A SHIMMER OF ANGELS has been, somewhat surprisingly, a good read. I loved the world it presented, and I think Basso managed to give a fresh breath to the well-done theme of angels and to create a world that was both familiar and unique. I'm not the biggest fan of Angel books, as I haven't found one that has blown my mind yet, but this one came damn close! 
The book also managed to get some very unexpected reactions out of me (all good), which I'll expand on in this review.

The book starts with Rayna, three months after her release from the hospital (where she spent three years, in and out), and with the "end" of her "remission" - after three full months of being 'sane', she's seeing them again - the wings. It was a really good start, as it introduced her, some of her personality traits and her behavior, in a way I found interesting, informative--but not dull. 

The characters of the book were all very good.  

Rayna is the main female character, and the story is told from her point of view. She was a character I had much sympathy toward; frightened out of her mind of getting back to the bin, frightened out of her mind of the angels she sees, frightened out of her mind to find out they aren't hallucinations. And through all the fright, she somehow manages to come out as strong, moving forward and acting even with the fear. I had much respect toward that, and I believe we'll be able to see her grow a lot throughout the next books; seeing her slowly get rid of her many fears and becoming the strong person you can tell she is. 
Rayna is also loving, compassionate and kind, which I loved.

I think somewhere among everyone telling her she's crazy, Ray really became so. Not in the crazy way they talk about, but...

 

**To read the rest of this review, click the title!!**

Oh my goodness! I loved the book! I loved the cover, the characters AND the storyline. I’d like to mention that that I was not sure whether I should give it a 5 star or not. If you are up to reviewing, then this might have happened to you sometimes as well. Giving 4.5 stars seem unfair, and giving whole 5 means maybe giving away a little too much. I have a feeling that the book is in between a 4.5 and a 5. But obviously I can’t give it a weird and peculiar rating like 4.75 because that would make it look more like a mathematical issue and I don’t want that (math not being one of my favorites back in school or college) So yeah, I finally decided to stick to the sweet looking 5!

 

Rayna. This name. One of my most favorite names. I pronounced her name whenever I came across it in the story. A girl with such a pretty name, who appears (or at least tries to) to be normal to her class, to her friends. But her family knows what she is, or, more appropriately, they think they know.(they are SO wrong!)

 

Rayna is assumed to be mentally a little ill, only because she can see ‘things’, that her family, or the world in general believe don’t exist.

 

Angels-real ones-don’t exist. Maybe. Or not.

 

Her special sight not only causes her familial or any minor trouble, she is forced to go through treatment in order to continue herself that they really ‘don’t exist’. After coming to the city, and hoping for a new start, she realizes she may not have been cured at all…or is there something else, something bigger, something graver, that she herself is unaware of?

 

Angels don’t exist. They never had.Dr. G had made me see that during our therapy sessions. And yet, three months, twelve days, and fifteen hours after my release, there they were. Again.

 

Her continuous denial and the way her family treats her makes her doubt herself, causes her to lack the confidence she needs in herself. She doesn’t take her sight as a power, or a blessing, rather a sign of lunacy at times.

 

I belonged, well, I wasn’t sure where I belonged- maybe the loony bin- but my place sure as hell wasn’t with the angels.

 

Surprisingly, after one point, things seem to take a 360 degree turn. When she realizes that the sight she has is not a sign of lunacy but really something unique, almost like a power, it becomes a matter of life and death to her. Everything she’s related to seems to revolve around this.

 

I was beginning to learn it didn’t matter what I did, I couldn’t escape the crazy. It was part of me. It was who I was. My life now depended on being able to see the angels.

 

Entry of Cam, and shortly after that, of Kade (I think I’m in love with the name ‘Kade’) They are not, let’s say, not ‘human’ at all (so much for not giving away any spoilers:p) To be honest, Kade appeared more appealing to me at the first look compared to Cam. I’m not always a fan of ‘white’ things you see (black seems to be pretty cool, or hot, whatever) But the more you get to know him, you must admit he’s, at least to a bit, drool-worthy :D Though Rayna develops a weakness for Cam, jealous and all:

 

Why should I care what way Cassie looked at him? I didn’t even like him. Really, I didn’t…Right. It wasn’t Cassie’s Cassie’s fault. It was Cam’s. Because of that crooked thing he does with his lip when he’s concentrating too hard,

 

Great, now I was staring.

 

My vote goes for Kade a-l-l the way. Plus I like the cute fighting chemistry between Kade and Ray:

 

Footsteps clacked down the hall…Those cool, black feathers contoured to my skin. I stiffened…I splayed my hand…”So soft”, I pressed my cheek against them, rubbing it up and down.

He watched me and shook his head. “You’re so gone.”

 

“Don’t complain. Statistically, it’s the safest way to travel.”

