Title: A Temptation of Angels
Author: Michelle Zink
Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: March 20, 2012
Blurb:
When her parents are murdered before her eyes, sixteen-year-old Helen Cartwright finds herself launched into an underground London where a mysterious organization called the Dictata controls the balance of good and evil. Helen learns that she is one of three remaining angelic descendants charged with protecting the world's past, present, and future. Unbeknownst to her, she has been trained her whole life to accept this responsibility. Now, as she finds herself torn between the angelic brothers protecting her and the devastatingly handsome childhood friend who wants to destroy her, she must prepare to be brave, to be hunted, and above all to be strong, because temptation will be hard to resist, even for an angel.
Michelle Zink masterfully weaves historical fantasy with paranormal romance to create a gripping tale of love and betrayal.
My Thoughts:
This book was a bit disappointing for me, but I'm having trouble pinning down exactly why. I think most of my issues lie with the world building. I was so confused while reading it and I'm still confused now that I've finished it. What is a Keeper actually supposed to do? Just keep the world in order? How did they come about? I think this was mentioned briefly, but a lot of the book was spent with me trying to figure out what was going on and why. And for having angels in the title, I really didn't get an angel-y feeling. Or a temptation feeling for that matter.
My other issue was with the characters.I never felt a real connection with Helen. I didn't dislike her, I just didn't like her either. She seemed at times to have this major drive to be useful, but I wasn't always buying it. And her connection with Raum drove me crazy. You can't fix a guy that broken! And Griffin, the love interest, was nice, but a little boring. I'm sure I'd love him if I met him in real life, but as a character, he was a bit flat for me. And the romance wasn't quite right either. It felt a bit like Helen thought "Oh, he's nice to me. I must be in love with him!" Darius and Raum had a bit more to offer as characters I felt.
The writing was well done, but the plot felt a bit slow for me. Like I read 400 pages of what could have been done in 250. I don't want to bash this book too hard though, because it wasn't terrible. It wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible. I think it just lacked the things that make me fall in love with a book.
On the Cover:
The cover is fairly eye-catching, but for me it's not that eye-catching or memorable.
Rating: 2.5 Hearts
Source: Won through a giveaway.
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Aw, sorry you disliked this one. I really hate feeling confused or having lots of questions left over when it comes to world building. And it really sucks that this one had neither plot nor characterization done well. For the most part, a book can be okay when it has at least one of those elements executed well, but neither? I'll definitely be taking a pass on this one. Thanks for the helpful review, Megan!
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