Review: Halo (Halo #1)

Title: Halo (Halo #1)
Author: Alexandra Adornetto
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Pages: 496
Challenge: None


My Rating:

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 must work hard to conceal their luminous glow, superhuman powers, and, most dangerous of all, their wings, all the while avoiding all 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 bond between Xavier and Bethany seems too strong. The angel’s mission is urgent, and dark forces are threatening. Will love ruin Bethany or save her? -summary from goodreads.com

Alright, lets jump right in. I loved this book, I really did. I had read so many negative reviews on this book, that in reality, I just didn’t want to pick it up…. That’ll teach me to be influenced by others negativity. Halo was a rich and delicious reading experience for me, and it was filled with spiritual teachings I often times forget. As far as Halo being “preachy” (I read that in a lot of reviews), I actually felt that it was but being a somewhat religious person myself, that didn’t bother me one bit. If anything, I probably enjoyed it more because of it.

In Halo, we follow three heavenly angels; Gabriel, Ivy and Bethany. I was fascinated with the entire premise of angels coming to Earth to live and work as “agents of light”. Bethany, the youngest of the three angels, finds herself in awe of humanity and the astonishing complexities of teenage life. I loved experiencing all that God has created for mankind through the eyes of Bethany. Listening to her explain the process of getting used to a human body, I felt as if I was a baby learning to walk all over again. All these tiny day-to-day routines we have but seem to overlook seemed 3x more fascinating when someone new to our world is living and describing them.

Soon Bethany enrolls in the local HS and she finds an irresistible connection with the local heartthrob, Xavier. Although Xavier is an all around good guy, he is also well known to keep himself emotionally unavailable. That was something that I loved about Xavier, he’s not your typical love interest who has never been in love. On the contrary, there was somebody in his life before whom he loved and lost, hence the emotional unavailability….. But this fact does not belittle the love that he feels for Bethany.

Bethany and Xavier’s relationship was sweet and realistic… well, you know, besides the part of her being an angel. When things between them started to get tough, Bethany acted the way any other teenage would, and I don’t blame her. I remember how BLIND I was to reason the first time I was in love. Although I’d like to judge Beth for some of her actions… I just can’t. Because I know I would have probably down the exact same thing.

Being a teenage herself when she wrote this book (she was 17…. Seven-freaking-teen!), Ms. Adornetto is also able to capture HS life magnificently. I was literally taken back to HS with the scene description and dialogue…. I forgot how scary it can be. Overall, the author’s writing was phenomenal :) if your looking for a book with a positive message and don’t mind a bit of Christian elements, than Halo is the book for you. I will definitely be picking up book 2; HADES.