A Shimmer of Angels (Angel Sight #1)
by Lisa M. Basso
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?Source: I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Review:
I really enjoyed A Shimmer of Angels. I was engrossed in the story and I loved the way that it unfolded. On the surface, it reminded me of Fallen by Lauren Kate because the main character was dark haired, recently considered to be somewhat disturbed or crazy because of the things she saw, and the story involved the existence of angels (one of them named Cam). But while it’s an angel story, it has different elements that make it unique and unpredictable and unlike other angel books I’ve read.
Because of Rayna’s history in an institution being treated for seeing things that weren’t real, she tried to keep her grip on reality. When she saw the new boy, Cam, at school sporting a set of bright wings, she tried desperately to unsee them and ignore their existence. The first third of the book was a little slow because of her unwillingness to explore her situation, but it made a lot of sense because admitting she was seeing things again meant she might really be crazy again. I liked her struggle, but I did wish the story got to the point (so to speak) a bit faster.
When some of Rayna’s classmates started to get hurt, there was a layer of mystery wrapped up in the magical element of the existence of angels and I liked that aspect. Someone was hurting the students, but Rayna was barely able to admit to the existence of Cam, let alone anything darker or sinister lurking around. As the story progressed, Cam and Rayna formed somewhat of a partnership attempting to find out who was behind the murders. Rayna was also trying to maintain some illusion of normality by working at a restaurant in the meantime, which is where she ended up meeting Kade.
Ahh, Kade… Kade was definitely my favorite character. Instead of having bright wings like Cam, his wings were sleek black and everything about him was sly, dark, and intriguing. And gorgeous. And probably dangerous and murderous. Rayna found out why their wings were different and what that meant in the grand scheme of things. It’s hard for me to explain what I loved so much about Kade without giving away major details of the plot. But I thought Kade’s heart was in the right place, despite the many mistakes he made. He just made Cam look dull in comparison, even if he was the number one suspect of Rayna’s. I almost rated the book 3 stars because of how slow the first bit of it was, but Kade’s character and the action packed last half of the book made me bring my rating up to 4 stars.
The plot twisted a few times and the stakes got higher as the story progressed. Rayna’s sanity was once again in question, she found herself in the sights of a ton of angels, and she couldn’t quite sort out the feelings in her heart. And most importantly, she was still desperately trying to prevent the killings of any more of her friends.
I loved A Shimmer of Angels and I’ll definitely read the next book in the series. I need to know what happens next. I recommend it to fans of angels and YA paranormal romance with action and mythology. There were also a lot of Doctor Who references due to Rayna's quirky best friend, Lee, and I think fans of the series will appreciate all of them.
