sunsetxcocktail

This was an unusual take on the whole angel concept I've not seen before in YA paranormal novels. And I did thoroughly enjoy it. I liked it right off, the tone of the novel was interesting and sounded just right for a socially awkward small town teen. Something about the small southern town setting and the tone of Riley's character reminded me in a way of Sookie Stackhouse. I found the character of Gabe an interesting one, he was a lot of fun and turned out to be a really decent guy. The initial meeting between him and Riley was very entertaining and reading about them dealing with each other's lives and getting around together was entertaining. The relationship worked well (no insta love) and it was easy to see how Riley's emotions changed and developed throughout the story. Riley as a heroine was easy to relate to and strong in a lot of senses, but completely dense in some - like dealing with new friends, how to act socially. Even Lacy the not so evil cheerleader turned out to be a pretty cool character in her own way after a first introduction into Riley's social awkwardness.I suppose that in any angel related novel its impossible not to go into the religious side of things. One thing I hate is being preached at but this book handled the whole religious aspect very well. The Church of Angels was handled well, and a little weird right from the start but it built into the plot nicely. There were some nice spooky paranormal touches and I thought the things brought in about Riley's true past were done well and all built up nicely to fit into the story and drive the plot forward towards the end of the novel. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the ending, it was rather emotional and like a WHAT???!!!! after everything. And made me like Gabe and Riley even more. All in all, a very good read.