Review of Halo by Alexandra Adornetto

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Review of Halo by Alexandra AdornettoHalo by Alexandra Adornetto
Series: Halo #1
Published by Macmillan on 2010-08-31
Genres: Christian, Fantasy, Love & Romance, Religious, Young Adult
Pages: 496
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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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?

It’s interesting how the phrase don’t judge a book by it’s cover works both ways. Sometimes an ugly book cover contains a beautiful story. Sometimes a gorgeous cover cloaks mediocre work. When I grabbed a copy of Halo by Alexandra Adornetto at BEA, it was like getting a golden ticket. Halo was one of my highly anticipated reads. I mean, look at the awesome cover! However, I wound up incredibly disappointed.

The plot of Halo by Alexandra Adornetto is basically that Earth is full of sin and strife and trouble. God decides to combat the forces of evil by sending angels to roam the land in human guise. Enter Bethany. Bethany is a very young angel, 17 years old, sent to Venus Cove with her ‘brother’ and ‘sister’ on a mission to bring a spirit of good will back to the local residents. Of course, she falls for a human boy.

What didn’t I like? Alexandra Adornetto’s writing was more tell than show. I mean, there were a whole lot of info-dumps which I could have done without. FYI, Xavier, the romantic interest has ocean, azure, sea-colored, turquoise blue eyes. I think that owning a thesaurus is wonderful, but sometimes you can go overboard with it.

I also did not like the characters in Halo by Alexandra Adornetto. Bethany is an angel. She has no physical faults. As for character, she’s co-dependent on her boyfriend, as in she avoids her friends, ignores her siblings to hang out with him 24/7 and also thinks about him 24/7. Sorry, that’s not romantic to me. That’s pathetic. I mean, how sad to not have a life outside of your romantic interest. It’s interesting, she does not find value in herself until she gets a boyfriend. Also, her boyfriend, he’s a human with zero character flaws. That’s not hot. That’s boring. Also, did you guys know that riding a motorcycle, wearing the color black and a leather jacket makes you a bad ass? I guess I just prefer more complex characters is what I am getting at.

The icing? The subtle jabs at feminism.

“For this evening at least, feminist philosophy had been abandoned and the girls, like fairy tale princesses, allowed themselves to be led up the flight of steps and into the foyer.” pg. 381

Because clearly feminists don’t like dressing up. Feminists don’t like fun. All feminists are dour individuals hellbent on ending prom! Ugh, this irks me SO much, like throw the book across the room irks. FYI I did not actually throw the book. Then, of course, is the implied judgement that if you have sex before marriage, you are immoral. I guess that thought is whomever’s prerogative, but me, well I vehemently disagree. I’d never buy a car without test-driving it, but I am sure lots of people make that decision, which is great, but don’t you dare judge someone for test-driving a car.

However, try Halo by Alexandra Adornetto for yourself. You may enjoy it more than me. We all have different hot-buttons and different standards, and I would not dare impose my standards on you.

Other Reviews of Halo by Alexandra Adornetto Which Are Positive:

The Book Vault
Bookworming In The 21st Century

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April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.
About April (Books&Wine)

April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.

Comments

  1. Sounds to me like every other paranormal book. *sigh* *moves book down in TBR pile*

  2. OMG I love this. I may skip it till later. I have loads of September stuff to read. Like a new Cate Tiernan *Flails*

  3. Oh no. First of all, thank you so mcuh for this review. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You just saved me a hundred bucks (in my currency that is) for this book. I was planning on grabbing it and walking over to the cashier the moment I see it in the bookstore. Thanks for the honest review. I agree with your reaction about the feminist thing. Sigh. I thought this was a good one. Such a shame. It has such a pretty cover. It would've been awesome if we would get an awesome cover + an awesome story.

  4. Cass (Words on Paper) says

    Thanks for the honest review. Well, unless I win a copy directly (as in, I don't get a choice- the contest was FOR Halo), I'll push this one back from my TBR list.

