ARC Review: A Shimmer of Angels (Angel Sight #1) by Lisa M. Basso

Publisher: January 29, 2013 Month9Books, LLC
Genre: Paranormal, Fantasy
Format: egalley
Source: gifted from Netgalley and Month9Books, LLC for honest review

Goodreads Summary
Sixteen-year-old Rayna sees angels, and has the medication and weekly therapy sessions to prove it. Now, in remission, Rayna starts fresh at a new school, lands a new job, and desperately tries for normalcy. She ignores signs that she may be slipping into the world she has tried so hard to climb out of. But these days, it’s more than just hallucinations that keep Rayna up at night. Students are dying, and she may be the only one who can stop it. Can she keep her job, her sanity, and her friends from dying at the hands of angels she can't admit to seeing?

So is Rayna a Deranged Lunatic or a Determined Heroine?

I saw this beautiful cover and couldn't pass this up from Netgalley.

The Good

Rayna is really determined. Determined to push past the craziness of seeing wings, determined not to wind up back at the mental clinic, and determined to live a nice, normal life. She does her best after her stint from the clinic to go back to school, to start a job, and to have her family back. She has a wonderful best friend that doesn't really appear to have romantic feelings for her that I can see and it's a nice friendship to watch.

There are some great mysteries happening after a stranger appears at her school. She begins to think she's crazy again even though there is evidence to the contrary, but the story and puzzlement regarding who is behind kids dying makes for a good read. This new character, Cam, has wings that she can see and she does everything in her power to stay away from him at first. I enjoyed Cam in general and getting to know him. What was best was watching the climax of trying to determine who was causing the horrible deaths and Rayna's strength and determination to see it come to an end no matter the cost.

More than that, I liked getting to know Kade. He has a darker side as a demon but is he all bad? It was great fun getting to see all sides of this bad boy.

The Bad

Rayna had a overabundance of clumsiness that I'm not sure was necessary for the story. I did like a little bit of it at first because it gave her a quirkiness that defined her more as a character, but it did go a bit overboard.

I completely understood why Rayna believed she was crazy in the beginning of the book because any rational person that saw people with wings probably would (as well as her family), but when the evidence keeps piling up, she still keeps calling herself crazy and I feel like it was pushing the envelope a bit. I think she should have accepted the truth just a bit sooner than she did.

I'm also not sure I understood the relationship (I'm calling it that for lack of a better word) between her and Cam because there wasn't really an honest connection built that I could see. Given that Cam is an angel that doesn't have genuine human feelings, I don't think they have an insta-love but pretty close and it confused me quite a bit.

The Romance

Rayna meets two delicious guys in this book. One is the golden boy, angel Cam. The other a bad boy, demon Kade. Cam is an angel that isn't supposed to really feel human feelings so I don't really understand the relationship or connection that they had, but I do see that Rayna is incredibly drawn to him. However, I can't help but feel for Kade who does all he can to help Rayna no matter the cost to himself. He draws attraction out of her, but I don't think she wants to allow herself to feel anything for him. There is attraction and a few kisses, but not much else in this one.

Conclusion

I feel like this is a good paranormal book about angels and demons. There was a nice mystery element thrown in and the good guy vs. bad guy angle for our protagonist. I will be reading the next one in the series. Recommended for YA paranormal readers.

Excerpts

“Hallucination-free for six months now, I should have expected it wouldn't last. And judging by the golden-haired boy across the street- the one sporting the  curved wings - remission had just become a fond memory." ARC Location 48

"An air of freshness loomed in his wake, like the scent of earth and fresh cut grass. Strange that I hadn't noticed it before. Odd that he smelled so earthly, but looked so heavenly.
   I kicked my stupid chair. Three years of intensive treatment and i was still stark-raving mad."  ARC Location 379