Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Angel Burn by L.A. Weatherly

Angel Burn by L.A. Weatherly
Publisher: Candlewick
Publish Date:  May 24, 2011
ISBN:  978-0763656522
Pages:  464
Jacket Photography: ILina S/Getty Images





So I'm not huge on angel books, but I so loved the cover on this one and the blurb sounded interesting, so I gave it a try.  I'm glad I did!

16 year old Willow attends high school and tinkers with old cars...and she's psychic.  She's seen as a weirdo by her schoolmates, but that doesn't stop them from asking for readings from her.  That's how she first finds out about Angels.  She reads for a classmate and sees her with a man, a terrifying man that is feeding off of her.  The classmate thinks that the Angel is helping her and she feels so wonderful when she's with him, she wants to quit school and join the Church of Angels.  Willow decides to do whatever she can to stop her.

Alex is a teenage Assassin.  He was trained by his father and friends when he was a young boy.  Eventually the CIA took over Project Angel and separated all the Assassins.  Now they don't see each other or work with each other, they receive anonymous texts telling them where to go to kill the next Angel.

Now, all the talk of killing Angels - what awfulness, right?!  Nope.  See, Angels aren't heavenly messengers from God, they are parastic energy fiends from another dimension. Awesome take on Angels, Ms. Weatherly!  Kudos!

Alex is eventually sent to kill Willow, but he realizes that she isn't aware of some of her powers, so he takes her with him and they try to figure out how to save everyone from the Angels destroying mankind and their planet.

I like that Alex and Willow are fleshed out characters, they each get a chance to talk and let you know how they feel.  They aren't super good people, just people with some training or powers that are trying to do the right thing...but they don't always succeed.  I like that there isn't a love triangle - just one girl & one boy.  The dialogue is well written between them and others, it flows nicely.  The romance could have been a little more spread out, I dislike that in a lot of YA books, the characters are in love before they even know each other.  Maybe that's because I've forgotten that part of being a teen?  I don't remember being like that with boys.  I might like them or daydream about them...but instantly be in love with them?  Nah.

I was a little disappointed in the section where Alex and Willow ditch out in the cabin and just don't do anything.  I felt like maybe the author didn't know what to do with them and had to kill some time until she needed them.

Overall I did like this book, I can get over the small things that annoyed me.  I'm definitely going to read the next one.

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