Review of "Halo"

"Halo"
Alexandra Adornetto


3

Pub Date: August 31, 2010
Pages: 496

Synopsis: Three angels are sent down to bring good to the world: Gabriel, the warrior; Ivy, the healer; and Bethany, a teenage girl who is the least experienced of the trio. But she is the most human, and when she is romantically drawn to a mortal boy, the angels fear she will not be strong enough to save anyone—especially herself—from the Dark Forces.

Is love a great enough power against evil?

I liked "Halo", but it was just too long and the characters were not my favorites. I felt like this book would have been more successful as 2 shorter books. There were two huge conflicts that both could have been flushed out in their own book. It made the first conflict seem to be not that big of a deal because it happened and it didn't seem to matter so the build up seemed pretty unnecessary. Although breaking "Halo" into two books may not have worked because the conflicts seemed a bit lacking and people may not have gotten farther than the first book. Maybe if the beginning had been shortened and the conflict towards the end of the book was developed a bit more it may have worked better. I'm sorry this is sounding very vague; I just don't want to give anything away! I was just expecting more action out of "Halo".

My major problem with the characters was that I didn't really like the dynamics of Xavier and Bethany's relationship, it felt kind of controlling, not in a completely "OMG this guy is a psychopath", but it just felt like he could turn into a clingy, overprotective boyfriend. I really didn't like how he would answer for Bethany and decide who is worthy of talking to her. I understand that Adornetto was trying to show that Xavier loved Bethany and was trying to protect her; I also get that Xavier was trying to help Bethany, but I just know that controlling relationships start with similar actions.

If you enjoy paranormal romances, especially ones that don't have much plot outside the central relationship, then you will probably love this book. I have a feeling most people will love Xavier and will not be bothered by his relationship with Bethany, but I had trouble getting past this. I know a lot of people love this book, so if it sounds like something you are interested in then it is totally worth giving it a shot.

*I received this book from the publisher for review*