Book Review: Heavenward by Olga Gibbs

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I am back again with another book review. It has been always an honor to find blog tour hosts and discover new books that I will eventually enjoy. So if you want to discover yet another great book, then keep on reading.

So this book is Heavenward written by Olga Gibbs and this is the first book for the Celestial Creatures Series. What can be a better way to know more about the book? It is to know first about the author.

Author Bio
Olga Gibbs lives in a leafy-green town, nestled amongst the green fields of West Sussex, England. She was writing from the age of fifteen, mainly short stories and novellas and was a guest columnist for a local newspaper. When she is not dreaming up new adventures for her imaginary friends, she does outreach work with teenagers.

She is currently writing a second book in the “Celestial creatures” series and another stand-alone psychological crime thriller book.

Author links

Website: https://olgagibbs.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/olgagibbsauthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/olgagibbsauthor/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorOlgaGibbs/

About the book

Synopsis
With the power to end the world, would you protect humanity when it broke you or would you take revenge?
Meet Ariel: a quiet, unnoticeable girl with an incredible gift…
Ariel never had an easy or pleasant life, but the arrival of three gorgeous strangers meant her measured life is turned upside down, as she discovers that angels exist.
Now against her will, she’s drawn into an ancient celestial conflict, where her powers will decide the fate of humanity.
Deceived, threatened, hunted and now on the run, who can she trust?

Purchase Links:
Available to buy from (multi link)
Amazon US
Book Depository

My Review:

I discovered this book through Melanie, our lovely blog tour host and honestly this is my first time reading a book with this kind of characters, angels.

Since I’ve been reading so much fantasy lately, I have high expectations for this book and while reading it, I am somewhat disappointed in some aspects but also intrigued with how the events unfolds.

First off, let me explain my brief understanding about this book. Ariel, the main character is a normal teenage girl who suffers from schizophrenia. She has these dreams that felt so real but she can’t understand them. One day, there are three new students in their school and somewhat tried to involve themselves to her. As the story unfolds, she learnt that she has the essence of an assassinated angel and that made her so important. That’s where things get complicated.

Some of my main sentiments for this books are, first, I didn’t expect this book to be like a full on teenage romance. I mean, it is clearly highlighted in the story that Ariel is developing feelings for Sam and is also confusing her subconscious feelings for Rafe. Well, I get it that it is part of a bigger story but since it is only the first book in the series, I figured that it will be more of explaining and narration rather than talking about love immediately.

Secondly, I can’t really figure out the pace of this book. It fast and slow for me at the same time. It was fast in the sense of how everything is unfolding. First, she was attempted to be murdered, then she found an alliance which eventually turned out to be an adversary. The book is slow in terms of how things are explained. It actually took me time before grasping everything. I know there is a scene where Rafe is explaining to Ariel but it isn’t enough for me. Well, I hope that things will be explained further in the next book.

Thirdly, I hope there can be more build-up with the character like how they feel and think. I wish the author could establish a stronger point with the character’s every move. Maybe because it has only twenty chapters that’s why I feel like the story is kinda squished.

Lastly, I can’t quite grasp on how many opposing forces are there. I mean, why can they easily infiltrate one’s bases/camps? And if they’re seeking vengeance, does it really have to be so cruel? I hope everything will be explained in the following books. I definitely need more.

Of course, I wouldn’t only talk about the things that I didn’t quite like. I will also talk about the strong points. This book is actually new to me. As I’ve said earlier, this is my first time reading with angels as the main characters so it really caught my attention. There’s also something about how the author writes that even when I wanted to put it down and not continue, I still read it. It is also easy to pick up where you left off. There is a strong imagery used in this book. You must actually pay attention into details so that you can get a clue of the bigger story behind it.  Overall, I just hope it gets better on the next book and I hope it reaches a lot of reader’s heart.

Ratings: 3.5/5 stars

If you want to have a chance to read Heavenward the just click the link below and sign up to the Celestial Club and receive an e-copy of the book for free. Click here.

 

Check out the other stops of this blog tour too.