Release Date: August 31st, 2010
Genre: Religion/Romance
Pages: 496
Rating:
Series: Halo #1
Goodreads Page: Click here
Summary:

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.

Review: The little evil voice inside of me was really hoping this book would be badly written. Why? Because the author is younger than me. Yup. I was jealous. I'm gonna have to come to terms with the fact that I'm growing up. (ew.)

And it was well written, very well written. This wasn't well written "for a seventeen year old" this was just  well written. So why only 2 stars? Three reasons:

1. It's the same story we've read a million times. You know: two people fall in love. Only one of them isn't a person, they're a paranormal creature. They have to find someone to overcome this boundary and still end up being together despite all the odds (and the fact that they aren't the same SPECIES). I'm just tired of this! If you liked Twilight, and Hush, Hush, and The Dark Divine, and Firelight, and Shiver(etc. etc.), and are looking for another story like that, you've found one! Some books are managing to pull it off this well-worn story line, and other's aren't, it's up for you to decide
   
   Halo spent the first 300+ pages trying to do this. It then spent the next 50-100 pages talking about whether or not the characters could have sex, which brings me to my next issue:
   ~~~
2. The religion. These angels are Catholic. Even though Adornetto tries to keep the religious aspects vague, they are still Catholic. I am not Catholic, and while religion in books doesn't usually bother me, it REALLY bothers me when beings SENT FROM HEAVEN are getting drunk and contemplating pre-marital sex. It's much less troubling when it's just a mortal facing these decisions. After all, mortals don't know everything.
   
   I've got nothing against Catholics. My roommate from last year attended Catholic high school and we were best friends. But if you're going to create a religion-specific main character, and brand your book as just general "fantasy," you've got to be careful. That's one of the reasons I rarely review books that are based on my religion. I know that everyone doesn't get it, and I don't want to force it on them.
   ~~~
3. Slow. By the time we got past the issue I addressed in #1 & #2 we FINALLY reached the conflict in the book. However, by this point I was bored. Plain and simple. If this book had been 100-150 pages shorter then I think it would have been great. Or even if the conflict had started earlier it would have been AWESOME! Then I would have had something pulling me along besides the romance.
   
   Oh, and just to let you know, the conflict in this story is extremely satanic. As in, the villain comes from the devil. This wasn't just evil, it was demonic.

Should you give this one a try? Certainly! I was so excited when I got an ARC, and I'm still really excited that I have a copy to add to my library. Someone is going to pick this book up (maybe they'll be Catholic, maybe they won't) and they're going to LOVE it. It will blow all other paranormal romances out of the water. But that person wasn't me.