Blog Tour: Angel Eyes by Shannon Dittemore Review

I am so excited to be a part of the Angel Eyes by Shannon Dittemore Blog Tour! I was lucky enough to snag an early review copy and am reviewing Angel Eyes. Don't forget to check out the other stops on the tour! Just click on the Angel Eyes banner for a list of all the stops, including more reviews, guest posts, and giveaways!

Angel Eyes by Shannon Dittemore
Published: May 29,2012

Publisher: Thomas Nelson Fiction

Available: Amazon

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.

Review: 

Angel Eyes really surprised me, and in a completely good way. When I think about angel stories I tend to think of the watered down versions, such as Hush, Hush or Halo which are really focused on the romance of an angel with a human and little to do with what the purpose of an angel truly is. So I was prepared for something similar here. Angel Eyes, thankfully, does not skirt around its religious center.


Brielle is dealing with the belief that her own inaction caused the death of her best friend. Moving back home with her dad, to finish out high school is supposed to be a time to recover and get back to a semblance of normal. When she meets Jake everything starts to change. 


Angel Eyes is told from multiple points of view, with Brielle being the main character. I loved how Brielle didn't just accept what Jake tells her. She doubts, even after proof, even after witnessing a battle between an angel and a demon, she has doubts, and she voices them. Brielle is not a weak character, waiting for a hero to rescue her. She is strong and independent, and she doesn't want to accept that her destiny may already be decided. There were points that I felt her unwillingness to believe completely in everything happening around her was a bit forced, but Dittemore manged to bring it back to why Brielle couldn't simply believe. I do wish we'd heard more from Jake's perspective. About halfway through the story we really start to learn about his life, and I wanted to experience what he'd been thinking and feeling when he first meet Brielle. 


The supernatural part of the story was really well done. We get to see the beauty that comes with angels, but also the darker side of their role when the battle for Jake and Brielle begins. I wish I could go more into details, but it would give away too much of the story. I will say that the golden ring Brielle is holding on the cover is very important :)


Angel Eyes is ultimately a battle of good versus evil, of angels verses demons, and Dittemore wrote it without coming across as preachy. This is clearly Christian fiction, but it's written in a way that doesn't exclude non-Christians from reading or enjoying. The action and romance are both strong, the story is fast paced, and the ending is action packed. I would definitely recommend anyone looking for a love story.