Halflings (Halflings Book 1)

Thank you Goodreads First Reads for my review copy! (I actually won! Yay!)

I was intrigued with the blurb of Halflings--I kind of got tired of angel books, but this one sounded interesting so I figured I would give it a try.

Personally, I was not a huge fan of the book because I like the romance to be a bit more steamy. However, I would recommend this to a middle school audience--after all, as a teacher, I always had female students asking about paranormal books that were appropriate for them. I believe they really would have enjoyed this book.

There was a love triangle in the story--which, no matter how cliche, I always find fun. I really enjoyed Raven (the bad boy)--it wasn't just his name taht was intriguing. It was fun watching Nikki turn him on his heels. Then there's Mace--I love his name, too! He's sweet and you're typical opposite of bad boy. I won't say anything else because of spoilers.

There were points in the story that dragged, and I felt like it needed more action to weave the plot together.

Truthfully, I won't read the sequel, but I do believe a younger audience would be captivated by it.

For the most part, I try to be a fairly open-minded reader of fictions. While I obviously prefer certain genres to others, I do read most of them occasionally. The main exception to that is christian fiction. I just can't deal with most of it, although I have tried.

Believe it or not, I actually have a minor in theology, so it's not that I'm not willing to consider other belief systems or that I'm categorically opposed to the possibility of god. I'm an agnostic, so, basically, who the heck knows.

Anyway, all that lead in was just to explain that, despite my fairly open mind, constant biblical references and the sugar-sweetness that I've found in the Christian books I've tried up to this point have turned my stomach. Thankfully, Halflings did not fit that mold. I honestly never thought that I would be requesting anything from Zondervan. Even less did I expect that I might enjoy said title. The reason I requested Halflings, even though I feared that I would hate it, is that the author, Heather Burch, is part of the Apocalypsies, a group of really awesome debuting authors who have yet to disappoint me.

The religious stuff is definitely in Halflings no doubt, but Burch doesn't beat you over the head with it too much, thank goodness. The story opens with a bible quote, but she did not feel it necessary to open every chapter that way, as so many do. Nikki begins reading the Bible and is converted from her faith in science to faith in a higher power. And, of course, the major players are the forces of heaven and of hell. All of this is done in a light enough way, though, that believer and non-believer can enjoy the tale.

Just because it's Christian does not mean their cannot be some serious love triangle up in here. Of course, Mace is the obvious favorite from the beginning. Personally, I think he's kind of blah. So far, I just don't see too much interesting in him. Raven is the quintessential bad boy with the possibility for more, which I generally do not much care for, but he's just so much more interesting than Mace. Plus, Raven totally encourages Nikki's strength (she's a black belt in karate) and wants to help her protect herself. He's a feminist, woo!

I love when trying a book I wouldn't usually give a chance pays off! I definitely plan to read the next book in the series.

Nikki Youngblood is just an ordinary 17 year old girl who loves karate and motorcycles, until she is chased by a pack of hellhounds and almost ran over by an suv. Nikki's life just got alot more complicated and she finds herself being guarded by 3 beautiful boys Mace, Raven and Vine.There is something strange and other worldly about them. Nikki finds out they are Halflings, the offspring of fallen angels and humans.There is a growing attraction between Nikki and 2 of her protesters. The sweet and caring Mace that makes her feel safe and the bad boy Raven that brings out the wild side of her and makes her feel strong and like an equal. She soon finds out that they may never fall in love with a human or risk losing their souls.


Halflings was an amazing adventure with equally amazing characters.The plot kept me engrossed and guessing to the very last page.I loved all the Halflings and their personalities. I cannot wait for the next installment in the series.