Georgeann Swiger

Adorned is a well-written YA story about a 17-year old girl, Anya, who finds out she is an angel in human form. This is a girl who has been bullied and teased throughout her high school years. The story is compelling, even if you don't believe in Angels. Anya is a remarkable feisty young woman (angel) who falls in love with her protector (another Angel) Micah. The story is sweet and intense, as well as inspirational in a worldly way. I can see how Anya would fall for Micah, but he has a very stoic personality and comes off as gruff, but my guess is that he's supposed to be that way. Not all humans show their emotions outwardly, and I assume Angels are the same way. I loved the characters and how they related to each other. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good YA story and inspiration. Can't wait for the next one.… (more)

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You might need to adapt to Swiger writing style as but I can promise you by mid Chapter 2 you hardly even notice it. It is just different from what a lot of us may be used to.

I must warn the you that the story deals with some difficult and uneasy issues like violence, assaulting and death (it has some gory parts). However, the way Swiger chose to deal with those issues is might be questionable, and because Swiger succeed to attach the you to the characters this parts wouldn't be easy. So be prepared!.

From the beginning Adorned was written from the perspective of 17-year old Anya. In general - Anya is an Angel who sent to grow among humans. She, of course, does not know this but she will have to go through a journey of self discovery and this journey isn't easy.

Anya is a typical teenage dealing with typical teenage problems—bullies (some even teachers), family, and boys. Never quite feeling like she fit in. Anya is a very realistic teenager, her immaturity became unnerving at times. She threw an occasional temper tantrum, which is something I would more expect from a tween rather than an almost 18-year old girl with “angelic” roots. I also was frustrated from her feebleness and wanted her to have more back bone.

Anya struggles to cop with her own every-day life when her Aunt Celeste, known for taking in kids off the streets, brings home Micah—a mysterious boy who is quiet and appears dangerous.

Micah, reveals to her the reason behind her being such a different —she is anything but human.At the same time she also discover that her Aunt, Celeste, is a guardian angel. Celeste watching over her while she learns about the humans she is living among and destined to protect as a guardian angle.

Micah, is the angelic soldier, usually one of those who patrol the border between Hell and the kingdom. he was ordered to protect Anya (which wasn't an easy mission). Micah’s role as Anya’s guardian is not the one he usually performs and it isn't prepare him to deal with her human emotions that he has little experience with or patience for. While Micah often appears unfeeling at times, it’s usually because he is only trying to do his job—get Anya pure and without losing her light to her ‘becoming’. He try protected her from the evil spirits who might reveal her angelic identity (her light) and try to absorb it.

Micah's relationship with almost everyone around him keeps things interesting. At the end when he reveals his feelings for her…this part truly showed Swiger’s lovely storytelling ability. It was beautifully written and so visual,

Anya feeling toward Micah is growing and she later drops an unexpected kiss on Micah, he tried to appear not to be affected in a romantic way. This kind of relationship not exit between the angels. more then this it's forbidden. The fact that angels are not allowed to be romantically involved, create one of the major conflicts in the story. His "non exist feelings" stress out as teen like jealousy. especially toward Sam.

But after my complains about her bratty character i must point that unlike many YA romances, her romantic interest in Micah doesn't make her "weak at the knees". She maintains her individualism and attitude.

Sam Malick, begins his role as the thorn in Anya’s side but go through his own transformation, manages to find himself in a unique predicament that ultimately helps him and Anya grow. He was probably one of the most interesting characters, you never quite know what to expect from him or what side he's on.

Eli is also an angle and my book best character !! I loved his energy and his spunk, but I didn't understand his part in the all story . I did understand that angles have a very strict hierarchy but beside that he is above a guardian angle (the lowest in this hierarchy) i also didn't understand where his place in this hierarchy. But... I must admit that his presence in the plot helped to maintain a much-needed balance to outweigh the heavy personalities of the others.

Simon my feeling to him is controversial - I honestly don’t know how I feel about Simon. I guess I will have to read the next book to find out more on him. he and Celeste are the adult in the story but in contras to the motherly, emphatic, warm persona of Celeste, Simon is the big boss. He is very high on the angelic hierarchy and he is the one who plot the all thing of replacing Celeste in Micha as a guardian. The problem is that i can't discus his persona without creating spoilers so you wll need to read the book to learn more about his complicated character and his surprising motives and doing. the only thing that i can mention about him it his love for cooking, which made him more human like,

Swiger didn't present her angles as a perfect beings that do no wrong. In fact, I'm fairly certain not a single character in this book was without flaw.

I like to see more of the story, as Swiger chooses to leave us with a cliffhanger…a BIG one. It left me with that feeling, “I need to know what going to happens next.” Swiger showed she has a creative imagination and a gift for storytelling. Some scenes were beautifully written. I expect the remaining books of this series to only improve as Swiger grows into her own as a writer.… (more)

Adorned by Georgeann Swiger is an incredibly engaging book. Personally, I think it was too short. I felt like from the moment I picked it up, time flew by and it was over in a flash. It was really entertaining and a very fun read. I really liked the characters used, especially Eli (who I think any reader will enjoy.) The story was very complex and occasionally left you stumped, but all was answered through the course of the book.

While you might be thinking that any story about angels can’t be relatable at all, trust me on this one: it is. A teenage girl is protected by (someone who looks and acts like a) teenage boy, who has to protect her from the torment and bullying of another teenage boy. Though the main story is about angels, it’s also about high school life and the struggles everyone goes through.

I’ve become quite an avid horror novel reader, but the last thing I was expecting in a young adult novel about angels with a high level of gore. It’s definitely there. I was shocked at how gory the story was, but mostly I was shocked because Swiger makes the readers become attached to all of the characters before stuff hits the fan. I didn’t mind it as I’m growing accustomed to it, but I can imagine that teenage Me would have been sick to her stomach reading about it all. I don’t know that it had a place in young adult fiction, but it is there and there is no escaping it.

There is one scene which really bothered me. Anya has learned a method to take away her pain from Micah, who was simply trying to help protect her from her constant headaches. But the “spell” used leaves her in an almost drugged-out state where she is completely incoherent and definitely not herself. While she was acting drunk, another character assaults her. I’m getting tired of reading about girls being taken advantage of in stories, and feel like male characters are being allowed to do so. What exactly is forgiving your assailant or keeping your mouth shut going to teach our girls? I wish authors would consider this before they choose what actions will be taken against the assailants, because all they are doing is teaching young people (females and males as well) to be victims.

I really enjoyed this story, and after reading the summary of book two of the series, I’m really excited about it as well. I would have given the book five stars for an amazing story, but felt a bit offended by how certain events unfolded. I would recommend this to any fantasy or paranormal fan, but teens especially should be cautious if they are sensitive to gore.… (more)