Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

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Courtney Allison Moulton's site
Series: Angelfire #1
Copy obtained: e-ARC from NetGalley
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release date: Feb 15th
Rating: 4.5/5

When seventeen-year-old Ellie starts seeing reapers - monstrous creatures who devour humans and send their souls to Hell - she finds herself on the front lines of a supernatural war between archangels and the Fallen and faced with the possible destruction of her soul.

A mysterious boy named Will reveals she is the reincarnation of an ancient warrior, the only one capable of wielding swords of angelfire to fight the reapers, and he is an immortal sworn to protect her in battle. Now that Ellie's powers have been awakened, a powerful reaper called Bastian has come forward to challenge her. He has employed a fierce assassin to eliminate her - an assassin who has already killed her once.

While balancing her dwindling social life and her reaper-hunting duties, she and Will discover Bastian is searching for a dormant creature believed to be a true soul reaper. Bastian plans to use this weapon to ignite the End of Days and to destroy Ellie's soul, ending her rebirth cycle forever. Now, she must face an army of Bastian's most frightening reapers, prevent the soul reaper from consuming her soul, and uncover the secrets of her past lives - including truths that may be too frightening to remember.

It only took a couple of pages for Ellie’s voice to hook me, and then I couldn’t put then I couldn’t put Angelfire down. It’s pretty intense from the start. Ellie has been having nightmares and on her 17th birthday discovers that they may well not be nightmares, but memories. Of another time and place, where she is supernaturally strong, a hunter, killing monsters in the fight of good versus evil. 

She’s told that these things are real by Will. A guy who suddenly appears on the scene and yet she feels this connection with, like she’s known him forever. Which, as it turns out, is more or less true. They’ve spent hundreds of years fighting together, him as her bodyguard. Ellie just doesn’t remember it. Yet.

Ellie is a pretty typical teenager (although a well off one) who I found very easy to like. I wasn’t so sure about her while she was being so insistent that Will was lying, that she hadn’t seen some of the things she’d really seen. But then I stopped and thought about it, and really, having had no belief of the paranormal at all, then being thrown in to that world and told you are a key player in keeping evil at bay, is a pretty good reason to go in to serious denial! I really enjoyed her development over the course of the book, how she dealt with the memories, the nightmares, and the reality.

Likewise I really liked Will. He’s got that super sexy bodyguard thing going for him. He’s secretive and likes to keep things inside, but I fell in love with him anyway. He’s intense, and despite not knowing much about him for a long time, I always got this sense of so much more going on under the surface with him than was actually seen. It gives him a lot of depth when the facts are minimal and I really enjoyed getting to know him even a tiny bit, trying to figure him out. 

There is a lot of action in this book and every action scene was just spectacular. Several of them were so vivid they were practically playing out like a movie in my head while I was reading. Something that rarely happens for me with action scenes in books! 

A gripping, thrilling read. Great characters, fantastic plot and great use of mythology as well. There is what promises to be a beautiful love story involved as well, but it doesn’t start really showing itself until later in the book. It’s worth the wait and I’m hoping for more on it in book 2! The ending was fabulous, beautiful, sad and powerful. It leaves you in a place where you have some answers, but still plenty of questions and hungry for more. A fantastic debut and I cannot wait for books two and three! I’m just sorry it’s going to be such a long wait. A new favourite book and a new auto-buy author!

Out Today: Unearthly

Unearthly is the debut novel from Cynthia Hand. It's beautiful and stunning and was quite possibly my favourite read of 2010! It's just...damn freaking perfect. I couldn't get enough of it and I'm dying for book 2! Anyway, today is Unearthly's official US and Aus release, so I wanted to mention it. Because if this book is not on your radar it damn well should be!! I know there are a lot of angel centric YA books around now, but this is seriously the best of them. Check out my review for why I'm so in love with it. See the trailer and blurb below, then GO BUY IT!!!

UK rights have sold for it (yippee!) so UKer's will easily be able to get their hands on it in a few months (I believe it's slated for a May release from Egmont). Or, you could be sensible and order it right now from Book Depository who ship to 90+ countries for free.

"In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees . . . . 

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy. 

Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place—and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.
As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make—between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?"

I rarely push books so hard as I am this one, but I'm doing it for a reason, because to me, this book really stands out in the YA paranormal genre, let alone in the angels sub-genre. It's a seriously incredible debut.

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

E-ARC copy received for review from NetGalley and HarperTeen with thanks!

Unearthly is published January 4th in the US.

