The Twelfth Paladin By: Nora Weston



Scarred with angelfire by a rebellious angel named Micah, Jake Cottrell is sanctioned to become the twelfth paladin in Micah's supernatural unit of slayers. However, regret abounds as Micah is banished from his command and ordered to protect what he now despises…a human he believes is unworthy of such an honor.

Jake slips far away from righteousness, outwardly proving Micah's judgment, by replying to a wicked email from next@hell.net. Forever a seeker of mischief, Jake dares Hell to burn him. Hell agrees. Davis Travers thickens the plot by introducing Jake to Rachel Darnell. A temptress extraordinaire, she erupts from the fiery pits to steal Jake's soul. After a steamy seduction from the dark side, Jake is left spellbound.

With his soul dangling between Heaven and Hell, Jake soars on a blistering blacktop to escape the wrath of Hell as he fights for redemption while transforming into the twelfth paladin. Feel the heat as you grab your precious soul and go for a virtual roller coaster ride into Hell and back.

My Review

Jake Cottrell seems to have a death wish.  His knack for getting into mischief seems to follow him everywhere he goes.  So it comes as no surprise when he finds himself in the company of demons, literally.  Even though Jake has a bad boy reputation and excels in trouble, he is not cruel, nor is he mean.  Maybe a lot self-centered, but a definite diamond with some jagged edges.  Can he change enough to convince Micah that he really is worthy of the honor?  Micah does not believe in this rebellious human and doubts his creators plan.  This world-weary warrior angel and our human bad-boy have a few lessons in stall for them!

For starters, this is my first experience reading a book from a young man's point of view and it was quite interesting.  I wanted to smack Jake upside the head several times during the first few chapters for a variety of reasons.  But Jake grows on you as the story progresses, and ends up burrowing under your skin.  He was my favorite character!  He definitely didn't start out the way.  I loved the way the author used our technology against us.  It was an intriguing concept of hell having its own website.  LOL!  It also made complete sense.  The web, while linking us together around the world for good, also has plenty of other temptations littering the cyberspace.  So why wouldn't the devil capitalize on such an open market? 

Micah is our doubtful heavenly guardian.  It seems he was blinded by his own judgement and unwilling to see the big picture.  Well God did what all parents do their rebellious teenagers, he punished him.  It was more like a much needed wake up call.   Micah had a lot of growing to do in this story.  You really see a transformation not only of Jake, but Micah as well.  His faith is fully restored by the end of the book and he leads a much happier existence.

So Micah and Jake are our fighters in a war being waged between heaven and hell.  Throw in the beautiful virtuous Angie, who is being held against her will by a demon, and a succubus straight out of every man's fantasy and the battle begins.  I love good versus evil books!  This book was a real page turner, especially if you like a little religion thrown into your paranormal. I enjoyed getting to know Jake and Micah and couldn't help but hope that the author dips back into this realm sometime in the future!  After all Jake is the twelfth paladin.  There are eleven more stories out there!!