Review: Halo by Alexandra Adornetto

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 influence of darkness. They must work hard to conceal their luminous glow, superhuman powers, and, most dangerous 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?

I have to admit I was rather shocked to discover that Alexandra Adornetto wrote and published Halo as a teenager. As a sixteen-year-old who has tried her hand at writing many times, I've realized that it is no easy feat, so major props to Alexandra.

I went into Halo with mild interest. I'd seen the various mixed reviews and thought I'd give it a shot since I didn't have many other books to read at the time. Now that I've finished it, I can honestly say that I'm glad I was not expecting so much--I would have been disappointed.

I think one of my main issues with this novel is that there are so many other amazing paranormal romances containing angels/fallen angels. Because Halo was written so early in Alexandra's life, it doesn't compare to those other books out there. Now, I'm not at all criticizing her writing--it is phenomenal. The content of the book was the problem.

Bethany is an angel. Literally. However, since she is young, she has more human characteristics than that of her "siblings", Gabriel and Ivy. Despite this, I feel like Bethany was too human--she got drunk, contemplated pre-marital sex, etc. Not exactly an angelic persona right there. Yes, she started out sweet and innocent, but I didn't like how all of her values, like spending time with Gabriel and Ivy, went to crap after she met the "pretty boy", Xavier. Speaking of Xavier, he was trying awfully too hard to appear macho. I hate to break to to you, but rugby player muscles are no match for demons. Now, to the antagonist--he was creepy. Like downright I-feel-super-uncomfortable-reading-this creepy. Beside that, it was so obvious that he was bad/evil/trying to cause harm, yet Bethany AND everyone else seemed to somewhat trust him until they finally saw his true intentions.

Halo was too predictable for me. The plot showed potential early on, but ended up underdeveloped. The conflict  showed up about halfway through, but nothing major happened until close to the end. If you're the type who likes paranormal romances without much action, sort of like Twilight, you might enjoy this book. I'll be picking up Hades, book two in Alexandra's series, just to see how things turn out.

Rating: 2.5/5 stars