Book Review: Halo

Halo

"An angel is sent to Earth on a mission.

But falling in love is not part of the plan.

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 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?"

Author: Alexandra Adornetto 

Year of Release: 2010

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Genre: I don't know what to classify it as. I believe in Angels in real life, so I can't classify it as fantasy because fanasty consists of fantastical beings.
Sequel(s): Hades & Heaven

What motivated you to read this book?: I was at half-price books a few weeks ago, and I saw the second book in this series, (At the time, I had no idea that it was the second book.) and the cover caught my attention, and I knew I wanted to read it after reading the summary. After going to Goodreads, I discovered that it was a series and that the first book is Halo. I couldn't wait to read it because it reminded me so much of the Hush, Hush saga, and I love that series!!

Book Version: hardback
Where did you get the book?: Library I work at
Favorite Character: Xavier Woods

Other noteworthy characters: Bethany, Ivy, & Gabriel Church

Thoughts on Cover: I really like it. Stunning! I like how it doesn't show their faces so the reader can picture them how they want. I also love the sunset/sunrise in the background and the font used as well as the curly thing used around the title. However, I don't like Xavier's hairstyle in it, and because of the cover, I'm now stuck imagining him with that awful style. ugh.

Recommended to: Angel fans, Catholics, Other Christians, religious people, Twilight fans, Urban Fantasy fans
Rating: 4 of 5 Stars

Warning: There are some spoilers in this review

                      
Review: I really enjoyed this novel. I truly did. I loved that although this novel is fiction, it could have happened in real life even though it's not classified as realistic fiction, and I love that. Being a devote, religious Catholic, I loved that the main character and her family were angels and that they came down to earth to try to end as many of the horrible problems as possible. I also loved all the references to God and the respect the characters have for Him. Many books do not mention God or religion. Some do but view it in a bad light. I loved that this book didn't. They honor God, and I loved that. I also loved all the other religious references as well and that Xavier and his family are Catholic (they don't specifically say that he is, but I can tell.) His mother has the same values that I have--loved that!!

Although I loved this novel, there were many things that I found wrong with it. For starters, the plot seemed to be going nowhere for the first 300+ pages. The trival problems that were occurring were solved within a few chapters, sometimes within a few pages. There didn't seem to be a huge problem until the end of the novel. It basically just covered daily things that were going on in Beth's life, nothing major. If the characters weren't so likable, I would have found this to be annoying. I also didn't quite understand what the purpose of Beth's family's mission. Obviously it's to bring peace and end the bad stuff going on, but I felt as though the book focused so much on Beth's relationship with Xavier and not enough on the main reason why she was on earth in the first place!

Second of all (and probably most importantly), Beth's obsession with Xavier got on my nerves. Yes, he's very understanding. Yes, he's an awesome guy, but no, he's not perfect. I hated that she only saw him as Mr. Perfect Boyfriend. There was even one part where she said something along the lines of "Even if there was something wrong with him, I'd still love him." Well, I would hope so, considering that that's what people do--love their significant other despite their flaws. I really wish that his flaws were emphasized more. It was also quite annoying how her happiness depended on him. Nobody--male or female--should rely on someone else for their happiness. They should be happy regardless. When Xavier broke up with her, she was completely ruined just as Bella Swan was in Twilight. It was horrible. It's like seriously--"Yeah, it's upsetting, but get over it! There are other guys out there!" There was even one part when Bethany told him that she wanted to die after he broke up with her. Ugh. Seriously? I also hated that Bethany always wanted him to rescue her/protect her. A girl should be able to take care of herself. However, I was glad that Xavier didn't become Bethany's entire life (even though she pretty much said he was), because she made time for her other friends, too.

Next (okay, this was kind of mentioned before), Xavier's character is too perfect. Maybe it's how Bethany always described and talked about him, but still, his character was too good to be true. For existence, during one part at the beginning when Bethany asked him why he liked her, he basically just said it was because "they clicked". That would have been a totally acceptable answer had he not lost his girlfriend in a fire and pretty much refused to date anyone else because he was too upset. I mean, yeah, Bethany could have been that girl who was different from all the other girls at their school, but it seemed as though he fall for her awfully fast considering that he refused to date anyone else after what happend. (It's hard to put it into words.) 

Overall, this book had it's downs, but they didn't bother me to the extreme. I would definitely recommend it. I really enjoyed this book. I loved Xavier. Even though his character is too good to be true, I still loved him and found myself wanting him to be in the parts where he wasn't there. He pretty much sums up my dream guy: attractive, Catholic, religious, protective, kind, understanding, athletic, has a good relationship with his family, etc. I also liked Bethany even though she had a selfish, unhealthy obsession with Xavier. I thought her innocence was cute, and I loved how she was willing to sacrifice herself for her friend. I have already started reading the sequel & am liking it!