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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
DNF at 12%. You can find my detailed analysis on my blog, the Snark Theater (part 1 • part 2)
Well, on the plus side, there's an actual plot in this one. Potentially, at least.
On the minus side, the author is officially out to set feminism back…to nonexistence. And then some.
You win some, you lose some? Except in this case we don't win at all.
Well, on the plus side, there's an actual plot in this one. Potentially, at least.
On the minus side, the author is officially out to set feminism back…to nonexistence. And then some.
You win some, you lose some? Except in this case we don't win at all.
If you liked Halo, you'll love Hades. The only problem is that you will certainly need to have Heaven on hand because it ends with a major cliffhanger!
When a séance at a Halloween party goes awry, Beth is tricked into traveling to hell by a familiar fallen angel. Xavier, Ivy, and Gabriel will stop at nothing to rescue Beth, as she clings to what hope she has left in the hellhole she's now trapped in.
I'd rate this 3.5/5 stars because the plot is well developed, but there are chunks of pages where nothing seems to move forward, and I wish that happened less frequently. I had no qualms with Alexandra Adornetto's writing style, the words flowed smoothly and her sentences were hardly ever choppy. Bethany was a very strong character who continued to evolve in her love and cunningness as she struggled with her situation, and many times I found myself emotionally connected with her.
Overall I recommend Hades if you liked Halo and if you enjoy reading about Angels and demons, heaven and hell, etc.
This review may not be as professional as I usually try to make them because I find it harder to be gripped by eBooks than paper copies, so I actually read chunks of this book over about a year and a half, while reading many other books in between. But I found it easy to transition back into the world of Hades, which is a good sign.
When a séance at a Halloween party goes awry, Beth is tricked into traveling to hell by a familiar fallen angel. Xavier, Ivy, and Gabriel will stop at nothing to rescue Beth, as she clings to what hope she has left in the hellhole she's now trapped in.
I'd rate this 3.5/5 stars because the plot is well developed, but there are chunks of pages where nothing seems to move forward, and I wish that happened less frequently. I had no qualms with Alexandra Adornetto's writing style, the words flowed smoothly and her sentences were hardly ever choppy. Bethany was a very strong character who continued to evolve in her love and cunningness as she struggled with her situation, and many times I found myself emotionally connected with her.
Overall I recommend Hades if you liked Halo and if you enjoy reading about Angels and demons, heaven and hell, etc.
This review may not be as professional as I usually try to make them because I find it harder to be gripped by eBooks than paper copies, so I actually read chunks of this book over about a year and a half, while reading many other books in between. But I found it easy to transition back into the world of Hades, which is a good sign.
amazing! Laughed, cried, screamed with joy and anger. I cannot wait for the next book
I liked the first book better, but this one wasn't that shabby.
I think that the story was stretched a little thin regarding to the time spent in Hades. I think that we spent a little bit too much time in that part of the novel.
In this novel Adornetto brings back Taylah, which I liked. She was a fun character and her fate was sad. It was good to "hear" from her again.
I don't really have anything else to say about this book. Pretty much what I expected, but I wasn't blown away by the second one.
On to Heaven.
I think that the story was stretched a little thin regarding to the time spent in Hades. I think that we spent a little bit too much time in that part of the novel.
In this novel Adornetto brings back Taylah, which I liked. She was a fun character and her fate was sad. It was good to "hear" from her again.
I don't really have anything else to say about this book. Pretty much what I expected, but I wasn't blown away by the second one.
On to Heaven.
Bethany Church is an angel. She and her archangel/seraphim siblings, Gabriel and Ivy, have been sent to Earth to help keep Lucifer and his minions in check. Bethany is tricked by demon Arakiel, aka Jake Thorn, and is abducted and taken to Hell. Beth's human boyfriend Xavier and her siblings must try to rescue her without unleashing Armageddon.
Although this is a sequel, it stands alone just fine. Could be a good choice for those who are tired of vampires but still looking for the paranormal. Also has a strong love/romance plot-line throughout.
Although this is a sequel, it stands alone just fine. Could be a good choice for those who are tired of vampires but still looking for the paranormal. Also has a strong love/romance plot-line throughout.
Reseñado primero en mi blog Nanny Books
Después de tener un pequeño ataque de nervios mientras leía Halo, la autora me compensó la experiencia brindándome una continuación mucho más a la altura de mi expectativa. Si bien el problema de Bethany sigue muy presente, por lo menos el ambiente será más espectacular.
La relación entre Bethany y Xavier enfrenta un problema real y mucho más serio que, en primera instancia, no es provocado por el comportamiento histérico de la susodicha.
En esta segunda novela, se invoca a Jake para que haga de las suyas de una forma un tanto desesperada, que hace patente el hecho de que había sido una mala idea vencerlo en la novela anterior. Este malo no tan malo y un tanto romanticón, intenta continuamente acercarse con pie meloso a la protagonista. Como es mucho más interesante que Xavier, que aparecerá poco aquí, le daría como consejo a Bethany que se lo piense mejor antes de decidirse.
Habrá un par de personajes nuevos que irrumpen y otros que son viejos tomarán más protagonismo. Como angelito protector Bethany sigue igual de torpe, ¡mira que presenciar cómo se libera un demonio y no saber qué hacer es demasiado! Deberían entrenar a los ángeles antes de mandarlos a las misiones, porque si hay muchos como ella, entiendo como puede ir el mundo tan mal. ¡No nos culpen a los humanos! ¡Son los ángeles como Beth! Jajaja. Realmente, si no se le da un toque cómico al asunto, no sé cómo llevar a buen puerto esta reseña.
El romance sigue siendo el centro del argumento, sin embargo, ahora sí habrá un poco más de acción. Las descripciones que la autora realiza sobre las almas en pena resultan muy espeluznantes, lo cual le da un giro a la trama, pero le ha faltado un poco de dramatismo... después de todo estás hablando del Infierno, un lugar horrible... ¿no?
Bethany deja de ser tan egoísta y se propone, por fin, salvar a la gente. Aunque bueno, deberán leer el final para saber por qué sigo creyendo que la heroína es una mala ángel.
Siendo un poco más corta que la anterior, no se nota tanto como los personajes dan vueltas sobre el mismo asunto una y otra y otra vez. Se lee de una manera más rápida, los diálogos un tanto irónicos ayudan mucho.
Como ya les he dicho, mejora muchísimo respecto a Halo, pero tampoco llega a ser una gran novela. Simplemente creo que la autora cazó la onda correcta para poner en su justo equilibrio los componentes de la novela juvenil.
Se nota un poco más de libertad para tocar ciertos temas escabrosos, y algunos personajes se van de las manos en algunas situaciones. Lo que hace mucho más real el desenlace, que fue pausado con la medida ideal, sin detener la acción pero sin apresurar nada.
Algo que tengo que objetar (prometo que es lo último que objeto) es que cada cierre de libro parece bastante autoconclusivo... Si no fuera que tengo el tercer volumen de la serie en mis manos, hubiese pensado que la historia de Bethany y Xavier se terminaba en Halo.
En resumen, estuvo mejor pero no alcanzó a ser lo que se esperaba para una continuación. Vamos a ver que tal es el final definitivo en Heaven.
Después de tener un pequeño ataque de nervios mientras leía Halo, la autora me compensó la experiencia brindándome una continuación mucho más a la altura de mi expectativa. Si bien el problema de Bethany sigue muy presente, por lo menos el ambiente será más espectacular.
La relación entre Bethany y Xavier enfrenta un problema real y mucho más serio que, en primera instancia, no es provocado por el comportamiento histérico de la susodicha.
En esta segunda novela, se invoca a Jake para que haga de las suyas de una forma un tanto desesperada, que hace patente el hecho de que había sido una mala idea vencerlo en la novela anterior. Este malo no tan malo y un tanto romanticón, intenta continuamente acercarse con pie meloso a la protagonista. Como es mucho más interesante que Xavier, que aparecerá poco aquí, le daría como consejo a Bethany que se lo piense mejor antes de decidirse.
Habrá un par de personajes nuevos que irrumpen y otros que son viejos tomarán más protagonismo. Como angelito protector Bethany sigue igual de torpe, ¡mira que presenciar cómo se libera un demonio y no saber qué hacer es demasiado! Deberían entrenar a los ángeles antes de mandarlos a las misiones, porque si hay muchos como ella, entiendo como puede ir el mundo tan mal. ¡No nos culpen a los humanos! ¡Son los ángeles como Beth! Jajaja. Realmente, si no se le da un toque cómico al asunto, no sé cómo llevar a buen puerto esta reseña.
El romance sigue siendo el centro del argumento, sin embargo, ahora sí habrá un poco más de acción. Las descripciones que la autora realiza sobre las almas en pena resultan muy espeluznantes, lo cual le da un giro a la trama, pero le ha faltado un poco de dramatismo... después de todo estás hablando del Infierno, un lugar horrible... ¿no?
Bethany deja de ser tan egoísta y se propone, por fin, salvar a la gente. Aunque bueno, deberán leer el final para saber por qué sigo creyendo que la heroína es una mala ángel.
Siendo un poco más corta que la anterior, no se nota tanto como los personajes dan vueltas sobre el mismo asunto una y otra y otra vez. Se lee de una manera más rápida, los diálogos un tanto irónicos ayudan mucho.
Como ya les he dicho, mejora muchísimo respecto a Halo, pero tampoco llega a ser una gran novela. Simplemente creo que la autora cazó la onda correcta para poner en su justo equilibrio los componentes de la novela juvenil.
Se nota un poco más de libertad para tocar ciertos temas escabrosos, y algunos personajes se van de las manos en algunas situaciones. Lo que hace mucho más real el desenlace, que fue pausado con la medida ideal, sin detener la acción pero sin apresurar nada.
Algo que tengo que objetar (prometo que es lo último que objeto) es que cada cierre de libro parece bastante autoconclusivo... Si no fuera que tengo el tercer volumen de la serie en mis manos, hubiese pensado que la historia de Bethany y Xavier se terminaba en Halo.
En resumen, estuvo mejor pero no alcanzó a ser lo que se esperaba para una continuación. Vamos a ver que tal es el final definitivo en Heaven.
For the first half of this book, I had a hard time getting into it; it felt like it was going too slowly. For the second half of the book I was pretty happy; the book was exciting. THIRTY-FOUR PAGES before the book ended and I almost quit; I was disgusted and Bethany was being an idiot. When the disgusting issue finally got resolved I couldn't even be excited about what was happening at the end of the book because I was just so over what was going on. I have no doubt I'll read the third book, but this one threw me for a loop. I'm pretty sure my friends thought I was having some short of seizure, and my forcefully smacking the book onto the table was probably the most surprising thing I've ever done around them.
So where to begin here. Well this sequel is like a trash fire that just doesn't go out. Beth is still the same naive goody-two shoes who does absolutely nothing. Xavier is the perfect pretty boy who never does anything fun. Jake is just the most comedic attempt at writing a demon/fallen angel (and yes I've seen Supernatural so I've seen bad writing). Gabriel and Ivy just are immovable objects that show no emotion or reaction to anything. And Molly is the most relatable character in these books.
While this prose is less preachy than book one, it still holds the ridiculous "values" put forth by the modern Christian religion which leads to more of a comedic effect than a life lesson.
I think the most annoying part of this book is the fact that Beth "projects" to see what is happening on Earth so she is just an observer to the action instead of the usual non-active participant.
The whole series fails to inspire and the characters are annoying. Let's slog our way through book three to close out 2020.
While this prose is less preachy than book one, it still holds the ridiculous "values" put forth by the modern Christian religion which leads to more of a comedic effect than a life lesson.
I think the most annoying part of this book is the fact that Beth "projects" to see what is happening on Earth so she is just an observer to the action instead of the usual non-active participant.
The whole series fails to inspire and the characters are annoying. Let's slog our way through book three to close out 2020.
I don't even know where to start with this review. I don't even know how to write this review without spoiling anything because I've just finished reading this so my brain is full of what I've just read. So I'm sorry if a few things don't make sense but this book is so hard to review without any spoilers.
Hades is the second book in the Halo trilogy and thank God *excuse the pun* that this was slightly better.
Is love a great enough power against evil? Bethany believes so - after all, the love of her angel siblings and her boyfriend Xavier saved her from the clutches of Hell itself.
But when Jake returns to town, he may be able to destroy everything she cares about.
Will Jake's actions shatter Beth's faith in love? Or can she overcome heartache and betrayal to find her way back to Xavier?
Ok first of all, yes this book is better than Halo - but not by much.
The main plot in this book is much darker than the first installment in the series and I found the darker approach much better (well, I say darker but nothing bad really happens to Bethany - again.) This is one of the things that I find so frustrating with the series. When evil comes along to try and ruin Beth's life, nothing bad happens to her. She might get a few scratches here and there and be threatened, but nothing bad is ever done to her and it's annoying.
There was also some terrible writing in this book. Absolutely terrible. How Adornetto ever got away with it, I have no idea. I actually noted down some of the rubbish writing so I could share it with you guys. So here you, a few amazingly awful quotes from Hades:
- "Little did we know they would find us before we had a chance to find them."
If you follow me on Goodreads, you will know that I had a little rant about this sentence. After I read this, I noticed how much unneeded foreshadowing Adornetto did. What's the point in telling us that bad stuff is going to happen before it does? Why not leave out the in-your-face foreshadowing and give us a bit of a shock?
- "I wanted them to know that Taylah was out there still, only now she was free. I wanted to tell them about Heaven and the peace she would find there. But of course, sharing any of that knowledge was impossible. Not only would I be breaking our most secret code and exposing our presence on Earth..."
SHE HAS ALREADY TOLD XAVIER WHAT SHE IS! SHE HAS ALREADY BROKEN THE "MOST SECRET CODE'. What a huge contradiction on Adornetto's part. This is terrible. And Bethany stupid.
- "Are you okay, Huggie Bear?' I asked, protectively reaching up to fix his hair."
Beth just called Xavier "Huggie Bear". What. What writer even does that? I mean, I've heard of ridiculous nicknames for your other half but 'Huggie Bear'? That should be made illegal. *shudders* Just no.
