Halo by Alexandra Adornetto
August 31st 2010 by Feiwel & Friends
Hardcover, 496 Pages
Review Copy
Book Synopsis
Three angels are sent down to bring good to the world: Gabriel, the warrior; Ivy, the healer; and Bethany, a teenage girl who is the least experienced of the trio. But she is the most human, and when she is romantically drawn to a mortal boy, the angels fear she will not be strong enough to save anyone—especially herself—from the Dark Forces. Is love a great enough power against evil? (Goodreads)
Review
1. The Cover- Holy genius marketing designer, due to the fact this is one of the most beautiful covers Ive seen on a YA book I was instantly attracted to the novel. Just proving to you once again book covers sell. Halo could of said, three angles come to earth...the end....and it still would of sold to someone for cover appeal alone.
2. The author- What an accomplishment to be a published author at the young age of 18.
Why Halo didn't work for me......
I really liked the premise of Halo, three angels on a mission from God to save the youth of a small town who will fight a dark evil and then one of them will fall in love, sounds right up my alley.
Unfortunately Halo failed to deliver what the premise promised. The plot- number one was the same Twilight cliched story that's been told ten thousand times this year, Bethany was Bella only more naive, Xavier was Edward only not as stalker boy. Also the plot moved along way to slow, I had serious ADD while reading, I would read a few pages, set it down, pick it up, read a few pages, go do dishes, read a few pages, get sucked into Dora the Explorer, you get the drift. The novel could have been chopped down to a 200 page novel and the reader would not have missed anything important.
By far though, the biggest issue I had with Halo was the angels themselves. I'm always critical of characters drawn from the Bible and when you use Gabriel the Archangel, you don't make him an idiot. The main characters in Halo were suppose to powerful immortals and all three angels lacked some serious commonsense skills especially Bethany, the girl couldn't be anymore foolish. I couldn't buy the logic, no way do angels sent by God, become stupid, get drunk and contemplate having sex, they might but then those would be called fallen angels. Bethany made decisions that even a teen would stop and think about before doing and for all her supposed divinity, she came off weak and ignorant. Very silly story for immortal beings, even more silly when it all came together.
Rating
Halo is recommended to teens, 14 and up although I personally wouldn't recommend this novel. Content includes: Mild action, underage drinking, evil vs good scenarios, religious themes (mostly Catholic dialog) mild sexuality including kissing and discussions on having sex.
2/5- YA-Paranormal-Angels
Thank you to Tara from Zeitghost Media for review copy
I've actually heard a lot of people were disappointed with this one, which is why I have avoided it for so long. Thanks for your honest and great review, Tina! :)
ReplyDeleteBummer. Sorry it didn't work for you. I look forward to reading this soon and seeing what you mean.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree on all parts...It was the biggest dissapointment of the year for me.I wanted to read it so badly and i just left it unfinished.I might pick it up sometime but i'm not really tempted!
ReplyDeleteI agree that the marketing on this book was genius , but I fell asleep in one of the early chapters , and decideded that if I fell asleep during a book. This book wasn't for me. I tried to read it too.
ReplyDeleteThe general consensus on this one hasn't been so positive, though that cover is absolutely gorgeous. It's a shame it doesn't live up to the beauty of it's packaging! I have little patience for foolish characters, so I think I'll pass on this one. Thanks for the honest review Tina!
ReplyDeleteI love your reviews - honest, clear, concise! I adore this cover too. I did get this from the library, read a short bit but didn't pick it back up. Then it had to be returned - there was a long waiting list. I keep thinking I should try it again. We'll see.
ReplyDeleteSorry this was disappointing. Here's hoping your next read is captivating!
Aw and I was hoping this was gonna be a great read. Thanks for your honest review, I know now to stay away from this one.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read this one, and though I have looked a it a couple times, I probably never will. I agree that the cover is very pretty, though. It's always a disappointment when books aren't as good as they seem.
ReplyDeleteWonderful review. I am dying to read it when I saw the cover and read the synopsis. Angel I love stories and I will certainly read it soon.
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