Blog Tour and Review: Angel Eyes by Shannon Dittemore

Angel Eyes by Shannon Dittemore

Release Date: May 29, 2012

Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Author Information: Website / Twitter / Facebook
Genre: Paranormal, Religious
Available Formats: eBook

My Shelf: Own (ARC eBook)

Other Information: Debut Author

Buy the Book: Barnes and Noble

Once you’ve seen, you can’t unsee. Everything changes when you’ve looked at the world through . . .

ANGEL EYES

Brielle’s a ballerina who went to the city to chase her dreams and found tragedy instead. She’s come home to shabby little Stratus, Oregon, to live with her grief and her guilt . . . and the incredible, numbing cold she can’t seem to shake.

Jake’s the new guy at school. The boy next door with burning hands and an unbelievable gift that targets him for corruption.

Something more than fate has brought them together. An evil bigger than both of them lurks in the shadows nearby, hiding in plain sight. Two angels stand guard, unsure what’s going to happen. And a beauty brighter than Jake or Brielle has ever seen is calling them to join the battle in a realm where all human choices start.

A realm that only angels and demons—and Brielle—can perceive.

Review:

Well, this book definitely added some variety to my paranormal reads. Recently, having read series such as Hush, Hush, Halo, and Fallen, I have essentially avoided most books dealing with angels like the plague. Angel Eyes has restored some of my faith in angel-demon paranormal books. The story is refreshing and Dittemore adds her own flare to the proverbial angel story to make her own unique.

Angel Eyes was a great read. It has an intriguing plot, solid characters (including one guy who is swoon-worthy), and romance. The story is a bit confusing in the beginning, with Brielle being plagued by past events, and the reader does not find out what happened until a decent way into the book. However, once the backstory is provided, it is all systems go. The story gets more intense and a major plot line starts to develop (something which I will not spoil), and it definitely makes for a gripping read. I liked Dittemore’s explanation for the use of halos and how they can lead to advanced powers in people who are worthy to wield them. I also liked the characters, which were well-crafted, and I adored the romance. Jake is such an awesome male lead, and he had my attention from the get-go. As far as God and the religious aspects of this novel are concerned, I am not going to delve into them too much (it is probably best for me to keep things nice and simple, no?). For the first half to two-thirds of the novel, there are very few religious undertones, but there are many towards the end. I am going to leave it at that.

One thing that did bother me a bit was the conflicting character viewpoints. Overall, there are four main players in this novel: Brielle, Jake, Canaan, and Damien. Brielle, Canaan, and Damien all have their own viewpoints being told, yet Jake is the lone man out. Unlike the others, the reader never gets to hear any bits of the story from Jake (save the afterword, which was all of 2-3 pages). Why? I did not understand that. In addition, Brielle uses a first person point of view, but when Canaan and Damien’s viewpoint is being expressed, their voice is the third person perspective. I did not like this mash up between first and third person point of views. It is easier and less confusing to just stick with one of them. I think it would have been better to stick with Brielle’s perspective throughout the book and fill in the other missing pieces told from Canaan and Damien’s viewpoints through dialogue or something. It would have made for a more fluid read while not detracting from the story or any type of character development.

Overall, Angel Eyes was an interesting story with a new take on angels that I think anyone would enjoy. It is one of the better angel-related reads out there, so for those of you looking for a more original angelic story, look no further than Angel Eyes!

A Decent Escape