Halo by Alexandra Adornetto
1:58 AM
Author: Alexandra Adornetto
Release Date: August 31, 2010 (hardcover)
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Pages: 496
Source: Bought
Overall: 3 Stars
Summary:
An angel is sent to Earth on a mission.
But falling in love is not part of the plan.
Three angels- Gabriel, the warrior; Ivy, the healer; and Bethany the youngest and most human- are sent by Heaven to bring good to a world falling under the influence of darkness. They work hard to conceal their luminous glow, superhuman powers, and, most dangerous of all, their wings, all the while avoiding human attachments.
Then Bethany meets Xavier Woods, and neither of them is able to resist the attraction between them. Gabriel and Ivy do everything in their power to intervene, but the bind between Xavier and Bethany seems too strong.
The angels' mission is urgent, and dark forces are threatening. Will love ruin Bethany or save her?
My Thoughts:
I was really prepared to be amazed by Halo. I mean, all of the reviews I've read so far have been pretty much positive and when I first saw the cover, I'm pretty sure I gasped aloud because it's just so freaking gorgeous. I had certain expectations for this novel, so I was surprised when I realized with trepidation that I would not in fact be falling in love it. I'm not going to say it was a complete let down for me, but I was disappointed. I really struggled while reading Halo. It took me several days to finally complete the novel, but I'm usually the sort of reader who finishes a novel within hours.
Adornetto has a flair for descriptions and her writing has a certain eloquence to it when she's describing a scene that it clearly brings an image to mind. It was great in the beginning when Bethany and her siblings first arrived on Earth. Bethany is adjusting to not only her human body but the world around her and Adornetto did a great job giving us a sense of Bethany's naivety and innocence... but after awhile, I began to grow... bored. I understand that Heaven is a lot different than Earth, but the very long descriptions over simple things didn't seem to stop. Little details about the setting are added in for good measure but they could have easily been left out and they only proved to slow the plot for me.
The so called Dark Forces were barely mentioned in the novel. In fact, after the little intro about how angels had to stop them before they caused harm, the topic didn't seem to really come up again. It focused more on the forbidden romance between Bethany and Xavier, and I kept having to remind myself that the Dark Forces were apparently at work. At some point, bad things were bound to happen, but nothing really did. The conflicts that did arise were solved so easily, I could hardly call them 'conflicts' at all. There's a lot of talking, thinking, and then more talking- hardly the sort of build up I was really hoping for. When the Dark Forces finally come into play, near the end of the novel I might add, everything seemed so anticlimactic- the 'big', final scene is over before you know it.
I'm still on the fence if I like Bethany as a main character, which is weird because she's an angel, right? How could I not like her? I guess a part of the reason may have been that I wasn't exactly impressed with how quickly she falls for Xavier. They barely know each other and after only a few moments of interaction in the story, they were already falling head over heels in love with each other. Xavier has a dark past but he's an overall amazing guy... almost too amazing. He just accepted things so easily without any fear or hesitation. The all-to-quick romance just wasn't believable enough for me.
In the end, I just liked Halo and even then, I'm still unsure if it does deserve the three stars since I seem to be sort of ranting about it. I may have bumped it up a bit because I still love the cover and could stare at it for ages. I'm still going to check out Hades, the next book in the series, when it's released next year (already looking forward to see how they could possibly top the cover!), but I don't think I'm going to be anxious to read it like I was with Halo. If anything, I'm probably going to be more cautious of what to expect since Halo was not quite the novel I was hoping it would be.
And please don't let this less than stellar review discourage you from checking out the book. I'm still hearing positive reactions to the novel, even if mine wasn't exactly the case!
3 comments
I love a honest review but I agree with you everybody's taste are so different they may love this book.
ReplyDeleteI've heard mixed reviews about this novel. I'm still going to read it but my expectations aren't terribly high. It will probably help me enjoy it even more. Thanks for the honest review!
ReplyDeleteLike you, I've been eager to read Halo, but this is the first review I've read of it, and that's disapointing! It won't stop me from reading it, but everything you mentioned seems common in books I dislike.
ReplyDeleteI do agree though, the cover is simply stunning!