Angel Burn by L.A. Weatherly
Release Date: May 24, 2011
Publisher: Candlewick
Pages: 464
Source: Netgalley
Rating: 
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository
Willow knows she’s different from other girls, and not just because she loves tinkering with cars. Willow has a gift. She can look into the future and know people’s dreams and hopes, their sorrows and regrets, just by touching them. She has no idea where this power comes from. But the assassin, Alex, does. Gorgeous, mysterious Alex knows more about Willow than Willow herself. He knows that her powers link to dark and dangerous forces, and that he’s one of the few humans left who can fight them. When Alex finds himself falling in love with his sworn enemy, he discovers that nothing is as it seems, least of all good and evil. In the first book in an action-packed, romantic trilogy, L..A. Weatherly sends readers on a thrill-ride of a road trip – and depicts the human race at the brink of a future as catastrophic as it is deceptively beautiful. – Goodreads
Review:
Okay, let’s get what I didn’t like about this book out of the way: the shifts between first-person Willow and third-person Alex. Why?! I really don’t understand the reason for this. I can do with alternating narrators, but it was just so strange to have this change in point of view when it didn’t serve any purpose. It wasn’t too jarring, as I got used to it fairly quickly, but again…WHY?! Sticking to one narrative POV would have been more than sufficient.
Moving along, I did enjoy L.A. Weatherly’s new take on angels. I found them to be absolutely creepy and I thought they held aspects that were quite realistic. For one, it was easy to imagine churches and cults forming for them; we see so many fanatics for various things and people today. Second, the effects they had on humans are things we see in present mental and medical conditions — which is what made them even creepier to me!
The romance of this story was the most predictable aspect of the novel. Yes, there’s a certain level of predictability that comes with reading YA, but there are ways to keep things interesting and this didn’t deliver. Willow and Alex’s relationship was pretty sweet, but even when they were bantering and “hating” each other, I didn’t feel much for their chemistry.
The novel kept a relatively fast pace as Willow and Alex remained on the run. There were a few places where it slowed down, particularly their stay at the cabin, but things quickly picked up again as we neared the conclusion…where it came to, in my opinion, an abrupt stop. I expected a bit more bang.
Angel Burn offered a refreshing twist on angel mythology, a premise full of potential for the remaining books in the trilogy. I can’t say I’ll be rushing out to get the next books in the series, but I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for them!
About Stephanie
Every time I check out your reviews I find a book I didn’t know was on NetGalley LOL I never really got into angels until Unearthly, and the POV comment doesn’t give me much hope I’ll like this one :3
I love the new layout!
I’ve heard similar complaints about the POV switches and the lull in the middle. It seems like people are split on the romance. I’m curious to see where I fall, but I think at this point I might try to wait until the rest are published. Especially with an ending like you describe!
Hmm, the shift in point of view does sound very odd… I wonder if anyone has ever asked the reasoning behind that in an author interview. Still, I love that this one is a unique take on angels!
Great review. Personally I didn’t mind the shifting POV thing, but I agree with you on the ending, it was more of a fizzle than a bang. Their relationship got a bit too sweet for me, I would’ve preferred it to have been toned down a little.
The Cait Files
I agree about the POV. It seemed like she had written it all in third and then someone told her we needed to connect more with Willow so she just re-wrote those parts. Or vice versa. It seems so jarring that it’s hard to imagine she intended those shifts, but I could be wrong.