Review: Halo by Alexandra Adornetto

 
Halo
Written by Alexandra Adornetto
Release Date: August 31, 2010
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
*arc copy provided the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I remember the first time I laid eyes on this cover ~ let's just say it was love at first sight!  I LOVE books about angels and this one sounded interesting!  It is really long (496 pages) and the author is really young (17!), so I wasn't sure what to expect.  I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book!

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 Thoughts:
I will admit that I have been on an angel kick lately-  I read three books back to back that featured my favorite celestial beings!  I was excited about this book and I was definitely in major cover love!!  The first thing that I noticed after receiving the book was its length.  It is just under 500 pages- this can be a good thing (if the book is really good and you don't want it to end!) or it can make it very hard to get through.  I certainly didn't have trouble finishing this book, but I did feel like some scenes could have been omitted without taking away from the character/plot development.  Adornetto did pay very close attention to every detail when it came to developing the main characters.  What made this book unique for me was that the main character was an angel.  The reader was allowed into the psyche of an angel and was given a front row seat for all of the unexpected trials and tribulations that came with adjusting to the mortal world.  Bethany was the youngest and most inexperienced of the angelic trio and it did show in her actions.  She was sent on this mission from Heaven with a purpose that seemed unattainable for such a newly created being- yet against the grumblings of the older (and wiser) angels, she was sent anyway.  The reasons behind her being sent were pretty evident to me early on, but that didn't take away from my enjoyment of the read.  I liked the other two angel characters as well (Gabriel and Ivy), and the mortal love interest (Xavier) was an honest all-american high school hearthrob.  I did fell that there were occassions were Gabriel and Ivy fell out of their character descriptions, but it wasn't drastic or extremely noticeable.  The story had a decent pace (some areas were slow but not boring) and the love story was totally adorable and innocent.  If you like books with tons of fast-paced action, then this probably won't be your type of read.  If you like swooning love stories, then this is definitely your book!  I thought that the ending was pretty good- a little predictable though- and the villian was VERY easy to pick out (for everyone but Bethany!).  That did bother me a bit.  I felt like she was incredibly niave at times and blind to what was right in front of her.  Those things aside- I enjoyed this read and I look forward to the next installment in the trilogy titled Hades, which is due for release in 2011.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 g...mor