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miss_merna's review against another edition
3.0
I almost didn't finish this book. But I pulled myself through. I read this book two years ago, so my memory is a little sketchy. This review won't be long. I won’t bother.
Dru is strong female heroine who travels on the road with her dad hunting ghosts, suckers and zombies. It seemed very promising.
But simply it wasn't for me. I felt no urge to know what would happen next because nothing that was overwhelmingly surprising did happen. It didn’t bring anything grippingly new to the YA paranormal. (Besides Vampires who were called something different).
But others might like it. Who knows.
Dru is strong female heroine who travels on the road with her dad hunting ghosts, suckers and zombies. It seemed very promising.
But simply it wasn't for me. I felt no urge to know what would happen next because nothing that was overwhelmingly surprising did happen. It didn’t bring anything grippingly new to the YA paranormal. (Besides Vampires who were called something different).
But others might like it. Who knows.
ambeesbookishpages's review against another edition
1.0
I only got 28% through this book, before I was like "I can not get freaking through this..." Dru pisses me the hell off, she has a bitchy personality that o can not stand.
laureltree13's review against another edition
2.0
Was expecting a lot more than I was given. Basically sucked, a lot.
steph01924's review against another edition
4.0
I was pretty surprised by this book. I didn't read too much of the synopsis beforehand, but from the looks of the cover and the title, I was expecting some story about a normal girl and some airy-fairy angel dude who was oh-so-hot and mysterious and totally irresistible. So, not expecting much. But, man. My idea could not have been any more wrong. Dru Anderson kicks ass.
What really got me into this book is that it reminds me of the TV show, Supernatural. Like, if Supernatural had a love child with the show, Buffy, this book would be the progeny. Dru and her dad are freaking Hunters, people. Sub in a werwulf and vampire war (a la Underworld??) instead of demon craziness, and you've got a plot similar to the first episode of Supernatural (Dad has an encyclopedia/journal of supernatural things. He hasn't come home from a Hunt. Started hunting after wife was killed. Come on!) If John and Mary Winchester had had a girl instead of two adorably hot sons, that girl would be Dru (though I don't know if the show would be as popular...). I may be dwelling on this too much, but the similarities are very obvious to me. I have no idea what the timeline is in relation to the TV show first airing and this book being published, but whatever.
No matter the similarities, the book is still fresh enough to stand on its own. The characters get their asses handed to them throughout this book, surviving wave after wave of evil badness knocking (quite literally) on the front door. It was nice to see Dru taking charge, but it was also nice to see that she was capable of freak-outs, because, after all, she is just a sixteen-year-old girl. Buffy didn't get to be Buffy right out of the gate.
I'm interested in seeing where the next few books take the characters and I'm hoping there's not some crazy angsty love triangle coming to a head with Graves and Chris.
As a side note, it amused me every time Dru mentioned Grave's 'looking like a white boy' or 'not looking like a white boy because of his half-Asian-ness'. There was a bit of a gap from when I started reading the book to finishing most of it, so I don't recall if there was a clear explanation of Dru's looks...but isn't SHE white? It sounded like she came from a hillbilly family and a somewhat European/nondescript background. I just didn't understand why she would have such a strange obsession pointing out when he looked white and when he looked Asian. Anyway, that doesn't have much impact on the overall story, just an observation.
Good first book!
What really got me into this book is that it reminds me of the TV show, Supernatural. Like, if Supernatural had a love child with the show, Buffy, this book would be the progeny. Dru and her dad are freaking Hunters, people. Sub in a werwulf and vampire war (a la Underworld??) instead of demon craziness, and you've got a plot similar to the first episode of Supernatural (Dad has an encyclopedia/journal of supernatural things. He hasn't come home from a Hunt. Started hunting after wife was killed. Come on!) If John and Mary Winchester had had a girl instead of two adorably hot sons, that girl would be Dru (though I don't know if the show would be as popular...). I may be dwelling on this too much, but the similarities are very obvious to me. I have no idea what the timeline is in relation to the TV show first airing and this book being published, but whatever.
No matter the similarities, the book is still fresh enough to stand on its own. The characters get their asses handed to them throughout this book, surviving wave after wave of evil badness knocking (quite literally) on the front door. It was nice to see Dru taking charge, but it was also nice to see that she was capable of freak-outs, because, after all, she is just a sixteen-year-old girl. Buffy didn't get to be Buffy right out of the gate.
I'm interested in seeing where the next few books take the characters and I'm hoping there's not some crazy angsty love triangle coming to a head with Graves and Chris.
As a side note, it amused me every time Dru mentioned Grave's 'looking like a white boy' or 'not looking like a white boy because of his half-Asian-ness'. There was a bit of a gap from when I started reading the book to finishing most of it, so I don't recall if there was a clear explanation of Dru's looks...but isn't SHE white? It sounded like she came from a hillbilly family and a somewhat European/nondescript background. I just didn't understand why she would have such a strange obsession pointing out when he looked white and when he looked Asian. Anyway, that doesn't have much impact on the overall story, just an observation.
Good first book!
ariannemaya's review against another edition
3.0
I think part of the reason why this didn't work for me is that I read an outrageously bad translation. As in, many sentences didn't make sense, at all, because the translation had been too litteral. That makes it really hard to enjoy a book when I can figure out what the English sentence was and how it should have been translated.
It was okay, but I probably would have liked it more if I'd read it in English.
It was okay, but I probably would have liked it more if I'd read it in English.
charms1976's review against another edition
2.0
I had really high expectations for this book. It sounded great from the summary and I had heard wonderful things about the series. However, it ended up being a disappointment for me.
When Dru's Father takes off for another hunt, he doesn't come back. She is worried and scared about him which is understandable. They hunt things that go bump in the night, and things that most people think are not real. When her Father does return though, she finds he has been turned into a zombie. After he attacks her, Dru is forced to shoot and kill her father. She finds herself hiding out with a boy from school named Graves. He quickly finds out that Dru is not like other girls when a werewolf attacks and he is bitten. Instead of him turning though-and forcing Dru to kill him- he ends up only half changing. Together they try to figure out what is going on, while another boy named Christophe tried to convince them that he is there to help as well.
This book had more description than actual dialogue. It went overboard in the supernatural to the point of enough already. While I loved the character of Graves-even when he was whiny and scared- Christophe came off as a jerk, while Dru came off as a stuck up ditz. She is suppose to be trained in this stuff growing up with a father who hunts. At times, she couldn't even take the safety off a gun! There were many filler scenes and pages with no actual reason to be in there. A lot of repetitive story with no substance and progression. By the time I neared the end of this book, I didn't really care what happened to anyone in the story.
That being said, the story could have potential in the rest of the series. If the books following Strange Angels would put its focus on the characters and their interaction more than the dialogue of useless information, then the plot of the story could really take off and make it work. The basis of the plot is the only reason I am giving this a 2 star rating instead of a 1 star rating. I still might give the next book a try, but I don't have the excitement in the series as others might have.
When Dru's Father takes off for another hunt, he doesn't come back. She is worried and scared about him which is understandable. They hunt things that go bump in the night, and things that most people think are not real. When her Father does return though, she finds he has been turned into a zombie. After he attacks her, Dru is forced to shoot and kill her father. She finds herself hiding out with a boy from school named Graves. He quickly finds out that Dru is not like other girls when a werewolf attacks and he is bitten. Instead of him turning though-and forcing Dru to kill him- he ends up only half changing. Together they try to figure out what is going on, while another boy named Christophe tried to convince them that he is there to help as well.
