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Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Book Review: Angel Burn by L.A. Weatherly

Reading Level: Young Adult
Publication Date: May 2011
Pages: 449
Series: 1st in the Angel trilogy
Acquisition: NetGalley

Summary:
Willow knows she’s different from other girls, and not just because she loves tinkering with cars. Willow has a gift. She can look into the future and know people’s dreams and hopes, their sorrows and regrets, just by touching them. She has no idea where this power comes from. But the assassin, Alex, does. Gorgeous, mysterious Alex knows more about Willow than Willow herself. He knows that her powers link to dark and dangerous forces, and that he’s one of the few humans left who can fight them. When Alex finds himself falling in love with his sworn enemy, he discovers that nothing is as it seems, least of all good and evil. In the first book in an action-packed, romantic trilogy, L..A. Weatherly sends readers on a thrill-ride of a road trip - and depicts the human race at the brink of a future as catastrophic as it is deceptively beautiful.
They’re out for your soul . . . and they don’t have heaven in mind. (from Goodreads)

My thoughts:
Angel Burn's take on angels is very different. They are paranormal creatures but not heavenly. They aren't from our world, at least I don't think they are, and the world they come from isn't explained very much. I don't really know what this world is but it's not heaven and God doesn't live there. And angels are really more like life-force sucking demons then harp playing embodiments of all that is good.

So! From the very beginning, Angel Burn, like I said, is different! I happen to like this. I liked the evil angels aspect, I liked the characters and I enjoyed the story.

The complete lack of mainstream thoughts on God or religion did confused me a little. There is no talk of heaven or God in Angel Burn and for a book focused solely around the existence of angels that was a little weird. And it's not like the term angel was given to these creatures and they are in fact something else paranormal. They are presented as being actual angels. The same angels that humans have been writing about and believing in forever.

Then there is the romance between Willow and Alex. Have to say - it wasn't what I expected. It actually wasn't love at first sight, I can't possibly live without you even though I just met you love. It was more then 300 pages into the book before they admitted to even liking each other. So, that was refreshing. But then, things progressed a little fast. I didn't mind because I really liked Willow and Alex as characters and I thought they were actually very sweet together. AND! No love triangles!

Angel Burn was hard to put down at times and I have to say, I didn't quite see that ending coming. As the first in a trilogy, I'm very excited to see what happens to Willow as she discovers more of her past and tried to make a future for herself. I'm a big fan of fantasy and paranormal angel stories and I wasn't disappointed with Angel Burn. A great YA paranormal read and I wouldn't have any problems recommending.

Overall Rating:
4 / 5 Stars

Books in the Angel Series - US Editions:
Angel Burn
Angel Fire (January 2012)
Angel Fever (October? 2012)

Linkage Love:
Candlewick Press
Author's Website
Goodreads

Tidbits:
*Originally published in the UK. Book 1 was titled Angel and book 2, Angel Fire was published in October 2011
*L.A. Weatherly is the pseudonym for Lee Weatherly who also writes under the pen name Titania Woods

1 comment:

  1. When Alex is assigned to kill Willow he goes to check her out and he immediately knows something is not right. Willow is half human, half angel. She doesn't have an evil aura like the other angels and he can't bring himself to kill her. He starts to question why he was sent to harm her, could the angels have infiltrated his program and be calling the shots? Do they want Willow dead just because she is an anomaly or is it something more? This book is completely NOT what I was expecting.

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