A Temptation of Angels by Michelle Zink

A Temptation of Angels by Michelle Zink

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Source: Won from Razorbill
Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers
Format: Hardcover, 435 pages
Release Date: March 20, 2012

Even angels make mistakes in this page-turning epic romance

When her parents are murdered before her eyes, sixteen-year-old Helen Cartwright finds herself launched into an underground London where a mysterious organization called the Dictata controls the balance of good and evil. Helen learns that she is one of three remaining angelic descendants charged with protecting the world's past, present, and future. Unbeknownst to her, she has been trained her whole life to accept this responsibility. Now, as she finds herself torn between the angelic brothers protecting her and the devastatingly handsome childhood friend who wants to destroy her, she must prepare to be brave, to be hunted, and above all to be strong, because temptation will be hard to resist, even for an angel.

Michelle Zink masterfully weaves historical fantasy with paranormal romance to create a gripping tale of love and betrayal.

A Temptation of Angels had the potential to be an exciting, heart-pounding battle between good and evil. However, while I was entertained and interested for the opening pages of the book, my enthusiasm lessened as I read further and ultimately ended up rather disappointed.

One of the hardest things for me to enjoy was the characters themselves. Helen, Darius, Griffin, Raum... they were all such typical, clichéd characters that I've come to know a little too well from paranormal YA. The love triangle in this book also made no sense to me whatsoever. I don't want to get too spoiler-y but one of the guys was pretty disturbing to me, despite his more "redeeming" qualities. If I had to choose between the two, the other would be a clear favourite, but even then I couldn't bring myself to fully enjoy the relationship between him and Helen because of the insta love.

I think this novel had some great potential for world-building, considering it's set in an alternative historical London, but we really get no look at that. I was also curious about the Dictata and their role in things but, once again, very little is explained and frankly, very little made sense to me. The last part of the book is exciting, with things finally moving along quickly, but I wish that there could have been more happening in the first chunk of the book as well.

Once again, I really do wish that I'd enjoyed this more. I think the premise is intriguing and I found the writing itself quite strong. There were some flashbacks that were used well and small peeks into cool technology. In the end though, this wasn't enough to save the book for me. There are, however, plenty of other people that have loved this read, so if it sounds interesting to you, give it a shot! I hope your reading experience is much better than mine :)

2 Golden Crowns!

 

Cover Comments: A fairly average cover for me. I like the smoke and the model's expression!