This was a hot mess of a story. I really wanted to like this story as I normally enjoy paranormal romances but this was all over the place. The characters and overall story fell flat and I could not enjoy any part of this.
Lailah knows she is different but she doesn’t know exactly how she is different. Everything changes when she crosses path with Gabriel, a rogue angel, and Jonah, a wounded stranger. Lailah soon finds herself in the middle of the a battle between good and evil, even more so when she discovers that Gabriel is on the side of good and Jonah on the side of bad (he’s a vampire). Both boys want to protect her but she must discover how she fits into this battle and what side she wants to take – angels or devils?
This entire review won’t be negative. There were parts of the story that I found interesting. I am always drawn to stories that deal with good vs. evil or angels vs. devils. I was hoping this story would explore that more but alas, it was focused on…. the dreaded love triangle. I’ll get into that more soon. I enjoyed how the author created her own version of mythology for both sides. She also did a good job with world building so I was able to really visualize where the characters were.
Writing about a vampire book will almost always cause someone to ask about Twilight, you know it’s true. That being said, I could not stop comparing this to that book. It just read too much like a Twilight fan fic story. Vampires? Check. Mythology of how bad vampires are supposed to be? Check. Special girl who is torn between both? Check. Shimmering in moonlight/sunlight? Check. Girl does not seem to know how to function unless one of the boys swoons after her? Check. I could keep going but you get the point. The only difference I could find that stood out was this had angels and Twilight had werewolves.
I was not a fan of any of the characters. I only remember the three main ones because nobody else stood out to me. They all felt one dimensional and flat. There was no character development or growth. They were all so stereotypical and cliche. “Long blonde waves of cascading waves” or “pearly white teeth” were the descriptive phrases given. Give me a freaking break. Granted, it isn’t the dreaded “smattering of freckles across the nose” but it was still bad. Why can’t someone have stringy or short hair? Why does it always have to be long, blonde, and wavy? Give them flaws!
That dreaded love triangle between these clueless characters really kept me from enjoying this story more. I wasn’t cheering for anyone to get together as I didn’t get on board with any of the potential relationships. How do you expect me to cheer for a protagonist that feels she isn’t worth anything unless a boy wants her? Grrr… Lailah was mean and rude to the other characters so why would I root for her throughout this story? She was shallow, a brat, and a jerk. I kept hoping someone would bite her neck and call it a day.
Overall I was incredibly disappointed with this story. I did not start this with high expectations but this still left me underwhelmed. It was campy, cheesy, and frustrating. Like I mentioned, it read like a Twilight fan fic story so I just could not take it very seriously. I will not be picking up the second book in the series for obvious reasons.
