Prophecy Girl

Prophecy Girl has all of the makings of a book that I'd love - initially. Cecily White has a delightful sense of humor that saturates the novel. It is a paranormal story set in New Orleans that nods to other supernatural works. Amelie Bennett, the protagonist, is snarky, stubborn, and just has something special about her that I cannot put my finger on, but I know that I would like to see it in more heroines. However, the issues that I had with White's debut clouded my enjoyment. Firstly, let me say that I didn't not like any of the characters. They were just the problem. It was really difficult for me to remember them from scene to scene. I could recall the name of the school's Queen Bee and clique member, but I had a hard time remembering the more important characters and what their roles were. I kept going back in the book to refresh myself on who people were. It is very rare that I have to do this when I'm reading. Prophecy Girl had enough twists that this was a pretty major problem for me. There was, of course, a romance in the novel. I had some mixed feelings about it, but I think Ami handled it as well as could be expected. She was very honest about her feelings, and she called Jack on his bulls--- when he dished it out. (Why can't more heroines do this?!) I will say that I do NOT like the whole teacher-student romance, even if they are close in age. I think anyone who is in a position of authority over their partner, especially a younger one, creates a lot of issues, and it's just wrong when a teacher is involved. But I won't rant because it wasn't terribly offensive. Jack was a substitute teacher for all of five minutes, so I just squinted my eyes at it a little and kept reading. Though I had a hard time enjoying the book as thoroughly as I think I could have, it was still a pretty good read. Cecily White is an author that I'll most definitely be keeping my eye on in the future, and I can't wait to read books with her fantastic writing style. I will try to read Prophecy Girl again because the positive aspects of the book are definitely worth it. - 2.5/5 Stars - *To satisfy FTC guidelines, I am disclosing that I received an ecopy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. It has in no way affected the outcome. All opinions expressed are rambling, honest, and completely my own.show more

(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to Entangled Publishing, LLC and Netgalley.) 17-year-old Amelie is a channeller. Descended from angels, channellers channel otherworldly energy to kill demons, and Amelie knows that this is what she was born to do. Before chanellers can graduate from their special school, they are put into pairs or bondmates - one channeller, and one guardian, but Amelie isn't ready to be paired with anyone at her school, until Jackson Smith-Hailey shows up. The problem? He's not a student, he's a teacher! Strange things are happening though, and after several people turn up dead, the finger ends up pointed squarely at Amelie, even though she has nothing to do with it. There are things that Amelie doesn't know though, things her father has hidden from her, and a prophecy that does not look good for her. Will the prophecy concerning Amelie come true? Why is she so attracted to Jack? And what has her father been hiding from her? I enjoyed this book. Even though some of the ideas might be considered cliché by some people, I liked the little touches and the writing style that made this a really entertaining read. Amelie was a truly kick-ass heroine! She was stubborn and bold and often did exactly what she wanted to do, even if it wasn't the thing she should be doing! She totally held her own, and wasn't afraid to make sacrifices for something she wanted. Jack was a real sweetheart! I liked him right from the beginning, and I loved how whilst keeping Amelie at a distance, it was also pretty obvious how he felt about her. I liked the romance between Amelie and Jack. There wasn't a lot of it, but the teasing and arguments between them were like flirting, and I loved the idea of bond-mates. Even though the soul-mate idea is not new, I liked how Amelie and Jack created yellow sparkles when they touched, and I liked how they both showed that they cared for each other without words. I liked the rest of the storyline, and I liked the brief glimpses of demon hunting that we got. The ending was pretty dramatic, and fitted with the rest of the story, although the thing that happens to Amelie right at the end was a little strange! Overall; a good YA paranormal, with a dash of romance. 7.5 out fo 10.show more