Halo [Hardcover]

 

 

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***Contains Spoilers***

I found that the character development in this book was great; we really get to intimately know each and every character... But I felt like things were way too overdramaticized (a la Romeo and Juliet). Take for instance this little snippet from the book:

"You know," Xavier said, "not speaking to you for a few days was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life."
"I know what you mean," I said softy. "I just wanted to die."
"Never think that Beth, I'm not worth that."
"I think you are," I said and he sighed.
"I can't say I don't know what you mean," he admitted. "It feels like the end of the world, doesn't it?"
"Like the end of all happiness"... (p.411)

I don't know if I am turning into an unemotional cat-lady-in-the-making, but a few years ago had I read this, I know that I would have been falling head over heels for this book and its characters (like I was with the "Twilight" series- or at least with the first three books, "Breaking Dawn" is terrible), but I just can't seem to connect with this sort of stuff nowadays. Maybe it is because I am growing up and just realizing that these are books and not real life, or if I have just read so much of this sort of dealio and because so, I am just becoming desensitized to it...

I just can't see how two people can fall in love with someone within a matter of days of knowing one another, one reveals something major to the other that should completely change the way the other views them (as in, "Oh, BTdubs, I am an angel sent by God to look after the earth"), and the other (and normal person) just looks at them and says something along the lines of "I love you so much, and nothing can, nor ever will change that ". And then they go on to profess to one another that they will do everything they can to protect the other one... Blah, blah, blah, even if it kills them... Blah, blah, blah.

And then as I was reading this book I thought to myself, "who in the world wrote this? Do they really know anything about how relationships work?" And when I look at the back cover I discover that Alexandra Adornetto is only 18 years old (and that she wrote her first book when she was 14)! Well, that might explain it and why the feelings in these book seem quite childish... I mean, on the one hand, it is great that she is such an accomplished young woman and that she clearly is talented, but on the other hand, the majority of my favourite books (that seem more realistic in their plotlines- well except for shifting into cats or whatnot) are a bit older, you know, late twenties, early thirties, plus- you know, people who have actually experienced the world, relationships and whatnot to a higher degree than an 18 year old.

I am not saying that young people of her age do not know what love it or anything at such a young age and it would make sense for an actual young adult to be writing young adult novels, since they are currently undergoing such experiences, feelings, thought processes and whatnot... But I just feel like from what I have read, people out of the young adult age range can just do it better (even if you wouldn't think that they wouldn't be able to, since it could have been quite a while since they were young adults and they have experienced quite a bit in their adulthood lives and whatnot- much more than their young adult characters will have experienced).

So anyways, enough ranting and back to this book... Character development? Good. Storyline? Overplayed, somewhat childish (but then again, it is a young adult book, so I was warned). Characters? Well, some of them I really loved, like Gabriel and Jake, other ones kinda got my nerves a bit like Taylah and Molly, but overall, I think that the reader will really enjoy them. And what is nice about this book is that because it is a cliff-hanger, you can pretty much assume that there will be another book in this series, so you will be able to follow the characters in their future adventures and whatnot. If there is another book in this series am I going to go to the store on its release date and buy it? Nope, I will get it from my dear old friend, the library. Would I recommend this book to others? Yeah, as mentioned, it's storyline is okay, somewhat overplayed, so if you are looking for a light-hearted (slightly mindless) YA paranormal romance, this is just the thing for you, however if you are sick of that sort of genre/ theme, that nope, not for you at all- skip it.

it wasn't what i was expecting. It is a bit slow in the beginning but does tend to pick up through out the book..Its about finding love, resisting bad influences, and deciding for yourself is worth while to risk everything. I can't wait for the next book to come out

First impressions and thoughts while reading:

For the most part, I enjoyed Halo. I quickly became enamored with this book and wanted to continue reading and see what would happen. There were scenes I felt could have delved deeper to better lend themselves to character development and/or world building. At times I felt let down as a result of the limited accounts of what little world building this book contained.

There is backstory, and the protagonist does answer questions most readers would have; however, I simply craved more detailed explanations when these scenes took place, not necessarily concrete answers, but further dialog, or self-reflection, to generate more intrigue and more effectively peak my interest.

Post-read reflection:

There were flaws, mainly with respect to the protagonists' character growth and naivety. There were times I felt I had to suspend my disbelief in order to continue reading. It's never good when the reader figures everything out long before the protagonist even begins to get a clue. I rarely put the pieces of the puzzle together on my own, with this book, it was a piece of cake.

In addition, a couple of the secondary characters could have been further developed. Effective utilization of the secondary characters, as well as the antagonist, could have elevated this novel to the next level; the opportunity was there, but unfortunately, not capitalized.

All in all, Halo reminds me of Twilight (which I enjoyed). PG Romance, longing, and detailed descriptions of feelings of all consuming love.

Romance: B+ (Twilight handled this element much better, especially with respect to drawing out the intrigue, coincidental rendezvous', and the general building up of tension)

World Building: C (I'm using The Mortal Instruments as my rating scale, for which I assign that series an A+)

Character Development and Growth: C (This happens too fast, one minute the protagonist is clueless and rash; not thinking her decision through, the next she has reached enlightenment)

Mystery and Suspense: B- (Some foreshadowing handled fairly well, I wanted to keep reading to uncover answers).

If you liked Twilight, I suspect you'll enjoy Halo. Happy reading:)

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4.0 out of 5 stars Cute
Romantic, whimsical and just a bit fluffy, this story is a good, solid read. It does start off a little slow at first, but quickly gains momentum and keeps your attention until... Read more

Published 12 months ago by Catarcy

5.0 out of 5 stars THE BOOKWORMS NEW FAVORITE BOOK!!
This book is AMAZING! The characters are great, the storyline is amazing! Xavier, in the book, HE seems so real I actually started to have a crush on him. Read more

Published 16 months ago by bookwormbeth<3

2.0 out of 5 stars Tedious
This is such a pretty book. Sigh. It's really too bad that this book didn't live up to that promising cover. Read more

Published 16 months ago by Vanessa M. Dow

3.0 out of 5 stars Cliché, ennuyeux et réchauffé
Ne vous fiez pas à la superbe couverture proposée, car ce roman ne lève pas très haut malgré l'histoire. Read more

Published 17 months ago by A. Chaput

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