layawaydragon
Written on Oct 31, 2012
Discoveries
After being inexplicably targeted by an evil intent on harming her at any cost, seventeen-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.
A growing attraction between Nikki and two of her protectors presents a whole other danger. While she risks a broken heart, Mace and Raven could lose everything, including their souls. As the mysteries behind the boys’ powers, as well as her role in their earthly mission, unfold, Nikki is faced with choices that will affect the future of an entire race of heavenly beings, as well as the precarious equilibrium of the earthly world.
- ISBN10 0310728207
- ISBN13 9780310728207
- Publish Date 2 April 2013 (first published 20 December 2011)
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 25 June 2021
- Publish Country US
- Publisher Zondervan
- Imprint Blink
- Format Paperback
- Pages 304
- Language English
Reviews
e_rodz_leb
Written on Jan 17, 2012
This short story starts when Mace, Raven, Vine and Will just move to be near Nikki, but they hadn’t received an assignment yet. Will receives a message from heaven and the three Halflings have to stop an event that will happen at a certain time and at a certain place (that’s all they know too!)
The story is good and it explains why Vine is an active participant alongside his “brothers”. Also, Nikki makes a short appearance. The other very cool thing is that the story has a few illustrations that I am dying to see in color!
This is a must read for Halflings fans ;)
Angie
Written on Jan 8, 2012
Halflings started out fast! The conflict starts on page one, keeps going for awhile, but then slows way down. We first find Nikki being chased by hell hounds. Then a crazed man in an SUV tries to run her over. Why would someone be trying to kill a seemingly normal teenage girl? Mace is wondering this exact thing, since he and his brothers have been assigned to her. He's some type of guardian (half-)angel, and doesn't get why he's suppose to be keeping an eye on her. The second time he rescues her, their relationship seems to jump forward quite instantly. One moment she's ready to kick his ass, then the next moment she says she trusts him and their hugging. Way too fast!
But let's talk about the characters for a moment. I liked Nikki for the most part; she's a relatively laid-back artist and a black belt, and rides a motorcycle. She basically does her own thing and has her own beliefs. Her best friend, Krissy, is one of the most annoying characters I've ever encountered. She never shuts up, she's shallow, and having the attention of boys is everything. I really didn't see how she and Nikki were friends. Thankfully she mostly disappears from the book near the middle. Mace...I'm still not sure about. He's a little broody and reckless, but dedicated. Raven, another shallow character, is an angel on the verge of heading to the dark-side. I was at least intrigued by him. Vine likes red licorice. We don't really get too much of him, but he randomly appears with surprising words of wisdom.
I was pretty into the story, wondering what the heck is going on, until Nikki confronts Mace about what he is. Did you know that the Holocaust was about exterminating all of the non-halflings? Yep, my interest was almost completely lost there. Sure, it's an interesting idea to take well known history and twisting it to fit the mythology of the story, but come on! The Holocaust, really?! Burch should have chosen something else to help explain halfling history....or not made all of "The Lost Boys" have blonde hair and blue eyes.
Anyway, back to the plot...Holy religious undertones, Batman! Omega Corporation...Genesis Project... scientific technology to take over the world which can only be stopped by angels...Not very subtle, but maybe it's not suppose to be? I'm not religious, and I have nothing against religion, but it was a bit silly and over-the-top.
Just like Nikki's feelings toward Mace, other plots points jump from one extreme to the other. First being Nikki all of a sudden mastering her powers as soon as she learns what she is. One second she has no clue, then in the blink of an eye she's helping the Lost Boys with their journey. Second, Raven and Nikki's relationship. Yes, a love triangle, but a seriously forced one. About half way through the book Raven is pining after Nikki, and Nikki randomly can't wait for Science class so she can be near him. What?! When did that happen!? They only interacted like once, and Nikki only showed interest in Mace! Whatever, maybe every story needs a love triangle for conflict.
I'm pretty sure my brain was on auto-pilot during the last third of the book. Nothing happening held my interest. I just couldn't invest myself in the story or the characters. It felt like it was a lot more than 288 pages. Final verdict: It wasn't for me.
Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.
lizarodz
Written on Jan 1, 2012
Nikki is a great character, but a bit of a contradiction to me. She has a strong personality, very independent and proud to be her own self and doesn’t pay too much attention to fashion or boys for that matter. Did I mention she is a black belt in karate AND rides a motorcycle? The contradictions are in that most of the times she is content to be a damsel in distress, which seems very unlike her, and also the way she was so accepting of supernatural things happening around her. Also, Nikki is a bit insecure around the “boys”.
The halflings: Mace, Raven, and Vine are all supernaturally gorgeous and assigned to take care of Nikki. All three of them have very distinct personalities, but I love Mace the most (I don’t always go for the bad boy, Raven!) I did not enjoy the love triangle very much, especially since the halfllings perceive themselves as “brothers” and it just didn’t seem right. Nikki’s parents don’t appear too much in the book, except for phone calls and the appearance of Damon Vessler. By the way I didn’t trust Damon from the beginning and he seems to have weird influence over Nikki. I liked Will and the other halflings as well, even though their purpose and their lot in life is so sad.
I found the plot to be very original, and I really enjoy this take on the angel lore. The book is presented in first person, but from different points of views (Nikki, Vine, Raven, and Mace’s) which I like a lot as it let us know what is going on all the time. I wish we would know more about the halflings (are there any loopholes?) Why is Nikki being targeted? What is going on with Omega Lab? What is going on with Mr. Robinson? What is going on?! I am sure we will get a lot for insight in the sequel, Guardian, to be published in September.
Tip: There is a prequel 11:15: The Making of a Halfling, currently free in Amazon in eBook format
About the cover: Pretty gorgeous, right? The wishful looking girl in the cover and the angel wings in the background hovering over her, very fitting.
inlibrisveritas
Written on Dec 11, 2011
I love when plots include any sort of religious beings, and I love when someone adds a new take on it. I've had some bad run ins with young adult mythology books, but this one seemed to have promise. It does live up to that in a way. I like the concept of Halflings, which of course are just the Nephilim with a different name. Though the fact that they don't belong in Heaven or Earth is a nice little twist, and it kind of gives you a glimpse at how hard the road they travel is. I liked the personalities of Mace, Raven and Vine...I didn't like their names. It seems to be a fad to give angels really odd nicknames and I suppose to some this is cute or makes them seems more endearing. To me it's just irritating, I like originality but I don't like being taken out of the feel for the story when I read a name. The overall plot is interesting and I really wanted to see what was going on, but it took so long to get to around to what was going on and even then it didn't really explain too much. The main focus seemed to be on Nikki's relationship with Mace and Raven, so yes the love triangle is alive and well in this one. There isn't much different in the set up or the way it proceeds really so I felt that all the time spent on the triangle was a bit much, and I felt that the plot was kind of left hanging at times. In fact the question you start wondering at the beginning "why is she targeted" really doesn't ever get fully answered. I'll admit I'm intrigued and I do want to know more, but I do wish that there had been more in this novel instead of having to wait for another one.
Nikki was confusing to me. At times I liked her and others I seriously hated her. I didn't really get why at times she was so stead-fast and then other times she could be completely swayed by something with little effort. It's rare that she has normal reactions, she's either too stubborn or too easily moved. It was frustrating to read at times. There were also some times of odd stiff conversation and a few instances where you wonder how it ended up at that point. Nikki claims to be a realist fairly early on, but after three encounters with Mace...she proudly states he's an angel. To me this was pushing it, because while yes they were odd encounters but to come to that conclusion within a few days and be firm enough to walk into someone's house is...well pushing it.
I do feel like those who enjoy a good romance and interesting plot will like it. I also have seen quite a few reviews saying they loved so I do realize I'm the minority here. So please keep that in mind and make sure to check out other reviews. I wasn't sold on this completely but if the second one ever comes my way when it comes out then I may pick it up.
I received this from Zondervan and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.