Tuesday 9 April 2013

Book Review - Angels in the Shadows

Title: Angel in the Shadows
Author: Lisa Grace
Series: The Angels (book 1)
Publisher: Lisa Grace Books
Release Date: 23 May 2011
ASIN: B0052AI5W8

 Synopsis
The difference between vampires and angels? Angels are real.
Fifteen-year-old Megan Laughlin has a gift--or what seems like a curse at times. Megan sees angels and demons.
Megan knows her destiny is to protect her friends against dark angels who try to sway them into situations that can destroy their lives, their souls, and their eternity.
At school, she recognizes Judas, an über popular boy, as an evil angel hell-bent on destroying her and everyone she loves. As Judas spreads horrible rumors and overdoses two of her classmates at a rave, Megan realizes the enormity of his power. While classmates die, Megan, with the help of an angel, Johnny, and a team of friends will face the fight of their lives as they battle Judas.
Megan thinks God hasn't given her any "special" powers, but discovers she has what she needs as she confronts Judas and his seemingly unconquerable power.


My Review
I'm not actually sure where I got this book from, I know that sounds bad but it really is a mystery to me. It's been on my kindle app for ages and I never got round to reading it. I've just searched back through my emails to find out who sent it to me and apologise for the very delayed review but there is no email. I don't delete request emails until they are 'completed' and even then I tend to put them in a folder, so I am stumped.
Anyway, I finally got round to reading it, however long it's been on there. It's not a very long book, I read it in about 3 hours.
From the blurb I knew there would be some reference to God and Christianity etc but I didn't realise just how much there would be. I am a Christian so I of course don't object to talk about God and religion, but this did feel a little bit too preachy. So if a good Christian adventure is your taste then you will love this, but if not, it's probably not for you. The author clearly has very strong beliefs and she puts them across throughout the book, I admire her firm beliefs and I will admit I learnt some things I didn't necessarily know before
As for the actual storyline, it was well thought out and quite compelling, I wanted to know more and actually read this book in one go. There is enough mystery, adventure and action to keep you hooked and everything moves on at a good pace.
THe voice/narrative grated me a little bit, it was very descriptive and written a little bit like a log, I didn't feel Megan's voice ring out to me, it was more telling me what was happening than showing me. I felt like a spectator, on the outside looking in. It didn't feel like I really got to know Megan or any of the other characters. And in some places the tenses would shift, (not direct quotes) but from 'we sat and talked as the evening passed' to 'If I hadn't have waited then it might not have got worse'. These rare moments do make you feel like she is talking to you as a reader, but they are very out of place and kind of make the story slightly disjointed.
Despite that, I did enjoy the story, as I said before it was very gripping and leaves on a cliffhanger that made me want to dive into book 2, which mysteriously I had on there too and am now halfway through (look for review tomorrow). 

Although there were issues with narrative and over preachy, this book was a good read and I must say I enjoyed reading it. So wherever it came from, thanks. 

My Rating

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