Official Review: Earth Angel by Alex Apostol

[David Bowman]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Earth Angel" by Alex Apostol.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Earth Angel is a supernatural thriller novel by Alex Apostol, a writer who in her biography seems to have lived in many, many different places around the world – a point that carries into the novel quite fittingly from such a lifestyle. Numerous times we read the lead characters jumping (or should I say teleporting?) across states quicker than you can register. While this sounds like a tremendous thing, something to anticipate for, it has its issues. Major parts of the story encounter a problem or so, but it doesn’t detract the breezy pace that I managed to finish in a quicker time than I initially thought.

In it, we encounter a teenage girl named Kamlyn Paige. Before the book’s main events, Paige is a regular teenager (albeit a quiet one) who has a boyfriend named Rob. Everything seems fine with her – she even has dreams to travel the world as a journalist – but all of it is put to an end when she discovers she’s pregnant. While her parents support her, Rob gets cold feet and never speaks to her again.

Unlike most teenaged mothers, Paige decides to take care of her new child (who turns out to be a boy), but tragedy strikes once more when both of her parents die in a car crash. She is left alone with her best friend Cara to take care of her son – now named Danny – but he is taken away from a demon that possesses his soul to enhance her beauty. In revenge, Kamlyn Paige sets out on a quest to destroy all the demons and take down the one who took her son. This is more than enough to figure out that Paige is one of these “suffering” characters who take in the worst throughout the story.

To begin with, the thing I liked most about Earth Angel was its pace and supernatural aspect. The difficulties and problems that come later on in the story didn’t come as hard as it would’ve been since Apostol keeps the story going, never stopping. While this may seem like a bad thing, she manages to keep consistent so I’m always wondering to what will happen after.

In contrast, one of the major problems I had with Earth Angel is the way Apostol had written the story. A very important device used in fiction is the way of showing and not telling the emotions and events happening in the story. Although some telling is probably unavoidable for some, Earth Angel seems to lack any showing, especially in characterization. When Kamlyn Paige becomes sad at the revelation of her pregnancy, I don’t feel her emotions. In truth, I feel like the character is speaking directly to me, the reader, rather than having the reader connect with these events (at least in a traditional manner). If there are any deeper meanings behind this kind of “cold telling” to the reader, I couldn’t find it.

Earth Angel’s story also has some faults that need to take some consideration. During my reading, I noticed very little conflict or tense situations. When an event should be tragic or even life threatening, Apostol comes up with something to make her characters feel all right (in most cases, Paige’s fate). Perhaps the exception to this might be the ending, but it closes off with a kind of cliffhanger that chops off the rest of the story for a second book. Without spoiling it, I do have a problem with the ending of Earth Angel being too much like the premise. Only one thing was accomplished throughout, only to have something else come in and force the reader to go through another plot-for-revenge story, only this time with another character.

On a smaller note, there weren’t too many typos in the novel, which I appreciated, but some still did creep up. However, in the end, my main concern had to deal with the writing, story, and characters. The scenes dealing with romances sound like a reader’s guide to the different stages of a relationship, making it stilted and weak. Some important events in the book (including a certain supernatural revelation on the main character) sounded like they were written in a hurry, casting away any connection with the reader. From time to time characters speak in clichés, which sounded trite during my reading.

With this in mind, I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. There are certain problems with the book, but I found the pacing to be fast and easy like wind. It is a positive 2 rating, but not exactly a 3, but close. I would have given it a 3 if the story and writing had been edited, but on the other hand the pace made it an easy read. Nothing was too difficult to read. Fans of the supernatural, strong female leads and even young adult fiction will enjoy this book, despite its faults. However, if you’re someone like me who takes careful consideration of the story, ideas, and arguments, then you might not enjoy it as much.

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Earth Angel
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Like David Bowman's review? Post a comment saying so!

[bookowlie]

Nice, insightful review! At least, the book was well paced, despite the flaws.

[Tanaya]

It's nice that you gave it a "positive 2 rating." I've been caught in a similar conundrum before. You handled it well. Nice review!

[lmoses]

I just finished reading Earth Angel, after completing a review on the first book: Broken Angel, and I have to say that I really enjoyed the book. I thought the story picking up a year after her training was able to demonstrate her growth between books. I liked how past characters, like Holly and Don, made appearances, but how new characters were also added. I do agree that there were several typos, but I did not find them too distracting.

[Booky_BettyC]

I read her first book, Broken Angel, and I really enjoyed it. From this review on the second book in the series, it sounds like 2 completely different authors. At the moment I have this book downloaded and will be reading it in about a week or so. Hopefully it's not as disappointing as it sounds!!