I wanted to like this book; I really did. But the problems I had with it are big ones.
1. Lack of normally-conjunctive words, especially when speaking.I wanted to like this book; I really did. But the problems I had with it are big ones.
1. Lack of normally-conjunctive words, especially when speaking. 2. Cheesy to the point of being annoying. 3. Parts of it were a lot like Twilight and not in a good way. 4. The writing just felt unpolished.
The idea was really solid, and there were a couple surprises, but overall it could've been better. Not sure if I'll continue the series or not......more
3.5/5 it wasn't a filler book but I just didn't love it nearly as much as the first one. And that ending! Not cool.
EDIT: I really wanted to write a go3.5/5 it wasn't a filler book but I just didn't love it nearly as much as the first one. And that ending! Not cool.
EDIT: I really wanted to write a good, full review on this book on my blog. But I realized that I'm too mad about this sequel to Immortal City to give it a full, descent, and well-rounded review. It had very few high points, all of which have left me.
What I didn't like: The first thing that made me mad about this book was that Speer completely skipped over the best part of a sequel, and that's what happens to the relationship right after what happened in book 1. The aftereffects of book 1 were skipped over, and any drama was already over with. It just really annoyed me that Speer skipped over one of the most important parts of a good series.
The second thing is that there was a love triangle. Now, if the author had written a good love triangle, I wouldn't be complaining. But I never liked the other guy (like at all) and I couldn't understand what drew them to each other. So Natural Born Angel contracted the dreaded sequel syndrome where the guy from the first book is never there. Jackson and Maddy had such chemistry in Immortal City, and that was NOWHERE in this book. Like I said before, the author skipped over the early parts of their relationship; the parts where we get to know the guy and the two of them as people.
Those were my two biggest issues. They have completely clouded anything that I could have liked about this book. And I couldn't even be offended (in a good I-can't-wait way) by that crazy cliffhanger because I was so mad about everything else. Anyway, I think that I'm still going to read the third book if there is one, because I know that Maddy and Jackson are going to end up together in the end. But hopefully the third book will be better than this....more
I really enjoyed the idea, and the fact that a lot of it took place in Ireland was awesome (I'm half Irish and have been dying to go there). But I find when I read these Indie books that the romance is all in. What I mean is: the main characters are both madly in love with each other within the first meeting. And it's never explained why. I guess the best excuse is that they're simply soul mates (which was why it wasn't a big deal for me in this one, as that was the explanation), but I'm still so skeptical when they fall so quickly in love. Although, I did love the tete-a-tete between the four main "earth" characters. Liz (aka Emily) was a great heroine and she didn't always need Jason (the love interest) or Daniel (aka Matt, it's so obvious) to always bail her out. She took charge on earth, which is why it annoyed me when Emily lost so much drive when she got back up to heaven. I guess it makes sense, but she completely changed in the blink of an eye.
The only characters that really bothered me were the saints in heaven. Their voices sounded slightly awkward and to be honest I usually skipped through the parts in heaven to get back to earth. That's where all the action was. Again, it was an interesting concept. I think one of my issues with this (and one I've been finding a lot lately in these Indie books I do for blog tours) is the religious aspect. There are a lot of angel books out there that don't preach about believing in god, and I think they're better for it. This book wasn't exactly preachy, because she does question her faith in god some times but I wasn't prepared for how much religion was actually used in this book. Another thing that turns me off to a book is dialogue. With this book, it was a lot of hit and miss. Some things were funny, some weren't, some phrases worked and some didn't.
I'll probably continue with this series, only because I want to see Emily fall in love again with not-Matt (who knows what his name will be in the future - or past). They were some tender moments between her and Jason that I really enjoyed. If you're looking for a more religious-based angel book, you should definitely give this one a try!...more
This was an amazing and perfect finish to this series. All of your crying was worth it, Cynthia! Although I wasn't completely satisfied, but you can'tThis was an amazing and perfect finish to this series. All of your crying was worth it, Cynthia! Although I wasn't completely satisfied, but you can't win them all. Full review to come :)...more
I received this novel as part of the DAC ARC tour, and to be honest I had absolutely no idea Find more of my reviews on my blog, The Reader's Antidote
I received this novel as part of the DAC ARC tour, and to be honest I had absolutely no idea what it was about. All I knew was that it was a debut novel and that it’s YA. Reading the synopsis and seeing that it was about fallen angels, I realized that this was my kind of book. And I enjoyed it. There’re no outshining qualities about it, and as always the romance wasn’t perfect, but it was definitely a worthwhile read. And it’s out in paperback, so if you don’t like it, at least you won’t have spent the full $17.99 or whatever the price is.
The story line reminded me a bit of Angel Burn by L.A. Weatherly. Alec (which sounds a lot like Alex from Angel Burn) is sort of like a spy, and he’s an angel who kills anything that’s even part angel, because they’re abominations. But Alec has left the trade and is in hiding when he comes to Claire’s school. He wants a normal life, until his godfather visits and everything changes. There is a half-blood at the school (one of the rarest Nephilim), and Alec’s godfather thinks it’s this guy that Claire—the girl he likes way too much—has had a crush for a long time. Come to find out, it’s not him (obviously!), but that Claire that’s the half-blood. There were some familial problems too; Claire’s mom took overprotective to a new level, and her dad has almost always been MIA, but he had good reason. It’s pretty much all downhill from there.
