susanvoss18

Keiron believes the girl is worth the attempt. His brother Gerrick does not. Keiron falls to Earth without his wings and he remembers just enough to seek out Livvy Foster, a teen-aged girl with half a heart. He believes she is the key to something greater, but is he right? There were many things I loved about this book. First, it’s a very different take on angels. In fact, these winged beings rarely bring up the word ‘angel’. Most believe their world is entirely enclosed with nothing of interest below them. They have their own politics and factions, deceivers, creators, historians, and warriors. I really enjoyed this take on the ethereal realm of angels. It was so much more fascinating and beautiful because it was so visceral. These angels are not of the peace-loving, nurturing variety. The story switches back and forth throughout. There’s 17-year-old Livvy with her little job at the library. Then there’s Vosa and Sinoff dealing with the aftermath of their son Gerrick giving their other son Keiron a good shove into the human realm. War is brewing in the angels’s realm. Meanwhile, Livvy has her own struggles – she has a faulty heart which often leaves her breathless and rather slow on her feet. Luckily, she has Dozer who is her self-assigned best friend at the library. At first, I was mostly interested in the angels’s realm because it was so very interesting. There’s Cressa, a blightwing, who is currently serving an indefinite amount of time in servitude to this ruling council. She brings Vosa and Sinoff the summons, and they treat her like a real person instead of shunning her. Things continue to get interesting when one of their daughters, Habira, joins them. She’s a warrior in her own right. It took me a bit longer to get into Livvy’s story line. She has this heart thing, but few specifics are given. The focus is mostly on how it affects her day to day life. Dozer provides some humor, which is good. Then Keiron joins the mix and a little romance enters the story (which was OK but not necessary for me). Yet it was when we start getting hints of something more going on with another lady at the library that I truly became interested in Livvy’s storyline. There’s a bit of mystery, a hint of danger there. So we have all these great elements going on: the uniqueness of the angels; Livvy’s limited function; Dozer’s humor; a war brewing; Cressa’s back story; the mystery at the library. I was really into this book. And then, in the final quarter of the book, things take a turn. Well, actually, I’m not sure where things went. I really thought I missed a chapter. I went back and relistened to the section to make sure. In the end, I felt like there were pieces missing. The final outcome I was OK with, but I don’t get how we got there and how certain characters went from being evil to being good guys. I suffered more than whiplash from how quickly this story changed things up near the end. I really hope there is a sequel that will answer all of the many, many questions I have. I received a free copy of this book via The Audiobookworm. The Narration: Julia Whelan did an excellent job with this book. I really liked her young Livvy and her wise, patient Vosa. Her playful Dozer was great too. She imbued the characters with all the right amounts of emotion and that did much to bring this book a live for me.