Review: A Shimmer of Angels

A Shimmer of Angels (Angel Sight #1)
by Lisa M. Basso

Plot Summary:

Sixteen-year-old Rayna sees angels, and has the medication and weekly therapy sessions to prove it. Now, in remission, Rayna starts fresh at a new school, lands a new job, and desperately tries for normalcy. She ignores signs that she may be slipping into the world she has tried so hard to climb out of. But these days, it’s more than just hallucinations that keep Rayna up at night. Students are dying, and she may be the only one who can stop it. Can she keep her job, her sanity, and her friends from dying at the hands of angels she can't admit to seeing?

Review:

I found the character's experience with the paranormal to be so refreshing in this novel.  Instead of the character accepting what basically undermines everything they know to be true up until that point, Rayna thinks she must be hallucinating instead of believing immediately.  Because of this and her experience in the crazy house, Ray is neurotic and always struggling for normalcy.  While it is effective to see how fragile she is in the first few chapters of the book, it was a little exhausting sometimes when I wanted the plot to move forward instead of reading more of Ray's mental checks or protestations.  But the flow of the story is really very good overall and I was always eager to keep reading.

I think the main interest for me lay in the dynamic of Ray's angel friends, Cam and Kade.  One is a fallen angel (not necessarily a bad thing though) and one is trying to play by the rules.  Cam is the typical nice guy romantic interest, but there is a forbidden love aspect to his relationship with Ray because of his angel status.  Kade on the other hand is the typical bad boy and much  more interesting to me.  He has his secrets and some redemptive qualities that makes it much more fun to explore his character.  Cam and Kade's interactions were always fun in this book though because of their antithesis to each other and their interest in Ray.

The plot and characters are all pretty engaging and the story has elements that deal with serious teen issues.  There's a balance in this book between realistic problems and paranormal ones that made the novel a more relatable and realistic read than others in this genre.  While there are hints of romance and a love triangle, it doesn't overwhelm the story and rightfully so as Ray has many more important things to focus on.  This is a great read with a very interesting mythology on angels that leaves much more to explore.

And shout-out to Lee for his Doctor Who love!  Who doesn't want a friend who's into Doctor Who! :D

Amazon  Goodreads

I received this book from the publisher or author for a fair and honest review.  I was not compensated for this review.