Evercrossed (Kissed by an Angel) by Elizabeth Chandler
| Evercrossed (Kissed by an Angel) by Elizabeth Chandler | |
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| Category: Teens | |
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Reviewer: Jill Murphy
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| Summary: A light and frothy supernatural romance. It's an easy and pleasant read - but the central character is rather self-absorbed and the cliffhanger climax is more of a whimper than a bang. | |
| Buy? No | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 288 | Date: March 2011 |
| Publisher: Simon & Schuster | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 1847389171 | |
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Evercrossed picks up where Kissed by an Angel left off. After her boyfriend Tristan was killed in a car accident, Ivy took up with Gregory, who turned out to be a serial murderer and all-round bad guy. She was saved from him by a combination of Tristan in angel form, her psychic best friend Beth and stalwart admirer Will. Now the three of them are working at a holiday inn for the summer, alongside Beth's cousin Kelsey and her friend Dhanya. Will is now Ivy's boyfriend but it's almost a year since Tristan died and Ivy is finding herself thinking about him more and more.
And then Kelsey and Dhanya insist on holding a sceance. Within days, Ivy herself has a car accident. She survives, to the incredulity of everyone at the hospital, but not to her. Ivy is convinced that Tristan appeared to her and kept her alive with a kiss. Also in the hospital is Guy who is suffering from amnesia after nearly drowning. And something about him draws Ivy in...
The main narrative thrust in Evercrossed is a mystery - a whoisit rather than a whodunnit. A prologue lets us know that someone has returned from the spirit world with revenge on his mind, but we don't know whose body he is inhabiting. And as the anniversary of Tristan's death approaches and the relationships between the protagonists begin to break down, there are quite a few candidates. It's to Chandler's credit that I hadn't figured out the identity until a very few pages before the end.
However, I didn't like Ivy much. She's incredibly self-absorbed and spends a great deal of time in self-pity and navel-gazing, to the detriment of those around her. At one point, her boyfriend tells her Next time you're thinking things through, try thinking about how it is for someone other than yourself - and I gave him a cheer. And then another. And then a third. Ivy spends about two pages in slightly ashamed chagrin, but then she goes right back to putting herself first.
The book ends on a cliffhanger and a very disappointing one, too. It goes out with more of a whimper than a bang - yes, there's a big reveal, but I actually turned the page expecting to find more to read, even though I'd realised by then that there wasn't enough time for a proper resolution. That last page left me feeling rather deflated, not eager for the next book.
However, I don't want to be too shrilly critical of Evercrossed - I might be reviewing it, but I am far from its target market. I'm virtually in my dotage, I don't much like romantic fiction and I'm resolutely atheist. While I enjoy supernatural elements in fiction, I don't like it to be so credulous. But this genre is incredibly popular. Teen girls like reading romantic stories. Those who enjoy the genre will enjoy Evercrossed and they will probably identify with Ivy much more than I did. So I'm giving a cautious recommendation - but only to fans of paranormal romance.
My thanks to the good people at Simon & Schuster for sending the book.
If they like a nice bit of light paranormal romance, then we preferred Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick. If they like the supernatural but are looking for something a bit more challenging and literary, then they'll love Angel by Cliff McNish].
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You can read more book reviews or buy Evercrossed (Kissed by an Angel) by Elizabeth Chandler at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Evercrossed (Kissed by an Angel) by Elizabeth Chandler at Amazon.com.
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