I stumbled upon Strange Angels while doing a google search, and after I watched the intense trailer, I fell victim to great marketing and purchased the Lili St. Crow novel upon my next visit to Books-A-Million. Unfortunately, for me, the book was somewhat disappointing–like taking a bath in luke-warm water when you expected the temperature to be steamy hot. Don’t get me wrong. Strange Angels is a good read, but it doesn’t rank among my top picks, and I’m not on the edge of my seat in wait for the sequel.
Why did this novel fall flat for me? Simple. I wasn’t hooked from the very beginning. In fact, while I found Dru Anderson’s tough girl attitude endearing, and her zombie slaying, night hunting lifestyle intriguing, I didn’t actually get hooked into the story until chapter six. And that’s after she killed her reanimated zombie father. I don’t know why I still didn’t care all that much when her father returns home after a hunt, tapping sinisterly on the window pane before breaking in and trying to kill his only daughter. It was disgusting, disturbing, and vivid–all the qualities I value in action sequences. It just doesn’t make sense that I would have to push myself to read beyond that, but I did, so I think it has to do with Dru’s character.
Dru is an awesome heroine–not some fragile girl who needs a big tough man to get through life. Dru is a super-tough, burping, cussing bad ass who can put a silver bullet through her dead father (who is now a zombie) and accept the fact that she is a about to be a homeless orphan. So why didn’t I like her until chapter six? She didn’t seem all that human until then–more like a programmed terminator sent to destroy creatures most people can’t see. However, once homeless goth-boy Graves gives her a place to stay, she finally blossoms into a believable teenage girl who sobs uncontrollably after she has to shoot her father’s reanimated body, regardless of how tough she is. The Dru at the beginning of the story wouldn’t have cried over that. The Dru from that point on is more human.
What else about this novel bothered me? The unanswered questions and lack of sufficient closure at the end. Yes, Dru found the bad guys, and yes, I know that plot line will continue in the next book. However, I have read and reread this book, and I’m still confused by her relationships with Christophe and Graves. Okay, Graves gives her a place to stay, gets bitten by a werewolf in the process, and still stays to protect her. Then, Christophe comes into the picture, and he’s sexy and smells like apple pie–but at the same time he’s creepy and acts like there’s some connection with them. What, I ask, is this connection, and what, I ask, is Dru feeling for him other than squeamishness and guilt? I realize that there’s so much action in this book , little room is left for romance, but something about the situation just doesn’t jive for me. After I shut the book, I was left to wonder if she would snuggle up to Graves or if there are feelings for Christophe. God forbid it turn into some vampire v. werewolf romance that echoes Twilight (because I don’t know if there’s room in the market for two such conflicts). The dangling romance (or dangling possibility of romance as I’m not sure what is actually going on in the book) just left me completely unsatisfied at the end. However, that lack of satisfaction really didn’t lead me to want to read the next book. On the contrary, it just kind of irritated me. Regardless, the ending just fell flat for me.
Anyway, like I said before, Strange Angels is a good book, just not awesome enough to rank among my top picks. There are some great qualities about this novel. For instance, I love Graves’ character. He’s a little nerdy, a little cute, but fiercely protective of what he so obviously wants (Dru), which makes for a great character. Also, Dru is different that any other character I’ve read about, and if I had to compare her to other heroines, she most closely echoes Rayne from Stake That! or Rose from the Vampire Academy series. She is strong, courageous, and very rough around the edges–certainly no princess–yet she is still desirable, despite her obvious flaws. Like I said before, Strange Angels is a fun read–just not my favorite. I will probably read and review the sequel, though I’m not on pins and needles to read it. All in all, a fun action/adventure with pretty cool zombie and werewolf action!
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