- "When Big Daddy fell from grace..."
Yup. Lucifer is called 'Big Daddy' in this by his followers. I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S WORSE, HUGGIE BEAR OR BIG DADDY! And the description of Lucifer (there's no way I'm calling him Big Daddy) is all wrong, but I'm not even going to go into that because we'd be here all day.
As you can see, I came across some appalling writing and ideas in this book. HOWEVER! Even though nothing bad happened to Bethany (not really, anyway. A few minor incidents here and there, but still...) I found the story much more gripping than Halo
My favourite part of this book was an exorcism scene. It's like it was ripped right from the pages of a Supernatural script. Adornetto's writing during this scene surpassed anything I had read during the series and blew my mind. It was fantastic. The way she described the demon possession, the surroundings of the building and how the creature moved was breathtaking and it's a scene that I will always remember for being brilliant. I don't know why Adornetto couldn't keep writing like this.
I can't say much else about this book without revealing what happens but just know this: even though there is some terrible writing, Adornetto has got a good story going here, she's got some really good ideas and the darkness of the book worked so much better than Halo. Yes, there was still Bethany and Xavier confessing their undying love for each other all of the time (shut up, already - no one cares), and the ending was absolutely ridiculous but this book was definitely better than Halo
Now onto the third and final book... Heaven. Fingers crossed that I don't drive myself mad reading it.
Hades is the second book in the Halo trilogy and thank God *excuse the pun* that this was slightly better.
Is love a great enough power against evil? Bethany believes so - after all, the love of her angel siblings and her boyfriend Xavier saved her from the clutches of Hell itself.
But when Jake returns to town, he may be able to destroy everything she cares about.
Will Jake's actions shatter Beth's faith in love? Or can she overcome heartache and betrayal to find her way back to Xavier?
Ok first of all, yes this book is better than Halo - but not by much.
The main plot in this book is much darker than the first installment in the series and I found the darker approach much better (well, I say darker but nothing bad really happens to Bethany - again.) This is one of the things that I find so frustrating with the series. When evil comes along to try and ruin Beth's life, nothing bad happens to her. She might get a few scratches here and there and be threatened, but nothing bad is ever done to her and it's annoying.
There was also some terrible writing in this book. Absolutely terrible. How Adornetto ever got away with it, I have no idea. I actually noted down some of the rubbish writing so I could share it with you guys. So here you, a few amazingly awful quotes from Hades:
- "Little did we know they would find us before we had a chance to find them."
If you follow me on Goodreads, you will know that I had a little rant about this sentence. After I read this, I noticed how much unneeded foreshadowing Adornetto did. What's the point in telling us that bad stuff is going to happen before it does? Why not leave out the in-your-face foreshadowing and give us a bit of a shock?
- "I wanted them to know that Taylah was out there still, only now she was free. I wanted to tell them about Heaven and the peace she would find there. But of course, sharing any of that knowledge was impossible. Not only would I be breaking our most secret code and exposing our presence on Earth..."
SHE HAS ALREADY TOLD XAVIER WHAT SHE IS! SHE HAS ALREADY BROKEN THE "MOST SECRET CODE'. What a huge contradiction on Adornetto's part. This is terrible. And Bethany stupid.
- "Are you okay, Huggie Bear?' I asked, protectively reaching up to fix his hair."
Beth just called Xavier "Huggie Bear". What. What writer even does that? I mean, I've heard of ridiculous nicknames for your other half but 'Huggie Bear'? That should be made illegal. *shudders* Just no.
- "When Big Daddy fell from grace..."
Yup. Lucifer is called 'Big Daddy' in this by his followers. I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S WORSE, HUGGIE BEAR OR BIG DADDY! And the description of Lucifer (there's no way I'm calling him Big Daddy) is all wrong, but I'm not even going to go into that because we'd be here all day.
As you can see, I came across some appalling writing and ideas in this book. HOWEVER! Even though nothing bad happened to Bethany (not really, anyway. A few minor incidents here and there, but still...) I found the story much more gripping than Halo
My favourite part of this book was an exorcism scene. It's like it was ripped right from the pages of a Supernatural script. Adornetto's writing during this scene surpassed anything I had read during the series and blew my mind. It was fantastic. The way she described the demon possession, the surroundings of the building and how the creature moved was breathtaking and it's a scene that I will always remember for being brilliant. I don't know why Adornetto couldn't keep writing like this.
I can't say much else about this book without revealing what happens but just know this: even though there is some terrible writing, Adornetto has got a good story going here, she's got some really good ideas and the darkness of the book worked so much better than Halo. Yes, there was still Bethany and Xavier confessing their undying love for each other all of the time (shut up, already - no one cares), and the ending was absolutely ridiculous but this book was definitely better than Halo
Now onto the third and final book... Heaven. Fingers crossed that I don't drive myself mad reading it.
