Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.26 AVERAGE
3.26 AVERAGE
*not writing a review because, you know, I'm moving on to Hades, like, right now*
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 influences of darkness. They work hard to conceal their luminous glow, superhuman powers, and, most dangerously 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.
The angel’s mission is urgent, and dark forces are threatening. Will love ruin Bethany or save her? [Description from inside cover flap]
I’m going to warn you now: brace yourself for a rough review. I usually don’t have to give bad reviews, mostly because I’m very careful about the material I read. But I found Halo in Borders for $5 and decided to give it a go, even though it’s not the sort of thing I would normally read. An innocent, naïve, rather stupid angel comes to earth, falls in love with the hot school captain, then expects to get married and have a handful of little half-mortal children? Um…no. Not the sort of thing I usually read AT ALL. But I wasn’t expecting much out of it in the first place- just hoped it was a light, easy, enjoyable read. Did it meet those hopes? Well, it was light and easy. Enjoyable? Eh. Not so much…
Truth is, I found Halo just plain pathetic. Some may find Bethany’s dilemma troubling, but I didn’t. She was so selfish. All her troubles rested on her love-dovey feelings for Xavier, when she really should have been concerned about the dark forces in Venus Cove. Heh. Not much of an angel, if she’s so self-centered.
If Miss Adornetto wanted to write a best-selling novel, she should have made sure she had her facts right about angels. I’m no professional on heavenly beings, but some things about Halo really had me rolling on the floor. First off, angels don’t “fall out of the sky.” Heaven is not located above the clouds. It’s not a geographical place that you can get to by jet. I’m sorry, Miss Adornetto, but by making Bethany and her gang fall out of the clouds, you made Halo a whole lot more pathetic. (Sad face.) Second, if angels are supposed to watch over humans, then why were Gabriel, Ivy, and Bethany so ignorant about meals, school, and life in general?! They aren’t aliens, for goodness sake! Third, Bethany tells Xavier, and I quote, that “God’s existence is beyond human understanding.” What?! Humans aren’t capable of knowing that God is real?! That’s outrageous! I know that God is real and that He loves me and sent His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ, to die for me and forgive me of all unrighteousness. I know God exists. And you don’t have to be superhuman to know that.
Fourth, I found the language, sexual content (mostly dialogue), and “demonic” violence (I didn’t read that far, but I skimmed ahead and found it) very unnecessary. I’m not used to reading stuff like that, and it bothered me to the point of making me uncomfortable. That’s why I stopped reading. Not because of the whole pathetic-ness of the book, but because of the immoral content. Please know that I want to read only things that are edifying and will benefit me as a writer (I know that sounds completely old-fashioned, but it’s the truth). I view anything else as a waste of time. And that’s exactly what this book was- a waste of time.
Quick Content Review:
Violence: Mild (Bethany heals, er, more like brings back to life, a girl who was in a car accident. Also, a cafeteria cook gets burned by a fryer; nothing described. Aside from that, I can’t really tell you; I stopped reading. But I know that there is some stuff that Jake does to kids at Bethany’s school. Demonic, evil, disgusting things. I can’t tell you if it’s bad or not, hence the “mild” rating.)
Profanity: Heavy (God’s name in vain at least 10 times, if not more, which is kind of hilarious since this is a book about angels. Also, the h-word at least 4 times, the d-word at least once, maybe more…can’t say)
Sexual: Mild - Heavy (A comment in class about Romeo just wanting to get into Juliet’s pants. Bethany is tentative about sleeping with Xavier; she asks her friends at school for advice. Apparently, they are experts at this sort of thing and tell her “not to do it with someone she loves.” Xavier admits he and Emily had a physical relationship. Xavier and Bethany talk about sex, but decide to wait because they don’t need it to hold their relationship together. They do, though, lie in bed together naked once. I didn’t get that far, but skimmed ahead and stumbled upon this part.)
Other notable content:
-Bethany and Xavier get their palms read.
-Molly, Bethany’s school friend, has a wild party with underage drinking. Bethany, ever the ignorant one, accidentally gets drunk. There’s also mention of an inappropriate game, the details of which I won’t mention.
-Molly and some of Bethany’s other friends have an unhealthy obsession with fashion, prom, and boys (in other words, themselves!).
-Despite being a heavenly angel, Bethany sure doesn’t mind lying to Gabriel and Ivy about her whereabouts and her relationship with Xavier.
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.
