Angel Burn

Starred review from April 18, 2011
Weatherly (Child X) launches a supernatural YA trilogy with a terrific, action-packed romantic thriller. Sixteen-year-old Willow is a gifted mechanic and psychic living in upstate New York. When she does a reading for her classmate Beth, who is planning on joining the cultlike Church of Angels, Willow becomes scared; Beth thinks she's been blessed by an angel, but Willow sees that the "angel" feeds on humans' life force, poisoning bodies and damaging minds while leaving the victim euphoric. At 17, Alex has been an angel assassin for years, but when he receives orders to kill Willow, he's confusedâshe's not his typical target, and he's suspicious about why she's been marked for death. Looking for answers, Alex rescues Willow and takes her on the run, trying to foil the angels' plans before all of humanity is lost. Weatherly's plot and writing are first-rate, adrenaline-
fueled while still taking the time to thoughtfully develop the characters and build the romance. This elevated twist on the angel genre deserves to be spread far and wide. Ages 14âup.

September 1, 2011

Gr 8 Up-Angels are appearing to humans all over the world, filling them with an overwhelming sense of love and peace. Angel mega-churches spring up everywhere. But no one seems to notice that the people who've been visited by them quickly begin to waste away. That's because angels are actually creatures from another world who feed on human energy, sickening their hosts and eventually causing their deaths via natural-seeming illnesses. Alex is a trained AK (Angel Killer) who believes he works for the CIA. He suddenly finds himself acting as bodyguard to Willow, a high school student with psychic powers who just might be half angel-and therefore his sworn enemy. The angels seem to believe that she has the power to destroy them, making her safety of paramount importance to the survival of the human race. The relationship that eventually develops between Alex and Willow is steamy but chaste (at least in this first installment of the planned series). Fans of supernatural suspense with a generous dollop of romance will be clamoring for the next book.-Hayden Bass, Seattle Public Library, WA

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2011

A beautiful blond half-angel and the dark, handsome assassin sent to kill her fall in love in this fast-paced thriller romance, the first installment of a series first published in Britain (the sequel, Angel Fire, is due out in December 2011).

Due to an energy crisis, the ethereal sphere is dying and angels are crossing over to feed off humans, who are too bedazzled to connect visits from heavenly beings with growing mental/physical illness, aka angel burn. Alex, raised to be an AK (angel killer), is one of the few to realize the danger. When he tracks down his assigned target, he is surprised to discover she's only half-angel and that the Church of Angels cult wants her dead. Willow is just as surprised. She thought the only reason she was considered "Queen Weird" at school was because she was psychic and a whiz car mechanic. The two go on the run and eventually become involved in a plan to save the world from a Second Wave of angelic invasion. The story is told alternately via Willow's voice and a third-person account that provides the perspective of Alex and others. It's worth noting that the secondary but substantial falling-in-love plotline is quite chaste (they don't kiss until three-quarters of the way through the book).

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

May 1, 2011
Grades 9-12 Weatherlys dark paranormal romance, the first in a trilogy, distinguishes itself by taking the already-saturated angel market in a new direction. Angels arent benevolent guardians or Gods messengers; they are interdimensional beings that feed on energy, and with their world dying, humans are their best source. Though people whove been visited by an angel believe theyve had a transcendent experience, theyve really been drained of life; those with angel burn develop serious illnesses before an untimely death. Alex is a trained Angel Killer sent to assassinate Willow, a psychic unaware that she is half angel, but when he learns that Willow might have the power to stop the Invasion, he takes her on the run. Alex and Willow are equally distinctive charactersone driven and grim; one compassionate but headstrongand the slow progression of their relationship is believable. Their intense romance eventually draws too much focus away from the more exciting angel takeover, but when on point, this is a thrilling, action-packed story with insidious villains and a disturbing conclusion.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2011
While oblivious humans bask in angels' radiance, the beings are actually destroying people. Willow doesn't know she's half-angel--nor that angel-assassin Alex has been instructed to kill her. He doesn't, and what follows is a novel packed with action and romance, culminating in a gratifying conclusion. This is the first book in a planned trilogy.

(Copyright 2011 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2011
Here are new supernatural villains to add to the mix: angels. It's not as contradictory as it might seem, as Weatherly has created a logical, fully realized world in which these celestial beings are up to no good. While oblivious humans bask in angels' radiance and beauty, even worship them at a massive Church of Angels, the angels are in fact destroying them, feeding on humans' auras. The result is "angel burn": cancer, schizophrenia, MS, etc. To Alex, their threat is personal; he blames angels for the deaths of his father, mother, and brother. As an angel assassin, he responds to text messages (presumably) from the CIA, telling him which angel to kill next. While Alex is stalking angels, Willow is "Queen Weird" at her small-town high school. Refreshingly tough and sarcastic, she spends her time fixing cars and grudgingly giving psychic readings to classmates. Willow doesn't know that she's half-angel, nor that Alex has received a text message with instructions to kill her. Alex doesn't, of course, and what follows is a novel packed with action and romance, culminating in a conclusion full of gratifying revelations (including the identity of Willow's father). But there's plenty still to be addressed in the remainder of this morality-bending, dynamic (planned) trilogy. rachel l. smith

(Copyright 2011 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)