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vlslayton's review
5.0
The cover is gorgeous and had me interested. I know you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover but I am a sucker for great covers.
I was not sure what I would think of this book in all honesty. I had not yet found a book in which Angels vs. Demons could keep my full attention. Angel Evolution by David Estes has changed my previous statement. This book kept me on the edge of my seat.
I will not give anything away in this review because that will take the fun and the ride out of the book.
Angel Evolution does not have a religions views which is very refreshing when reading about Angels vs. Demons. What your mind tells you should be good and bad, just forget it because David Estes has found a way to make you think, "What...... Really...... But how can that be?" How he could have the imagination to come up with that?
The plot kept me interested throughout the entire book.
I feel as if I am still getting to know the characters, but I believe that is what David Estes planned on. You never know what to expect, what's coming next and who to love and hate. It is quite amazing in my opinion. I do not like reading a book and have it figured out in the middle of the story, there is no way I could have figured this one out.
If you have not read Angel Evolution I would highly suggest reading it..
I was not sure what I would think of this book in all honesty. I had not yet found a book in which Angels vs. Demons could keep my full attention. Angel Evolution by David Estes has changed my previous statement. This book kept me on the edge of my seat.
I will not give anything away in this review because that will take the fun and the ride out of the book.
Angel Evolution does not have a religions views which is very refreshing when reading about Angels vs. Demons. What your mind tells you should be good and bad, just forget it because David Estes has found a way to make you think, "What...... Really...... But how can that be?" How he could have the imagination to come up with that?
The plot kept me interested throughout the entire book.
I feel as if I am still getting to know the characters, but I believe that is what David Estes planned on. You never know what to expect, what's coming next and who to love and hate. It is quite amazing in my opinion. I do not like reading a book and have it figured out in the middle of the story, there is no way I could have figured this one out.
If you have not read Angel Evolution I would highly suggest reading it..
heatherliz86's review
4.0
I really enjoyed Angel Evolution by David Estes, it's a new outtake on Good vs. evil, that's for sure. Sometimes it did seem the characters were a little immature, I thought for their age but they were pleasant , funny characters that you will grow to love. I like how David invented a different story line for Angels....Loved this part!!! If you like Angels, demons, good looking guys, with a different kind of plot, then you will love this book!!! I will read the second book !!! Great job , David Estes to another book that I loved !!!
halcyone's review
3.0
This review was originally posted at The Cozy Armchair.
I've been trying to branch out into reading more books with angels in them because, while most people have moved on from the genre, they've only just begun to interest me. Blame my new interest in Supernatural! Speaking of, it's a good thing I read Angel Evolution before I marathoned Supernatural or I would have been picturing Supernatural's Gabriel in this story, which would have been weird.
Anyway! Angel Evolution was a quick and easy read. The storytelling is pretty straightforward, at times too much so. "Simple" is a good way to describe it. Exposition is heavily used to get the reader all the relevant information regarding angels and demons as they're portrayed in this universe. That didn't bother me, though, because the story being told was compelling (perhaps more compelling than the main story line).
These angels and demons don't have biblical origins; their background was pretty original, even if some of the explanations for their motivations weren't really clear to me. Overall, this was an interesting take on angels and demons. The last third of the novel focused more on the conflict between them in more detail and, while there were some aspects that could have been improved upon, it brought the story to a strong ending.
Unfortunately, I had some issues with the other two-thirds of the book. Taylor was the stereotypical special snowflake teen - you know, the ones that are so ordinary but not, especially when compared to their best friends. In general, the characters got on my nerves at one point or another. In retrospect, I was most intrigued by Chris, who made an effort to get to know people beyond their species.
I guess I was just disappointed by the instalove between Taylor and Gabriel, even though both of them did struggle with their feelings - Gabriel torn between duty and Taylor, and Taylor doing her best to avoid being a victim. While their relationship wasn't very interesting, I guess I could appreciate the sentiment? The whole star-crossed lovers thing they had going on was predictable but inoffensive.
