Review: Angel Star

Angel Star (ARC) by Jennifer Murgia
Publisher: Lands Atlantic Publishing
Release Date: May 18th, 2010
Pages: 256
Age Level: 14+
Series: #1

Synopsis
Seventeen-year-old Teagan McNeel falls for captivating Garreth Adams and soon discovers that her crush has an eight-point star etched into the palm of his right hand-the mark of an angel.
But where there is light, dark follows, and she and Garreth suddenly find themselves vulnerable to a dark angel's malicious plan that could threaten not only her life, but the lives of everyone she knows.
Divinely woven together, Angel Star takes readers on a reflective journey when one angel's sacrifice collides with another angel's vicious ambition in a way that is sure to have readers searching for their own willpower.

Review
Going into Angel Star, I was really expecting to love this book. I had heard nothing but excellent things about it and the author Jennifer Murgia is just such a sweetie. So not only did I expect to love it, but I also really, REALLY hoped I would. Unfortunately, I can't say that I loved but I did however, like it. For the most part it was a very enjoyable read, but I had a couple issues with it.

Well let's get the worst part over and done with. I was not a huge fan of Teagan and Garreth. With Teagan, she immediately came off to me as naive, cliche, and I couldn't form a connection with her. When a new guy shows up at your school, singles you out, and makes it obvious he doesn't care about being around anyone but you, that should raise a warning signal. Ok so we all know Garreth is good but how did she know that? I know her soul was saying she was safe with him and all that but her brain should have been raising a red flag. I just felt she should have been more cautious in the beginning. Another thing, it annoyed me how much she seemed to rely on and swoon over Garreth; it made her seem a bit weak and dependent. As for Garreth, he was just too perfect. Ok I understand that as a good guardian angel, he kind of needs to be perfect personality wise but did he have to look perfect too? A guy can be good looking or attractive without looking like his body was sculpted by Greek gods. I also thought he could have been a bit better developed.

Now here is where the switch flips. I would like to talk about Hadrian for a minute. Hadrian was, in my opinion, was a way better character; he was more complex, the ultimate villain, and he seemed to make both Teagan and Garreth better characters. With Teagan, he brought out her slightly darker side and a fierceness and strength that she seemed to lack before. With Garreth, you got to see his more vulnerable, less perfect, more human side because of him. In other words, not only did I love Hadrian's character, but he made me like Teagan and Garreth a lot more than I had before he made his grand appearance.

As for the story itself, my only issue with it is I felt things moved too quickly in the beginning; I also feel this contributed to part of my issues with the characters. Other than that, it was suspenseful, exciting, and fairly original. Now there were a couple of small details, mostly un-related to the overall plot, that I thought were a bit reminiscent of The Pace and Hush, Hush, but nothing serious. Except the beginning, the book was well paced and wonderfully plotted out. The writing was lovely and definitely a style of it's own so kudos to Murgia on that.

The ending didn't exactly blow me away but it did a good job of getting me all excited for Lemniscate.

All in all, I ended up enjoying this book despite some of the problems I had with it, problems that were mostly resolved towards the end. Angel Star was very compelling, well written, and a worthwhile read. I've got a pretty good feeling that I'm going to like Lemniscate better than this one so I'm definitely looking forward to reading that. I recommend this book on a medium-high level; I realize most people were basically blown away by this book and I liked it pretty well myself.

Grade
Characters: C+
Writing: B
Plot: B-
Ending: C+
1st in Series: B-
Enjoyment/Likability: B-
Recommendable: B+
Cover: B-

Overall: B-