"In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees. . .

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what it is, though, isn't easy.

Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place--and out of place, at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.

As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make--between honesty and deciet, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?"

Where to start...Oh. Freaking. Hell. I adored this book from beginning to end! There are times when you can start a book and from page one you know you’re on to a winner. Something that just sings to you, the character’s voice, the setting, whatever it is, just ‘clicks’ and you know you’re in for a great read, something that will be a lasting favourite. That was this book for me. I started it, loved chapter one and could barely put it down.

Clara is a 16 year old who two years previous found out that her mother is half angel. Making her a quarter angel. It took some adjusting, but she did. Now she’s starting to get visions, her ‘purpose’. They show a boy in the middle of a forest fire and Clara knows she has to save him. Going on the clues in her visions, she ends up moving, along with her mom and younger brother, from California to a small town in Wyoming. There she meets a boy, the boy, the one from her visions. But nothing is simple.

Clara has to fight to fit in at a new school, hide her ever growing angel powers, and figure out how to get close to the boy from the vision so she can do what she must when the time is right. Problems arise quickly as Clara begins to realise her mother has kept a lot about angels secret from her, because apparently she needs to find out for herself. The more Clara discovers though, the more danger she realises she faces. Fighting with her mom, hunting for her place in this new town, struggling to get close to the boy. None of it should have been so hard. Also, there was never meant to be another boy.

As I already said, I loved this book. It’s beautiful, smart, funny in just the right places and heart wrenching at times as well. I was hooked from page one where we enter Clara’s vision. The description of the scene drew me in so easily I felt like I was right there, and yet there is no overload of description at any point. It’s simple but powerful.

The characters are very well drawn, well rounded and easy to love. Even before we get to know some of them better, you get a great sense of them from how Clara sees them, and occasionally from comment from someone else. I love Clara. She’s the perfect blend of vulnerable, strong and awkward. Her struggling to fit in at a new school is something I find very easy to relate to, and the way she felt and dealt with it felt very real. I love the chemistry between the characters, whether its friendship or romantic based, they all have this spark between them that makes them come alive. Makes the more common conversations seem like more. You can really feel the depth and strength of certain relationships, and the uneasy edge to others.

The setting itself, the small town in the mountains, the small town school where everyone’s known each other since kindergarten, is almost as alive as the characters. Cynthia’s descriptions keep everything alive, but again, without overload. Very few books manage to make me feel so involved as this did in every aspect.

The story holds up just as well as the characters. I liked the twists alongside recognizable mythology. I like how there are different levels of angel and how the powers differ depending on what level they are. I liked that things were not straight forward or what I first thought. Some things were, but some I never saw coming. Towards the end in particular I kept trying to figure out what was going on and I just couldn’t. I held my breath through the last several chapters as the tension grew almost too much at times. My heart ached for Clara as she faced some big obstacles and incredibly hard decisions, and yes there were a few tears involved as well.

There was nothing about this book I didn’t love. And I adored one of the two guys in this. He’s just...perfect really. I just hope I am, for once, on the right side of this and he gets the girl in the end! I’ve got a few little theories about what could happen next, and some thoughts on one character in particular and the role they could play in the next book, but nothing I feel close to sure of. The ending was fantastic. It revealed some big things, but also left a lot of questions. Not the kind that frustrate, but the kind that made me wish I had book 2 sat beside me already! It’s going to be a very, very long wait for it. Stunning debut, fantastic book, and easily one of my favourite reads of the year. An absolute Must Have!!

Rating: 10/10

Mini Reviews - Delirium, Angelfire, Radiance

EDITED. So, Blogger is a bastard (sorry to any offended) Radiance WAS reviewed, but for some reason the review disappeared leaving just the description and the rating *grumbles* Being unable to remember it word for word, it's now shorter and worse, but it is at least reviewed again.

