When I first started reading I'll admit that Zoe drove me a bit crazy. She is a teen who is lost in life. Turning to alcohol and promiscuity to make herself feel better, Zoe feels like everything in her life is a downhill battle. I liked very much that Laurens shows the true difficulty that comes along with living with a child with disabilities. It's clear that Zoe loves her little sister, but that doesn't make it any easier to adjust her life to pretty much being a full time mom. What did bother me though, more than anything, was the way Zoe could be so selfish sometimes. Again, I understood that she is a teen who is lost. Sometimes her decisions were just so hypocritical.

Matthias on the other hand is 100% angel, and one of the sweetest characters I've ever had a chance to meet in a book. He is so loving, and his affection for little Abria pours off the page. It's fairly impossible not to fall in love with this gorgeous angelic man. Zoe finds this out quickly, that's for sure. However what I also liked is that there is no insta-love here. Again, this is why Laurens is such a great writer.

At the core of everything is a story about growing up, and letting go. Heavenly is a bit heavy handed in the religion department, but then again it is about guardian angels. The message here is clear. Put your faith in God, and everything will work out for the best. If that is a message that you believe in, this book will be sure to delight you. If it's not,the story line still stands strongly on its own. The feelings between Matthias and Zoe alone are enough to draw you into the story.

The ending, oh the ending. It broke my heart. I have no idea what comes next, although I do know that the next book Penitence is already out. I'm thinking I may have to pick up a copy to see what happens to these two wonderful characters. If you are looking for a story about angels that is heartfelt, and you are okay with some religious undertones, this is a book for you. ( )

I was not expecting such a religious tone to this story. I was slightly irritated by the constant moral rampage against, drinking, drugs, sex...but at the same time the message was heartfelt. I feel like I was tricked onto reading this Christian book. I would not have read it if it had been labeled Christian. I did read it, even after I figured out what it was.
The story was interesting the Guardian Angel Matthias was a dream guy. The Girl Zoe, hypocritical and learned her lesson too easily. IMHO. I found I could not put it down. I needed this to be resolved. I wanted them together, and in the end ??? ARGUH ! I don't think I will continue with the series even though I want to find out what happens to them. It was just a bit too preachy for me. ( )

This book was just OK in my opinion. That is the bottom line. There was nothing about it that set it out and pulled me in mind, heart, and soul. It was a fast read and the writing style was nice though. The characters were real and had real life struggles and problems, well, minus the angel of course. I just don't think this sort of fiction is my thing, so that may have a huge bearing on what I think of this book. I did like the fact that Zoe tried throughout the whole book just to help her family and make them better and happier, even if it meant sacrificing her own. She sends a good message and this book has a great theme. But...read it, and let me know what you think. ( )

Won this as a giveaway and the author personalized it and signed it which was so nice.

Others mentioned the parallels to the Twilight books, and I did see that too. I think the author did a good job of capitalizing on the popular romantic element of a love between flawed girl and other-worldly man without being extremely copy cat. This book was definately all her own.

A quick synopsis:
The protagonist Zoe is seriously troubled. A borderline alcoholic, Zoe has a problem with her temper and uses attention from boys to fill a void. Her home life is a wreck. With her parents focused almost exclusively on her autistic sister Adria, Zoe feels burdened and ignored. Her brother has turned to drugs. In walks a gorgeous guardian angel assigned to her sister, an autistic little girl who has a tendency to run and climb her way into trouble.

The parts about autism were extremely accurate and interesting. It didn't surprise me to find out the author has an autistic child. I didn't really buy into the romance completely but liked Zoe's relationships with other characters, especially Zoe's nerdy friend from Journalism class and her brother Luke. It needs a bit more than flowery metaphors to really invest in a love story. Normally this would make me not like a book, but it was really hard to put down and everything in it led to its dramatic conclusion.

I can be pretty hard on books so three stars from me is pretty good. If I could, I would give 3 1/2.

There were typos throughout and I contacted the publishing company to point them out. They responded to my email almost immmediately and were very nice. I guess I have a pre-release copy and they will get them fixed.

Overall, an easy, entertaining read. ( )

This one was pretty good and I'm glad I got the opportunity to read it. I liked the idea behind the story- the main character meets her autistic sister's guardian angel and the two become close. I thought Abria was portrayed quite realistically and was probably the most believable character in the book. Unfortuately, I couldn't bring myself to like the protagonist- Zoe -all that much. She was preachy, self centered and hypocrital. She spends half the book talking about her brother's 'pot addiction' and how bad he is yet goes out drinking and partying all the time herself. The rest of the characters were fine though and the ending was quite a shock and I certainly didn't predict it. ( )