Halo by Alexandra Adornetto

Bethany is an angel who has been sent to Earth, along with her brother, Gabriel, and sister, Ivy, to fight the Dark Forces loose in the world. They have been assigned to the small town of Venus Cove, and in human form they begin their work, helping people to come together for good, and keeping a lookout for the Dark Forces at work. Bethany enrolls in high school and isn't there long before she finds Xavier and the two fall in love. Angels are supposed to care for humans, but not form Earthly attachments as Bethany has done. She and Xavier must fight the fact that at any time Bethany could be called back to heaven, as well as the Dark Forces emerging in an unlikely place.

So. Another supernatural romance. Following the same format as all the other ones. This, however, is the best supernatural romance out of the last, like, 18 supernatural romances I have read. The best one since Twilight, definitely. This was written by a 17-year-old, but it didn't read any differently than any of the other ones I read. So either she's a very mature writer or all the other ones are written like teenagers. I don't know which. When I got this book at the conference, the MacMillan vendor told me how Alexandra Adornetto allegedly said that only teenagers can write for teenagers. The vendor didn't seem convinced of this, I think it's a total load, but 17-year-old, nice job. It was a good story. That's what made it different from all the other ones I've read lately, even if it's the same essential plot. It was an engaging story. I predict this is going to be very popular. And that there were be a movie, totally, and whoever plays Xavier is soon to be swarmed with screaming teenage girls.

I had thought that maybe, since in this book it was the girl who was the supernatural one with the powers and such, perhaps things would be a bit different. But no, same old. Like in Twilight, where Bella's mind-blowing clumsiness made it necessary for Edward to have to watch over her all times, the fact that Bethany is an angel and knows not the ways of the world made it necessary for Xavier to care for her.

Xavier. Xavier is what's going to make this book big. Ms. Adornetto has created the next Edward. If you recall my shpeal about how Edward is the reason, beside it being a good story, that the books hit it off, we got the same thing going here. Because Edward was the perfect guy. No one else has recreated that yet. Now it has been done. Xavier is the perfect guy. He is perhaps even more accessible then Edward because 1. he's human 2. he isn't angsty and in constant turmoil. Oh no, Xavier is easy-going and fun and plays sports and is his school's captain. He's a good old American boy. Accept the author is Australian so he's probably a good old Australian boy. Although I looked to see if Venus Cove was an actual place and the only one is in Nova Scotia. So I have no idea.

Xavier. He loves Bethany. He loves her so much. He would anything for her. He would give up his life (literally) for her. He is willing to fight the Forces of Evil to keep her safe. He make sure she eats properly and protects her at school. And no, he will not have sex with her (yes, there was that scene) even if she thinks she might want to, because he knows she's not ready. Because he knows her better than she knows herself. And he could lay in bed with her totally naked (yes, actually) and that's enough. Does it get more perfect than Xavier? No, it does not. He is the White Knight of your Disney fantasy.

Much like Twilight, we get endless descriptions of Xavier, in all his perfection. His broad shoulders, his muscular arms, his half smile (remember Edward's crooked smile?), the lock of hair that falls across his forehead, his smile (which could launch a thousand ships), oh his smile!

AND, a bit of a spoiler, if you'd like to know what saves the day, it's the power of love. I think the only book where I didn't roll my eyes when the power of love saves the day was A Wrinkle in Time. I don't know if it's because that book is awesome and can totally use the power of love to save the day, or it's just the first book I read that did that. I mean, I loved Harry Potter intensely, but yeah, I rolled my eyes as love saved the day over and over again. This book did not escape the eye roll.

Worth noting: these are very Christian angels. There isn't anything wrong with that, but I think it's worth pointing out. The angels are there to bring people together and bring them back to the church, that's explicitly said. They're doing things in the name of the Our Lord Father and Jesus. The story of Satan being cast out is prominent. I didn't feel that the religious aspect got in the way of the story, but it's certainly there.

A few discrepancies, in particular some of the flowery comparisons Bethany is fond of making don't make sense when she's suppose to have no knowledge of the human world. She's doesn't know what a train is and is confused by seat belts but is able to make off the cuff literary references? Well, maybe she spends all her free time reading. I don't know. It seemed odd to me.

In conclusion, good story, perfect guy, beautiful angels, it's going to be big. You should get it.

Halo is the first book of a series and will available in September.