Yep, another of those Mini Reviews posts. Delirium and Angelfire because they were early eARC's from NetGalley and I am waiting til closer to release to post full reviews. Radiance because I don't really have enough to say about it for it to be a considered a full review, so I'm adding it in here instead.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

"Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -the deliria- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love"

First in a planned new dystopian trilogy. I really liked this book. It's got some great ideas and it's well played out, but for a long while, despite liking it, I felt a serious disconnect with the main character, Lena. I don't know why, but I just didn't connect with her very well so while the writing and pacing was excellent, I found I could just put it down and walk away easily. I liked Lena, I just didn't connect with her. I did enjoy the story though, and I really didn't have a clue what would happen right until the end. I wasn't too happy about one particular thing near the end, but otherwise thought it was a very good read. I can't quite say I loved it because it wasn't until about 3/4 through the book that I really connected with Lena and it got really intense for me. That's when I struggled to put it down. Still, it's great and I recommend it. Oddly, it reads (or did to me) as a standalone right until the final chapter. With a couple minor tweeks I think it would make a fantastic standalone book. I'm still looking forward to book 2 though and suspect I could enjoy that a lot more, but I'd got no idea where this series is going. Rating: 7/10

Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

"When seventeen-year-old Ellie starts seeing reapers - monstrous creatures who devour humans and send their souls to Hell - she finds herself on the front lines of a supernatural war between archangels and the Fallen and faced with the possible destruction of her soul.

A mysterious boy named Will reveals she is the reincarnation of an ancient warrior, the only one capable of wielding swords of angelfire to fight the reapers, and he is an immortal sworn to protect her in battle. Now that Ellie's powers have been awakened, a powerful reaper called Bastian has come forward to challenge her. He has employed a fierce assassin to eliminate her - an assassin who has already killed her once.

While balancing her dwindling social life and reaper-hunting duties, she and Will discover Bastian is searching for a dormant creature believed to be a true soul reaper. Bastian plans to use this weapon to ignite the End of Days and to destroy Ellie's soul, ending her rebirth cycle forever. Now, she must face an army of Bastian's most frightening reapers, prevent the soul reaper from consuming her soul, and uncover the secrets of her past lives - including truths that may be too frightening to remember."

Angel books appear to be taking over the YA UF genre right now. Not all of them good, but this is one of the great ones. I was hooked within a few pages and struggled to put it down. It's got a lot of action, and unlike most YA books right now it seems, it's got decidedly little romance. There is a romantic plot, but it's a long while before it really comes up. It's very intense when it does, and perfectly played, but it is a sub-plot, at least for the time being. I loved the action in this book, I loved Ellie (the protagonist) and how she learnt and dealt with the things she discovered. I love Will, her bodyguard. He's very hot, mysterious and has just about everything going for him. He kind of broke my heart at one point, but I still love him completely. Some great twists and the ending was really intense. I'm very excited for more in this series!! Rating: 9/10


Radiance by Alyson Noel

"Riley Bloom left her sister, Ever, in the world of the living and crossed the bridge into the afterlife—a place called Here, where time is always Now. Riley and her dog, Buttercup, have been reunited with her parents and are just settling into a nice, relaxing death when she's summoned before The Council. They let her in on a secret—the afterlife isn't just an eternity of leisure; Riley has to work. She's been assigned a job, Soul Catcher, and a teacher, Bodhi, a curious boy she can't quite figure out.

Riley, Bodhi, and Buttercup return to earth for her first assignment, a Radiant Boy who's been haunting a castle in England for centuries. Many Soul Catchers have tried to get him to cross the bridge and failed. But he's never met Riley..."

Copy received for review thanks to Lynsey at UK Book Tours.
This is the first book in the spin off series from the Immortals one (book 1 is Evermore) focusing on Riley. This is amied at younger audience than the Immortals series, which I don't normally read, but as I liked the first couple books in that series I thought I'd give it a try. Sadly it didn't work for me. I liked Riley a lot in Evermore, but no so much as a protagonist. However, it's still a fun, sweet, cute read with a good cast and plot. Younger readers and those who enjoy younger fiction, will likely really enjoy it, it just wasn't for me. Rating: 5/10

Mini Reviews

I've got three new mini reviews for you today, for two reasons. The first is because I didn't read the book in full so don't think it's fair to give a full review, but do want to comment on it. The second two are because they're for books not released until 2011 and I'm waiting until much closer to their release dates to post full reviews. But I thought I'd give you a taste of them and my thoughts now. All these three are YA titles.

The Cinderella Society by Kay Cassidy

"When the Prom Queen becomes your fairy godmother…
Sixteen year old outsider, Jess Parker, gets the chance of a lifetime: an invitation to join a secret society of popular girls dedicated to defeating the mean girls of the world. The Cinderella Society guides all new recruits through its top secret ultimate life makeover. It’s all part of preparing them to face down the Wickeds and win. Determined not to let the Cindys down, Jess dives in with a passion. Finally, a chance to belong and show the world what she’s made of.
… be careful what you wish for.
Jess’s transformation wins her the heart of her dream crush and a shot at uber-popularity. Until the Wickeds–led by Jess’s arch enemy–begin targeting innocent girls in their war against the Cindys, and Jess discovers the real force behind her exclusive society. It’s a high stakes battle of good vs. evil, and the Cindys in power need Jess on special assignment. When the mission threatens to destroy her dream life come true, Jess is forced to choose between living a fairy tale and honoring the Sisterhood… and herself.
What’s a girl to do when the glass slipper fits, but she doesn’t want to wear it anymore?"

