Title: Outcast
Author: Adrienne Kress
Published: June 4th, 2013 by Diversion Books
Book rating: 5 stars
Cover rating: 4 stars
Format: eBook, 322 pages
Source: Netgalley
After six years of “angels” coming out of the sky and taking people from her town, 16-year-old Riley Carver has just about had it living with the constant fear. When one decides to terrorize her in her own backyard, it’s the final straw. She takes her mother’s shotgun and shoots the thing. So it’s dead. Or … not? In place of the creature she shot, is a guy. A really hot guy. A really hot alive and breathing guy. Oh, and he’s totally naked.
Not sure what to do, she drags his unconscious body to the tool shed and ties him up. After all, he’s an angel and they have tricks. When he regains consciousness she’s all set to interrogate him about why the angels come to her town, and how to get back her best friend (and almost boyfriend) Chris, who was taken the year before. But it turns out the naked guy in her shed is just as confused about everything as she is.
He thinks it’s 1956.
Set in the deep south, OUTCAST is a story of love, trust, and coming of age. It’s also a story about the supernatural, a girl with a strange sense of humor who’s got wicked aim, a greaser from the 50’s, and an army of misfits coming together for one purpose: To kick some serious angel ass.
After seeing a friend of mine on Goodreads add this to her TBR I had to check it out. Right after that I found out that she got it from Netgalley so I immediately requested it and impatiently waited for an email response. Thankfully Diversion Books accepted my request and I downloaded the book right after, diving into this angel story.
"Sixth year, I shot an angel in the face."
Ladies and gentlemen, meet Riley Carver. The badass angel shooting girl we get to take this awesome adventure with. Now reading the description I had a feeling I'd fall in love with Riley but oh my gosh. Adrienne managed to create this awesome heroine but make her feel so real and human as well. She was strong and kick ass, I mean who shoots an angel in the face, but she could be vulnerable too. I loved seeing her character grow, she made mistakes but when she realized it she would try to fix it. For example, her relationship with Lacy, the snobby cheerleader. We watch Riley go from not liking Lacy at all to becoming best friends. Her growth and maturity throughout this book was amazing and I loved it. Whenever stuff needed to get done for the sake of her safety and the others she would get it done. Chris, Riley's first love and best friend, got taken by an angel and that's what starts this entire thing. Riley misses him and after shooting an angel in the face, why not use him to find Chris? Turns out this angels name is Gabe. At first he comes off as this smart ass guy, who by the way is hilarious. To say Gabe turns out to be swoon worthy is an understatement. I loved him, so hard. He was sweet and helpful, even though sometimes he acted like a perverted teenage boy, the relationship building between Riley and Gabe was beautiful. I'm Team Gabe all the way.
An angel book is nothing without action and some unique spin on it. Half the time you pick up an angel book and it can feel like you've read it before because a lot of the time authors fail to make it something new or unique. Adrienne definitely didn't fail on making Outcast unique, her own, and action packed. The mythology behind the angels was sort of a mystery for awhile, all we got to know was what Pastor Warren had told the town. Pastor Warren is batshit crazy to say the least and I didn't like him from the start. Slowly we began to learn what the angels were and where they came from and I loved that. I loved not knowing and I loved being surprised with something I didn't expect at all. I loved how Adrienne included so many action scenes and didn't just focus on the love story aspect of Outcast. We get to see Riley and the Gang kick some major angel/villain ass and it was awesome. It kept me hooked and entertained throughout the entire book, not one time did I feel bored or ready to put Outcast down.
The ending just about killed me. Have you scene that gif that says "I'm in a glass case of emotion."? That's me. I don't even know how to feel, it was so bittersweet, heartbreaking, and just WAH. I wanted it to happen the way it did because the other way would have just been too predictable and dumb but I didn't all at once because I didn't get everything I wanted and it sucked. It was so emotional, I still feel emotional about it and it's been two weeks since I finished the book!
