Review: Halflings by Heather Burch

Halflings by Heather Burch
Hardcover, 287 pages
Published: February 1, 2012 by Zondervan
Source: ARC - NetGalley
Buy the Book: Amazon : B&N : Goodreads

From Goodreads: After being inexplicably targeted by an evil intent on harming her at any cost, 17-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.

Halflings premise intrigued me, but it did not quite live up to it. The main character, Nikki, fills the role of an excellent protagonist. However, there are plot and logic aspects that just did not stick well with me. The book is great overall and should be good read for most.

Nikki is very easily related to. Is she your typical teen? No, but she is balanced well enough that I connected with her in many ways. The biggest issue I had with characters was the love triangle. I do like them sometimes, but this one hinders the story at times. Mace and Raven provide good interests for Nikki, but the broodiness can sometimes be irritating over the situation.

The first quarter of the books is great. The book grabbed me from the first chapter. Unfortunately, it drops off to slow crawl after that. The writing probably was the main reason for this. I've read other reviews about the metaphors and I completely agree. I thought several times "Huh? That was seriously the best way to say that?" There is a lot of back story that is given, even some that probably could have been better placed elsewhere or not at all at this point. I do like that the angel history and information is well woven into the story. I would not have to know the complete history of Angels to read this book. I have had this issue before and given up on books because of  the details that the reader is supposed to know even before reading the book. The ending is only decent at best. It doesn't leave me feeling anything was finished as it should and felt very anti-climatic. It wasn't the best book I've read this year, but it is still far from the worst. I would  and have recommended to friends who want a quick read in this genre.