I received a copy of this for review thanks to Lynsey at UK Book Tours.

I really wanted to like this book. Just occasionally I really love a totally girly book and this sounded like a good one. But after 60 or 70 pages I found myself having to force myself to read it to a certain extent. I skimmed the rest of the way through the book because I did want to know what happened. Its entirely possible that in a different mood I could really enjoy this book, but at the time, I didn't. I liked the writing, the characters, the plot. It wasn't a superficial book, it went deeper than I expected. Normally that would be something that would keep my interest and I'd enjoy. I think if anyone is just a little more in to books like this than I am, then it would be a great read, I really do. So while I didn't read the book in full and get the full experience, I'd still recommend it. Like I said, another day and I may have loved it myself.

Afterlife by Claudia Gray [Evernight #4]

E-ARC received thanks to NetGalley and HarperTeen. Thank you! Release date: March 8th 2011

This fourth and final Evernight book (about Bianca anyway, Balthazar is getting his own book) was everything that it should have been. Dark, emotional, revealing and brilliant. It had to deal with a lot of issues left from the previous books, and after the shocking end to Hourglass [book #3] I did have to wonder how satisfying an ending there could be for the series knowing what we did about the characters, and how they felt about certain things. I shouldn't have worried. It was a fantastic book and I loved it beginning to end. If you liked the previous ones, this should be a hit as well. Rating: 9/10

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

 "In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees. . .

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what it is, though, isn't easy.

Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place--and out of place, at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.

As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make--between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?"

E-ARC received thanks to NetGalley and HarperTeen. Thank you! Release date: January 4th 2011

Hmm, where to start....WOW. Awesome, amazing, fantastic, brilliant, wonderful, incredible, spectacular...

Saying I loved this book would be a massive understatement. It is without doubt one of my favourite reads of the year so far. I loved it from chapter one and could barely put it down. It dragged me in, held on tight and ripped me apart through a very emotional end. It's suburb. Fantastic, well rounded characters, a setting that's almost as alive as them, a story that's got depth, creativity and the mythology to make it real. You know how just sometimes you can start a book and within a few short paragraphs or pages you just know you're on to a winner? Something special that's going to leave an impression and be a lasting favourite? Yeah, that was this book for me. The twists to this story were expertly done and left me breathless. This was a debut novel? Seriously? *shakes head in disbelief* It was beautifully written, very funny in just the right places, and the characters...simply fantastic. There is one certain boy who I completely fell in love with. He is basically my perfect guy. Why isn't he real?! Adored it from beginning to end. If there is one book you must buy at the start of the new year, this should be it. Rating: 10/10

Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick

Crescendo is the sequel to Hush, Hush, some spoilers for it ahead. I received an ARC copy of Crescendo for review thanks to Lynsey at UK Book Tours.

"Nora should have known her life was far from perfect. Despite starting a relationship with her guardian angel, Patch (who, title aside, can be described as anything but angelic), and surviving an attempt on her life, things are not looking up. Patch is starting to pull away, and Nora can't figure out if it's for her best interest or if his interest has shifted to her arch-enemy Marcie Milliar. Not to mention that Nora is haunted by images of her father and she becomes obsessed with finding out what really happened to him that night he left for Portland and never came home.

The farther Nora delves into the mystery of her father's death, the more she comes to question if her Nephilim blood line had something to do with it as well as why she seems to be in danger more than the average girl. Since Patch isn't answering her questions and seems to be standing in her way, she has to start finding the answers on her own. Relying too heavily on the fact that she has a guardian angel puts Nora at risk again and again. But can she really count on Patch, or is he hiding secrets darker than she can even imagine?"

I finished Crescendo a few days ago, but I'm still not entirely sure what I think of it. I loved Hush, Hush. I didn't think it was spectacular (characters a little flat, Patch too much of a bad-boy, Nora too willing to ignore it), but I loved it anyway, so of course I was looking forward to the sequel. I was particularly interested in the story of Nora's fathers death, and how it connected to the Nephilim. But I found myself quickly loosing enthusiasm while reading it. I found it predictable, and far too alike Hush, Hush in many respects. It wasn't hard to figure out where the danger was really coming from, or what had really happened to Nora's father.

