty surprise awaits them: Antares, Maddie's demonic half brother, who is determined to kill her and take her place in their father's court. With her last powers, Maddie defeats him, but she and JB are badly injured, and then her unwanted fiancée shows up. He recognizes JB immediately, and leaves Maddie laying outside, wounded, while he breaks down her doors to rush JB inside to heal him.
Apparently, JB is her Faery Queen's son, something he neglected to tell her. And that coincides nicely with the message her grandfather has for her: be the next liaison for the Faery Court, and negotiate a treaty. This is a very strange request (and one she cannot decline), as diplomacy is not one of Maddy's skills.

And then Beezle goes missing, more dead werewolves show up, and Gabriel disappears as well. And so she has no choice but to accept Nathaniel as her escort into Faery, as he knows his way around, and JB. Where more and more bad things happen to Maddy, with the most fearsome challenge yet: the Maze. Something no one has survived in a 1000 years … but to get Gabriel back, Maddie will do whatever it takes …


After reading this second book in the series, Christina Henry is firmly on my auto buy list. I absolutely enjoyed this one. It is fresh, it is fun, and full of action and emotion. Especially the time spend in the maze, and the aftermath, is amazing. I loved how she stands up to her father, and shows her spirit. I will be reading book 3 very soon!

9 stars.

© 2015 Reviews by Aurian