Chapter by Chapter

I was absolutely thrilled to start reading Crossroads. There are quite a few angel stories popping up all over the blogiverse, and yet, I can’t stay away. The allure of angels and humans interacting and having a relationship mesmerizes me.Crossroads by Mary Ting is one such book that will continue your hunger for an angel/human relationship. Well, actually in this case it’s a human/nephilim relationship, and what a story!Ever since Claudia was a little girl, she’s been having vivid dreams about visiting a place called the Crossroads, a place between Heaven and earth – kind of like a second Heaven – where the souls of humans near death go to meander around. It’s not until closer to her 18th birthday does she actually meet someone over there, Michael – a half human/half angel. A guy who is undeniably attractive, but with an attitude towards Claudia that she can’t understand. Their first few encounters don’t exactly go as Claudia would have hoped. Rather than be kind and welcoming, Michael is repeated telling her to leave and never return.And this warning comes with good reason! No human has ever been able to go to the Crossroads, unless, of course, they are near death, and with Claudia’s ability to visit there has put her in danger. Claudia finds out that because she has been touched by an angel (thanks a lot Davin), she is now more visible to the Fallen, lead by a former higher angel who has been banished from Halo City and stripped of his soul. And these Fallen will stop at nothing to capture Claudia, and get from her what they seek most…her soul.Because of this ever present danger in her life, Michael has been assigned as her Guardian Angel, to ensure that no harm comes to Claudia. But Claudia isn’t the only one at risk. Those around her are also in danger of encountering the Fallen. Claudia, Michael, and the crew don’t know what it is about Claudia that has made her the Fallen’s target, but Michael will do all he can to ensure that Claudia is safe. And through all of this, Claudia comes face to face with a dark secret that she never even dreamt was possible.For those of you who weren’t aware, Mary Ting wrote Crossroads to help her grieve with the death of her grandmother, and was inspired by a dream she had when she was younger. Put two and two together, and voila! Crossroads was born.Visual…That’s how I would describe author, Mary Ting’s writing. The way in which she described the death and life of Claudia’s friend, Claudia and Gamma, stirred up so much emotion in me. The description of the emotions going through Claudia’s head had me going through the motions of what I went through with my grandmother’s death. All that I felt welled back up inside of me, and I felt as though I was reliving it all over again. To me, that is the epitome of what a writer should do to a reader. Bring the emotions to the surface. Incorporate reality into the world they create. Beautiful and breathtaking.I really enjoyed the interaction between Claudia and Michael. I thought the two of them were so cute together. And the quotes from Michael found everywhere in this book were all pretty much awe-worthy. He would say so many sweet, romantic things to Claudia that had me smirking like a smirking fool, and had me sighing. There were times where Claudia annoyed me like no other, with her indecisive ways…”I like you”, “ I hate you”, “I’m mad at you”, “please stay with me but don’t stay with me because I’m mad at you but really I want you to stay with me…” Thankfully, there aren’t that many of those in there, and in the end of all of that…I still smiled. Because the way in which Michael deals with Claudia is … perfect. What I really enjoyed was that Michael is portrayed as this amazing, strong, nephilim warrior who, underneath it all, misses and craves his human side. And going again what he knows is wrong, he allows himself to get closer to Claudia.And not only can Mary Ting write a good wholesome love scene, can she ever write a fight scene too! The way in which she described the battles with the Fallen easily jumped off the pages. She would describe what battle each character was going through at the time, bouncing around the room so that the reader can get the entire picture of what is going on in the moment. It was perfectly done, and I thoroughly enjoyed them all.I recommend this Crossroads to fans of the Hush, Hush and Fallen series, and for fans of the angel genre in general. I can’t wait to start reading Beyond, book #2 in the Crossroad series. I’m missing Michael already…