Willow’s life is a struggle. She lives with her mom, who is suffering from some form of mental illness and her Aunt, a woman that reminds Willow daily how much of a burden Willow is on her time and resources.To help with the finances, Willow fixes cars (not a common occupation for a girl) and does psychic readings (again, not a common occupation for a girl). The problem with Willow is her psychic readings are real. Since she was a small child, Willow could “read” people. It is a psychic reading of a popular classmate (Beth) that will turn Willow’s life upside down.It seems Willow is not exactly “human” (I think the cover gives that away so it is no spoiler). It also seems that both sides- the Angels and the Angel Hunters want her dead. The Angels are not the typical Angels you read about. While they are beautiful, mesmerizing creatures, they also feed on humans for their life force. When the Angels feed, they hypnotize the humans into believing they are helping them. Their “feedings” are the cause for an escalation of depression, disease and eventual death. One of the Angel Hunters is Alex. Immediately the reader thinks “bad boy”. However, he is much more than your typical hero “bad boy”. Alex was “hired” to kill Willow since she is part Angel. However, he quickly realizes (thankfully, before he kills Willow), that something major is wrong. The author manages to give Alex vulnerability, compassion, and a history filled with sadness and loneliness. Willow and Alex end up going on the run. The story really takes off here. Willow and Alex’s travels, narrow escapes, and their budding romance, was by far, the best part of the book.I did have some problems with the book, 1) I felt the cast of minor characters could have been developed more. While this book was about Willow and Alex, to draw the reader into the story more, I think the author could have developed the other characters and given them more depth. 2) The use of the word “um” in the dialogue. I do realize the author was trying to show Willow and Alex’s nervousness, hesitation and shyness by having them say “um” when they were speaking but it was way overdone. I actually started to cringe when I saw the word and had to consciously read the sentences without reading the word “um”. I cannot imagine how the author’s editor or beta readers allowed this word to be used so often. I was hoping for the use of any other words besides “um” but that was the sole word that was used to display nervousness, and shyness. 3) One of the problems when reading very quickly (I finished the book in one day), is I have a tendency to completely immerse myself in the world that author has established. As a result, I seem to “catch” mistakes that the author has made in the story or gaps in the world building logic. In Angel, it happened a few times especially towards the end. I was frustrated because Willow did not do “something” (cannot say- spoiler) that she should have done considering what she was capable of doing.Even with the problems I had with the book, the story was extremely good. I am very eager for book two to come out.
