JEGUDIEL (Deadly Virtues #2) by TILLIE COLE

‘They had all been alone for so long. The Fallen had banded together, an unbreakable unit of brotherhood, survivors of a life no one outside of them could ever believe. Their enemy was both hidden from the world yet thriving in plain sight. And these women…they were the same.’

We have been eagerly waiting for the next installment in the Deadly Virtues series by Tillie Cole. Our Dark Queen is back with our next Fallen book; Jegudiel where once again she showed us just how far she’s willing to go to take us outside our comfort zone, down a long dark path of terror, violent retribution, and sickening pasts. But as always, it’s also a path of healing, self-reflection, brotherhood, and redemptive love. We’re yet to read a book by Tillie Cole which we haven’t fallen in book love with, and once again she nailed it, giving us an addictive story, a compelling character connection, leaving us in utter desperation yet feeling hopeful too. This journey is far from over, rather it feels like it’s only truly beginning and we’re here for it, every step of the way.

“What we went through, what those men did to us…There’s no judgment for who we are, how we turned out. They condemned us. They punished us for who we are.”

We talk about our love of anti-heroes a lot, how they always have a hidden vulnerability and through the love of a good heroine find a type of redemption. Now we believe that there’s a fine line between losing that essence of what makes a character an anti-hero and achieving some type of character redemption. We love to see an anti-hero who retains who he is, accepts it, yet when it truly matters, shows that hidden vulnerability and heart. Tillie Cole excels in this, and we love her for that. Her dark romance heroes never lose what makes them uniquely them, they just let their broken hearts show amid their darkness. In fact, the heroines’ in this series celebrates them, supports them, and accepts them. Their unique love adding a softness and light to the darkness.

“I’d follow you straight into hell.”
“You did.”

How fitting that in Jegudiel, the heroine Noa, matches the hero in every way and if anything encourages and strengthens the path he is on. She saw beneath the skin of the violent scarred collared man; she saw the warring with his beast inside and she knew exactly who he truly was. We loved Noa for her strength, her loyalty, her protection, and her innate ability to see Diel for who he is and what he’s repressed from his traumatic past.

“His blood is your blood. His breath is your breath. His thoughts are yours. His needs, his lack of fear, his incredible strength, his fucking roars, they are all you…Embrace him. Protect him. Fucking love him!… You curb the darkness. You wait until you need it. It’s both your shield and your sword. The greatest weapon you will ever possess.”

We felt like suiting up and joining the Fallen on their mission to rid the world of the evil bestowed upon them as children, by The Brethren. The suffering, the atrocities, and the horrific violence are abhorrent and with the revelations in Jegudiel, this series just became so much more and we’re both excited yet apprehensive of what’s to come in this fast-evolving storyline. Tillie Cole really does write dark romance like no other, it is not written just for shock factor, the entire storyline is mapped out like an intricate journey, keeping its momentum, never wavering nor losing its focus or cause. The characters remain true to who they are, whilst adapting to a world where the terror lives in their heads like a continuous playing film reel. Retribution the only focus. We are loving this series!

“My Noa. My witch…My whole fucking world.”