REVIEW ~ ECHO OF AN EARTH ANGEL (EARTH ANGEL #1) by SARAH ROSS

Series: Earth Angel #1
Publisher: Self-published
Publication Date: June 2012
Format: ebook
Pages: 295
Source: Received from author for review.

18 year old Tessa Copeland barely survived the worst year of her life—in fact, it was a miracle. After making it through the tragedy that killed both of her parents, she’s left to pick up the pieces of her life. Combating the holes in her memory and the concern of her friends was hard enough, but a new talent threatens to destroy everything she’s trying to reclaim. David Allegri didn’t mean to ruin Tessa’s life. She was the brightest soul he’d seen in centuries and he couldn’t let her die, so the fallen angel used his abilities to heal her—only he took it too far and changed Tessa forever. Now, he has to figure out a way to explain what’s happening to Tessa and somehow protect both of them from the consequences.

His choice made them targets for the Hunters, who will use any means necessary to capture their prey. Only a desperate plan can help them escape, and sacrifices will be made. Time is ticking. Will they make it, or will they be lost to the echoes of fate?

 

With it's interesting take on angels and charming love story, Echo of an Earth Angel is a story that will appeal to angel fans.

The characters in Echo were all fairly well-developed. Tessa, being the main character is the one we get to know best, and I did like her. She is a very sympathetic and kind girl, but also extremely resilient. Not many people who'd gone through what she had would be so concerned with the welfare of others. I learned a lot less about David, but enough to know that his kindness and strength was boundless. The amount of love and sacrifice David displayed gave me little choice but to care for him. Tessa's best friend Morgan was a riot. She is a girl who always has a funny remark to lighten the moment and lend brevity to even the most serious of situations. I can easily say she was my favorite character.

I found Echo of an Earth Angel to have a clever take on the "angel" genre. With so many angel-centric stories out there, I'm always a bit hesitant to try a new one. But with Ross' version, having Healers, Hunters, and other variations, I didn't feel as if Echo was a story I had read before, which is very hard to do these days. I found the story to be a pleasant read, though not overly exciting.

And even though I enjoyed the story and it's characters, I did find the mid-section of the plot to be slow-moving. There was a lot of explaining, planning, and angst. I understand that the characters needed this to help them move forward to the finale, but I found myself losing focus. The last portion of the story did speed up and I ended up being very invested in the outcome. The ending was a surprise that was open-ended, but didn't have an infuriating cliffhanger.

Echo of an Earth Angel is a charming, sweet story of love and sacrifice, and offers a unique spin on angels. If that's your thing, I definitely recommend it.

Favorite Quote:

"But love, real all-encompassing love, doesn't fit into your nice mold of who you thought you would end up with. Instead, you get the odd-shaped and lumpy pancake most others would throw away. But you can't, because you know that's the one with the sweetest flavor." (ebook, 76%)

You can purchase Echo of an Earth Angel at:
Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Book Depository  |  Smashwords


About the author:

I started my obsession with reading at an early age, getting in trouble for sneaking BabySitter Club and Nancy Drew books into math class in elementary school. I would read any fiction book I could get my hands on. I knew it was an addiction when instead of grounding me from TV or music, my mom would take away my books as punishment (The Horror!). My love of all things paranormal was inspired by my good friend Laurie, who convinced me that books with vampires, witches, and all things shifter were amazing. After a little reluctance, I gave it a shot with the Sookie Stackhouse books, realized she was right, and the rest was history.

I grew up in Pittsburgh, graduated from The University of Pittsburgh with my degree in English, and taught 8th graders to love reading as much as I do for several years. I will always be a proud member of the Steelers Nation, but I couldn’t take the cold and moved my frozen tush to Florida where I now live with my family and two cats. You will find me now with my trusty Kindle in hand and toes in the sand!

You can connect with Sarah at:
her website  |  Twitter  |  GoodReads  |  Facebook  |  email