Book Review: Kissed by an Angel

Kissed by an Angel

By: Elizabeth Chandler

Quick Stats:

Goodreads Score: 3.83

My Score (Official): 2.23 stars out of 5.

My Score (Unofficial): 12 celery sticks out of 48.

The Highlights: Gabriel. Beth’s chock full of cheese romance. It’s quick and very, very easy.

The Lowlights: No plot to be seen, flat characters, build-up, build-up, build-up and then…nada. It’s very, very easy.

Need to Read Urgency Level: Pass.

This book is like a roller coaster ride. More accurately, it is like a broken roller coaster ride.

The build-up starts. You tick up inch by inch, slowly, so slowly, tense because you’re waiting for that inevitable drop to come. You’re waiting for that wild moment when the plot actually starts. Tick-tick-tick this roller coaster goes. And then…you reach the top. You’re finally there. This is where the fun begins. This is the reason you came to the amusement park. For this moment. And then–

–nothing happens.

“Hold it right there,” a worker shouts. “We’re having technical difficulties. Roller coaster’s broken. The ride’s gonna her delayed for an hour until we can get it functional again.”

The Summary

THERE. That is my feelings on book 1 of Kissed by an Angel. The first book is roughly 230 pages. It takes about 150 of that for the first major plot point to even happen, and then the mystery and thriller part is held off until book 2. UGH. So much anger. So much disappointment. I kept reading, thinking ‘oh here comes the plot’, ‘oh yes, the plot is sure to be coming soon, oh maybe we’ll have some action now…oh wait, is that plot twist I see coming?! Oh, no just a blur in the text, hmm maybe next chapter…’ but it never happened. In fact, the book ended with one of the main characters, Tristan, realizing in a great act of self accomplishment something that I thought the reader was supposed to know from the flash-forward on page 1. But more ragging to come later. First, the summary.

When Tristan, the golden boy swimmer, first sees the beautiful, head-in-the-clouds Ivy, he knows that he’s falling for her. Unfortunately, Ivy doesn’t date Jocks. However, after several chance (or maybe not so much) run-ins with Tristan, she begins to see past the guy she thinks he is, and to the smart, kind soul that he really has. Ivy begins to fall as much in love with him, as he to her, relying on his company more and more during the stressful times of her mother’s remarriage. And then one horrifying night everything changes. Tristan dies. Ivy’s whole life is turned around. Everything in her shatters. Her happiness, her hope, and even her belief in angels. But the thing is, angels do exist. And Tristan is now hers. But will he ever find a way to let Ivy know?

My Feelings:

So not even that great of a summary. I had the three book omnibus edition, and so the summary I read was very different from the one I wrote. The summary that led me to read this talked about Tristan finding his killer before he strikes out at Ivy, which I thought was intriguing. Not intriguing enough to be in the first book of the series, however. But enough about plot–or the lack of it. Let’s talk about something else. Like Ivy. Dear, dear Ivy. Ivy, who I can’t understand why Tristan would ever like in the first place. Sure, she’s pretty. Sure, she has hair like a halo. But in terms of personality? The girl is as bland as wheat bread. She’s a boring host. And she’s cold. Although Tristan seems like a nice guy who anyone would get along with, Ivy seems to be extremely irritated by his crush on her. She constantly asks everyone if he has said anything about her, is disappointed if they don’t, but claims not to be interested in him. Also, in the beginning of the novel, she dismisses him as a viable option because jocks don’t have brains. While she cares about her brother, and even her may-end-up-being-evil brother, Gregory, she is quick to judge others, although I think she’s supposed to have one of those nice girl personalities. Tristan himself is not bad, but not someone I go crazy for. He’s nice and he’s a gentleman that I’m sure many people would love to have, but I’ve always been one for guys with an edge. He’s a cardboard cut-out, just like many of the characters in this story. For example, Ivy’s two “best” friends, Suzanne and Beth, only become friends with each other in their (strangely obsessive) quest to get her to date Tristan. WHY DO THEY CARE SO MUCH? WHY? SOMEONE TELL ME WHY. The only remotely interesting characters was Gregory, but no offense Gregory, you’re not enough to hold up an entire novel.

Anyways, in summary, the plot of Kissed by an Angel didn’t end up happening, the characters were like drawings of characters (this character is not a character), and the questions I sought to answer through this book were answered by more questions.

To be fair, this book was only book one in an omnibus trilogy, and so (I think) the questions I wanted answers will eventually be answered, and according to Goodreads it get’s a lot better. I probably won’t find out, though, because in all reality: I’ve lost all caring.

Prediction for Sequel: Ivy mourns Tristan’s lost some more. Tristan talks about how much he loves Ivy. All the characters will sit around the pizza parlor and say things like “Hi. I’m Ivy’s best friend. I’m provided for comedic relief.” “Hello. I’m Eric. I’m the trouble maker.” “We may be archetypes, but we are all different.” Everybody nods.

So, what do you think? Am I being too harsh? Or do you agree with me? What are some books that you felt had absolutely no plot or ridiculously flat characters?