Only Girl In The World...

Published:  April 2nd, 2013
Prophecy Girl (Angel Academy # 1)
By: Cecily White
Entangled
ISBN-13:  9781620612941

Amelie Bennett. . . . Ending the world, one prophecy at a time.

I was born to slay Crossworld demons.
Big black flappy ones, little green squirmy ones. Unfortunately, the only thing getting slain these days is my social life. With my high school under attack, combat classes intensifying, and Academy instructors dropping right and left, I can barely get my homework done, let alone score a bondmate before prom.
Then he shows up.
Jackson Smith-Hailey. Unspeakably hot, hopelessly unattainable, and dangerous in all the right ways. Sure, he’s my trainer. And okay, maybe he hates me. Doesn’t mean I’ll ignore the wicked Guardian chemistry between us. It’s crazy! Every time I’m with him, my powers explode. Awesome, right? Wrong.
Now my teachers think I’m the murderous Graymason destined to bring down our whole race of angelbloods. Everyone in New Orleans is hunting me. The people I trusted want me dead. Jack and I have five days to solve the murders, prevent a vampire uprising, and thwart the pesky prophecy foretelling his death by my hand. Shouldn’t be too difficult.

Getting it done without falling in love. . . that might take a miracle.

Review

 

     Amelie Bennett's biggest goal right now is to finish school, become bonded to a Watcher and begin slaying demons for real as a full-fledged Guardian.  But with her teachers dropping like flies and the paranormal community in uproar over peace tenets that are about to be signed, a normal path to the future is looking highly unlikely.  The scandal involving Amelie's Mom and the questionability of her angel bloodline's origins aren't helping her prospects either.  When Jackson Smith-Hailey is sent to replace one of her newly dead teachers, Amelie feels an instant connection with him and he seems to amplify her powers to unbelievable heights.  When the school is attacked during an assembly, Amelie is blamed and thought to be evil.  So of course her and Jack go on the run to avoid execution and must also prove who the real killer is before a prophecy that says she's going to kill Jack is fulfilled!  All while trying to make sure the peace tenets actually get signed and a war doesn't erupt between the vampire/werewolf races and the Guardians.  Can they manage to save the world and will both of them survive the effort? 

     In general, I am sick of reading the same old paranormal schtick time and time again.  So going into this one I was really hesitant, especially when I read the term 'Watcher,' which has me harking back to the days of my Buffy the Vampire Slayer obsession.  I was pleasantly surprised with the world-building and was particularly glad to not hate it based on its inability to focus on anything but the angel aspect, which I've noticed seems to be a trend in angel-based YA books a lot of times.  There was a coherent plot, and yes the different angel bloodlines and the calling to fight demons were an enormous part of the plot.  But it was more focused on characters and character development then overcomplicated plots/details that make a reader feel lost, like they're missing some important back story or something.  I loved the snarkiness of Amelie and felt like she really came across as a teenager (which she was) instead of some weird adult/teen hybrid, which comes with the territory sometimes.  It's like the authors forget that teens aren't super wise, smart, etc. all the time.  Sometimes they do dumb things, act like brats, or make you have WTF moments.  Amelia had all of those qualities, but also had a gigantic heart and wonderful sense of loyalty that made me want to hug her.  The relationship with Jackson was cute and although in most cases I don't like insta-love, I don't think this really even qualifies as it.  For the simple fact that Amelie is drawn to him (i.e. attracted to him) and he feels familiar to her in a slightly nagging way.  She doesn't even use the word love until over midway through the book, almost near the end.  The banter, arguments and fuzzy moments made me smile.

     The inclusion of the werewolf and vampire races in side-character capacities was interesting and allowed for an important part of the plot involving peace tenets to unfold smoothly and make sense. But they were by no means main characters (at least till Vampire Luc became mega important at the end of the book) and didn't become annoying, or detract from the main plot.  The twist about Amelie's surprise sibling was very movie of the week and not at all shocking.  I thought the revelation of who it actually was happened to be really odd and didn't fit too great with the direction the action took near the final battle.  It seemed to me just a convenient plot twist.  I really wanted it to be someone she'd never met, but alas I wasn't so lucky.  Which sucked because I really liked that character until the truth was revealed!  The likeability of the characters, the witty dialogue and the overall humor of the book were definitely my favorite points.  With the huge twisting cliffhanger at the end I'm intrigued to see how the author spins things in the next book.  Overall a fast paced, funny paranormal read with a lot of heart that I would recommend to fans of Obsidian by: Jennifer Armentrout, The Percy Jackson Series by: Rick Riordan, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

 

VERDICT:  4.5/5  Stars

 

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book was published April 2nd, 2013.*