4 of 5 stars
I received an eARC of this book from Netgalley for review.
I had an angel obsession when I was younger, so when I started seeing angel stories popping up in paranormal fantasy I was excited. When I heard about this story with angels and a queer main character (Jaya), I had a lot of expectations. I figured Jaya and the angel would get together, they would save the angel from all the people who wanted her dead/experimented on, and they’d find a way to get her home.
Though it wasn’t exactly what I expected, I really enjoyed this story. The Beings that are falling from the sky aren’t confirmed as angels, though many people assume that’s what they are. There were a lot of questions around where they came from and why they were falling, but these questions weren’t a focal point of the story. Instead, Jaya and her friends (one of whom is her love interest) were trying to heal the Being so she could get herself home.
This book was both softer and sadder than I was expecting. I knew that grief was a theme, so I really should have expected the sad part. Jaya’s mother died ten days before the first Being fell and her death was unexpected and traumatic. A lot of the book was Jaya working through her grief and guilt.
There were a few moments in which my suspension of disbelief was stretched thin, especially as a biologist, but I got over it quickly. I cannot speak to how the cystic fibrosis rep or Sri Lankan Scottish rep were handled except to say that as a white reader without CF they seemed respectful. As a queer lady, I am very happy to say I enjoyed the queer rep in this book. It wasn’t a focal point or an issue, it just was, which I appreciated immensely. Overall, this is a great book and I would recommend it to anyone interested in YA paranormal fantasy.
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