Bottom-line, Angel Evolution was an average read. I didn't want to strangle anyone while reading, but it also didn't inspire any strong emotions. I was rather 'blah' about the whole thing. I can't exactly recommend it but I'm also not saying to stay away from it entirely.
I've been trying to branch out into reading more books with angels in them because, while most people have moved on from the genre, they've only just begun to interest me. Blame my new interest in Supernatural! Speaking of, it's a good thing I read Angel Evolution before I marathoned Supernatural or I would have been picturing Supernatural's Gabriel in this story, which would have been weird.
Anyway! Angel Evolution was a quick and easy read. The storytelling is pretty straightforward, at times too much so. "Simple" is a good way to describe it. Exposition is heavily used to get the reader all the relevant information regarding angels and demons as they're portrayed in this universe. That didn't bother me, though, because the story being told was compelling (perhaps more compelling than the main story line).
These angels and demons don't have biblical origins; their background was pretty original, even if some of the explanations for their motivations weren't really clear to me. Overall, this was an interesting take on angels and demons. The last third of the novel focused more on the conflict between them in more detail and, while there were some aspects that could have been improved upon, it brought the story to a strong ending.
Unfortunately, I had some issues with the other two-thirds of the book. Taylor was the stereotypical special snowflake teen - you know, the ones that are so ordinary but not, especially when compared to their best friends. In general, the characters got on my nerves at one point or another. In retrospect, I was most intrigued by Chris, who made an effort to get to know people beyond their species.
I guess I was just disappointed by the instalove between Taylor and Gabriel, even though both of them did struggle with their feelings - Gabriel torn between duty and Taylor, and Taylor doing her best to avoid being a victim. While their relationship wasn't very interesting, I guess I could appreciate the sentiment? The whole star-crossed lovers thing they had going on was predictable but inoffensive.
Bottom-line, Angel Evolution was an average read. I didn't want to strangle anyone while reading, but it also didn't inspire any strong emotions. I was rather 'blah' about the whole thing. I can't exactly recommend it but I'm also not saying to stay away from it entirely.
sandeeisreading's review
3.0
Taylor was having persistent nightmares.
The latest one was about the same snake that has been in her dreams and two haloed individuals who offered her a drink.
Our heroine wakes up and the story begins.
Taylor was starting his freshman year at UT.
On her first day, she met Gabriel.
Who was Gabriel?
Why was she seeing weird light around him?
Who was he really?
This book was definitely interesting.
It steered away from the typical Angel and Demon stories.
It was very creative.
It was fresh.
This book actually has the potential to be a very good book if it wasn’t for the characters.
I felt they were a little undeveloped.
Let’s talk about Taylor and Gabriel.
Taylor has a weird habit of looking for a four leaf clover everywhere she went.
But still I kind of liked her.
Gabriel on the other hand, frightened me a bit.
I knew there was something wrong about him from the start.
I just didn’t know how their feelings for each other developed after 2 dates.
I am not really a fan of insta-love and I liked that this book was not like that but the development of the attraction between Taylor and Gabriel was just too fast for me.
Too fast that Gabriel decided to betray his kind for Taylor.
For me a good YA book should have a good story, good characters and good writing.
For me this book has two of those just a little behind on character development but I couldn’t judge yet because I haven’t read the other books so I guess we’ll have to find out. :D
3.5!
The latest one was about the same snake that has been in her dreams and two haloed individuals who offered her a drink.
Our heroine wakes up and the story begins.
Taylor was starting his freshman year at UT.
On her first day, she met Gabriel.
Who was Gabriel?
Why was she seeing weird light around him?
Who was he really?
This book was definitely interesting.
It steered away from the typical Angel and Demon stories.
It was very creative.
It was fresh.
This book actually has the potential to be a very good book if it wasn’t for the characters.
I felt they were a little undeveloped.
Let’s talk about Taylor and Gabriel.
Taylor has a weird habit of looking for a four leaf clover everywhere she went.
But still I kind of liked her.
Gabriel on the other hand, frightened me a bit.
I knew there was something wrong about him from the start.
I just didn’t know how their feelings for each other developed after 2 dates.
