Young Adult Review: No Angel by Helen Keeble

No Angel by Helen Keeble

Paperback, 352 pages

Published: October 8th, 2013 by HarperTeen

Source: Publisher

Rafael Angelos just got handed the greatest gift any teenage boy could ever dream of. Upon arriving at his new boarding school for senior year, he discovered that he is the ONLY male student. But what should have been a godsend isn't exactly heaven on Earth.

Raffi's about to learn that St. Mary's is actually a hub for demons-and that he was summoned to the school by someone expecting him to save the day. Raffi knows he's no angel-but it's pretty hard to deny that there's some higher plan at work when he wakes up one morning to discover a glowing circle around his head.

Helen Keeble's debut novel, Fang Girl, has been praised for its pitch-perfect teen voice, and VOYA called it "refreshing and reminiscent of Louise Rennison's Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series." No Angel brings you angels and demons like you've never seen them-complete with the wry humor of Vladimir Tod, sinfully irreverent romance, and some hilariously demonic teenage dilemmas.

Last year I read Fang Girl and it was really a lot of fun, so I was really excited when I received No Angel for review.  This is not a sequel, or even close to it, but it does have the same silliness and humor.  I think maybe Fang Girl had more of the ridiculous silly stuff, but this was still a lot of fun. 

I love male narrated books and Raf was a fresh voice for me.  He's typical male in many ways, but he has a big heart.  He's clearly very caring and incredibly brave when he needs to be.  He may be shocked at discovering he's an angel but he deals with at all very well.  He is pretty hilarious, especially his inner dialogue.  It had me in giggles a few times.  

This book was a lot of fun, but I found at times I started to get a little bored.  Like we were going in circles and not really getting anywhere.  I also didn't know what to think of the romance. It's pretty much non existent but even when it's talked about and so and so likes so and so, I never felt any vibe or real romantic feelings.  It's okay that there wasn't a real strong romance, but I wish it would have been more clear on who was feeling what.  I suppose that's realistic though, teens can be all over in their romantic feelings, especially when it comes to being the only boy in a girls school.  

Overall this was a really enjoyable read.  I have debated the rating on this one a lot, whether it's a 3 star or 4 star book.  I'm settling on 3 stars, but remember that I really had a lot of fun while reading it and I adored Raffi.  If I were to do half ratings 3.5 would be about perfect.  

Disclosure: I received this book for review purposes, all opinions expressed are my own and I was not paid or influenced in any way.