Rabid Reading

Teenage angel descendants (aka guardians) maintaining order, keeping the balance and fighting the good fight - all while trying to juggle make it through school, or in their case, angel academy. That's what I thought I would be reading about when I started Prophecy Girl. I thought I had the book all figured out within the first few chapters.

Um, yeah. About that.

Prophecy Girl surprised me. In the beginning, it seemed like a fairly simple, straightforward book. I'd even go so far as to say it was borderline predictable. But then things happened - and they kept on happening. Every single time I thought I had the story nailed down, it changed direction on me - sometimes so fast, it gave me whiplash - and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get ahead of it. I was always at least a half-step behind.

It. Was. Awesome.

As characters go, Amelie Bennett is, for lack of a better word, a character. She's a firecracker, that girl, almost too snarky for her own good, and yes, there are times when she really acts her (YA) age. Yet somehow, it works. I got the biggest kick out her, frequently chuckling and shaking my head and wondering what the heck she would do or say next. What was really interesting, though, was watching her evolve over the course of the story. Turns out she was a lot stronger, tougher and smarter than I originally gave her credit for, and I don't know about you, but when a character defies my expectations as completely as Amelie did, the book automatically gets a higher rating.

Jackson was a treat as well. He wasn't a swaggering bad boy, and yet he wasn't a too-good-to-be-true good boy either. He was just himself. In the beginning he comes off as a prickly porcupine, and at times, like a lecturing professor, but I actually enjoyed that. Maybe it was because he kept calling Amelie "Miss Bennett", but I kept thinking of Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice, and being the huge P&P fan that I am, that mental association really worked for me. Like Darcy, Jackson comes off one way, when in reality, he's so much more - the kind of guy who is really, truly worth knowing. A keeper. It may take a while for his heart and true motives to be revealed, but that's half the fun, isn't it? Getting to know the characters one delicious bit at a time? And trust me, Jackson is delish.

I was a little wary about the romance. The whole bondmate thing suggested instalove to me, and as someone whose eye starts twitching at the mere mention of instalove, I had my doubts about that aspect of the story. But once again, author Cecily White surprised me. Yes, there's a bond, but it's complicated and doesn't come with any guarantees. I loved that.

I had a lot of fun with this book. Like, a lot. Can't wait to read the next one!

4 Stars ★★★★

ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.