I am not really a fan of insta-love and I liked that this book was not like that but the development of the attraction between Taylor and Gabriel was just too fast for me.
Too fast that Gabriel decided to betray his kind for Taylor.
For me a good YA book should have a good story, good characters and good writing.
For me this book has two of those just a little behind on character development but I couldn’t judge yet because I haven’t read the other books so I guess we’ll have to find out. :D
3.5!
jadeeby's review
3.0
Originally posted at my blog Chasing Empty Pavements
Reading two angel novels back to back probably wasn't the best idea but I try to stick to my TBR list pretty regularly and this one was up next, so I went with it.
The Good: I was SO happy to see that this novel also steered away from the cliche angel questions and answers that are brought up in other angel novels in YA. I thought the plot was refreshing and unique and totally unlike Unearthly, so I'm glad I didn't have to compare them because they were so different. I loved the whole angles vs demons battle...it was so unexpected and unlike any of the other angel books I've read. The scheduling of battles was so simple yet no one thought about doing it yet :) I enjoyed that the angels were more human like than godly like. I think one of my favorite things is that the characters are in college! No high schoolers! I'm totally on my "New Adult" genre kick and even though this seems to be marked at YA, the character's ages really put them in the "New Adult" category. I LOVED this!
The Bad: I wish I felt better about the characters. I thought they were very underdeveloped. I think if the author were to step back and develop them a little more, the book would really shine! Taylor annoyed me and I just didn't connect to her at all. I thought Gabe was dumb and I disliked him but I not for the reasons I think the author wanted me too. Chris was probably the most well-written character but even he needed some development. This book is the first one in a series, so I'm hoping the author really takes to heart the critiques of reviewers and works on the characters because I think this book could really be something special if he worked on it!
Overall, I'm surprised I didn't dislike this book coming off the heels of Unearthly, but it was actually pretty good. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series to see if there was improvement on character development. B-!
**I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review. All the opinions are my own and I was not obligated to write a favorable review.
Reading two angel novels back to back probably wasn't the best idea but I try to stick to my TBR list pretty regularly and this one was up next, so I went with it.
The Good: I was SO happy to see that this novel also steered away from the cliche angel questions and answers that are brought up in other angel novels in YA. I thought the plot was refreshing and unique and totally unlike Unearthly, so I'm glad I didn't have to compare them because they were so different. I loved the whole angles vs demons battle...it was so unexpected and unlike any of the other angel books I've read. The scheduling of battles was so simple yet no one thought about doing it yet :) I enjoyed that the angels were more human like than godly like. I think one of my favorite things is that the characters are in college! No high schoolers! I'm totally on my "New Adult" genre kick and even though this seems to be marked at YA, the character's ages really put them in the "New Adult" category. I LOVED this!
The Bad: I wish I felt better about the characters. I thought they were very underdeveloped. I think if the author were to step back and develop them a little more, the book would really shine! Taylor annoyed me and I just didn't connect to her at all. I thought Gabe was dumb and I disliked him but I not for the reasons I think the author wanted me too. Chris was probably the most well-written character but even he needed some development. This book is the first one in a series, so I'm hoping the author really takes to heart the critiques of reviewers and works on the characters because I think this book could really be something special if he worked on it!
Overall, I'm surprised I didn't dislike this book coming off the heels of Unearthly, but it was actually pretty good. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series to see if there was improvement on character development. B-!
**I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review. All the opinions are my own and I was not obligated to write a favorable review.
maddi_md's review
3.0
This was an incredibly interesting read! It has an original and captivating storyline that really fascinated me. Angel Evolution has a totally new spin on the whole angel/demon genre that I adored! There was creativity behind the ideas of this book that I really enjoyed, but I had some issues with the execution.
First off, I want to go on for a bit about how much I loved the ideas behind this book. I have read a fair few angel and demon books which are all pretty much centred on old myths, such as God, angels in heaven, demons in hell, etc. Of course they all mix it up in their own way but it’s nearly always based on religion. This book is not like that and I think that is brilliant! Angel Evolution is based on evolution where the angels and demons are evolved humans. My only issue was that I thought the history of the evolution did seem to happen a little too quickly, I would have much preferred if they had a longer history as I think it would have really enhanced the back story. Nevertheless I really liked the concept.
