Sunday, September 19, 2010

Review: Halo by Alexandra Adornetto



From Goodreads:

Nothing much happens in the sleepy town of Venus Cove. But everything changes when three angels are sent from heaven to protect the town against the gathering forces of darkness: Gabriel, the warrior; Ivy, the healer; and Bethany, a teenage girl who is the least experienced of the trio. They work hard to conceal their true identity and, most of all, their wings. But the mission is threatened when the youngest angel, Bethany, is sent to high school and falls in love with the handsome school captain, Xavier Woods. Will she defy the laws of Heaven by loving him? Things come to a head when the angels realize they are not the only supernatural power in Venus Cove. There′s a new kid in town and he′s charming, seductive and deadly. Worst of all, he′s after Beth.

My Review:

Halo is a intelligently written fantasy YA novel with a fresh take on angels. The first part of the story is a bit slow, but it does eventually take off. Although I enjoyed Halo, I did have a few problems with the character development.

Bethany was one of the angels sent to earth to help in the struggle with the Dark Forces. She is extremely innocent and very naive about everything in the world. She is also the most human angel and her siblings worried about what that could mean for their mission. Their worries are well founded when Bethany meets Xavier and goes against her mission by falling in love with him. This causes many conflicts in the story and Bethany starts to question what she has been taught as an angel.

I really liked Bethany at first, but by the middle of the story she got to be really annoying. I understand with her being an angel that she would be innocent to the ways of the world, but she still acted way less mature than her siblings. Yes, I get that she was a really young angel and this was her first time being fully exposed to the human world, but that didn't stop her from getting on my nerves. I also didn't like how easily she fell in love with Xavier. It was not at all believable and I felt that it could have been drawn out more. I also didn't get how she could be so dense! It was so obvious who the bad guy was but it just went right over her head! Though she was dense and too innocent, Bethany was a very nice and caring angel who I hope will come into her own in the sequel, Hades.

Xavier was a very sweet guy but I just really couldn't connect with him. Their was nothing irresistible about him and I really couldn't believe how utterly devoted to Bethany he was. He accepted who she was way too easily and I thought that their should have been more conflict. Their really wasn't much chemistry between Xavier and Bethany, which was a big let down. I was really hoping for more from Xavier and I really hope I will see him in a new light in Hades.

Though the main characters did disappoint me, the writing in the story helped to make the story more enjoyable. It was so descriptive and I could picture everything clearly. I loved the background behind the angels and I hope to learn more in the sequel. Though the Dark Forces really weren't present until halfway through the book, once the bad guy was introduced, the story really took off. I was pulled back into the story and didn't want to put down the book until the very last page! I also really enjoyed Bethany's siblings, Gabriel and Ivy. They put up with Bethany's antics with Xavier and I could see that they were starting to open up more towards the end of the story. One of my favorite moments of the story was when Bethany had dinner with Xavier's family. They were really entertaining and I really wish their would have been more of them in Halo!

Overall, Halo was a nice, fresh take on angels and I really enjoyed my time once the story took off. Although the main characters need some serious improvement, I am hoping for much more in Hades. I say give Halo a try if you are really into stories about angels, but be prepared for Xavier and Bethany!

My Rating:

4 Stars

12 comments:

  1. Great review! I've been wondering about whether to buy this one for a while now and I might just have to buy it!

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  2. I've been wondering about this one, too! The cover is gorgeous and the plot seems interesting enough, but it seems it has the problem a lot of YA's have these days... not enough development before they 'fall in love'.

    I might give this one a try, but later on :)

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  3. I've got this one in my TBR pile and can't wait to get to it. I'm quite sad that you didn't like the two main characters but I can understand your reasoning why. Thanks so much for the review!

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  4. I've been hearing a lot about this book but hadn't made up my mind whether or not I wanted to read it. I do enjoy angel stories, so maybe I'll give it a try.

    seriousreader at live dot com

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  5. I've heard from some other peeps that they didn't really like the MC in this one but the rest of the characters were good, I'm still thinking if I want to read it or not. Glad you enjoyed the rest of it though. =)

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  6. I really want to read this one! There's so much out now about angels lately aren't there?

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  7. I felt pretty much the same way when I read it. I got to the end of the book and I just felt like it needed more...

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  8. I havent read this yet. But i have heard people say the same thing about the book that you are. Its lacking. Not sure i wanna read it.
    chaarmedone1512@ol.com

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  9. I've seen some mixed reviews of this one and I can understand why given how the main character behaves. I'm not a huge fan of angel stories, but I hope I enjoy this one when I get around to reading it.

    Thanks for the review!

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  10. I am waiting for my copy to get here and I cant wait :D

    Great review!

    ashleysbookshelf[@]gmail[.]com

    Also don't forget to check out my amazing giveaways located at the top of my blog posts.

    Ashley's Bookshelf

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  11. Wow ! Great review !
    It makes me want to read this now. (:

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