Review Detail

I love YA paranormals, especially ones with intriguing premises and hot guys. A Shimmer of Angels has all this and more!


Rayna ‘Ray’ has just gotten released from SS Crazy after admitting she happens to see angels. She's labeled ‘schizophrenic’ and given a cocktail of anti-psychotic drugs to silence the ‘visions’. She’s learned its best not to admit this to others or else she’ll end up back there. To her that’s a fate worse than death. She starts a new school, hoping to be normal and put the past behind. This proves hard as once again she sees an angel. Only worse, this angel happens to be in her new High School. And to top things off it seems that kids in her school are dying. Ray notices a frightening trend that all of the suicide victims have in common: they drew a mysterious dark angel like the one she’d seen in a dream. Ray fears for her sanity and her life as she comes face to face with not just one but two angels. Seems no one believes her. Not her father or little sister. It’s up to her to confront her fears in order to stop more kids from being killed. Even if this means she might be silenced too.


I really loved this story! I felt this novel stood out among the other angel tales out there. What’s great is the author could have just made this a story about a girl that is labeled ‘crazy’. No, instead she shows us how Ray deals with her visions and also her way of knowing if they’re real or not. She uses all five senses to do this. Also the author has Ray deal with two different angels, who are surprised that she can see them.


Now this love triangle involves not one but two very hot angels. The chemistry between her and Kade is intense. Cade, the angel of light, seems more standoffish at first then slowly his own attraction to Ray comes out. This adds great tension between all three of these characters. Seriously, what’s a girl to do?



I admit I loved Kade as I felt he stepped up to the plate more than once to help Ray out. I also tend to be a sucker for the anti-hero. I love when I see glimpses of vulnerabilities in an otherwise badass character. For example Kade is called, ‘Friday night soul-kabob,’ and we find ourselves wondering if that’s his real purpose or something else. This trait only makes me love that character even more!


Great voice, with an engaging protagonist who struggles with her own sanity issues which take a backseat to a string of unsolved murders in town. You can’t help but cheer Ray on as she tries to solve the mysteries without landing back in SS Crazy.


Intriguing premise with a heroine who not only is torn between two hot angels but must push aside her own fears in order to save not only those around her but herself. A great debut novel from Month9bks. Can’t wait to read more!