Heavenly by Jennifer Laurens

So I have been feeling a bit uninspired lately in the books area. I think this is a result of how busy things have become at home. My five year old is now taking acting classes and doing auditions and that is keeping me very busy on top of year round swimming. So I kept going through all the amazon recommendations and then the books that people purchased if they were looking at one of my recommendations. I stumbled across Heavenly by Jennifer Laurens. Here’s the synopsis from Amazon:

“I met someone who changed everything. Matthias. My autistic sister's guardian angel. Honest. Inspiring. Funny. Hot. And immortal. That was the problem. What could I do? I did what any other girl would do-I fell in love with him. Zoe's sister darts in front of cars. Her brother's a pothead. Her parents are so overwhelmed; they don't see Zoe lost in her broken life. Zoe escapes the only way she knows how: partying. Matthias, a guardian sent from Heaven, watches over Zoe's autistic sister. After Zoe is convinced he's legit, angel and lost girl come together in a love that changes destiny. But Heaven on Earth can't last forever.”

I really enjoyed the first book in this series. I think the best part of this series is the characters. They are very real and very flawed. I like the way that nothing is presented with rosy glasses. Zoe, the main character, sees guardian angels. She also struggles with alcohol when the story begins and as a result of seeing the guardian angels seems to want to be a better person through her relationship with the handsome Matthias. However, it isn’t an overnight transformation for her. It is a daily struggle that she sometimes looses. I really enjoyed the struggles the characters endure in this story. Every now and then you want to read something real that isn’t a fairy tail where everything is easy.

Zoe also struggles with her love for Matthias and what it means to love a guardian angel. As far as romance goes this isn’t the best book for those seeking a really juicy romance in a paranormal book. Laurens takes the idea of love to a new pure level which I personally enjoyed seeing in YA literature. While Zoe is the typical teenager with all the typical hormones she differentiates what she feels for Matthias from the lust that her friends feel and that she feels at times. She begins to understand what love really means.

Overall I give this book a 4.5/5. It is a great read and is long enough with enough action to really keep you involved in the story. I am hoping to start the next book in the series soon and will have an upcoming interview with the author so stay tuned!