This book had more description than actual dialogue. It went overboard in the supernatural to the point of enough already. While I loved the character of Graves-even when he was whiny and scared- Christophe came off as a jerk, while Dru came off as a stuck up ditz. She is suppose to be trained in this stuff growing up with a father who hunts. At times, she couldn't even take the safety off a gun! There were many filler scenes and pages with no actual reason to be in there. A lot of repetitive story with no substance and progression. By the time I neared the end of this book, I didn't really care what happened to anyone in the story.
That being said, the story could have potential in the rest of the series. If the books following Strange Angels would put its focus on the characters and their interaction more than the dialogue of useless information, then the plot of the story could really take off and make it work. The basis of the plot is the only reason I am giving this a 2 star rating instead of a 1 star rating. I still might give the next book a try, but I don't have the excitement in the series as others might have.
whatsmacksaid's review against another edition
4.0
I would never have picked this book up if I hadn't already read some of Lilith St. Crow's other novels, primarily because the cover is atrocious. Every time I pick my copy up, or even look at it, I want to scoff. I mean, "heartbreaker"? Really? That's not the main character at all. There isn't any more than a hint of romance in the first book, even.
Cringe-worthy cover aside, I always enjoy reading "Strange Angels." The first time I read it, I thought the title was a little... well, strange, but it has grown on me. (Mostly because Dru's self-appointed protector isn't her only offbeat guardian angel.)
My favorite part about this book is and always will be the main character. The story is told in first person POV, so we get right into her head from the very start. She's a tough kid, and I can't help but admire her for that, but she's also still just a kid, and I both love and respect her for that. It makes me sympathize with her every step of the way, and even put myself in her shoes--I caught myself thinking the other day how messed up I'd be if someone turned my own father into a zombie (I know, I know. lol.), and how impressive it is that she isn't more messed up.
My other favorite part about this book is her relationship with Graves. He's fantastic, too, because he's real and messed up like she is but also coping as well as he can, just like she is.
I'm not so crazy about Christophe, though. He comes off as pretentious and underdeveloped as a character, and yet he's so central to Dru's struggles throughout the series.
Anyway, ignore the annoying cover. For a first venture into the realm of YA novels, Lili St. Crow has done a pretty frigging fantastic job of navigating her way to a great book.
Cringe-worthy cover aside, I always enjoy reading "Strange Angels." The first time I read it, I thought the title was a little... well, strange, but it has grown on me. (Mostly because Dru's self-appointed protector isn't her only offbeat guardian angel.)
My favorite part about this book is and always will be the main character. The story is told in first person POV, so we get right into her head from the very start. She's a tough kid, and I can't help but admire her for that, but she's also still just a kid, and I both love and respect her for that. It makes me sympathize with her every step of the way, and even put myself in her shoes--I caught myself thinking the other day how messed up I'd be if someone turned my own father into a zombie (I know, I know. lol.), and how impressive it is that she isn't more messed up.
My other favorite part about this book is her relationship with Graves. He's fantastic, too, because he's real and messed up like she is but also coping as well as he can, just like she is.
I'm not so crazy about Christophe, though. He comes off as pretentious and underdeveloped as a character, and yet he's so central to Dru's struggles throughout the series.
Anyway, ignore the annoying cover. For a first venture into the realm of YA novels, Lili St. Crow has done a pretty frigging fantastic job of navigating her way to a great book.
sofyy1102's review against another edition
4.0
This was pretty cool, it was short, scary and entertaining. It was like watching a spin-off show of Supernatural.
I really don't have anything negative to say about Strange Angels, it has everything I look for in a book. The only reason why I couldn't give 5 stars it's because it's still baby growing, or at least this first book felt like a book-fetus ahaha.
Anyway, I want to read more, I'm really interested about what is going to happen next.
I really don't have anything negative to say about Strange Angels, it has everything I look for in a book. The only reason why I couldn't give 5 stars it's because it's still baby growing, or at least this first book felt like a book-fetus ahaha.
Anyway, I want to read more, I'm really interested about what is going to happen next.