Review: Angel Burn by L. A. Weatherly

4.5 of 5 Stars

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Goodreads Synopsis:

Willow knows she’s different from other girls, and not just because she loves tinkering with cars. Willow has a gift. She can look into the future and know people’s dreams and hopes, their sorrows and regrets, just by touching them. She has no idea where this power comes from. But the assassin, Alex, does. Gorgeous, mysterious Alex knows more about Willow than Willow herself. He knows that her powers link to dark and dangerous forces, and that he’s one of the few humans left who can fight them. When Alex finds himself falling in love with his sworn enemy, he discovers that nothing is as it seems, least of all good and evil. In the first book in an action-packed, romantic trilogy, L..A. Weatherly sends readers on a thrill-ride of a road trip - and depicts the human race at the brink of a future as catastrophic as it is deceptively beautiful. They’re out for your soul . . . and they don’t have heaven in mind.

Review:

I wasn't expecting to like this as much as I did. Also, I'm not a big fan of angels, and haven't read much of them. But I do really like how the angels were done in this story. It was a really different take on them, with how they're evil and kind of killing people. And with Willow being half-angel, it was neat how she was different, and had her angel above her, and I liked what we saw of her connecting with the angel and attacking others. I'm interested to see more of that, as well as finding out more of how she came to be, since the angels shouldn't be able to reproduce with humans.

I liked the alternating point of views, as I usually do, as well as seeing what's going on with other characters in the story. I liked the writing style, it was simple, and pretty. The characters seemed pretty well done, and I enjoyed both of them, although maybe not as complex as they could have been?

I liked Willow and Alex's relationship, how they got along and how close they were. I liked the attraction they had to each other, and how close they got and how warm they were to each other later in the book. I liked how they got pushed together like they did in the book, with having to run off together to hide from the angels, like a surprise road trip, and it forced them to get to know each other.

The pacing was good, with several problems in between the actual action, and lots of time for them to just be together, especially in the cabin in the woods. With all of the down time that they had, it could have gotten slow and become boring, but I enjoyed it.

I really enjoyed this book, and, again, I was surprised by that. I'm also really excited for more of Alex and Willow. I really want the next book, but I'm confused as to when it's coming out? At least, in the US? Because it said in the edition that I got, that it was coming out soon, but I can't find it anywhere online. Maybe someone could explain this to me?

Review: Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles

 3.5 of 5 Stars

Publisher: Flux

Goodreads Synopsis:

Nothing has been the same since Caleb Becker left a party drunk, got behind the wheel, and hit Maggie Armstrong. Even after months of painful physical therapy, Maggie walks with a limp. Her social life is nil and a scholarship to study abroad—her chance to escape everyone and their pitying stares—has been canceled.
After a year in juvenile jail, Caleb’s free . . . if freedom means endless nagging from a transition coach and the prying eyes of the entire town. Coming home should feel good, but his family and ex-girlfriend seem like strangers.
Caleb and Maggie are outsiders, pigeon-holed as "criminal" and "freak." Then the truth emerges about what really happened the night of the accident and, once again, everything changes. It’s a bleak and tortuous journey for Caleb and Maggie, yet they end up finding comfort and strength from a surprising source: each other.

Review:

I thought this was alright. I've read Simone's Perfect Chemistry series, and while I didn't enjoy the first, I liked the other two more than this one. I still quite enjoyed it, though.

The characters were their own, as they usually are. But Maggie seemed to have more of her own character than Caleb did. But Elkeles always seems to write different female characters but the males always seem very alike. They have their differences, just enough to make them different, but they tend to always be somewhat stereotypical bad boys. They always have something to do with gangs, or something dangerous, and want distance from the girl, for whatever reason. This bothers me, but I'm not always the biggest fan of bad boys.

Her stories also tend to have the same structure. Something happens to bring them together and break them apart and then bring them back together. I know this, but I still enjoy them. Her stories are a guilty pleasure of mine.

I generally did like this story, and it was it's own. I liked Maggie, for the most part, although she got on my nerves some times, with her embarrassment for example, but she got better near the end when she decided not to run away from things, although it seemed to come to her too fast. I liked Caleb, as well, although he frustrated me when he decided to run away from things at the end of the book. I liked them together, and of course am looking forward to seeing how things work out for him.

Mrs. Reynolds, also, was a very good character, and it was upsetting what happened with her, but it makes sense and there were signs, even if I didn't like it. She also was a reason for them to get together, and she helped Maggie grow up.

One thing that bothered me, though, was the accident. What happened with it afterward. It makes sense that Caleb didn't do it, and it explains why his sister was acting the way she was. But, I don't think it really gave much of an idea that that was what was wrong. Of course, it explains Leah and why she was acting the way she was and didn't want to be near Maggie. But every time Caleb thought about it before we were told what had happened, it didn't show us that the problem was that Caleb didn't hit her. He talked about something not being right and all, but he always said that he was the one who hit her, that he was the one who did that to her. I think that could have been done a little better, while still not giving it away too early.

I enjoyed this book and did want the next book quickly, so I was kind of glad I waited till the next one was out to read it.