Secondly, I liked the characters. Taylor and Samantha were complete opposites, as were Gabrielle and Christopher. This created a nice range of characters which really helped to mix it up a little. It was also cute to see how this group of very different people could get along and at times work together towards a common goal.
My problems with this book had to do with some of the reactions that the characters had. I was disappointed in the lack of reaction from both Taylor and Samantha when they found out their boyfriends weren’t exactly human. Taylor also seemed a bit too much of a clingy girlfriend for my tastes; I really wished she was just a little bit more independent and less quick to forgive. Plus at times the dialogue felt a little bit forced and clichéd which detracted from the overall storyline.
I had difficulty rating this book. I didn’t love it the way I love most books I give 4 stars, but I also think that it’s of a higher calibre than most books I give 3 stars to. This is a cheap read on the Kindle that is definitely worth giving a go if you’re looking for something to read!
First off, I want to go on for a bit about how much I loved the ideas behind this book. I have read a fair few angel and demon books which are all pretty much centred on old myths, such as God, angels in heaven, demons in hell, etc. Of course they all mix it up in their own way but it’s nearly always based on religion. This book is not like that and I think that is brilliant! Angel Evolution is based on evolution where the angels and demons are evolved humans. My only issue was that I thought the history of the evolution did seem to happen a little too quickly, I would have much preferred if they had a longer history as I think it would have really enhanced the back story. Nevertheless I really liked the concept.
Secondly, I liked the characters. Taylor and Samantha were complete opposites, as were Gabrielle and Christopher. This created a nice range of characters which really helped to mix it up a little. It was also cute to see how this group of very different people could get along and at times work together towards a common goal.
My problems with this book had to do with some of the reactions that the characters had. I was disappointed in the lack of reaction from both Taylor and Samantha when they found out their boyfriends weren’t exactly human. Taylor also seemed a bit too much of a clingy girlfriend for my tastes; I really wished she was just a little bit more independent and less quick to forgive. Plus at times the dialogue felt a little bit forced and clichéd which detracted from the overall storyline.
I had difficulty rating this book. I didn’t love it the way I love most books I give 4 stars, but I also think that it’s of a higher calibre than most books I give 3 stars to. This is a cheap read on the Kindle that is definitely worth giving a go if you’re looking for something to read!
librocubicularist_reads's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this book - I already bought the other 2 books of The Evolution Trilogy & can't wait to read them, too.
It took me some time to wrap my head around the new concept of angels & demons & how the author's version of them differ from what we've always believed about them. I was a bit conflicted but at the end of the day, I applaud him for doing it differently. It was very refreshing & I actually liked challenging my old ideas about them.
I liked Taylor & Gabriel & think they make a cute couple. I was quite disappointed in Gabriel sometimes but I think it's more realistic to create characters that aren't perfect. I also liked Chris a lot - hopefully we'll get to know him better in the next books. What I also really liked was the fact that the author didn't create another boring love triangle between Taylor, Gabriel & Chris. The love triangle can be effective in some stories but sometimes it feels like authors have gotten stuck in the same mold. I think it was great that David Estes did not go the same old route!
The book flowed well & the story hooked me from the very first chapter, so I can definitely recommend it!
Looking forward to starting with Demon Evolution tomorrow... :)
It took me some time to wrap my head around the new concept of angels & demons & how the author's version of them differ from what we've always believed about them. I was a bit conflicted but at the end of the day, I applaud him for doing it differently. It was very refreshing & I actually liked challenging my old ideas about them.
I liked Taylor & Gabriel & think they make a cute couple. I was quite disappointed in Gabriel sometimes but I think it's more realistic to create characters that aren't perfect. I also liked Chris a lot - hopefully we'll get to know him better in the next books. What I also really liked was the fact that the author didn't create another boring love triangle between Taylor, Gabriel & Chris. The love triangle can be effective in some stories but sometimes it feels like authors have gotten stuck in the same mold. I think it was great that David Estes did not go the same old route!
