Review: Angel by L.A. Weatherly

Angel (Angel #1) by L.A. Weatherly
Publication Date: September 30, 2010
Publisher: Usborne Publishing Ltd
Number of Pages: 512
Format: Paperback
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Angels are all around us: beautiful, awe-inspiring, irresistible.

Ordinary mortals yearn to catch a glimpse of one of these stunning beings and thousands flock to The Church of Angels to feel their healing touch.
But what if their potent magnetism isn't what it seems?
Willow knows she's different from other girls. And not just because she loves tinkering around with cars.
Willow has a gift. She can look into people's futures, know their dreams, their hopes and their regrets, just by touching them. But she has no idea where she gets this power from.

Until she meets Alex…
Alex is one of the few who know the truth about angels. He knows Willow's secret and is on a mission to stop her.
The dark forces within Willow make her dangerous – and irresistible.
In spite of himself, Alex finds he is falling in love with his sworn enemy

I read the UK version, but it's published under Angel Burn in the US. This series was highly recommended to me by two really good friends. Since all three of us have similiar tastes in books I assumed I would love this book. Turns out I didn't.

It started off interesting. I like the twist it took on angels, they aren't the good guys. It's something original. We are immediately introduced to the two main characters, Alex and Willow. Alex is an Angel Killer and has been his whole life. The CIA has taken over the operation and instead of working into groups, they work alone and they get a text from angel spotters for their next target. Willow has always known she was different; for one she's psychic, but she would of never imagined that she's half angel. Alex has been given orders to take out Willow, but he can tell she's not a full angel and doesn't hurt anyone. It's not long before they end up on the run and have the whole Church looking for them. When the only person that Alex can trust in the world turns on him, they have no place left to run.

I was a little taken back with the different POVs in the book, especially for a YA. Don't get me wrong I really like it, but I thought it was odd that Willow's POV was first person and everyone else was third person. Would of made more sense just to have everyone third person. I do have to say I read the book rather quickly for one end up not really liking. The beginning had just enough for me to stay interested, and then I had nothing else to do so I forced myself to keep reading. I did read the UK version though, I don't think it had much of an impact since I've read UK books before. But for a book that set in America and sounds Americans I would of thought it would have less of an UK influence. There were a few phrases that threw me off. And I'm used to most of the words spelled differently, but there were a few that I've never seen spelled like that before and took me a few minutes to figure out what it's suppose to be.

The middle is where I found myself bored to death. My first impression was that Willow and Alex fell in love with each other too soon, but then the more I thought about it the more sense it made. Which I really did love Alex and Alex and Willow. I just found their time in the cabin was pointless and boring. It did kind of pick up towards the end, but nothing to leave me speechless. Some of the twists you can see coming a mile before it's revealed.

I think the biggest thing that turned me off on the book is the Church. I'm fairly religious and I have no problem in reading books where it doesn't exist or the Church is something else entirely (like in Downside Ghosts by Stacia Kane), but in this religion still exist. But instead of worshiping God, it's the angels. They just swapped God for the angels. I'm sorry but I couldn't get into it.

At the end of the day it wasn't a bad book. But at the end it didn't leave me anxious to see what happens next.

Rating: 2.5/5