Bookworming in the 21st Century: Angel Star

Author: Jennifer Murgia
Publication Date: May 18, 2010
Genre: YA Paranormal
Copy Provided by: Dark Faerie Tale ARC Tours
Summary (via Goodreads):

Seventeen-year-old Teagan McNeel falls for captivating Garreth Adams and soon discovers that her crush has an eight-point star etched into the palm of his right hand-the mark of an angel.

But where there is light, dark follows, and she and Garreth suddenly find themselves vulnerable to a dark angel's malicious plan that could threaten not only her life, but the lives of everyone she knows, and now, she is torn between one angel's sacrifice and another angel's vicious ambition.

Divinely woven together, Angel Star takes readers on a reflective journey when one angel's sacrifice collides with another angel's vicious ambition in a way that is sure to have readers searching for their own willpower.

Why I read this: Who doesn't want another Angel book after reading Hush, Hush? I think there will be a few more angel books coming out and I'll be making sure to read every one of them.

Plot: Teagan has always been watched over by a guardian angel, but she doesn't realize it fully until he appears to her. He's gorgeous and she feels this instant connection - like he's always been there for her - which he has. She takes the news well that a dark angel is after her and that Garreth has come to warn her.

There's a twist at the end, which I would have liked a bit earlier. When she meets the dark angel she is also drawn to him and she has to decide between light and dark. I felt this part was thrown in at the last minute - it seems so abrupt and out of sync with the plot when it could have been a large part of it, had it been fleshed out a bit more.

Characters: Teagan isn't my favorite female lead. I felt like she took to things too easily, accepted what was going on too quickly. She seemed to turn from naive to something else - someone drawn to the dark side as well - too fast. I think the action started rather fast and we did not get to know our main character well enough.

Garreth - mmm dreamy. I think the biggest flaw in his character was that in choosing to help Teagan - he weakened himself. He seemed to love Teagan from afar long before he revealed himself, otherwise he would have never done so before. I liked Garreth - but he seemed more human than Teagan at times - more emotional.

And our bad guy - the dark angel fights dirty, changing her friends as he tries to get to Teagan herself. I like the bad guys being BAD, not just sorta bad. It was refreshing to see something so evil.

Relatability: I didn't feel a strong connection to any of the characters, but I think the story followed the basic good versus evil plot line that it was easy to relate to many of the books I've read.

Rating: 4/5 Roses