Until Next Time by Amy Lignor

Until Next Time by Amy Lignor
Release Date –  February 1, 2012
Publisher Website –  Tribute Books
Publisher Social Media - Twitter
Pages -  255 pages
My Rating- 7/10
**obtained publisher for an honest review**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

How does a girl choose between the one who steals her heart and the one who owns her soul? 

Matt and Emily were created for a specific job. Raised and trained as the ultimate angel/warrior team, they are sent down to save, defend, judge and forgive, depending on the 'life' they've been assigned. What they don't realize is that the power of human emotions, such as love, anger, passion and fear can take over even the best of souls, causing them to make mistakes and follow paths that lead to confusion and heartache.  

When the reason for their training is finally revealed, the angel/warrior team find themselves thrust into a world they know nothing about. Matt takes over the life of Daniel, a young man with a great deal of baggage. Emily becomes Liz, a girl living in a remote village who relies on nothing more than her own strength to survive. A violent storm erupts one night, and framed in the window of Liz's establishment is a frightening face. Let in by the soul of a Good Samaritan, the two visitors bring with them a past full of secrets that could literally change an angel's path and a warrior's plans. 

From murder to redemption, this angel/warrior team must find a way to keep the faith they have in each other in a world that's ripping them apart.

I went into this novel not really knowing what to expect. I had read a great review of it and decided it would be perfect for my angel event.

Amy Lignor has created something really unique and much different from other angel novels out there. Her writing style is intriguing and the novel is certainly wonderfully written. The mythology behind the story was captivating and mostly well thought out.

I have read quite a few angel novels at this point, and I expect most people are aware of the religious undertones they often carry. This novel was one of the more religious I’ve read. It is presented in such a way that I believe even non-religious readers won't be distracted by it.

In the first chapter of the novel we meet a visibly broken Emily.  Matt and  some of the Archangels are trying to convince her to continue her journey and why it’s important that she do. Her faith has been irrevocably shattered and she is convinced to recall the first assignment they had.

Emily and Matt are sent to earth to save, defend, judge and/or forgive depending on the purpose they are sent there for. They each are sent to earth in place of a human, but  are not given any memories of their angel life. They must not be tainted, act with their minds open and listen to their hearts. The memory glitch means Emily and Matt will not know each other down there.

The “triangle” aspect of the novel worked for me. I didn’t even feel it was a triangle. We are told that Matt and Emily are “soul mates” and are meant for each other. Emily, as Liz, does not recognize this and ends up opening her heart to a young man named Jason. I didn’t feel the connect with Matt and Emily. It felt like a sibling relationship rather than romantic. Jason and Liz (Emily) had chemistry and a spark.

The characters were all quite likable. It was easy to sympathize with Emily and how she was feeling. Jason, Charles are Faith are all great characters. Faith and Charles provided some humour throughout the novel. Faith was a fiery, driven young woman that knew what she wanted and a wonderful friend to Liz. Charles was presented as this cheeky, fun loving guy with a dark part. Jason was caring, patient, but haunted by his past.

The message that redemption and forgiveness is never out of the question, and that love is worth taking the risk for are ones that everyone can relate to. It’s a powerful message that certainly stays with you.
The only drawback, for me, was that certain things are left unexplained and while these things may be explored in subsequent novels, I wish I had known more. I enjoyed the set up for the second novel immensely. This is the story of Emily and Matt’s first “life on earth and the ending hints at a much more heart-wrenching second “life” that is the cause of the devastated Emily we meet in the beginning of the novel.

A wonderfully written novel that I wished at times would have dived a little more into the backstory. It left me curious, intrigued and willing to read it’s sequel. If you’re looking for something different in the angel genre, this certainly will provide that.

Until Next Time by Amy Lignor - Blog Tour - Q and A

Today officially kicks off my two week angel event.

I am happy to welcome Amy Lignor to my blog with a fantastic Question and Answer for the first post in this event.

If you want more details about her novel you can find them by going to the official website. You can also near more by visiting the author's blog.

To purchase the book you can visit the following -

Kindle buy link
Nook buy link
PDF buy link

1) Describe Until Next Time in 3 words.

Unique. Dark. Light.

2) What would you say was the most influential in shaping the story of Until Next Time?

Locations, wardrobe, customs - these are all important when it comes to this series - however, my relationship with Emily and Matt is the most influential part of the tale. I had to go as in-depth as I possibly could with these characters, because they really are the yin and yang that represents every single person on this planet.

With every bit of cynicism that Emily shows - and this is a girl who actually knows that her ‘home’ is real but begins to disbelieve - she also has to show a loyal bond to the people who have taught and raised her. She’s the side of the team who has to listen, understand and protect others, while fighting the fact that she doesn’t really like them all that much. Emily is dark, even though she’s the ‘lightest, most forgiving’ facet of the angel/warrior team.

On the flipside, when it comes to Matt, our ‘relationship’ also had to be in-depth. Matt is the warrior, therefore he’s the defender and killer, if need be, in certain situations. His conscience is heavy with the fact that he has committed errors that harm other people, yet he still remains the most light-hearted of the two.

Dark and light have to blend well with the angel/warrior team, because I truly didn’t want this series to be seen as a YA that’s simply a paranormal love triangle. I very much wanted my characters to be real, and speak to all ages. Yes, there’s humor and fun, but when they’re human they have to deal with the same things we all do which, hopefully, allows the readers to identify with them.

3) How would Matt describe Emily?

Matt Says:

Boy, is she strong! I pick up my blade to thrust and parry, and wipe out the evil in front of me because I was trained to be better than the enemy. Yet, Em can simply walk into a room and, with one stare, I’ve seen the enemy falter and lose. Her strength comes from such an incredible soul, I can’t tell you. Her mind is going constantly, questioning everything that she knows and everything we’re learning. She tries to separate the good from the bad so she can put everyone first, even though she really needs someone to talk to. We’ve gone through it all, with so much more to come, that I can tell you Em has been an annoying sister, a true friend, a partner who will never give up on me, my protector, and the one part of any of my lives that I never want to lose. Without Em, well…that’s when my Hell comes.

4) What drew you to writing about angels?

Readers of the blog tour will probably get bored of this answer (J), but Matt came to me during a time in my teenage years when I was hurting and questioning everything. Matt was a young man in my mind who still had that fire and energy that all us ‘young people’ were supposed to have. He looked at the world with wide eyes and wanted nothing more than to be among people. Even though this is someone who came from perfection, he viewed the imperfections of earth as the real Paradise. As I matured, Matt became a past ‘memory’ that helped see me through a really tough time, but when I lost my father at too young of an age, this friend returned - and I thought it was time to tell his story.

5) What sort of research did you do for this novel?

As far as the ‘up above,’ there was really no study, except for my favorite place where Emily and Matt love to go. That incredible library is based on my favorite place - the NYPL (and if I could’ve placed Patience and Fortitude somewhere in there I would have J). When I speak about Ireland, how the bar is carved, the way the community gets together and treats each other as a family with their heroes and villains - all the way to the Dublin streets - came from research I have done with sites such as, UNESCO. I have an adult adventure series (Tallent & Lowery) where each book ‘links’ three historical places, so I’ve had the privilege of studying everything from the Irish world to Petra to Alexandria. My mother is a career research librarian, so delving into history, myths, legends, ancient customs, etc., is one of my favorite things to do!

Thank you Amy for stopping by. Look for a review of Until Next Time on April 5th.