Review: Falling by J. Bennett

Title: Falling
Author: J. Bennett
Publisher: Self-published
Publication Date: January 1, 2012
Genre: YA, paranormal
Pages: 286 (ebook)
Source: From author for review
Series: Girl With Broken Wings #1
1. Falling
1 ½. Coping (June 24, 2012)
2. Landing (expected pub January 2013)

Synopsis:
The intellectual challenge of college and the warm embrace of a serious boyfriend have given Maya the wings she needs to break away from her bookish and shy reserve. Her ideal life comes crashing down when she and her boyfriend are accosted by a stranger. A stranger with glowing hands.

Maya's boyfriend is killed. She is kidnapped. Changed.
A rescue comes, but not soon enough.

Maya’s senses sharpen, her body becomes strong and agile, and she develops the ability to visually see the emotions of those around her as colorful auras... beautiful auras... tempting auras.

And then there’s the song...

Now, Maya must struggle to control the murderous appetite that fuels her new abilities, accept her altered condition and learn to trust two vigilante half-brothers she never knew she had. As she joins the battle against a secret network of powerful and destructive beings that call themselves "Angels", Maya vows to find and destroy the one who changed her.

On the bright side, at least Maya's oldest half-brother has stopped trying to kill her.

From Goodreads

There were things I really liked about this book, and then things that I wasn’t so crazy about. I loved how fast-paced it was and really exciting as well, so I got through it pretty quickly.

The writing wasn’t my favourite though. It was lacking something at times. I was also confused a few times by the language. There were some really obscure words, and it made me feel like the author was trying too hard to seem impressive with her vocabulary. There was also this thing that she called the ‘song’. It took me a long time to figure out exactly what this meant. Basically, it’s the pull Maya feels to take people’s lives by absorbing their auras. It was just odd the way that it was described as a song and never really explained.

I loved the dynamic between the characters in this story. The individual relationships Maya had with her brothers, Gabe and Tarren, were so unique in and of themselves. Gabe was so thrilled to have a sister and was never willing to give up on her, even though she was something he’d been fighting all his life - an Angel. He accepted her for what she was, and Angel and his sister. Tarren, on the other hand, never forgot what she really was, was never willing to trust her and give her a chance. So their relationship was always stilted by this fact, and the tension between the two of them was thick.

I was disappointed that the main issue in this book wasn’t resolved. I understand that it’s a series, but the thing that was focused on in the end didn’t really seem like the thing that was focused on throughout the story. It was there and still one of the things that Maya had to overcome, but to me it seemed like an undercurrent, not the main problem to be resolved by the end.

I still enjoyed the story enough that I’m planning to read the next book when it comes out. That’s the thing about series’, you have to tune in to find out if everything works out in the end. And that’s what I’ll be doing.

Thanks to the author for the review ebook copy!