Heaven and Hell

The emerging fade of angels on earth seemly has run its course. Or has it? Halo was introduced last spring after fellow super heroes stumbled upon the young author's signing table. Alexandra Adornetto was seventeen when she published Halo last fall. Her book seemed to have begun the angel craze for me. I hadn't realized Fallen by Lauren Kate was out for a year prior to Adornetto's first book. I guess one can say she stole the idea, but I believe Adornetto's story was the more enjoyable one. I found Kate was falling, no pun intended, into an idea of past centuries and constant lost loves. Plus when picking up the sequel I was immediately confused, bored, and I had no desire to read any further. Not worth my time, and definitely not worth an entire post to explain how I didn't care for it. Halo, however, intrigued me because of how playful it was.
Bethany Church is an angel, along with her older siblings, Gabriel and Ivy. All three are sent on a mission from the ruler above to bring peace and hope to the community of Venus Cove. It appears evil is lingering and these three need to keep their focus in order to help restore faith. Bethany's immaturity and her compassion for human life puts her right in front of Xavier, gorgeous boy in her class who all the girls want, but can't reach. After his girlfriend was killed in a fire, Xavier's faith is nonexistent, until he begins to see Beth. Their love appears magical. So much, in fact, that Beth decides to reveal herself to Xavier in her true angel form, wings and all. Now that a mortal is aware of their secret, Gabriel and Ivy must figure out their next step and fast because evil appears to be approaching faster than they we anticipating.
The sequel, Hades, picked up a few months later. This one took you to the depths of Hell where Beth is held captive. Not only are her family despretely trying to find a way to get her out, but one of the original eight fallen angels is intent on keeping her in. The more she stays the more Beth misses home, but will they find a way to her before it's too late?

The books include an incredible romance between Xavier and Beth, which never ceased to take the reader's breath away. But the romance had a very sweet way of restoring lost faith. There are definitely times in the writing when you can tell the author is a young teenager. Some things happen a little too conveniently, and the romance is the focal point of the story. However, the concept of a good vs. evil was very fun to follow. And I could tell the author is extremely religious. But not in a Touched by an Angel lame way. She references characters from the bible, makes them real and almost human. It was definitely a journey that had a great built up to the end of the novel. It was a shame that the battle scenes weren't longer. I am hoping the last book has an epic battle scene because the books have been leading up to some sort of uprising.
People can say the books are too teenager, but they are books that have a feel good theme. Yes, I agree Bethany can be a whiny brat who gives into peer pressure too easily, but I feel her character is supposed to be naive and wimpy for lack of a better word. Call me a push over, but I tend to always fall more deeply into a romance when the guys are so devoted to the girl. I am a sucker for fairy tales, and the love Beth and Xavier share is simply that. Too good to be true. But it is always nice to have that protective boy character. In my opinion anyway. :)
Obviously, the endings to both novels are pretty predictable, but it was still a nice romance that had an interesting theme. Good vs evil is always a great battle, especially when angels are involved; both fallen and those still following the good word. I don't have extremely high expectations for the third and final book, but I am expecting an apocalyptic showdown between the two sides. Hopefully Adornetto focuses more on the battle and less on the romance. It would make for a better ending. Maybe a death? Who are we kidding, the ending's going to bust out. But we can hope right? And look! The covers are sooooooo pretty! ;)