Review of Halo by Alexandra Adornetto

Release date: August 31, 2010

496 pages (Hardcover)

Rating: 93% A-

Cover 10/10

Plot 8/10

Characters 8/10

Ending 8/10

Mom Approval Rating 9/10 (Some swearing-less than 5, and sensuality)

Disclosure: ARC from Good Golly Miss Holly’s ARC tour

Nothing much happens in the sleepy town of Venus Cove. But everything changes when three angels are sent from heaven to protect the town against the gathering forces of darkness: Gabriel, the warrior; Ivy, the healer; and Bethany, a teenage girl who is the least experienced of the trio. They work hard to conceal their true identity and, most of all, their wings.

But the mission is threatened when the youngest angel, Bethany, is sent to high school and falls in love with the handsome school captain, Xavier Woods. Will she defy the laws of Heaven by loving him? Things come to a head when the angels realize they are not the only supernatural power in Venus Cove. There′s a new kid in town and he′s charming, seductive and deadly. Worst of all, he′s after Beth.

Summary from Goodreads.com

Alexandra Adornetto is an Australian author, and this is her first US release. Halo is the first in her trilogy to be followed by Hades in 2011 and Heaven in 2012.

Halo was a great read. I first excited because it was my first ARC tour. I started reading when I was supposed to be going to sleep and quickly found myself saying, “just one more chapter.” Venus Cove was a wonderful small town where you really wanted to live and help make a difference. The characters in the story were real. I found Bethany to be one of the strangest characters of all. She’s the youngest in our trio of angels. Gabriel and Ivy act just as you would expect angels to, but Bethany is different. It might be because she is young, or maybe her personality, but she is like Pandora with her curiosity. This gets her into trouble, often. It also makes her seem more human and easier to relate to as a reader. She may be naive, but she’s impulsive, and very loving.

Most of the story follows her relationship with Xavier. It was well developed. I was only bothered when she started talking about sex (are teen angels really supposed to be thinking like that?).

The good vs. evil conflict was also intriguing (enter Jake Thorn here). Jake moves into town and all of the good that Ivy and Gabe have been doing seems to go downhill. Eventually, they suspect Jake, but as angels, they can’t act on suspicion. That actually works pretty well for a plot device, because when things do come to a head they do it in a big way.

I’d recommend this book to fans of paranormal romance. I can’t wait to see how Hades and Heaven add to this promising new series.