HEAVEN

This final installment of the forbidden love story in the popular Halo trilogy stands on its own well, with only a few references to events in previous books.

Bethany, an angel, fell in love with handsome Xavier, a human with turquoise eyes, back in the first book. At the beginning of this volume they marry, thereby incurring the wrath of Heaven or, at least, the wrath of a faction of warrior angels called the Sevens. The couple goes into hiding, protected by Bethany’s brother, the archangel Gabriel, and her sister Ivy. The Sevens stay on the hunt, however, until Bethany and Xavier find themselves compelled to make a desperate bargain that leads to their possibly eternal separation. What will Bethany have to do to reunite with Xavier? Adornetto writes from a staunchly Christian viewpoint, stopping frequently to discuss fairly standard Christian doctrine. Her prose flows along quickly despite this, but the plot seems hastily thrown together, leaving some minor but noticeable holes. Most egregiously, late in the book readers learn a crucial fact about Xavier that may change everything, but the story never again refers to that point. Although major characters come across as standard-issue romance heroes, a few of the minor characters stand out, such as rakish archangel Raphael.

Mostly forgettable.