Halo by Alexandra Adornetto

Title: Halo (Halo #1)

Author: Alexandra Adornetto

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Release Date: 8/31/10

Pages: 496

Reviewed by Sabrina

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. Then comes the brooding and popular new transfer, Jake Thorn... who just so happens to be in Bethany's class. Something about Jake seems to be hiding something darker, something more powerful than expected. That thing, and Xavier, distracts Bethany to a point that Gabriel and Ivy are concerned.

The angel’s mission is urgent, and dark forces are threatening. Will love ruin Bethany or save her?

My Thoughts

I tried. I tried to give Halo a chance. If you loved this book, please turn away now.

I can start with its best points. I was hooked into Halo for one-third of the 496 pages. The idea of the story was interesting enough. There was enough potential for Halo to develop into something better. The writing, while a bit too descriptive, didn't scary me off as much as I expected it would. The angels, Gabriel and Ivy, are nice, responsible figures. Then there's Bethany...

Bethany is one of the most extremely annoying characters I have read. The only thing that goes on in her mind is Xavier and that ache in her chest. She is always protected by him, despite the fact that she has these celestial powers. When her fellow angels try to talk some sense into her, she snaps, "I won't be treated like a child." She knows what's right but ignores it. She absolutely refuses to listen to that voice in head that tells her to stop and think. Why couldn't this be written in 3rd person?

Let's talk about my next issue with Halo. I didn't understand why three angels were needed in Venus Cove. Gabriel, being an archangel, and Ivy, having the power of healing, shouldn't be in a such cozy, mostly quiet town. They should be over to places where the situation is urgent, or at least in a nearby shelter. There only seemed to be some minor incidents that just one angel could handle.

Speaking of which, the angels should have put more effort into finding the evil that caused those incidents instead of sitting around and waiting for something to happen. In fact, since Venus Cove is said to be the "target of the Dark Forces" there should have been tons of drastic events--so much that it was to be considered common. Seeing those might have made the story a lot more interesting. But no, instead of the mysterious, somewhat exciting story I was expecting, we have the (almost) ordinary story of a strange girl adjusting to the (very cliched) high school life, who falls for Mr. Perfect.

Lastly, I just wanted to add that I hated the messages that were shoved onto the reader, especially the one about "studious girls" having no imagination.

So, as you can tell, Halo wasn't for me. There are others who favored this and if you are still interested, give it a shot.