I didn't love Nora in Hush, Hush, didn't even like her that much. She was too flat and far too willing to do whatever Patch wanted when she shouldn't have been near him. And she never told Vee, her obnoxious, insensitive 'best friend' to stop being such. And my opinion hasn't really changed. I kept waiting for some growth from her, but what there was minimal and didn't really seem to last, she kept going back to how she was before it seemed to me.

Patch. Stalker, bad-boy, seriously dangerous. He was in Hush, Hush, and despite knowing he was really too bad to be good, I kinda loved him. Possibly for the contrast he was to Nora, where she was a bit of a straight laced goody-two-shoes, he was the opposite. I wish I could say that carried over to this book, but it didn't. I kinda hated him a few times throughout this book, and (obnoxious about it or not) completely agreed with Vee when she said he was bad news and that Nora was better off without him.

There were a few times I would have liked to slap both Patch and Nora for their behaviour and stupidity. At least twice Patch was getting really mad at Nora for 'not letting him explain' and her just getting crazy. And I was thinking 'what the heck?!?' because a) he wasn't trying to explain, not once. And b) Nora had every reason to be furious at him for his behaviour and yet he expected her to accept it without explanation. Made no sense whatsoever. And neither did several of Nora's outbursts which came from nowhere (even if there was reason) and would die just as fast. Not to mention that I never really felt they 'fit' as a couple in this one. Not a healthy relationship in book one, but a steamy one that somehow worked anyway. But here...it just didn't for me. All their interaction was brief and it felt like there were chunks missing. Nothing was fleshed out the way it really needed to be to truly work.

The story itself, like I said, felt very alike Hush, Hush, in many ways, just a few minor details switched. I spent a fair bit of time reading it and thinking 'didn't I read this already?' I finished Hush, Hush in a day easily. It flowed at a fast pace and was an easy read. Crescendo I more or less finished in a day as well, but it took far more effort on my part. The first half really dragged for me. It picked up a bit past the halfway point, and the final 100 pages raced past. And I did actually enjoy the final 100 pages. I knew what was coming, how it would play out, but I'd finally gotten sucked in enough that it didn't matter, just like Hush, Hush. I was surprised just once reading this book, and that was the very final twist on the last page. That one I never saw coming and may be my biggest reason for wanting to read Tempest, book 3, when it's released rather than waiting for a cheap paperback copy.

So can I really have liked a book when it was so predictable and same-y? Can I really have not when I did still finish it in a day and enjoy (more or less) the final 100 pages (which is a quarter of the book)? I really don't know. It wasn't what I wanted from this second book. I wanted character development and a new story, and I didn't find that. There wasn't (bar the final one) any surprise because it was far to easy to see them coming chapters off, or simply because I could see the same patterns from Hush, Hush appearing. So overall, yes I was disappointed with this (and I realise I appear to be well in the minority here, please don't hate me for it). There was the odd moment I liked, and like I said the final 100 pages weren't bad, even if they were predictable (and I was rolling my eyes a bit through one particular 'tense' section). But Nora, gah, the girl drove me nuts!! And Patch felt flatter than he did in Hush, Hush, relying only on that mysterious/bad boy vibe to get him through and it didn't work for me. So...yeah, not a great read, and a disappointing sequel in my opinion, with some good moments.

Rating: 4/10

Angel by L. A. Weatherly

ARC copy received for review thanks to Lynsey at UK Book Tours!

"Willow knows she's different from other girls. And not just because she loves tinkering around with cars. Willow has a gift. She can look into people's futures, know their dreams, their hopes and their regrets, just by touching them. She has no idea where she gets this power from...


But Alex does. Gorgeous, mysterious Alex knows Willow's secret and is on a mission to stop her. The dark forces within Willow make her dangerous - and irresistible. In spite of himself, Alex finds he is falling in love with his sworn enemy."

I have to start by saying that fantasy books about angels are growing on me rapidly right now, and the concept for this new YA trilogy, summed up with the tag line: 'The only good angel is a dead angel,' had me wanting this book in an instant.

In the world L. A. has created here angels invaded our world because theirs is dying. But they survive by taking energy from humans leaving them with 'angel burn' something that drains them of life, causes mental problems and can cause cancer. But anyone who's touched by an angel only remembers it as a wonderful experience and they'll do anything for another touch of the angels.

