All Airel ever wanted to be was normal, to disappear into the crowd. But bloodlines can produce surprises, like sudden mysterious illness. Then there’s Michael Alexander, the new guy in school, who is impossibly gorgeous…and captivated by her. Somewhere in the back of her mind she can hear the sound of pages turning, and another, older story being written. It is the story of an ancient family, of great warriors, of the Sword of Light, and the struggle against an evil so terrible, so far-reaching, that it threatens everything she hopes for even now. Airel knew change would be inevitable as life went on. But can she hold on when murder and darkness begin to close in and take away everything she loves? Will she have what it takes when the truth is finally revealed?
My Review:
4 STARS
I LOVE THE COVER!!!!
I have had this fascination with fallen angel stories lately and I just love them. I expected Airel to be similar to most of the fallen angel stories I've read but it is nothing like those except that it is about a fallen angel. This was such a unique twist to the common way angels are portrayed. There are two stories going on through most of the book that are woven together at the end.
First you have the story set in present day Boise, ID where an average high school girl Airel is just living her normal life when suddenly hot new boy enters and she catches the love bug! The second story is about the fallen angel Kreios dated back in 1250 BC and his struggles with losing his wife and then the battles of the Brotherhood. In Part 1 of this book having the 2 separate stories going on was a bit hard to follow but you instantly were connected to the lives of Kreios and Airel.
One of the things I liked most about this story is the main character Airel. The authors nailed a typical teenage girl with the glimpses they give us of being inside her head. I love how we see in to her mind, because it is pretty hilarious in there. There were so many quotes I loved, here is a favorite: "Sometimes I watched all the popular girls, wondering if they actually had brains or if they just ran on batteries, plugging in at night to charge their ever-so-perfect personalities. No bitterness here!"
There wasn't a whole lot of dialogue in this story; most of it is coming from the minds of the characters. This was a new way to read a story, I did enjoy it, although at times I wished there was more conversations going on. You get to see in the minds of Airel, of Kreios, and of a killer. The struggle between good and evil is the forefront of this great story!
The ending was the best! I was a bit frustrated at how things were going and wasn't sure I'd like the way it ended but the authors sure pulled out the big stuff for an ending that leaves you begging for the next book!
I loved the message that is being taught; "you don't need a man to love you and make you special, you are special because you are you...see and believe you are one of God's children; that's what makes you special."
Great YA fantasy that I highly recommend to those that love the fallen angel stories like Hush, Hush and others alike.
I received this book free from PUYB for my honest opinion and review. I would not recommend this book if I didn't enjoy it!
About Aaron Patterson:
Aaron Patterson lives in Boise Idaho, and has three children, Soleil, Kale, and Klayton. Aaron is the author of the bestselling WJA series. SWEET DREAMS, DREAM ON and IN YOUR DREAMS (coming soon). He also began a line of "Digital Shorts" which are eBook short stories. His first in the line is "19, and The Craigslist killer."
About Chris White:
Chris loves history, Sherlock Holmes, and anything that's not virtual, like old motorcycles and mechanical typewriters. He also doesn't get why we have these things called "smartphones" when all they do is make people dumber. He recently celebrated 10 years of marriage with his wife, April, and has two boys: Noah, age 8, and Jaden, age 3, who inspired the Great Jammy Adventure series; the OK-to-color-in picture books. Chris is working on a short story called The Marsburg Diary that will further explore one of the subplots of Airel (with Aaron Patterson). His first novel, K: phantasmagoria, is due out in 2011. Chris has a major crush on Audrey Hepburn, who is now dead. He also thinks Mary Poppins is hot. His wife is okay with all of this. Buy Airel from Amazon:
Thanks so much for the great review! Cheers!
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