Review: A Temptation of Angels by Michelle Zink

A Temptation of Angels by Michelle Zink
Release Date: March 20th, 2012
Number of Pages: 435
Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers
Source: Publisher

Even angels make mistakes in this page-turning epic romance

When her parents are murdered before her eyes, sixteen-year-old Helen Cartwright finds herself launched into an underground London where a mysterious organization called the Dictata controls the balance of good and evil. Helen learns that she is one of three remaining angelic descendants charged with protecting the world's past, present, and future. Unbeknownst to her, she has been trained her whole life to accept this responsibility. Now, as she finds herself torn between the angelic brothers protecting her and the devastatingly handsome childhood friend who wants to destroy her, she must prepare to be brave, to be hunted, and above all to be strong, because temptation will be hard to resist, even for an angel.

Michelle Zink masterfully weaves historical fantasy with paranormal romance to create a gripping tale of love and betrayal.

When I got A Temptation of Angels in the mail from Razorbill Canada, I was pretty excited. I mean, I had heard great things about this book and it had been on my radar for a while. The premise sounded interesting enough, and I have to say that it wasn’t disappointing once I finally started it. There was one thing that did scare me before I started, and it was the “Love triangle” some reviewers had been mentioning. I have to say that I didn’t really see the love triangle they were talking about until the end, and it wasn’t really what I would consider to be a heart breaking love story where the heroine is torn between two men. No, it isn’t, which is one of the reasons I really like the book.

I really enjoyed watching Helen and Griffin, even if I do prefer Darius as a character. Griffin is just trying so hard to be sweet and a gentleman. It may be nice, but I like a male character that has a lot more personality (like Darius. I wish we had more Darius….) It may represent the ideal of that time and place for a woman like Helen, but for me he was flat. Darius had more to him than we are shown; at least, that’s my opinion.

Helen was a great main character. She was stubborn, and definitely more than just a damsel in distress (much to Griffin’s despair sometimes….). She isn’t afraid to fight and to put herself in dangerous situations. Still, I think she understood that she wasn’t as strong as she would like, and she knew her weaknesses. Knowing that, instead of simply pretending to be badass made her more interesting to me. I can’t really explain why. I’m good at liking characters (and hating some) simply because I feel like it. (I can be so judgmental sometimes… *sigh *

Overall, I really enjoy reading this book. The writing was great and addicting. There may have been so down time in the middle, but I still didn’t want to put it down until I was down. The only thing I may have wish had been different is the ending. It was a little too rushed for my taste, but I like ending that are really detailed. To each there own!