The angel’s mission is urgent, and dark forces are threatening. Will love ruin Bethany or save her? [Description from inside cover flap]
I’m going to warn you now: brace yourself for a rough review. I usually don’t have to give bad reviews, mostly because I’m very careful about the material I read. But I found Halo in Borders for $5 and decided to give it a go, even though it’s not the sort of thing I would normally read. An innocent, naïve, rather stupid angel comes to earth, falls in love with the hot school captain, then expects to get married and have a handful of little half-mortal children? Um…no. Not the sort of thing I usually read AT ALL. But I wasn’t expecting much out of it in the first place- just hoped it was a light, easy, enjoyable read. Did it meet those hopes? Well, it was light and easy. Enjoyable? Eh. Not so much…
Truth is, I found Halo just plain pathetic. Some may find Bethany’s dilemma troubling, but I didn’t. She was so selfish. All her troubles rested on her love-dovey feelings for Xavier, when she really should have been concerned about the dark forces in Venus Cove. Heh. Not much of an angel, if she’s so self-centered.
If Miss Adornetto wanted to write a best-selling novel, she should have made sure she had her facts right about angels. I’m no professional on heavenly beings, but some things about Halo really had me rolling on the floor. First off, angels don’t “fall out of the sky.” Heaven is not located above the clouds. It’s not a geographical place that you can get to by jet. I’m sorry, Miss Adornetto, but by making Bethany and her gang fall out of the clouds, you made Halo a whole lot more pathetic. (Sad face.) Second, if angels are supposed to watch over humans, then why were Gabriel, Ivy, and Bethany so ignorant about meals, school, and life in general?! They aren’t aliens, for goodness sake! Third, Bethany tells Xavier, and I quote, that “God’s existence is beyond human understanding.” What?! Humans aren’t capable of knowing that God is real?! That’s outrageous! I know that God is real and that He loves me and sent His One and Only Son, Jesus Christ, to die for me and forgive me of all unrighteousness. I know God exists. And you don’t have to be superhuman to know that.
Fourth, I found the language, sexual content (mostly dialogue), and “demonic” violence (I didn’t read that far, but I skimmed ahead and found it) very unnecessary. I’m not used to reading stuff like that, and it bothered me to the point of making me uncomfortable. That’s why I stopped reading. Not because of the whole pathetic-ness of the book, but because of the immoral content. Please know that I want to read only things that are edifying and will benefit me as a writer (I know that sounds completely old-fashioned, but it’s the truth). I view anything else as a waste of time. And that’s exactly what this book was- a waste of time.
Quick Content Review:
Violence: Mild (Bethany heals, er, more like brings back to life, a girl who was in a car accident. Also, a cafeteria cook gets burned by a fryer; nothing described. Aside from that, I can’t really tell you; I stopped reading. But I know that there is some stuff that Jake does to kids at Bethany’s school. Demonic, evil, disgusting things. I can’t tell you if it’s bad or not, hence the “mild” rating.)
Profanity: Heavy (God’s name in vain at least 10 times, if not more, which is kind of hilarious since this is a book about angels. Also, the h-word at least 4 times, the d-word at least once, maybe more…can’t say)
Sexual: Mild - Heavy (A comment in class about Romeo just wanting to get into Juliet’s pants. Bethany is tentative about sleeping with Xavier; she asks her friends at school for advice. Apparently, they are experts at this sort of thing and tell her “not to do it with someone she loves.” Xavier admits he and Emily had a physical relationship. Xavier and Bethany talk about sex, but decide to wait because they don’t need it to hold their relationship together. They do, though, lie in bed together naked once. I didn’t get that far, but skimmed ahead and stumbled upon this part.)
Other notable content:
-Bethany and Xavier get their palms read.
-Molly, Bethany’s school friend, has a wild party with underage drinking. Bethany, ever the ignorant one, accidentally gets drunk. There’s also mention of an inappropriate game, the details of which I won’t mention.
-Molly and some of Bethany’s other friends have an unhealthy obsession with fashion, prom, and boys (in other words, themselves!).
-Despite being a heavenly angel, Bethany sure doesn’t mind lying to Gabriel and Ivy about her whereabouts and her relationship with Xavier.
Oooh, how I love a good young adult paranormal romance....
This book was great and it's take on the supernatural was amazing. I thoroughly enjoyed it and it is definitely one of my favorites. I look forward to the second one as soon as it comes out. Xavier is great and Beth was a great character.10/10 :)
Any book that makes me cry (in a hopeless romantic way) deserves 5 stars.
