Angel Eyes by Shannon Dittemore

Angel Eyes by Shannon Dittemore
Release Date –  May 29, 2012
Publisher Website –  Thomas Nelson Fiction
Publisher Social Media - Twitter
Pages -   320 pages
My Rating- 3/5
**obtained publisher for an honest review**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

Once you’ve seen, you can’t unsee. Everything changes when you’ve looked at the world through . . . 

ANGEL EYES 

Brielle’s a ballerina who went to the city to chase her dreams and found tragedy instead. She’s come home to shabby little Stratus, Oregon, to live with her grief and her guilt . . . and the incredible, numbing cold she can’t seem to shake. 

Jake’s the new guy at school. The boy next door with burning hands and an unbelievable gift that targets him for corruption. 

Something more than fate has brought them together. An evil bigger than both of them lurks in the shadows nearby, hiding in plain sight. Two angels stand guard, unsure what’s going to happen. And a beauty brighter than Jake or Brielle has ever seen is calling them to join the battle in a realm where all human choices start. 

A realm that only angels and demons—and Brielle—can perceive.

Angel Eyes, for me, was one of those novels that I ended up not having a particularly strong feeling about upon completion. It was what I liked to call a “middle” book. It’s one of those books that had some great aspects to it, but I couldn’t relate to the characters as much as I wanted to.

The writing was something that actually stood out. Shannon’s writing really shined during the “Celestial” parts of the novel. Celestial refers to the angel realm that humans can not see.  Her talent and the world she created was more evident in these sections. The author put just enough of her own spin on the  angel mythology to keep it fresh. The halo from the cover is an important part of the story and I enjoyed learning about it,  and it’s power. It was unique as I had not read an angel novel that dealt with halos prior to this one. The way the author made it apart of this story was interesting.

The characters were all fairly likeable. Brielle is a broken girl who has been through a lot when we first meet her. She feels she is responsible for something horrible that happened and moves back home to escape. I was really invested in this part of the story. The mystery of finding out what event had broken Brielle to the point she’s at when we meet her. Brielle slowly comes to terms with what happened and becomes stronger during the coarse of the novel.  Jake, the boy next door and love interest, is sweet and kind. I wish we would have gotten to know more about him. Hopefully that will happen in future novels in the series.

Brielle’s capability of seeing the angel realm changes her life and her acceptance of it happens quickly. I felt this made sense, as she has proof of the existence. It is not like she could ignore what she is seeing. It was great to bypass the entire acceptance part of it and instead of Brielle struggle with the impact it was going to have on her. What did she do with this new knowledge? What does it mean for her future? And most of all how would it impact her beliefs? These questions play a big part in the overall plot of the story and shape Brielle’s character.

This book may not appeal to everyone has it does have a large religious component to it. It’s one of the more “religious” angel novels I have read. You can tell the author’s faith is important to her and it is reflected in her writing. The novel’s themes of acceptance of faith, belief, and questioning why bad things happen are all important to the plot of the story and link into the religious nature of the story.

The ending left me curious about where the author will take this story in future instalments. While this book may not be for everyone, and I myself didn’t feel strongly one way or another about it upon finishing, the writing and mythology certainly make this author one I would read again.