 

Throughout the whole story, I was really feeling bad for Rayna. Poor girl…she doesn’t deserve the kind of treatment she gets from her family. I believe that one’s home or family is the only thing that can be a place of solace when things get messy. Instead, here her family itself seems to doubt about the state of her mind, her mental condition. She’s so terrified of the fact that she does not feel like sharing her unusual experience at the school and diner with her family. First she tries not to acknowledge the whole thing, just so that she can avoid being called crazy all over again, and then she just pretends to be normal in a way her family wants her to be. I think it’s really, really painful when you have to put up with ALL that all by yourself : ( I mean, she’s just a little girl! *imaginary hug*

 

Then there’s Az, but somehow I didn’t feel pissed at him that much, something I usually do for all the baddies. With Cam and Kade around, he seemed a little less ‘harmful’ :p I mean you have to be bad, really bad to be a successful villain right? (So that it’s easier for me to feel like strangling you) I guess he’ll grow a total kick-ass baddie in the next book (if it’s a continuation), but for the time being, let me enjoy him being in hell (literally!)

 

Okay, so the situation Rayna is given to face immediately after the last fight (or flight?) sequence, is very, very surprising. I myself haven’t expected it at all. I’m really looking forward to knowing what happens next and how she deals with this new ‘baggage’. Also, I’m really hoping Kade isn’t pretending to be something he’s not because that’ll break my heart into millions of pieces (I don’t care what happens to Rayna, she is confused and selfish :p) Oh and I love Rayna’s bond with Lee. He seems like a wonderful fellow. I’m strongly hoping he remains a wonderful fellow and doesn’t turn out to be a cupid-struck poor guy.

 

Overall it’s a wonderful, wonderful book. After finishing a book, I usually give it some time so that my excitement doesn’t affect my reviews. I did the same for this book. But trust me; the moment I took to reviewing, my excitement was as same as before. Starting from its cover (my never-ending cover greed) to the whole story till the end, it’s a complete treat! If you want to read something other than vampire-werewolf fantasy (no offense, I really love them), this is really, really, really going to be very refreshing.

DNF - I only read 10% or so, but the story still wasn't interesting me and I could tell that the protagonist would probably get on my nerves. Why? This is why:- she refers to two small, probably never to be referenced again characters as "Cleavage Waitress" and "Miniskirt." The girls do have identities outside of the various things your best friend is ogling them for, you know. Sure, it's a small thing, but it just bugged me.- I had a feeling that the popular, probably blond (can't remember for sure) volleyball player would only be demonized throughout the book. Sure, I could have been proven wrong and I would have been very happy, but it also seemed likely that protagonist Rayna would continue to observe her negatively and make judgements that would tick me off. Also, I couldn't tell if the fact that she's a volleyball player is a good sign that popular girls don't just have to be cheerleaders, or if the author thinks volleyball is only a bit better than cheerleading and just wants something a little different, in which case I am very offended that my favorite sport is being used that way and I am automatically on the volleyball player's side.- the "hottest guy in school," who is also apparently dating the volleyball player, randomly comes up to Rayna at lunch and asks her to a dance or something and asks when she's going to finally kiss him. At this point, I was pretty much done anyone and just skimming for more stuff that would annoy me, but it seemed very random to me. So if Rayna pretty or does she have some kind of history with him or is it just in there to show that she's desirable and give the vball player a reason to hate her and make you feel bad for poor little Rayna? Too random and weird and such for me.So, yeah, not the book for me, obviously. Didn't seem horrible in the first 10%, but not interesting to me.

A Shimmer Of Angels was fluffy and cute. Although dealing with issues such as perceived mental illness and teen suicide, it was still a light read. It had all the aspects that young adult readers have come to rely upon, the dreaded love triangle, the angst, the token nerd, stereotypical teens and bullying, but it was brilliantly entertaining, I couldn't put it down.

I have a strained relationship with Angel themed young adult novels, but A Shimmer Of Angels has certainly changed that, and I'll definitely be continuing on to the second book of the Angel Sight series. Becca Fitzpatrick, take note, this is how you produce a well written young adult angel series.

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley. Thanks!*Yes, this is a book about angels. No it's not as bad as I expected. Actually it was pretty good. Surprisingly so. I don't give 4 stars to angel books every day you know.So this book is about Rayna, a girl that can see Angels and because of that she has been in a mental health institute for the last couple of years. When she's finally free, she wants nothing more then a normal life, but life doesn't always go the way you want. The angels are showing up again, along with a growing number of dead students. I liked Rayna. She's determined (or stubborn...) to ignore the angels she sees because she does not want to go back to the mental institute. She just wants to be normal, start a job and all that. She was a bit clumsy and that I didn't really care for because it seemed like to much, to overdone, but okay, I can live with that. She has a great best friend and I loved seeing the two together as nothing more than just friends.I also liked Cam and Kade and getting to know them. The story was good. The writing was good and I loved the mystery around the deaths and I really wanted to know who was causing them. I loved how Rayna's determination to figure out the truth no matter what. The romance... Well, it was a bit confusing. Rayna feels attracted to two boys, but one of them is an angel and the other a demon. Now I don't know much about this, but I think angels don't have real human emotions, so I don't think there was a real connection between those two. The other one is a demon and he wanted to help Rayna in figuring the whole thing out with the deaths and all. So romance isn't really a big part of this book. Which isn't bad, it's nice for a change. Again, I recommend this book to lovers of the YA paranormal genre. Even if you're a bit hesitant because of the whole angel thing, you should give it a try. It might surprise you like it did me. I will read the next book in the series! Oh and the cover is gorgeous!