There are those who hunt the angels, Angel Killers, or AK's for short. Alex is one such guy. He's 17 and he's been hunting them since he was a kid. He doesn't know anything else. They're his enemy and he'll do whatever it takes to destroy them all. He's given orders via text, just an address of where the angel lives. When he gets a new order through he finds himself at the residence of a 16 year old girl, Willow. Her energy doesn't read as a full angel though, it reads as a mix of human and angel. Something that should be impossible. Instead of killing her as he should he begins to follow her. He needs to know what she is and he's convinced something isn't right. Before long the angels make an attempt at killing Willow themselves, and Alex flees with her. On the run they have to battle growing feelings for each other unsure if there is anywhere safe left for them to run to before the angels find them and take them out.

This book had me hooked from the start. It's told primarily from Alex and Willow's perspectives (third person for Alex, first for Willow) with a few short sections also in third person from a couple other perspectives. Alex's dark, steel edged narrative starts the book off fantastically and I found myself liking him almost instantly. Then it switched to Willow's point of view. A much softer, more innocent voice and yet, like Alex, there was something about her that seemed older than she really was already. I found Willow just as easy to like, and I love that she's not your typical girl, being in to cars, psychic and with a very different dress sense to most.

They're both smart characters but with a sometimes narrow view of the world. That's not a criticism, it's actually something I find far more real and fitting. Especially coming from two teenagers. I thoroughly enjoyed the twists as more was revealed about them as the book unfolded and they changed and grew. I loved how the relationship between them grew. They noticed each other pretty instantly, but nothing happened for a long while and they didn't always get along. I love that it wasn't instant head-over-heels love that changed everything for them. I felt they were both well rounded characters with a lot of 'life' to them, together and apart.

I loved the twists of the story. I was never too sure what was going to happen and I had to keep reading to find out what happened. I could barely put the book down. There are certain things you can figure out before they happen, but others caught me completely by surprise, but even when I guessed the outcome, it didn't ruin it for me. It all just worked. I felt the balance between the romance and the rest of the plot worked as well. While yes, there were times where Alex and Willow were more focused on each other, the danger they faced was never far from their thoughts and it's what it always came back to. The romance is a big part of the story but it's far from everything.

Angel is well written, smart, funny at times, dark and very different. I loved it and it left me wanting book 2, Angel Fire (out June 2011), like, yesterday! I Fantastic work and a book I'd highly recommend. I've got a feeling Angel Fire and Angel Fever (out Oct 2011) could be even better than this. As it stands it's still got to be my favourite angel centered book to date. I'm doubly excited about the fact that I loved this book because the end of October the author is actually doing a signing in my city! Nothing good ever happens here lol. So I'm very excited to meet L. A. and get a signed copy, as well as maybe having the chance to chat with her a little about the series.

Rating: 9/10

Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers

"Frannie Cavanaugh is a good Catholic girl with a bit of a wicked streak. She's spent years keeping everyone at a distance - even her closest friends - and it seems her senior year will be more of the same...until Luc Cain enrolls in her class. No one knows where he came from, but Frannie can't seem to stay away from him. What she doesn't know is that Luc works in Acquisitions - for Hell - and she possesses a unique skill set that has the King of Hell tingling with anticipation. All Luc has to do is get her to sin, and he's as tempting as they come. Frannie doesn't stand a chance.

Unfortunately for Luc, Heaven has other plans, and the angel, Gabe, is going to do whatever it takes to make sure that Luc doesn't get what he came for. And it isn't long before they find themselves fighting for more than just her soul.

But if Luc fails, there will be Hell to pay...for all of them."

Personal Demons is the debut book from Lisa Desrochers, the first of a planned trilogy. Take a girl, a Catholic girl with a crisis of faith and a very special skill. Add in an incredibly hot demon intent on corrupting her to take her back to Hell. An equally hot angel, intent on saving her soul to take her back to Heaven. Both wanting her for that special skill on their own sides. Add in some good old teenage hormones and you've got one of the hottest teen reads there are. Like, hot enough I was worrying about the sizzle factor it could cause on my favourite shelf. Yes really.

Okay, so this book is not simply about the love triangle, though it's certainly about that as well. It's about a girl who can't forgive herself for something that happened in her past. It's brought her to keep everyone at bay and question everything about the God she was raised to believe. When Luc and Gabe both suddenly appear as students at her high school, with obvious interest in her, things start spiraling out of control. Frannie is someone who has worked hard for her control, to keep others at a distance. She knows that Luc is bad for her. She knows that Gabe should be the easy choice of the two. But letting either of them in is something she isn't really prepared for.

