30 September 2011

Review: Halo

Halo by Alexandra Adornetto
Series: Halo # 1
Official Website
Description: Three angels – Gabriel, the warrior; Ivy, the healer; and Bethany, the youngest and most human – are sent by Heaven to bring good to a world falling under the influence of darkness. They must work hard to conceal their luminous glow, superhuman powers, and, most dangerous of all, their wings, all the while avoiding all human attachments.
Then Bethany meets Xavier Woods, and neither of them is able to resist the attraction between them. Gabriel and Ivy do everything in their power to intervene, but the bond between Xavier and Bethany seems too strong.
The angel’s mission is urgent, and dark forces are threatening. Will love ruin Bethany or save her?
Review: I was very intimidated by this book when I first saw it. With over 400 pages, you have to ask yourself, What can this story be about? I don't know what I was expecting. It wasn't this though. I feel as if I'm in kind of a book limbo. Like that right-after-you-read it, you're still in awe, feeling.

So, Halo tells the tale of Bethany Church, an angel who has come to Earth in human form, along with her brother Gabriel, the warrior, and sister, Ivy, the healer. (Can I fit any more commas in that sentence.) Beth, however, doesn't know of her power yet. This is her first trip to Earth, and she just doesn't want to make a fool of herself. She's the most human of the trio, which you'll soon discover throughout the book. The main reason why these angels are on Earth is to protect the people of Venus Cove, and get rid of the Agents of Darkness, or evil in the cozy town.

Ivy and Gabriel do their fair share of good, volunteering, organizing bake sales, and visiting the elderly. Together, they make Venus Cove a more spiritual community, and loving place. Like I said above, Beth doesn't know how to contribute to their goodness. She tries, but she doesn't find her place. She does find her place with Xavier Woods, school captain and rugby player.

The relationship between Xavier and Beth was very fluid, there were no awkward cringing moments, which was a relief. I was rooting for them the entire time. Some people might think that Beth and Xavier's relationship was toothache sweet, and nauseating, but I thought it was adorable. I was really looking for a gut-wrenching relationship, and I definitely found it in this book. I felt as though Xavier was too perfect, to be honest. He has the big family, great relationship with his family, always there to back up Beth, total gentleman. He was perfect, and is every girls knight in shining armor. Some people might not like that perfect relationship, but it was a nice relief from the crash and burn relationships in some books.

I liked this book a lot. The author has such a beautiful way with words, and she describes the scenery so clearly. I felt like I was in each scene with the characters, and I could imagine each scene in my head. She really created such a gorgeous setting for this story.

I liked the kind of cliffhanger at the end. Jake, the antagonist, was a very interesting character. He kinda effed things up big time for the characters, I'm looking forward to seeing what he has up his sleeves in the sequel, Hades.

And I'm just realizing this now, but I really love when books have the characters hand writing in them. I feel like seeing someones hand-writing is a good indicator of their personality.

“Sometimes you meet a person and you just click-you’re comfortable with them, like you’ve known them your whole life, and you don’t have to pretend to be anyone or anything.”
-Halo; Alexandra Adornetto

1 comment:

  1. yay!! so glad you enjoyed HALO :) like you, I was also very hesitant about picking it up, but I was mostly influenced by the negative reviews i had read. To my surprise, I LOVED IT! You said it best- the author really did create such a gorgeous setting for the story. i felt as if I was there standing next to them, experiencing the whole thing! A lot of my other blog bud's said they found HALO to be too "preachy", but honestly I thought the Christian element was just right. I might be bias, considering the fact that I am Catholic, but all-in-all I think HALO was a wonderful story! Loved loved loved your review :) thanks for posting!

    Diana

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