Halflings by Heather Burch- Review

Reviewed by Aneeqah's Not So Real Life
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Halflings by Heather Burch
Rating: 2.5/5 Stars
Genres: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy,
Release Date: January 17,2012
Source: ALA Midwinter [Thank you to the publisher!]
My Review:

So, in this book we meet Nikki Youngblood, your typical teenager. Or so she thought.But when I mysterious attack on her happens, three strange creatures called Halflings, are sent to protect her. But who are they protecting her from? Why is she being hunted? What's so special about Nikki?

I really liked the action in this book. The book starts out with a bang, and there's lots of action throughout the book that kept me reading, and a few twists I really didn't see coming. It was a really compelling read for me, and I loved that. I finished the book really quickly, since it was short anyways, and I wanted to see what happened. There were lots of questions and some mystery that also kept me hooked throughout the whole book.

Unfortunately, that's where the good really ends for me. Our main character, Nikkki Youngblood, is a strong, worthy fighter who keeps her ground. Or so we're told. I honetstly didn't see Nikki being strong at all throughout the book. She changes who she is for two guys she doesn't even know well at all. If you're telling me that Nikki is a strong character, then you need to show me that. It's the age old rule of "Show, Don't Tell." Would I describe Nikki as strong? Uh, no, not at all. She's just your average main protagonist trying to decide which guy to choose.

Another thing is the insta-love. And the love triangle. Both of these thing annoy me so, so much, I don't think I can voice my contempt for these things. And, guess what? Yep, there's not only insta-love in this book, but there's also a love triangle! Do you know how frustrating this was? Well, it was frustrating. Very frustrating. I like a well done love triangle [like in Cynthia Hand's UNEARTHLY series] but this certainly wasn't well done. Mace was just plain annoying to me. I tried so hard to like him, but he just seemed like an obsessed stalker [which he essentially was, actually]. And I don't understand why Nikki even liked Mace, either. I certainly didn't see why she liked him. Raven, on the other hand, I liked better. He was your typical bad-boy, though. There was nothing unique about him for me. Hard outside, soft inside, yes, yes, we've seen this before. And I especially didn't like the insta-love. Nikki immediately fell in love with both boys, although I could see how the author tried to make it non-insta-love [is that even a word?], but it didn't work, unfortunately. Nothing really did work.

Another thing I disliked was the writing. It was just mediocre. I could see some attempts at good writing, but it didn't work. Like I said before, I could see how the author tried to make Nikki's feelings for Raven build up, but it didn't work. I honestly don't know what was missing. I feel like the author needs a little more writing experience, or something to help out her writing. The writing definitely has potential, though, but it needs work. It wasn't horrible, it just wasn't good.

And lastly, but not least, the ending. A cliffhanger. Seriously? The three things I hate: insta-love, poorly done love triangles, and cliffhangers, all in one book. I didn't even fully comprehend the ending, and then "BAM!" it was over. I feel like I blinked, and it was over. There are some cliffhangers that are fantabulously done [which, I really do hate to admit, because I don't like cliffhangers] and they make you want the next book, but this ending didn't really do that for me. Instead of screaming with rage and throwing the book on the floor, I just scratched my head and said "Huh?". I feel like it was much too rushed and seemed kind of weird.

It truly breaks my heart to write this review. I got the opportunity to meet the author at ALA, and I got my book signed by her too. She was such a sweet person, so definitely go out and meet her if you ever get the chance. I'm only sad I didn't like the book as much as I liked her.

So overall, I liked the action, but there was just way too many things that kept me from enjoying the book. I would give this book a shot if it seems like something you might like, but be wary before you start.





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