Halflings by Heather Burch

From goodreads

After being inexplicably targeted by an evil intent on harming her at any cost, seventeen-year-old Nikki finds herself under the watchful guardianship of three mysterious young men who call themselves halflings. Sworn to defend her, misfits Mace, Raven, and Vine battle to keep Nikki safe while hiding their deepest secret—and the wings that come with.

A growing attraction between Nikki and two of her protectors presents a whole other danger. While she risks a broken heart, Mace and Raven could lose everything, including their souls. As the mysteries behind the boys’ powers, as well as her role in a scientist’s dark plan, unfold, Nikki is faced with choices that will affect the future of an entire race of heavenly beings, as well as the precarious equilibrium of the earthly world.

cover

I love the cover of Halflings. There's something about the expression of the girl in the cover that grabs your attention and makes you not want to look away until you've figured it out.

review

Halflings wasn’t afraid to sink its teeth straight into the action! The book opens with Nikki, a perfectly normal girl, being chased by “hell hounds”. Hovering in the background are Mace, Raven and Vine who have been assigned to protect her. Who are these boys? They are halflings- half angel and half human; the product of fallen angels and humans.

Over the course of the book, we get insights into why Nikki is chased by hell hounds, an operation that might just lead to World War Three and more on the origins and nature of halflings. There’s also plenty of shadiness in the form of Damon Vessler who claims to be Nikki’s godfather. But here’s the thing… Nikki knew nothing of his existence until his recent and sudden appearance!

I’m not a huge fan of angel books but I loved the halflings! Halflings are portrayed as creatures born from the “seeds of rebellion”. Mace, Raven and Vine are beautiful to look at: with blonde hair, blue eyes and great features but what made my heart flutter was the conflict and uncertainty brewing within them! Mace, who Nikki is instantly attracted to, is caught in between two worlds and doesn’t know where he belongs. Raven, who suffers from a similar conflict, is more aggressive and is resigned to “falling” from grace.

Halflings also fight for the good side, the side that isn't very vocal in wanting them, because it's the right thing to do. All that drives them is hope. Vine, the youngest halfling, wants to be away from this eternal struggle- he wants to be oblivious to it. In other words, he wants to be human. Halflings started off fast-paced, slowed down a lot and then geared up, just in time, to end on a riveting note! I’m so glad this is a series! I’d love to read more about Mace, Raven and Vine who were all gorgeous in their own way!

The only issue I have about the book is that while I loved the characters, it didn’t seem to have much plot. Don’t get me wrong… there was plenty of background information but other than that, there were just a lot of questions and loose ends that may or may not have significance in the later parts of the series. First books generally do just that. But the way the action and subplots are handled in the second book will largely determine whether I’ll be reading the later parts.

Till then, you should definitely give Halflings a try! It’s filled with promise. I just hope a lot more happens in the later parts that makes the awesome premise worth it.

Publication date: 1st February, 2012
Publisher: Zondervan Publishing
Source: NetGalley

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars