Thursday, May 3, 2012

Immortal City by Scott Speer

Immortal City
Scott Speer
April 3rd, 2012
336 (hardcover)
Razorbill
3rd person
Source - Publisher (unsolicited)
Jackson Godspeed is the hottest young Angel in a city filled with them. He's days away from becoming a full Guardian, and people around the world are already competing for the chance to be watched over by him. Everyone's obsessed with the Angels and the lucky people they protect--everyone except for Madison Montgomery. 

Maddy's the one girl in Angel City who doesn't breathlessly follow the Angels on TV and gossip blogs. When she meets Jackson, she doesn't recognize him. But Jackson is instantly captivated by her, and against all odds the two fall in love. 

Maddy is swiftly caught up in Jackson's scene, a world of glamour, paparazzi - and murder. A serial killer is on the loose, leaving dead Angels' wings for the police to find on the Walk of Fame. Even the Guardians are powerless to protect themselves in the face of this threat … and this time it's up to Maddy to save Jackson.
While Immortal City had a fascinating premise, it somewhat failed to impress or even stand at the same level as other novels in its genre. As a mystery, this book is good. The mystery of who is killing off the angels is captivating, and it was interesting to see how the surprises Speer had in store for his readers played out. However, as a romance, the relationship was difficult to believe in. While some people may love and thoroughly enjoy the story Speer has crafted, I couldn't help but to feel as if I've read it all before. 

Highlights: An intriguing mystery is at the core of Immortal City. While I did guess the "bad guy" early on, Speer managed to throw in a few surprises along the way to keep his readers changing their minds. The guardian-angel-for-pay idea was interesting. The 3rd person POV was mostly enjoyable (shifting between three main characters) because it gave the story a more well-rounded feel. 

Lowlights: The writing style/tone of the story1. A serious case of insta-love between Jackson and Maddy. Excessive brand name-dropping in the beginning was very, very frustrating. These characters and their relationships with one another needed a lot of work and much more authenticity. 

Final Thoughts: In the end, I found the story to be only "okay". However, despite any issues I had with the story, it had some nice moments. I've seen a lot of positive reviews for this book, so I may be in the minority. I would recommend reading the first couple chapters or to check it out at your local library to see if it's a story for you!

Rating:   

1 It probably didn't help that I read Finnikin of the Rock at the same time - which was exceptional and beautifully written. 

Signature

Image + Summary from Goodreads

10 comments:

  1. Shoot! I was hoping for so much more from this one, I loved the guardian angel for hire idea. I'm disappointed in the insta-love, I was hoping that might be a trend that was on it's way out:( I think I'll pass on this one, thanks Lea!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm sad to hear that you found this book to be only "okay". I'm still looking forward to reading it though, hopefully I will like it. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a great, honest review. Angel books tend to let me down so I'm not surprised that this didn't live up to expectations, especially as you were reading Finnikin!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm not a huge angel fan, so I will probably skip this one. Thanks for the heads up! I have debated reading Finnikin of the Rock though...maybe I'll read that one instead! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Insta Love? No thanks. I'll probably end up passing on this one then. Insta love is probably my number one pet peeve in books. I just can't stand it! Lol.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Okay I am not happy to hear this has the Insta-love thing going on that's my biggest pet peeve after love triangles..but at the same time i'm curious about the guardian angel for hire aspect of it.I'll probably be picking this one up later this year to feed my curiosity. Great review!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I really love the cover so was hoping that this one would be good. I don't read many angel books anyways so will have to pass on this one.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm not into insta-love so I think I'll pass ... Thanks for the honest review Lea :) !!

    ReplyDelete
  9. No. Just no. This book was just absolutely amazing.
    I've read it four times now. It still interests me. :3
    At least you were honest. I guess we just have different tastes in books. ._.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I obviously didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped I would, but we can't all like everything we read. Differing opinions on books is one of the reasons why I love being an English major - the discussions that come out of those different ways of viewing texts are always fascinating.

      I am very glad that you loved Immortal City! It's always nice to find a book you enjoy enough to reread it multiple times. I hope you find the sequel to be just as fantastic :)

      Delete