That being said, I should warn that the book starts off slow.
The words are beautiful and descriptive and the first pages had me hooked. But the development is slow. I believe that it is on purpose, for Bethany is new to Earth and what could seem monotonous to us, isn't to her. I enjoyed looking at our world through her eyes.
I do hope the development in the second of this series does not take as long as the 'Halo' world has been well established in this one.
As far as the religious aspect, it had more than what I am used to but wasn't overwhelming. It certainly made me curious to know about the author's religious upbringing was.
I also want Bethany's wings. Yep!
Plus, the author is an Aussie. I gotta support Oz! ;o)
That being said, I should warn that the book starts off slow.
The words are beautiful and descriptive and the first pages had me hooked. But the development is slow. I believe that it is on purpose, for Bethany is new to Earth and what could seem monotonous to us, isn't to her. I enjoyed looking at our world through her eyes.
I do hope the development in the second of this series does not take as long as the 'Halo' world has been well established in this one.
As far as the religious aspect, it had more than what I am used to but wasn't overwhelming. It certainly made me curious to know about the author's religious upbringing was.
I also want Bethany's wings. Yep!
Plus, the author is an Aussie. I gotta support Oz! ;o)
So I have couple of thoughts:
1. I actually liked this a lot more than I was expecting to - it was a lot more complex and had a lot more character depth and development than I was expecting.
2. The best way to describe this is as “Twilight” but for angels.
3. I had no idea that the author was Australian (not that it matters, but I like to support Aussie YA authors - because it is much harder to break into that circuit).
4. Whilst is was predictable in some aspects, I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that after all the trouble Gabriel went through to approve Xavier, he couldn’t see Jake coming. This was a plot hole for me - I was expecting him to see right through it, and figure out Jake’s true identity and motives.
5. Maybe I was a bit more understanding, but as much as I am so used to angels being childlike (*cough Castiel *cough), although it was still a bit much at some points. I know that it’s her first mission and that she is the youngest, but the love triangle was so glaringly obvious.
6. It was a very slow paced book - it doesn’t kick off until the last fifth of the book, and even then you can see it coming from a mile away.
7. Going with the audiobook route was the best option - I would have stopped and started it, and psyched myself out of it at the more awkward parts.
1. I actually liked this a lot more than I was expecting to - it was a lot more complex and had a lot more character depth and development than I was expecting.
2. The best way to describe this is as “Twilight” but for angels.
3. I had no idea that the author was Australian (not that it matters, but I like to support Aussie YA authors - because it is much harder to break into that circuit).
4. Whilst is was predictable in some aspects, I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that after all the trouble Gabriel went through to approve Xavier, he couldn’t see Jake coming. This was a plot hole for me - I was expecting him to see right through it, and figure out Jake’s true identity and motives.
5. Maybe I was a bit more understanding, but as much as I am so used to angels being childlike (*cough Castiel *cough), although it was still a bit much at some points. I know that it’s her first mission and that she is the youngest, but the love triangle was so glaringly obvious.
6. It was a very slow paced book - it doesn’t kick off until the last fifth of the book, and even then you can see it coming from a mile away.
7. Going with the audiobook route was the best option - I would have stopped and started it, and psyched myself out of it at the more awkward parts.
I really did NOT like this book which disappointed me in itself because I had such high hopes. The characters were ok. Story was ok. I was mostly taken back and turned off by the preaching. I understand the story is about angels sent to earth to help turn things around but all of the talk about God was preaching and it had nothing to do with the story and was quite distracting. It's almost like the author got caught up in herself and starts going off on a tangent. The book was more like a sermon than a story. I really was looking forward to reading Hades but after reading Halo, I'm not sure I'll get there.
I really liked this book, it is different than other ones I have read about angels. Sometimes I wanted to shake Beth for not seeing what was going on, but that is the whole point. Anyway Xavier is adorable and I cannot wait for the next book! Oh also I think the book is awesome for being written by someone so young!
So romantic! I enjoyed “Halo” the writing, the characters I can’t believe is the work of an 18 year old girl. I’m very impressed. The only downsize for me is the number of pages in the book …close to 500!! I think with a better editing process this book could be a 5 start book! The plot had a good speed at the beginning but as I kept reading more and more the plot just got too slow for me; too many details. With that out of the way I recommend this book to fans of romance stories.