When I was about 75 pages in; the book was moving, but it was a bit confusing. There were quite a few characters to remember and there had been a few events that didn't really make sense yet. I was hoping that the story picked up and that I would enjoy the book in the end and I did. This is yet another take on Angels and their role in the world. It is not religious really, not like other Angel books I have read, but the concept of Angels as warriors is biblical.
Though the story was muddled and confusing in the beginning, after a couple more events, things started to make more sense and the book became more enjoyable. There is both action and romance in this book. Like many other books, the heroine is torn between two guys, one is good and kind, the other has done many bad things, but stopped because he loved her. At least in this novel, Helen makes a choice. No, I am not going to tell you who or what happens, that is for you to find out when you read the book.
This book is a paranormal, historical romance. Yes, sounds confusing, but believe me, it's not. Basically the story is set in like the Victorian period, but the rest of the story is a paranormal romance, it just takes place in a different time period.
I enjoyed the character development and would like to see more of these characters, though I have not been able to find if there will be more, or if this is a standalone novel. There is an ending of sorts to this book, enough that you are left feeling happy and contented, but there is still enough openness that more could be written. There are not many open questions at the end, which is a good thing in my opinion. It bugs me when books are totally left hanging, like the author wasn't sure where the story was going to go and so they stopped at a point, published the book, and decided after sales whether to write more.
Positives:
It has an ending. Helen actually makes decisions.
The characters are pretty developed, but there is enough left unknown that more novels could be written.
After a confusing start, it is fast paced.
There is romance.
Helen is a good role model; she is strong, independent, caring, understanding, compassionate, and brave.
There is no sex.
It is a longer book, and a lot happens.
There is a pretty tidy ending, but everything bad that happened in the story does not get fixed. I hate too perfect of endings, kind of annoying.
Negatives:
Could have seen more development in the male characters, maybe a book in their POV would be helpful.
Stereotypical love triangle, but that is not the worst thing.
No development of the "bad" characters, except Raum, at all. There are quite a few unanswered questions there.
Helen puts herself in "damsel in distress" situations throughout the book, doing things that make you want to scream, no! What are you thinking, stop!
The male characters are very typical, one dark, brooding, and moody; the other literally a golden boy. I am not sure there is a better way to write male characters, so it doesn't kill the story for me.
Overall, this was an enjoyable, lighthearted read. About 2/3 of the way in I was so hooked, I had to force myself to go to bed. I then picked up the book as soon as my husband's alarm went off and promptly ignored everything, but breakfast, until I finished the book. In my opinion, that is a good story. If it makes me want to do nothing else but finish it, I enjoyed it. I would read a sequel to this story, if the author wrote one.
I received an ARC of this story, but I am not paid to write reviews. I do so in order for you to have a better understanding of what your children are reading and so that teachers can recommend appropriate books. I would recommend this story for girls grades 7 through adult, I don't think a boy would be as engrossed with this story.
Please read more of my reviews on my blog: sarahereads(dot)wordpress(dot)com
