Summary from GoodReads:

Nothing much happens in the sleepy town of Venus Cove. But everything changes when three angels are sent from heaven to protect the town against the gathering forces of darkness: Gabriel, the warrior; Ivy, the healer; and Bethany, a teenage girl who is the least experienced of the trio. They work hard to conceal their true identity and, most of all, their wings.

But the mission is threatened when the youngest angel, Bethany, is sent to high school and falls in love with the handsome school captain, Xavier Woods. Will she defy the laws of Heaven by loving him? Things come to a head when the angels realize they are not the only supernatural power in Venus Cove. There′s a new kid in town and he′s charming, seductive and deadly. Worst of all, he′s after Beth.

My Review:

Oh Self, why do you do this to yourself?  Why do you continue to pick up books on angels hoping against hope to be surprised and love them?

I’ll admit to liking a spare few books about angels, Archangel by Sharon Shinn being the most “liked” out of the bunch, but there have been others, Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick for example, which have left me feeling disappointed.  Halo has fallen on the latter side.

I feel like I should have possibly expected less, I mean -this is a teenage author here, Adornetto being a mere 18 years old.  That said, she already has at least one other book published and, as a teenager, should understand the workings of the teenage mind – you would think?  Instead, she treats the teenagers in this book with a condescending sort of attitude, making them appear shallow and mindless.

Caution – Spoilers Ahead

In Halo Bethany is an Angel, sent to earth with her Heavenly Brother and Sister, Gabriel and Ivy, to counter-act some of the dark madness taking over.  Terrorists, Bombings, Murders and … abuse of the elderly are listed as some of the things occurring.  In Bethany we are given a female lead character who is so incredibly naive who, while at first was easy to handle, about 1/3rd of the way through the book I wanted to smack some sense into.  And of course – she has to fall in love with the very first beautiful, untouchable boy she lays her eyes on.

I make no secret of being a Christian – but I do love fantasy and urban-fantasy literature and try to keep an open mind.  That said, I do have an issue with the ease with which these angels lied, rebelled and did otherwise not-normal-angelic things.  Adornetto tries to state that they are now “human”, but their human forms are able to glow, possess wings and are without a navel.  Not to mention they are downright gorgeous, are blessed with a perfect knowledge of .. well, everything but common sense it appears, and are able to attract everyone to themselves.

But still, that wasn’t the straw the broke the camels back for me.  I ended up being just..bored through the story because it was one that was oh-so-familiar.  Toss a few characters around here or there, substitute werewolves and vampires for angels and demons and the story starts to take a very familiar slant.  Think.. Twilight‘s gone religious.

I hate writing negative reviews without any positive points so I will say this – the ending scene in the book was filled with excitement and finally caught my interest.  I just wish my interest had been caught hundreds of pages before (as this book is nearly 500 pages), and not in the final 20 or so.

Check out these review(s):

Good Books and Good Wine

Bookworming in the 21st Century