ARC review
Clara is an Angel-Blood, a descendant of a full-blood angel who has been given her purpose. Clara must save the most desired boy in school from a forest fire. When love gets in the way, how will Clara choose between destiny and the desires of her heart?
My review:
This is a 2011 debut author book and I am excited to start the new year off this way!
Happy 2011 everyone!
I am having very mixed emotions about this book. On the one hand, I really loved Hand’s new vantage on the “girl falling for the perfect boy” or the “paranormal” read. In both cases, Hand really superseded expectations and charged these cliche plot points head on, with determination and finesse. On the other hand, this was an angel book that felt ungrounded as none of the Angel-bloods really had any connection to God. I feel like if you are going to write and angel book, God has to be the cornerstone, He has to dish out the missions and shouldn’t be painted as a contrived, manipulative “man in the sky” who is forcing two characters into a destiny they don’t want. Free will is a huge part of The Bible. In the words of one Tucker Avery, “Church Couldn’t Hurt.”
I am both interested and unnerved at what Cynthia Hand’s series has in store. I will more than likely stop reading unless the author writes of Clara’s growing faith and knowledge of who is asking her to fulfill her purpose. I don’t want to see God painted in an evil light, because that’s not the truth. And from a readers POV, God is now a vital part of the sequel, you want to see Clara get her answers and gains knowledge about her true purpose.
The characters are a wonderful part of this book, I really loved them all and am proud to say that I called Team Tucker on page thirty-something. This is the first time I chose the “un-perfect” male lead as my literary love. Peeta vs. Gale, I’m Pro-Peeta, Edward vs. Jacob, I’m Team Edward. But now Tucker is here in all his rude glory and I sort-of want to hug him and his stetson. Christian is the “perfect” boy and I really didn’t like the character; Clara and Christian always felt so forced, I suppose that was the point, but I didn’t even like Christian as a friend, every time I read a scene involving his hero complex, my eye twitched. Surprisingly, I loved the “mean girl” character. I really felt for Kay and I believe that is Hand’s strong suit, humanizing cliche characters by making them interesting, and three dimensional, even when the reader isn’t reading from their POV.
The book does leave you without a bunch of answers, this is not a stand-alone book series, the same elements and themes will carry over. I’m sure the author will continue on from Clara’s POV, but I think it would be so interesting to read the next book from Angela’s, Jeffery’s or even Christian’s POV.
Notes on the Names: All the characters were well named, their monikers fit their characters and made an impact to the plot.
Thoughts on the Cover: I wanted it to have more to do with fire, I suppose; the blue/purple color scape seems off once you read the book. The font and feathers are gorgeous! The model looks just like Clara, to me, and I love the background, it’s just the blue/purple I have a beef with.
1 comment:
I just finished this book last week and loved it. Although I'm not totally sure how much I loved the ending.
It was interesting to read your review coming from a faith standpoint. The angel/god thing did not bother me. But it was definitely interesting to read a different take on the book.
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