Author: Alex Smith
Genre: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Romance, Adventure
Favorite Line
“Funny eh? Even when you’re dead your heart can still break.”
Summary (from Red Telephone Books)
Em - shy, sensitive, with her head in the clouds - and Caitlyn - gorgeous, popular and talented - have been best friends forever, in a sleepy, nondescript town called Philiton.
But when new boy Zak moves into town, Philiton suddenly becomes a much more interesting place. With his meltingly hot looks, sense of humour and a smile that has even the hardest-hearted girls falling at his feet, Zak has the female population of Philiton Comprehensive School convinced he's an angel.
Caitlyn usually has the boys worshipping at her feet, so it’s a shock when Zak seems to be more interested in Em. Cracks appear, tensions arise, but surely Em and Caitlyn’s lifelong friendship can survive?
Em feels beset by demons. At home, she’s looking after her grandmother, who is slowly deteriorating, whilst despairing at her normally sensible brother, who is going off the rails just to fit in with the ‘right crowd’. Even Zak’s unexpected attention causes jealous girls to shower Em with spite – not least Caitlyn. If only she had a guardian angel…
Then a second boy steps into Em’s life. Dark and brooding, a captive to the secrets of a past he’d rather forget, Kai, who has appeared as if from nowhere and fallen head over heels in love with Em, is the exact opposite of Zak.
And although he may not seem like it, Kai is the real thing. He really is an angel.
What I Thought Of This Book
Two words...Absolutely lovely. Calling for Angels is such an emotional tale that one can not help but find a connection with it in some way. I think every emotion that you can have was reflected in the story, love, loss, humor, you name it and it was in there. I personally found it very endearing.
I felt that it was very well thought out both in terms of the plot and the supernatural elements. I was fascinated by how much consideration was put into inter-workings of angels and demons, or what spiritual warfare might be like from perspective of beings on of the unseen world. One thing I really appreciated was that the romance side of the story wasn’t silly, tragic, or overly obsessive.
As for the characters I positively adored their sense of humor. It created some delightful dialogue. I loved that Em wasn’t your average teenage heroine. She was quirky and fairly comfortable with it. Although I must say my favorite character had to be Kai. I think this was because I enjoyed his emotional journey the most. I liked watching him grow as a character.
I was basically smitten with Calling for Angels. I think I might have read it in less than a week. Thus, proving how much fun I had reading. I think it is a wonderful read for all ages. Many thanks to Red Telephone Books for giving me this wonderful book to review.
Facts I Found Interesting
Author Alex Smith is only seventeen years old. She began writing Calling for Angels at age fourteen. Good grief! If she writes this good now can you imagine how she’ll write later?
The Movie
There’s obviously no film yet, but I think it would make a darn cute movie though.
Music to Read By
I read this very quickly so there were not very many albums in the mix. Mostly I just listened to random playlists I had already. The only full albums I listened to were Speak Now by Taylor Swift and Tiger Suit by KT Tunstall. I thought both of these albums fit the mood of the story at times. Though I think I loved Tiger Suit the best. I’m pretty sure I listened to one more album but I can’t remember what it was now. Oh...That is just going to get on my nerves. I'm drawing a blank. Gosh, I don’t know what it was.
While reading this I got the feeling that Alex Smith and I were musical kindred spirits. There were references to two bands I love Red Hot Chili Peppers and Led Zeppelin. In addition the character Em has Florence and the Machine’s Dog Days Are Over as her phone ring tone. My phone ring tone is Cosmic Love. Ha ha. Yay for Florence and the Machine ring tones!
Calling for Angels Playlist
Looking For Angels - Skillet
Under The Bridge - Red Hot Chili Peppers
(Still A) Weirdo - KT Tunstall
Pretty Eyes - The Cranberries
Everything Is Not Lost - Coldplay
Sparks Fly - Taylor Swift
Smile - Glee Cast
Just The Way You Are - Bruno Mars
The Heart Of Life - John Mayer
Sing - Travis
Little Wonders - Rob Thomas
Friends - Led Zeppelin
For Those Who Wait - Fireflight
Dog Days Are Over - Florence and the Machine
Yay! I finally got this out to you lovely people. Very exciting. I hope you had fun reading this post. See you soon. Keep it shiny!
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