A Temptation of Angels

Even angels make mistakes in this page-turning epic romance

When her parents are murdered before her eyes, sixteen-year-old Helen Cartwright finds herself launched into an underground London where a mysterious organization called the Dictata controls the balance of good and evil. Helen learns that she is one of three remaining angelic descendants charged with protecting the world's past, present, and future. Unbeknownst to her, she has been trained her whole life to accept this responsibility. Now, as she finds herself torn between the angelic brothers protecting her and the devastatingly handsome childhood friend who wants to destroy her, she must prepare to be brave, to be hunted, and above all to be strong, because temptation will be hard to resist, even for an angel.

Michelle Zink masterfully weaves historical fantasy with paranormal romance to create a gripping tale of love and betrayal. (from Goodreads)

This book is the perfect example of why third person is a tricky POV to use. This book wasn't bad, per say, but I felt detached from the story the whole time, like I was the narrator, not the MC. 

The book was extremely fast-paced. I read it in about two and a half hours, and this 435 book only took place over two or three days. 

Helen was an okay narrator. She didn't have much of a personality. I think the intent was to make her a shell of a person, so that the reader could slip into easily. Problem is, these kinds of narrators don't work for me. I'd rather read about a narrator that annoys the crap out of me than one who doesn't have any personality at all. Plus, she, like any other YA MC, had her TSTL moments. At least they weren't over a guy. 

For anyone who read my Goodreads status updates, you know that I was debating between Griffin being a douche or not. Well, I've decided. He's a douche. Near the ending of the book, he tells Helen that he needs her to tell him that she loves him, otherwise he'll go mad. Or die. Something like that. This is after he's known her for two or three days. (And no, when he says this, she hasn't decided between him and the other guy yet). This isn't a healthy relationship. In fact, it sounds eerily like the one portrayed in Stay by Deb Caletti. That book, too, features an unhealthy relationship, but it's supposed to be unhealthy. Not all of these 'true loves' found in paranormals lately.

The thing is, this book is also rather simple. The plot was pretty straightforward. The good guys are purely good, and the bad guys are purely bad. There's no mix of gray. There were a couple of kissing scenes, and the beginning of the book was pretty tense, but about a third of the way in, that tense-ness disappeared. I might even venture to say that this book goes into the middle-grade range.

There were a couple of info dumps that I skimmed, which meant that I didn't quite understand what half of the terms being thrown around were. 

In spite of my review being pretty negative, this book was okay. There wasn't anything to make it stand out, in either a good or a bad way. So it gets three stars. 

Waiting on Wednesday (7)

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My WoW this week is...

Outpost by Ann Aguire

Deuce’s whole world has changed. Now living topside in a community called Salvation, she has a whole new set of problems. Down below, she was considered an adult, and she contributed to the whole. Now, topside, the people of Salvation think she’s a brat in need of training. She hates school, and she doesn’t fit in with the other girls. They’ve spent their lives learning to cook and sew–suitable woman’s work. Deuce only knows how to fight. To make matters worse, Fade keeps her at a distance, and the band of four has broken into fragments.

Stalker presses for a closer relationship, but Deuce sees him as a training partner, and she’s busy trying to find her place in Salvation. She refuses to accept that she’s wrong for being who she is, but tensions rise as she struggles against the status quo. Her feelings for Fade haven’t changed, but he seems not to want her around anymore. Confused and lonely, she starts looking for a way out.

Once she’s free from school for the year, Deuce pursues a chance to serve in the summer patrols–those responsible for making sure the growers and planters can work the fields without danger of Freak attack. It should have been routine, little fighting, but things have been changing on surface, just as they did below ground. The Freaks are smarter. They’re watching. Waiting. Planning. The monsters don’t intend to let Salvation survive, and it will take a girl like Deuce to turn the tide. (from Goodreads)

I loved the first book in this series. And this blurb sounds awesome. Plus, there's the cover. It's appropriately creepy (the black hand at the bottom scratching through the gate, anyone?) Hell yeah!

Crave

Savannah Colbert has never known why she's so hated by the kids of the Clann. Nor can she deny her instinct to get close to Clann golden boy Tristan Coleman. Especially when she recovers from a strange illness and the attraction becomes nearly irresistible. It's as if he's a magnet, pulling her gaze, her thoughts, even her dreams. Her family has warned her to have nothing to do with him, or any members of the Clann. But when Tristan is suddenly everywhere she goes, Savannah fears she's destined to fail.

For years, Tristan has been forbidden to even speak to Savannah Colbert. Then Savannah disappears from school for a week and comes back… different, and suddenly he can't stay away. Boys seem intoxicated just from looking at her. His own family becomes stricter than ever. And Tristan has to fight his own urge to protect her, to be near her no matter the consequences…. (from Goodreads)

To be honest, I don't even know why I picked up this book. Because, looking back and rereading the blurb, it sounds like the cheesiest, corniest, and most like-Twilight book there is out there. Now, this isn't necessarily a bad book, it's just not one that I'd usually pick up. 

For starters: THERE WAS NO PLOT. Seriously. Take out the paranormal bits and the last few chapters and voilá!, you have a contemporary romance with no real difference between the two plots. And then the plot/climax/resolution were all crammed into two chapters. 

Overall, Savannah was a pretty good narrator, although she definitely had her bitchy moments. Like the whole Greg-dance fiasco. Up until that point, I was actually starting to like her, and Greg was on his way to being one of my favorite characters. But then...

It was actually kind of funny, because in the Q&A in the back of the book, there's some question like "Anne [the friend]'s friendship throughout the book is such a support for Savannah throughout the book. Why did you choose to portray it this way?" Well, I laughed out loud at that, because, as is common in so many YA books today, their friendship has about 0.00001 screen time. In fact, Tristan talks to her more than Savannah does. And she's supposed to be Savannah's best friend. /fail

At least the Brat Twins, Crave's version of the popular bitch(es), didn't come up very much. I might have strangled the book from all the cliches if it had. 

It wasn't overly offensive or anything, but it wasn't exceptional. Just...average. 

Waiting on Wednesday (6)

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

My WoW this week is...

The Torn Wing by Kiki Hamilton

Tiki’s greatest fear suddenly becomes all too real: the fey have returned to London seeking revenge. As war escalates in the Otherworld, Queen Victoria’s youngest son, Prince Leopold, is attacked. In order to protect her family and the ones she loves, she needs to know the meaning of an fáinne sí, the birthmark that winds around her wrist. But will Tiki be brave enough to face the truth?

A bloody escape, a deadly threat, a shocking revelation…

That cover is so pretty, much better than the last one. The purple glow formed into wing shapes, the purple dress, the sparkles on the girl's back, the font...gorgeous! Plus, I loved the first book. October can't come quickly enough.