The book flowed well & the story hooked me from the very first chapter, so I can definitely recommend it!
Looking forward to starting with Demon Evolution tomorrow... :)
erinarkin20's review
2.0
This one didn't wow me. The story had a lot of potential but it just seemed to fall short for me.
My problems with this begin with the main character, Taylor...She annoyed me. I don't know what the end goal was but I just found she rubbed me the wrong way. Nevermind that she was in love after only knowing Gabriel for 2 days.
I am still confused as to why Taylor was "The One". There was no explanation of how she was identified by the demons and angels, what made her aura so special and why there was no one else like her.
Although at times I felt like the dialogue was iffy, the story had some promise. I was intrigued by the spin the story had on the creation of angels and demons
I'm kicking around whether I will read the rest of the series. I am interested in finding out what happens with Gabriel but I'm not sure I am invested enough in the characters to put this series at the top of my list.
My problems with this begin with the main character, Taylor...She annoyed me. I don't know what the end goal was but I just found she rubbed me the wrong way. Nevermind that she was in love after only knowing Gabriel for 2 days.
I am still confused as to why Taylor was "The One". There was no explanation of how she was identified by the demons and angels, what made her aura so special and why there was no one else like her.
Although at times I felt like the dialogue was iffy, the story had some promise. I was intrigued by the spin the story had on the creation of angels and demons
Spoiler
as well as the twist of angels being evil and against the human race instead of the demons.I'm kicking around whether I will read the rest of the series. I am interested in finding out what happens with Gabriel but I'm not sure I am invested enough in the characters to put this series at the top of my list.
mrose21's review
2.0
I just can't...
This to me is on a level for Fallen. I'm not sure who the heck this author is but women do not act like this normally.
"I didn't really like him, but then he was in my dream and he kind of save me. I just really need to find him" Um why? crazy girl. and better yet WHY DOES IT WORK with finding out where he lives! Is that not stalkerish??
I just found this book tiresome. Shes wet shes annoying. Shes the tragic I'm not pretty but theres just that little something about me that makes me pretty. Why do we do that to women in books. I couldn't give a crap if she was gorgeous or ugly, if shes a good character in terms of depth who cares!
I can't. This book drove me to reviewing with a gif. ERGH
This to me is on a level for Fallen. I'm not sure who the heck this author is but women do not act like this normally.
"I didn't really like him, but then he was in my dream and he kind of save me. I just really need to find him" Um why? crazy girl. and better yet WHY DOES IT WORK with finding out where he lives! Is that not stalkerish??
I just found this book tiresome. Shes wet shes annoying. Shes the tragic I'm not pretty but theres just that little something about me that makes me pretty. Why do we do that to women in books. I couldn't give a crap if she was gorgeous or ugly, if shes a good character in terms of depth who cares!
I can't. This book drove me to reviewing with a gif. ERGH
dream_write_read's review
4.0
Captivating, and one huge twist to the story.
This story is about a girl named Taylor who becomes one of the most important weapons in an ongoing war between the Angels and Deamons. this story contains romance,betyral,war, and friendship.
This story simply wowed me. Just the fact that the angels were that bad guys and the deamons were the good guys left me in complete shock. It truely wasnt anything I expected. The love story got me, I just hope Gabe gets better in the next book with his lying issue. The characters personalities were strong, Taylors was fabulous. The story was a great read and i will be buying the next two books in this serious.
That you to the author for giving me the honor to read and reveiw his book.
This story is about a girl named Taylor who becomes one of the most important weapons in an ongoing war between the Angels and Deamons. this story contains romance,betyral,war, and friendship.
This story simply wowed me. Just the fact that the angels were that bad guys and the deamons were the good guys left me in complete shock. It truely wasnt anything I expected. The love story got me, I just hope Gabe gets better in the next book with his lying issue. The characters personalities were strong, Taylors was fabulous. The story was a great read and i will be buying the next two books in this serious.
That you to the author for giving me the honor to read and reveiw his book.