If you haven't already picked up on it, I absolutely loved Outcast and I can not wait for the next book. If you're looking for a sweet love story and action packed book, Outcast is perfect for you. As a lover of angel books, when they're done right, I can tell you that Adrienne Kress has blessed this world with an amazing story and I highly recommend everyone to read this. Go get yourself a copy, right now, and read it. No, I'm not kidding.
Thank you Netgalley and Diversion Books for giving me a copy to read and review.
Amazon | Barnes & Noble
"Sixth year, I shot an angel in the face."
Ladies and gentlemen, meet Riley Carver. The badass angel shooting girl we get to take this awesome adventure with. Now reading the description I had a feeling I'd fall in love with Riley but oh my gosh. Adrienne managed to create this awesome heroine but make her feel so real and human as well. She was strong and kick ass, I mean who shoots an angel in the face, but she could be vulnerable too. I loved seeing her character grow, she made mistakes but when she realized it she would try to fix it. For example, her relationship with Lacy, the snobby cheerleader. We watch Riley go from not liking Lacy at all to becoming best friends. Her growth and maturity throughout this book was amazing and I loved it. Whenever stuff needed to get done for the sake of her safety and the others she would get it done. Chris, Riley's first love and best friend, got taken by an angel and that's what starts this entire thing. Riley misses him and after shooting an angel in the face, why not use him to find Chris? Turns out this angels name is Gabe. At first he comes off as this smart ass guy, who by the way is hilarious. To say Gabe turns out to be swoon worthy is an understatement. I loved him, so hard. He was sweet and helpful, even though sometimes he acted like a perverted teenage boy, the relationship building between Riley and Gabe was beautiful. I'm Team Gabe all the way.
An angel book is nothing without action and some unique spin on it. Half the time you pick up an angel book and it can feel like you've read it before because a lot of the time authors fail to make it something new or unique. Adrienne definitely didn't fail on making Outcast unique, her own, and action packed. The mythology behind the angels was sort of a mystery for awhile, all we got to know was what Pastor Warren had told the town. Pastor Warren is batshit crazy to say the least and I didn't like him from the start. Slowly we began to learn what the angels were and where they came from and I loved that. I loved not knowing and I loved being surprised with something I didn't expect at all. I loved how Adrienne included so many action scenes and didn't just focus on the love story aspect of Outcast. We get to see Riley and the Gang kick some major angel/villain ass and it was awesome. It kept me hooked and entertained throughout the entire book, not one time did I feel bored or ready to put Outcast down.
The ending just about killed me. Have you scene that gif that says "I'm in a glass case of emotion."? That's me. I don't even know how to feel, it was so bittersweet, heartbreaking, and just WAH. I wanted it to happen the way it did because the other way would have just been too predictable and dumb but I didn't all at once because I didn't get everything I wanted and it sucked. It was so emotional, I still feel emotional about it and it's been two weeks since I finished the book!
If you haven't already picked up on it, I absolutely loved Outcast and I can not wait for the next book. If you're looking for a sweet love story and action packed book, Outcast is perfect for you. As a lover of angel books, when they're done right, I can tell you that Adrienne Kress has blessed this world with an amazing story and I highly recommend everyone to read this. Go get yourself a copy, right now, and read it. No, I'm not kidding.
Thank you Netgalley and Diversion Books for giving me a copy to read and review.
Amazon | Barnes & Noble
I love that cover! :)
ReplyDeleteSo do I, it's really pretty. :)
DeleteWow, this looks great! And so different! Sounds like Riley is a character with spunk, which is the best. Great review!
ReplyDelete-Taylor @ Reading is the Thing
She has a ton of spunk, definitely a great character. Thanks! :)
DeleteThat cover is amazing. I'm not a big fan of angel books (I didn't like the Fallen series by Lauren Kate) but this one sounds good. I may have to give it a try. Great review!
ReplyDeleteI loved the Fallen series but I must say that Outcast is on the other side of the universe when it comes to angel books and I think you'd like it. :)
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