A Book Review of Halflings by Heather Burch

Buy from Amazon!

After being inexplicably targeted by an evil intent on harming her at any cost, seventeen-year-old Nikki finds herself under the watchful guardianship of three mysterious young men who call themselves halflings. Sworn to defend her, misfits Mace, Raven, and Vine battle to keep Nikki safe while hiding their deepest secret---and the wings that come with. A growing attraction between Nikki and two of her protectors presents a whole other danger. While she risks a broken heart, Mace and Raven could lose everything, including their souls. As the mysteries behind the boys' powers, as well as her role in a scientist's dark plan, unfold, Nikki is faced with choices that will affect the future of an entire race of heavenly beings, as well as the precarious equilibrium of the earthly world.

Series: Halflings
Genre: YA Paranormal

Publisher: Blink (January 24, 2012)

Page Count: 288

What I liked: To be honest, I was skeptical about reading this book firstly because of the title being "Halflings" which I immediately related to the halfings in the Lord of the Rings. Being a devout Tolkien fan, that bothered me, but this truly is a good book. It has similarities to Twilight, but way better. In a sentence: it's Twilight with angels. Let's get this out right now: I'm not a Twilight fan. I don't like vampires and I didn't like the main characters, but this a healing for me from that archetypal paranormal. The characters are very in depth. There is a love triangle and it's very hard to decide who you like best. 

The main character, Nikki, is a really cool girl. She has a personality and ambitions unlike--sorry Twilight fans-- Bella who to me was very dull. Her two love interests are starkly different, but both very attractive in their own ways, plus being a Christian I enjoyed the religious themes threaded in realistically. The author's writing is beautiful. I enjoy her style and I definitely learned some tricks from it for my own. I felt very connected to the characters and I loved the imagery she painted in my mind.

What I didn't like: This one character that died made me really sad and a little irritated. I'm avoiding spoilers, but I think you'll know it when you read it. It's not normally done in media for reasons and I kind of wish it stayed that way. 

Content Cautions: There is some gore concerning the hell hounds. I think the author did it tastefully, but if you're squeamish then watch out for that. Some people may have some religious qualms with the fact that they are half angels, but I think it was done well and didn't do anything sacrilegious. 

I give this book five stars and I'm looking forward to the sequels. Christmas list! Yes, I still have a Christmas list. No judging!

About the Author: 

Heather Burch writes paranormal young adult novels. Her YA novel Halflings released in hardcover in January and is the first book in the Halflings Series.
"I'd always known Halflings would open with Nikki being chased through the woods by hell-hounds. I couldn't get the image out of my head, so I wrote that scene." An X-Men fan and a hopeless romantic, Heather wanted to someday tell a story of extraordinary young people and the struggles that accompany saving the world.
Someday became now when half-angel teens started holding conversations in her head. "But it all began with Nikki and those hell-hounds and the Halflings watching from above. Once that scene was written, the adventure began. And I never want it to end."
Heather lives in Florida where she writes full time and has conversations with fictional teenagers. Every. Single. Day.
Find her on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and her website!

If you liked this post, come back every Saturday for more writing advice, character interviews, book reviews and more! On Sundays I have Soundtrack Sundays where I post a new score piece, Tuesdays are Tea Tuesdays with tea reviews, Wednesdays I have Wonderful Word Wednesdays where I post a new vocabulary word, and Fridays are Fan Fridays where I post tags and other goodies. To help support my dream to be an author follow this blog, like me on Facebook, watch me on deviantART, and follow me on Pinterest and Twitter. If you want to know more about my books check out them out here. Thank you! :)