I was hooked from the first snippet of this book I read on Lisa's blog, so of course I was very excited for it to finally be out and me to finally have my hands on it. And I wasn't let down at all. I could barely put it down and finished it in a day pretty easily. I confess that despite my love for the snippets I'd already read, I thought this would primarily be a love triangle story, with only semi deep characters. Which would have been okay, cause sometimes those books are exactly what's wanted. But that wasn't actually the case. Frannie and Luc (who both narrate the story) were both deep, well rounded characters who grew and changed through the book. Gabe was as well, although we don't see as much of him as Luc. The battle for Frannie's soul, and her heart, is the main plot of the book, but there is so much else tied in to it and it works beautifully.

And the sexual tension between Frannie and the boys? Oh hell! Seriously intense. Both guys are very hot, and have different qualities that made me love them both pretty equally. I am totally team Luc, but I think I want Gabe for myself. Don't get me wrong, Luc is amazing, and I love his darker edge, but there is just something about Gabe that I just fell in love with. And yet I'm team Luc because for Frannie, I believe that's the only way it should go.

It's a fast paced read, and very well written. The chemistry between characters is undeniable, but also the depth and seriousness to them. This isn't a light, easy read, or I didn't find it as such. It honestly made me think a lot more than I thought it would, in a very good way. Some really good twists along the way and some great character development as well. It's dark, sexy and simply fantastic. There's some good funny moments as well, and some of the reactions to Luc and Gabe constantly had me cracking up. The ending got pretty intense and while certain aspects felt a little light for what had happened, there was still a subtle darker undertone of things still to come. I loved it from page one and I am very excited for books 2 and 3, Original Sin and Hellbent (out 2011 and 2012). I think my only real complaint is with the cover. While the modals' may be a match on the physical description (more or less), both Frannie and Luc look too old to be 17 (okay, so Luc isn't 17, but he is meant to look like he is). But really, what does a cover matter? I loved it the inside content. A must read.

Rating: 9/10

Fallen by Lauren Kate

17 year old Luce has just arrived at Sword and Cross, a reform school for troubled teens. She's shut away from her family and friends, from her normal life after one tragic event months ago left her with a burden she can hardly bare.

Once there she meets two boys. Cam, who's friendly and welcoming, and Daniel, who constantly pushes her away. But it's Daniel, Luce can't stop thinking about. And she can't shake the feeling that she's met him before. Before long things become tangled, her affections for both guys making things hard for her at Sword and Cross. She arrived determined to keep her burden to herself, but soon she realises that everyone has secret burdens to share. Some far bigger than her own.

Before reading this book, I'd heard good and bad things about it, but fallen angels and forbidden love, how could I not try it? Honestly, I mostly wish I hadn't bothered. The prologue captures interest well, made me think I was in for a decent story, sadly I was quickly proven wrong. The first half is basically all the same things, over and over. Luce unhappy, wanting Daniel, Daniel pushing her away, liking Cam, Cam liking her, seeing 'shadows' that scare her, have scared her, her whole life. It was a continuous loop. Very slow and pretty dull.

Luce was pretty wrapped up in Daniel and didn't seem to fussed about anything else. Instead of questioning his behaviour or ignoring him, she just mooned after him. Very Twilight. You keep being told about the shadows bothering her, but it's all the same thing through the first half, constantly mentioning the places they're worst, that they do this or that but not the other. Likewise, Luce's secret, the reason she's there, it kept being brought up, but never with more detail than before, never in a different way, always with the same background.

Around halfway, things did begin to pick up. More started happening and while Luce's character never stopped being the flat, simpering girl she is, there was at least a little more plot. Around the three quarters mark, things picked up further and it actually became a semi-decent read. Luce still annoyed me, but there was enough going on that I could ignore it for a bit.

The ending could have been worse, but it was a bit too over dramatic in an annoying way. The epilogue though, now that I could do with more of. Unlike the rest of the book, the epilogue is from Daniels POV (though still told in third person, like the rest of the book) and it held far more interest. There was interaction between him and another character, one I won't name for spoiler reasons, that was...interesting. A plot twist with unknown consequences that was much more interesting than Luce and Daniel's tormented love story.

