One, Mace, is the kinder, gentler type, interested in Nikki’s feelings. So, obviously, Nikki’s totally into them. They’re tall and muscular, with flowing hair and a wardrobe straight out Rolling Stone.

The descendants of angels and human women, these misfits are still called upon by God to perform security missions guarding chosen humans. They’re beings who inhabit the middle plain, between heaven and earth, older and physically superior to humans, but not the angelic beings in heaven. This plot takes a backseat to Youngblood’s budding attraction to two members of this group, who call themselves the Lost Boys. As she learns about their role as her protectors, Youngblood also discovers her role in a larger plot involving the shifty Omega Corporation and their genetic experimentation. While she nurses her injuries and attempts to return to her normal school life, she begins to uncover the truth about these beings, who seem to pop up whenever she’s in trouble. Seventeen-year old Nikki Youngblood fends off a pack of hellhounds in the novel’s opening, aided unknowingly by a trio of quasi-angelic guardians. In that regard, it’s certainly timely, but while it’s chock-full of pulse-pounding teen passion, the book manages to come off surprisingly tepid. Burch’s Halflings, the first entry in a new series, is full of the kind of swelling adolescent emotions/hormones that dominated Twilight and its three sequels. Sound familiar? True, paranormal romance has been the rage in YA fiction ever since Bella Swan first made her fateful choice between Team Edward and Team Jacob. In Halflings, a new YA romance from Heather Burch, an innocent, alluring teen girl must choose between the affections of two hunky, mysterious half-human beings while a ferocious battle between good and evil rages around her.

Halflings by heather burch