Broken Wings
Angels with wings of blade. Demons with renewed sight. And a girl who has never been more broken.
Brielle has begun to see the world as it really is, a place where angels intermingle with humans. But just when she thinks she’s got things under control, the life she’s pieced together begins to crumble.
Her boyfriend, Jake, is keeping something from her. Something important.
And her overprotective father has turned downright hostile toward Jake. Brielle fears she’ll have to choose between the man who’s always loved her and the one who’s captured her heart.
Then she unearths the truth about her mother’s death and the nightmare starts. Brielle begins seeing visions of mysterious and horrible things.
What she doesn’t know is that she’s been targeted. The Prince of Darkness himself has heard of the boy with healing in his hands and of the girl who saw through the Terrestrial veil. When he pulls the demon Damien from the fiery chasm and sends him back to Earth with new eyes, the stage is set for the ultimate battle of good versus evil.
Brielle has no choice. She must master the weapons she’s been given. She must fight.
But can she fly with broken wings?
After the pleasant surprise I enjoyed reading Angel Eyes, I hoped the sequel would at least be as good. Author Susan Dittemore met my higher expectations in spades. There was even more colorful creativity, emotional depth, and spiritual meat here than in the previous book, with higher personal stakes, and a finale that left me breathless.
I must stress again how this genre is not my usual cup of tea. But the author was able to persuade even a cynic like me to believe with her amazing prose. It’s elegant, emotionally evocative without being self-indulgent. While the heroine’s first person voice is solidly youthful, with all the trials and turmoil that come with that age, it never wallows in such feelings. Instead, Brielle is a great character for young girls to read about: willing to admit her own flaws and indecision, able to stand up and take action, vulnerability and strength all rolled into one. In Angel Eyes, Brielle learned to let go of the past. Her personal journey is even stronger in Broken Wings as she learns to lay claim to her future. Jake’s characterization also gains sharper focus as he faces personal loss, doubts, and fears, making his continued faith even more inspiring in the face of such challenges.
But perhaps Dittemore’s greatest asset in these books is her willingness to boldly imagine a truly supernatural realm of existence. The angelic beings in this book are wild; even cherubs are awesomely alien, not cuddly. She melds traditional concepts with a vivid imagination to come up with great, sensual concepts of sight, sound, and feeling.
I also have to compliment the author for emphasizing truly great spiritual concepts. Unlike a surprisingly large number of Christian authors, Dittemore believes her characters will only grow in their faith as part of a local body of believers. The chapter where Brielle sees the visual representation of her church’s worship is inspiring, as is the girl’s realization that these people around possess even greater faith than her since they believe without her second sight. The characters battle their demons, literal and internal, through Scripture and prayer. Dittemore also continues her snarky rebuttal of genre tropes, especially with one brilliant conversation where a friend asks Brielle if they should pray with special words or hold some beads. Brielle shrugs and reminds her they’re praying to an invisible God who can hear their very thoughts: no need to impress.
Some readers may not like the ending; I don’t believe it’s too much of a giveaway to say it’s a cliffhanger. But it builds so beautifully into a true climax of everything brought up since the first novel that it’s worth it, and even ends with a resolution of a private battle Brielle learns to fight. It also sets up the reader for a truly rousing finale, one which I eagerly anticipate reading. I highly recommend this book as a sequel that is every bit as good, if not better, than its predecessor.