Title: Until Next Time
Series: The Angel Chronicles
Author: Amy Lignor
Genre: ya, angels, fantasy, religious
Format: E-Book, 225 pages
Publication Date: February 1, 2012
Published By: Tribute Books
Source: Received from publisher for review.
Synopsis from Publisher
How does a girl choose between the one who steals her heart and the one who owns her soul?
Matt and Emily were created for a specific job. Raised and trained as the ultimate angel/warrior team, they are sent down to save, defend, judge and forgive, depending on the 'life' they've been assigned. What they don't realize is that the power of human emotions, such as love, anger, passion and fear can take over even the best of souls, causing them to make mistakes and follow paths that lead to confusion and heartache.
When the reason for their training is finally revealed, the angel/warrior team find themselves thrust into a world they know nothing about. Matt takes over the life of Daniel, a young man with a great deal of baggage. Emily becomes Liz, a girl living in a remote village who relies on nothing more than her own strength to survive. A violent storm erupts one night, and framed in the window of Liz's establishment is a frightening face. Let in by the soul of a Good Samaritan, the two visitors bring with them a past full of secrets that could literally change an angel's path and a warrior's plans.
From murder to redemption, this angel/warrior team must find a way to keep the faith they have in each other in a world that's ripping them apart.
About the Author
Now she is a published author of several works of fiction. The Billy the Kid historical The Heart of a Legend; the thriller, Mind Made; and the adventure novel, Tallent & Lowery 13.
She is also the owner of The Write Companion, a company that offers help and support to writers through a full range of editorial services from proofreading and copyediting to ghostwriting and research. As the daughter of a research librarian, she is also an active book reviewer.
Currently, she lives with her daughter, mother and a rambunctious German Shepherd named Reuben, in the beautiful state of New Mexico. (Can I just add on that the fact she owns a German Shepherd makes her uber cool in my book!)
My Thoughts
Until Next Time is a beautifully written book that deals with the idea that even angels sometimes question their faith. Emily and Matt, and angel and warrior team specifically paired to journey to earth over several "lives" to learn why the population has lost their faith. By living and experience life on earth as humans do, the higher-ups hope to be able to understand where they went wrong and how they can fix things to bring faith in God back to the people.
This book focused very highly on bases in religion to tell its story. At first I felt this would be a hindrance to my enjoyment of the story, but as the author was also smart enough to mix in just the right amount of humor, I wasn't as overwhelmed by the religious aspects as I first thought I might be. The comedy breaks with Gabriel and Michael playing poker for candy bars just about did me in as I laughed hilariously, trying to catch my breath. What a sight! Amy Lignor has a knack for writing that many should be envious of. She has the wonderful flowing poetry style that makes descriptions of places and time play on the page like mini movies. I can envision the sun rising as it bleeds beautiful oranges and reds across the lightening sky. It's stunning.
One of my two main issues with the book were the confusion I felt while reading along the timeline. The constant flipping back and forth from Present to Past and then between Heaven and Earth was often jarring. I kind of felt disillusioned as I thought the story would be about one thing (from the prologue) and then it really didn't go that way. To be honest, I kind of felt like the book ended where it began and I ran around in an endless circle not really discovering what I wanted to know. Now I will have to read the second book and hope for the best.
The characters were fabulous! I absolutely loved the fiery Faith and her dedication to her friend Elizabeth and her sharp tongue that keeps those around her in line when they need it the most. The rebellious Charles is another terrific addition to the story, fighting to forget a past that has haunted him for years. And let's not forget the compassionate Emily/Elizabeth who's job it is to help her friends find their happiness and faith in life once again, supporting them and standing beside them as they make their difficult journeys and decisions. She is the epitome of a strong heroine.
The second issue was the romance between Emily/Elizabeth and Jason. I'm sorry, but I just didn't feel the passion at all. To me it more or less felt like Jason was desperate and E/E just went for it because she felt obligated. It is very crucial that this romance be believable because the whole story is basically based around this romance. The whole title Until Next Time is based around this endless love that is supposed to endure time and multiple lives. But I just didn't feel it.
Characters, and romances between characters, can be very difficult to portray. I am hoping that in the next book the author's writing matures even more and she is able to accomplish more with the intended romance. I can tell she has the talent to do so. I look forward to reading the next section of the story and proving myself right.
Interested in purchasing?
For NookOn Smashwords
The Angel Chronicles web site:
http://www.the-angel-chronicles.com
The Angel Chronicles Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/The-Angel-Chronicles/168932393209654
Until Next Time GoodReads page:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13319888-until-next-time
Amy Lignor's Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/alignor
Amy Lignor's Twitter:
https://twitter.com/#!/HelloWritersAmy
Amy Lignor's Website:
http://www.thewritecompanion.com/
Amy Lignor's Blog:
http://hellowriters.wordpress.com/
Amy Lignor's GoodReads:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5222068
Tribute Books website:
http://www.tribute-books.com
Tribute Books Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Archbald-PA/Tribute-Books/171628704176
Tribute Books Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/TributeBooks
Tribute Books Blog Tours Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tribute-Books-Blog-Tours/242431245775186
Gwenyth, I love your description of Amy's writing as creating "mini-movies" in your head while you're reading her book. I wholeheartedly agree. I'm glad you enjoyed Amy's writing style and that you're eagerly awaiting Book 2. Stay tuned!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I can't wait to hear more about book 2.
ReplyDeleteGwenyth - Thank you so much for giving the angel/warrior team your time, and your words mean so much to me - I can't even tell you. Just a little hint - there actually was a large reason why Emily and Jason's romance was portrayed as such. Unlike most YA's there is a definite 'odd' triangle evolving that I really think you will like when Book II comes to pass. Again, thank you SO much for your kind and really heartfelt words.
ReplyDeleteThank you for stopping by Amy! By the very end of the book I had a feeling to what you are hinting at above, and that perhaps is the main reason I am looking forward to book #2. I am intrigued what will happen with Matt, Emily, and Jason...
ReplyDeleteThanks for this review, it sounds interesting, though I can see why it is a confusing read, I'm glad to hear you're still interested in reading the second book. I've just recently gotten into angel books so I'm interested to see this one. I'm glad to hear that though it has a religion bases that it isn't a hindrance to the story. Great review!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Andrea. I feel like I am on a mission to find a good angel book and keep getting disappointed. Embrace (reviewed earlier this week) and now this one are very promising. Let's see how they develop throughout the series.
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