I need to praise T. Frohock's writing!

I've been hearing a lot about Where Oblivion Lives this past year and it was one of those books that seemed to be totally up my alley. Angels? Demons? Music? Hell to the yes! I was absolutely on board with that. I, however, did not heed the advice of others and jumped right to Where Oblivion Lives without reading the three Los Nefilim novellas. And though it not necessarily a must to start with the novellas, I feel like it would have given me much more background and worldbuilding I missed at the beginning and which made me struggle to get into the story at first. Eventually I did put the pieces together and got really hooked and I can only blame myself for being stupid.

Anyway, the book. Where Oblivion Lives is set in 1932, Spain, France and Germany. We are between two world wars - not that the characters know about that - and life is more or less peaceful, though memories from the Great War still linger and cause vivid nightmares for those who were there. Like Diago, who lived through the conflict and on top of the memories he also lost his invaluable Stradivarius. Both of which torments his dreams. When they finally learn about it whereabouts, Diago gets a chance to not only get back a piece of himself, but also to prove his loyalty and value to Los Nefilim. Which starts out as a quick and easy job (not without dangers though) turns into a vicious fight for his life.

I'd rather not tell more about the plot, let's just say, there is a twisty road ahead of our dear Diago. What I'd like to talk about however, is my appreciation for Frohock who chose a really interesting era to set her novel in. Exploring brand new imaginary worlds is always fun, but as someone who loves history (did I mention recently, that I have a degree in History?) I always enjoy reading books set in our world, amidst of real events which play an integral part in the world building and occasionally in the plot. In Where Oblivion Lives we have the Sanjurjo trial mentioned several times as well as the Brownshirts or as they also known officially, the SA, a paramilitary organisation in the Nazi Germany. Hitler himself is also mentioned, though his political role was not as prominent yet. I absolutely enjoyed these hints and side comments, "watching" as history happens in the background while the focus still remained on Diago and his quest. Those seemingly unimpotant nuances added a lot to my enjoyment. And, as it was indicated, mortal events influenced those within the Nefilim, so knowing what came in the years after 1932, I can only imagine how much hardship are coming Diago', Miquel's, Guillermo's and the others' way in later books.

Talking about the characters - we have a wide cast here, three of them who have their own POV: Diago, Guillermo and Jordi. Their relationships and conflicts have a long history through a couple of incarnations. Nefilim are the offspring of mortals and angels or daimons which gives them different skills and powers. They don't always remember their previous lives, but they can be triggered and complicate things in the present. Grudges can be hold through the ages as well as love and friendships. Guillermo and Jordi, two brothers have been fighting for the approval of the Thrones to be a leader of one of the Inner Guards on earth. In this life Guillermo is the leader of the Spanish territory and his group is called Los Nefilim. Jordi wants his birthright and stops at nothing to reach his goal. Diago used to be a rouge for centuries, not woving loyalty to anyone, and not be trusted by many for his Daimon inheritance. People who stand by him no matter what are Guillermo - to whom he swore his loyalty - and Miquel, his lover and husband. The one who keeps him grounded and accepts him the way he is. Their relationship has hardships and they still to learn some things, but their connection is strong and honestly, would be nice to have a relationship like the one they have.

I'm not quite sure why, but I couldn't quite connect with any of the characters in a deeper level, even though they were all fleshed out and had their own agenda. Maybe because I was more focused on figuring out what is going on to really pay attention to them - we have Diago's quest, the resurfacing memories of a past life which leads to complications in the present and then the politics within the Nefilim. It probably didn't help that I partly read it as an audiobook - especially the beginning and some parts toward the end. Audiobooks always makes things a bit tricky, and personally I wasn't really into Vikas Adam's performance, he has a nice voice though.

Even though it took me a while to really get into Where Oblivion Lives due to it having many layers and me being new to the world, by the end I was totally invested. I really liked the mystery, how the different plotlines came together and the cleverly placed hints and historical references. For which I need to praise T. Frohock's writing! That and the way she transformed the music into literary form.

If you are looking for an intriguing historical fiction with LGBTQ characters and music in the spotlight, look no further. I'm pretty sure the Los Nefilim series will be up your alley.

UPDATE:

After reading Los Nefilim then rereading Where Oblivion Lives, I decided to round my rating up to 5*. I said in my review before that I could not really connect with any of the characters. And at the time of writing the review that was true. Now, however, that I know more about Diago, and have a better understanding of what's going on, I have to correct myself. I definitely can connect with Diago. His longing to be accepted, to prove himself, the struggle to face his past and demons. And Guillermo's endless loyalty to his friends. I can't wait to read the next book.

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