The Paladin by Ken Newman

The Paladin:
Larry is an angel of the Lord... retired. To avoid final judgment and rather warm room without a view he seeks to make amends by helping humanity against spiritual darkness. Unable to directly interfere, he must use a human to do his dirty work, or as he calls them... Paladins. A lonely kindergarten teacher, Harriet Smith, dreaming of romance and an exciting life of high adventure, has no idea that she has been chosen... that is until she is kidnapped by a five year old, and reborn as the sultry, Maggie Black. Maggie is about to find that the world is a far different place than she could have ever imagined as she faces shape shifting hit men, psychotic witches, and four thousand year old living weapons of mass destruction. Fortunately, Maggie isn't alone, as Silas Cole, a deceased Paladin, comes to her aid, possessing the body of his murdered great grandson. Maggie soon falls in love with the dashing Silas, but finds that to save humanity, she must sacrifice the man she loves.

Ken Newman created an interesting world where an angel uses humans, known as Paladins, to change the course of the evil intents some would love to see brought to fruition. The beginning of this book seemed really choppy and rather confusing as it jumped from one point-of-view to another, there also were some names tossed around, and I had no idea of who those characters were. But as the story progressed, it definitely kept me interested. It was a whirlwind, fast paced adventure filled with humor, a dark history and mysteries that take you on a journey throughout this book; with many diverse characters ensuring the story was never tedious. My only qualm (despite its rocky beginning) with this book was that I was a little unsatisfied with the ending, feeling it was rather abrupt with some of my questions left unanswered.

Harry, a.k.a Maggie, was once a lonely school teacher, but that all changed when an angel, Larry, posing as a child came into her life. Very quickly she is thrown into a world of supernatural creatures including a deadly weapon created by the Nephilim (children of angels who mated with humans). With the snarky Larry as her guide Maggie must do what is necessary to stop the destruction of humanity; even if that means killing an innocent man. But when the time comes, Maggie discovers she is too late and now she has the chance to save the man, Zack, who would bring about the release of a terrible evil. A betrayal leads to Zack's death and he becomes possessed by his great-grandfather: Silas. Maggie and Silas team up and quickly become more than just allies, but their goal is always their top priority and sacrifices must be made to ensure their success.