    From what you've said, I don't have such a high opinion of it anymore. It's unfortunate when covers let you down, isn't it?

  5. I remember really wanting this because of the cover. But then I read the summary, slightly disappointed, pushed it back in TBR list. Then thought about some good things, and wanted it again. And read the author's article, you've read it also *nods* and then I was skeptical and I was hesitant. Read more reviews, and now I'm sure that I'm going to read this like later later after I get to all the good stuff I want to read. Sorry for the long comment, but thanks for the great and honest review!

  6. Great honest review.

    I'm not hearing too many good ones about this book, which sucks since I've been looking forward to it for what feels like forever!

    "but don't you dare judge someone for test-driving a car." << seriously, that sentence was full of so much WIN haha!!!

  7. So, you're saying feminists aren't about dressing as un-ladylike as possible, burning bras, and ruining proms? 😉

    I'm with you on the whole "beautiful cover, mediocre story" thing. I sometimes think it's actually a marketing ploy. It's like the publishers are saying, "It's not the best story, but it's sellable … we just need to make it more sellable with pretty eyecandy!"

    Thank you for the honest review! I'll probably end up reading it, but it's not so much a priority to me anymore. Now I can make time for the books I'm super interested in.

  8. Juju at Tales of Whimsy.com says

    Thanks for your honesty. I still can't wait to read it.

  9. April, excellent review. I liked the book. I guess I'm a sucker for pathetic teens:) I was one once upon a time! 🙂

  10. cj'alhafiz says

    Wow, what and honest and emotional review. But, I love it. U don't pretending at least. If u don't like say u don't like right? haha!

    This is my latest review. Nicholas Sparks' The Choice.
    http://coffeecrackers.blogspot.com/2010/08/choice-by-nicholas-sparks.html

  11. "I'd never buy a car without test-driving it, but I am sure lots of people make that decision, which is great, but don't you dare judge someone for test-driving a car."

    That sentence – OMG! I swear you just made my day! I'll definitely be staying away from this one, sounds like the kind of book that would most likely piss me off, too.

    Have a lovely week, Bella xx

  12. Thanks for you honest review. How many times I've picked a book for the beautiful cover and ended being disappointed? ….

    I don't like the jabs at feminism and the implied judgement that if you have sex before marriage, you are immoral…because I also test-drive a car before buying! LOL

    And I don'y understand why to make you understand the character is in love they make her/him dependent. That's pathetic!

  13. Christie (The Fiction Enthusiast) says

    I liked this one, but found Bethany infuriating at times. Loved you review, and thanks for your honesty.

  14. Alexander Bennett (Tales of a Teenage Book Lover) says

    This one looks pretty good. Thanks for the review.

  15. And this is why I haven't read it yet. Because I was afraid of just such a thing happening. Thanks for the review, April. Sorry it was so disappointing.

  16. Natalie (Mindful Musings) says

    I'm planning on reading this one, but I'm not really expecting a whole lot. I'll probably check it out at the library. It does have a gorgeous cover, but I was afraid the story would fall flat, and it sounds like it kind of did.

    Thanks for the review, though!

  17. While I did like certain aspects of this one, I think your review raises some really important issues. Way to go!

    My problem with it was definitely the religious influence. While I know that angels are powerful religious symbols, heavenly beings etc, I guess after reading so many YA angel-titles that had a more open-minded approach I was surprised by Halo's religious (rather than spriritual) tone. I felt judged by Bethany.

  18. Enbrethiliel says

    +JMJ+

    This is the only critical review I've stumbled across and I confess it actually has me intrigued because it reveals that Adornetto's sensibilities are almost 180 degrees away from what I expected.

    On the other hand, Halo also sounds too much like Twilight for me to want to give it a try. I'll still be skipping it.

    Thanks for the review, April! =)

    * * * * *

    To Lauren: I also got a deeper sense of Bethany's character in your statement that you felt judged by her. Thanks!

  19. Lydia (The Lost Entwife) says

    Great review – I feel totally the same about it. Putting my review up tomorrow.

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