Children of Shadows

Simmonds ties up loose ends in the bloated but entertaining final installment to her Indigo Chronicles series (after Son of Secrets). Fallen angel Lucifer (aka “Luci”) seeks out Nephilim—half-human, half-angel teenagers—to complete her spell to bring down archangel Mikhael, the misogynist leader of the angelic realm. While building this Nephilim army, Luci also continues to search for her son, Zadkiel—but he wants nothing to do with her. Meanwhile, Zadkiel pines for his paramour, Ella, whom he believes died in an accident six years ago. But Ella is alive and secretly raising Indigo, her and Zadkiel’s daughter, who struggles to control her magical faculties while working to discover her true identity. Now all four must heal past wounds if they hope to put an end to Mikhael’s hold over humankind. Simmonds exhaustively narrates Luci’s adventures throughout different historical eras while building an expansive world. Though she succeeds at crafting a gripping, multifaceted plot, the characters themselves are two-dimensional, and the denouement feels both jarring overly drawn-out. Despite these shortcomings, this proves a satisfying conclusion with plenty to enjoy. (July)