Grant Bradley was never meant to survive cancer or live happily ever after with his fiancée, Tate. Before he was born, his destiny to become a guardian angel was decided by the life-planning Schedulers.
Despite having what his new peers deem as a great position in the afterlife, living in utopia with a merciless mentor and looking after strangers doesn't change the way Grant feels about losing out on his life with Tate. Refusing to accept his destiny, he finds a way to visit his lost love. However, keeping their connection alive and, most importantly, secret, will end up costing Grant more than he could ever imagine."
This is the Amazon synopsis of the first of the Satellite Series. I admit, even over 30, I have a major guilty pleasure for YA books. I had my likes and dislikes with this first installment. First, the likes. I really liked that this story was told from the perspective of male with deep feelings of love. It was told in an extremely realistic way of deep caring, affection and inherit protectiveness I think men experience in love. The concept was also new. I've read the Fallen series and upon reading the synopsis, I must admit, it's what I was expecting. However, the author had a much more modern and not at all religious take on the guardian angel idea as well as everlasting love. All together, the writing, concept and story were quite original which made it a joy to read.
There were some minor shortfalls in the book however. I get that this book is aimed at the young adult audience, but we're also supposed to be in the mind of a young man that experienced a lot in his life and is planning on marriage. I'm sure his thoughts, vocabulary and naivety would be much more advanced and less PG than they are related in the book. In that aspect, it could have been more realistic and 'juicy', which I think would have made it a bit more engaging. The methods and terminology of the satellites is a bit hard to follow. I had a hard time following the differences between 'coding', 'programming', etc. The lines became a bit blurred in what was intended with these functions unless they were experienced first hand by the narrator. Lastly, I felt that there was a very natural progression to the story until the last quarter of it. It was as if the story was intended to end at the end of this book and a decision to make it a series changed the flow suddenly and abruptly. It tied up the loose ends well and left me wanting more, but it felt forced and sudden.
The next in the series is set to be told by Willow, the main character's main influence and mentor, picking up trying to save Tate, the main character's long lost (and forgotten) love. Although the second book will not have the appeal of being told from the perspective of a young male in love, I am hooked on the original story line and look forward to seeing where this series goes.
***I was given a copy of this book for free for my honest opinion and review.***
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