Well, I do believe this is another YA book where they say I love you in the second half of the book. Correct me if I’m wrong; the “simple” YA relationships all seem to blend together into one big mesh of annoyingness. But their romance was sweet. I was waiting for Claire to wake up and see that she had a hot Scotsman chasing after her. While we’re on the subject, accents are simply irresistible in YA, but I didn’t really believe it here. He sounded so American, until he said, ‘Aye,’ and then I could believe it. But in any case, I enjoyed the growth of their relationship, as well as the mystery of it all. It’s always interesting to see both points of view, which I’ve actually been reading a lot of lately.
If you love angel books, this is one to add to your TBR pile. While it didn’t totally blow me away, or was even on par with some of the others I’ve read lately, it was a fresh take on the angel genre. If this is a series, I’d definitely be interested in more....more
Illuminate is a triumphant debut novel full of mystery, suspense, and even unexpected rFind more of my reviews on my blog, The Reader's Antidote
4.5/5
Illuminate is a triumphant debut novel full of mystery, suspense, and even unexpected romance. I was surprised by how much I liked Illuminate, only because it hasn't gotten the best reviews. Everyone was saying how slow and boring it was, but I liked that all this mystery was taking place in a confined space. I wish I could tell you more about this book, but that would totally take away some of the appeal of it. You know something's off about Haven and her best friend and this random geek being sent to work at a historic hotel and not having to go to school. That's every kids dream! Okay, maybe only for people like me who are total suckers for mob history, but still. I loved everything about the setting, and I think this story needed a slow buildup.
The romance in this book was... interesting. From the ending, I'm not sure exactly what's going to happen. It's obvious that Haven falls for Lucian right off the bat. He's a gorgeous guy that's brooding and seems to have some sort of relationship with Aurelia, AKA bog boss lady. It's all kinds of forbidden, but Haven doesn't even know the half of it. But Lucian can't keep who he is secret for long, and as Haven begins to piece things together, she realizes that Lucian is not all he's cracked up to be. But is it too late for her heart? Or is there someone else? You'll have to find out. But the romance aspect itself was predictable once you got past a certain point. It was more like I was waiting for the inevitable, but Lucian continued to surprise me.
This book is pretty dark. Like possibly selling souls dark. But I think that's why I didn't mind the boring stuff. You could feel that something was going to happen, and Agresti wrote in a way that was exciting. I didn't know this was going to be a [insert popular YA genre] book, but I think it's a great one. It gave a whole new perspective on the genre, and I cannot wait to see what happens next. Honestly, I have no idea what's going to happen in the second book. But I think it's safe to say that some of the characters are going to come back with a vengeance, and we still don't know exactly what Haven's powers are. Also, the cover is gorgeous. A special thanks to Anna for letting me borrow her ARC of it (even though it took me forever to read it). Definitely pick this one up. This book wasn't slow for me, but if you feel yourself getting bored, push through. It's worth it!...more
I'm trying to remember the exact details of this one. I actually really liked it. The only thing you have to think about while reading The Mephisto CoI'm trying to remember the exact details of this one. I actually really liked it. The only thing you have to think about while reading The Mephisto Covenant is to suspend your disbelief. I know I'm already saying this to people who read YA and already know how to suspend their disbelief, because you do it every time you pick up a book. There are just some parts in this one where I had to tell myself to just go with the flow. The entire beginning is an example of that. Throughout the entire novel, Sasha is questioning most everything that's going on. She wants to understand. But in the very beginning, when Ajax (AKA Jax) shows up to save her from the Eryx puppets, she doesn't really wonder how he froze time or who they are and why they act like she's some kind of goddess. Nothing, not even a hint of suspicion. She's curious, but not suspicious. And that, to me, is suspicious...
Hard to understand unless read out loud, but otherwise a very interesting interpretation of genesis. I can definitely see the influence it's had.Hard to understand unless read out loud, but otherwise a very interesting interpretation of genesis. I can definitely see the influence it's had....more
I recently enjoyed the first book in the series, Angel Burn. This series is so unique to me, Find more of my reviews on my blog, The Reader's Antidote
I recently enjoyed the first book in the series, Angel Burn. This series is so unique to me, and Angel Fire, while having the same characters as the first book, is completely different. This one takes place in Mexico, where the angels have even more control than they do in the US. Willow has a dream where twelve powerful angels show up in Mexico City, as well as a boy that she has a sudden unavoidable attraction to. A boy she hasn’t even met yet. A boy who isn’t Alex.
There was so much sexual tension in this book, I can’t even give it justice. Seb and Willow had an obvious connection, being the only two known half-angels on the entire planet. Seb has been searching for Willow for his whole life. So when Willow’s dream (which he got a glimpse of before they met) comes to fruition and she feels something for this Seb, things get complicated. On top of that, when Willow and Alex find other Angel Killers, Alex gets reacquainted with Kara, his old crush and first kiss. If you’re not intrigued by now, there’s more.
Willows father, a totally evil angel, has made a mental connection with Willow. Willow’s angel knows that something’s wrong, but neither of them know what. And Willow, being stupid of course, feels like she can’t tell Alex because she doesn’t want to burden him with “angel” things. What she’s really doing is pushing him away, while her angelic connection with Seb grows. All through this, the Angel Killers find out that the twelve angels Willow saw in her dream are real and the most powerful of them all. If you kill them, there’s a good chance that all of the other angels on Earth will die as well. They’re not going to pass up an opportunity like that. It sounds pretty straight forward, but nothing happened the way anyone thought it would. There were so many twists in the plot!
This novel was very exciting for me. I really enjoyed Angel Burn because it was something so different from other YA. Even Angel Fire was different from such a unique first novel. This book was gigantic page-wise, so it had to be put down at some point, but even as I was rushing through it, I dreaded the ending. Not everything turns out like you would expect. I can’t wait to see where Weatherly takes us in Angel Fever. Also, I bet the cover is going to be awesomesauce!...more
