A Shimmer of Angels (The Angel Sight Series) (edition 2013)

A Shimmer of Angels started off well, but at around the 40% mark I was really struggling. By that point it was feeling "messy" - I'm not sure how else to describe it. It lost its flow and Rayna was really beginning to annoy me; her constant insistence that she didn't want to go back to the mental health facility and refusal to believe what was right in front of her drove ME crazy.

When the finale finally rolled around, the only character still holding my interest was Kade - frankly, I think he was the best of the bunch: strong, conflicted, and carrying secrets. He also had the whole "bad-boy" vibe going on. Rayna's friend Lee had promise, but disappeared halfway through the book before making a brief reappearance at the end. The twist with Rayna bothered me with its randomness. I think there was a very good idea buried here, but the execution left something to be desired.

I really wanted to like this one, and I think author Lisa M. Basso shows promise (Kade and Lee demonstrate her ability to write interesting characters and it started off strong), but I'm not going to be racing out to get book 2 when it appears. ( )

Such a great book. I’m not the biggest fan of books about angels, but I really enjoyed this one. The only thing that kept me from loving it, and giving it five stars, is the fact that the main character, Rayna, annoyed me sometimes. It didn’t happen too often though, and when it did, I wasn’t that annoyed. Just a little. Everything else, I loved.

Overall, I really liked A Shimmer of Angels, and I can’t wait for book two, A Slither of Hope. ( )

The take on angels and its approach is unique and interesting. The drama is overplayed a bit, making for a few eye rolls, and a slightly slow plot. However, the climax is exciting, and readers who make it that far will eagerly turn the pages to find out how it ends. ( )

The world says Rayna is crazy because she thinks she sees wings. The doctors tell her it is her way of believing her mother went to a good place after she passed away. She convinces herself, and everyone who has control over whether she stays in the mental health clinic, that she no longer sees wings. Being in remission, they allow her to go back to school. Her family struggles to rebuild their relationships. Her father thinks she is very fragile and doesn't want her to even go back to school, let alone take a job at the local diner. Her sister becomes resentful of her illness and the time it has caused her to be away from home, the relocations the family made to help her feel better, and the pain she causes her family by not being normal.

Everything is going okay for a while until it happens again. Cam enters the scene, a new kid at school with glorious white wings. She tries to hold it together and pretend she doesn't see them because she doesn't want to be locked up again. Things escalate though, when Cam figures out she can see him, and for the first time ever she sees black wings when Kade shows up. This leads her through a battle between good and evil, angels and fallen angels. She has to deal with deaths of her classmates and ultimately try to save any more from being casualities in this war.

I enjoyed most aspects of this book. Some parts of it were a little difficult too see as really happening. Oddly enough, it wasn't the angels or supernatural aspects. It was more like the part where Rayna was allowed to keep her waitressing job when she seemed to be so bad at it. The part where Kade dressed her up like a hooker, why did he do that? Then she was cut very badly and bleeding everywhere when she broke the window out of a car, and dressed like a hooker, but when she showed up at Lee's house that way it didn't seem like anyone found it odd.

I liked the character of Kade more than Cam. But, Kade gets to be the rough and tumble, throw caution to the wind guy, and Cam has to be on his best behavior. Kade is a fallen angel, but there is that romantic notion that he fell from grace for the love of Rayna's mother. He has black wings but his actions show he has a good heart.

The end wasn't really an end, there is so much of the story left untold.

I was given a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Rayna has spent three years off her life in the mental hospital, because she sees angels everywhere. After being cured, she is placed back with her family. After starting public school, she begins seeing wings again. Soon after two of her classmates die.

I have a hard time rating this book. I thought the characters were overly emotional, overly dramatic, which took away from the story for me. It seemed as if Ray spent most of her time running away, which wasn't that great for story development, plot and pacing. However, I think teenage girls will absolutely love this book. I think they will enjoy the high emotion and the overly dramatic conflicts. ( )