Overall, this book could have really done with at least a hundred pages from the first half being cut. Would have stopped it dragging quite so much. Even so, I don't think I'd have been very impressed. Fans of Twilight will probably enjoy this, it's got the same obsessive love story with some paranormal thrown in for good measure. If however, like me, you prefer your protagonists thinking about more than just A Guy, then chances are, this isn't for you. This book unfortunately probably lends to the theory that all young adult books feature weak, love sick girls. Not something I really think should be promoted quite so highly as it is. Some recs if you're looking for more from a book: Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead and Strange Angels by Lili St Crow.

Will I be picking up the second book, Torment, in the Fall? Very unlikely. 3/10 [1 mark simply for the stunning cover, which I adore.]

Succubus Shadows by Richelle Mead

SPOILER WARNING! Some spoilers for previous books. Read at your own risk.

"Georgina Kincaid has formidable powers. Immortality, seduction, shape-shifting - child's play to a succubus like her.

Helping to plan her ex boyfriend's wedding is a different story. Georgina isn't sure which is worse - that he's marrying another woman or that she's having to run around trying on bridesmaid dresses. Still, there are distractions. There's a new succubus in town who seems intent on corrupting Georgina's soon to-be-wed ex.

But the real danger lies in the mysterious force that's taken to visiting Georgina's thoughts. Soon she's going to discover who she can trust, who she can't - and that there are far worse places than Hell in which to spend eternity..."

Succubus Shadows is the fifth book in the Georgina Kincaid series by Richelle Mead, who also writes my favourite series, Vampire Academy, and another great adult UF series, Dark Swan. I loved the first three books in this series, but the previous one, Succubus Heat, just felt a little 'off' to me. More of a filler book setting up for the rest of the series. So while I was looking forward to this book, I wasn't desperate for it and I was cautious reading it, hoping it would feel more like the brilliance of the first three. I shouldn't have worried. It was. I completely loved this book!

Georgina isn't too happy. She's having to put up with a roommate she'd rather not have (who refuses to pay rent or do any housekeeping or anything on top of wanting her dead), she's having to try on bridesmaid dresses, help her best friend (who's marrying her ex) find the perfect wedding dress and there is a new succubus around preying on said ex. Oh, and some strange siren call keeps plaguing Georgina in a deadly way. Immortal intrigue of the best kind.

There are a lot of different plots all brought together within this book. Threads left over from I think every book all twisted up together. But it's carefully done, balancing the immortal problems with the more 'mundane' ones so that they all get attention, but without jumping around too much or dragging the story down at all. And despite the rough time Georgina is having, there is still a touch of humor with a few particularly well placed lines and a great sub-plot involving Cody, one of Georgina's vampire friends.

We discover a fair bit more of Georgina's past in this book too. Some of the things she's done before that she regrets, and some reason and understanding of why she is how she is. I couldn't help but feel for Georgina as she went through the things she did in this book. But we also get a much better look at Jerome and Carter, and their motives, in this book which I also found fascinating. They're pretty aloof characters normally, and we don't see much of the real 'them' but we see some of it here which I really liked.

The ending was heart wrenching in places and so sweet in others with a fair bit of shock thrown in. Right up to the final twist I didn't see coming that left me desperate for the next book. There is nothing in this book I didn't enjoy! It's a very well crafted story that was very, very hard to put down. 10/10

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Nora Grey is annoyed when her biology teacher changes the seating arrangements. Now instead of sitting beside her best friend Vee, she's sat by the very hot bad boy Patch. It doesn't take long for it to become obvious he knows far more about her than he should. Creeped out but attracted to him she tries to keep her distance from him.

Vee hopes that new transfer student Elliot will help with that. And it gives Vee an excuse to hang out with Elliot's best friend Jules, who she's interested in. Both Elliot and Patch are hiding secrets and as Nora finds herself in a few strange and dangerous situations she doesn't know who she can trust. Or where to turn to for help.

Okay, this book is far from perfect. The characters are a bit 2D, Nora is a little passive and not always that smart. She seems to let herself get pushed around by Vee, guys, her counsellor etc. Patch is pretty much your classic bad boy: mysterious, dark, dangerous, brooding and kind of a jerk. There are aspects of the story that are a little cliched and predictable too.

But I don't care about any of that or it's other little flaws. I really, really loved this book. It sucked me in quickly and I had a very hard job putting it down. Yes Nora verged on annoying and too passive at times, but again, I don't really care. I really liked the plot with the fallen angels and how everything fitted together. The book moves along at a really quick pace, twisting from one thing to the next right up to the pretty intense ending. It's easy to read and easy to get lost in and I'm really looking forward to the second book, Cresendo. 8/10