YA Review & Contest: ANGEL BURN by L.A. Weatherly

Ready for some YA? Today, I’m welcoming a guest reviewer, author Dawn Chartier, who’s sharing her thoughts about Angel Burn by L.A. Weatherly, which was released in late May by Candlewick Books. And, of course, check out the contest at the end!

ABOUT THE BOOK: 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. They’re out for your soul . . . and they don’t have heaven in mind.

DAWN’S REVIEW:

I haven’t read very many YA books to date, but I’m glad I got the chance to read Angel Burn. This book has a unique twist on angels, and it’s sort of creepy. (I like creepy!) Angels have come to earth to feed off of humans. They steal human’s energy, and leave them with suffering with diseases and illnesses. The humans have no clue what is happening, and they still worship the angels, instead of running for their lives.

            High school teenager Willow is half-angel and half-human, although she doesn’t know it until an angel assassin saves her life. (Yep, seventeen-year-old Alex was ordered to kill her, but he rescues her instead – gotta love that – plenty of conflict.) Alex realizes something is not right when he witnesses her angel form floating above her body. Normally, angels are either in their angel form or human form, not both. And the only method to kill angels is to shoot them directly through their halo. Guess what? Willow doesn’t have one.

            I enjoyed the twist on angels, (and yes, for those of us who like our angels good, they do have one good angel in the story too) and the love between Alex and Willow fit perfectly for these teens. A sweet romance blossoms, even though the world around them is being destroyed. I look forward to the next book in the series.  

            NOTE: The author uses first person narration for Willow, and third person narration for Alex and other characters. For me it worked fine, but I thought I’d give a heads-up so you won’t be surprised.

About Dawn Chartier: A native New Orleanian, Dawn Chartier divides her time between her work as a construction documents technologist and her “real” job, writing romantic fiction. Her paranormal romance Not An Angel was recently published by The Wild Rose Press.

Thanks, Dawn! 

Want to win a copy of Angel Burn? What’s your favorite book about angels? Call me a hopeless non-romantic, but I think my favorite is Angels of Light and Darkness, the second in Simon R. Green’s Nightside series. The angels in that book are dudes you really don’t want to mess with—kind of like the Biblical ones. If they feel the need to intervene in your business, you are gonna be really, really sorry.

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