Review: It was an ok read but not really for me...
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 09 19, 2012
Cloud Nine is a YA Paranormal Romance and the first book in the The Guardian of Man series written by Melissa A. Smith.The Review:I really wanted to love this book. The idea and theme was pretty amazing but the follow through just didn't do it for me.Writing-There were a ton of editing errors throughout the entirety of the book. Lots of here, hear, there, their type of errors as well as word switch (you are mine; mine are you) errors. There was also a constant switch between past and present tense and it drove me nuts. I had to keep re-reading a sentence to make sure I got its understanding. I think this story would have been ten times better if it had an improved editing job and flowed more smoothly.Story-This was a sweet budding romance between a human and a Guardian. A tale of young love that develops between two people who are playing the odds and trying to win. Well, that was the theme of the book, but again, the follow through just didn't pull it off.Sterling went to her as a Guardian to "help" her because he thought she was too independent at such a young age. Finding himself drawn to her, he has to find out what the attraction is and so he watches her from afar until gathering the nerve to appear before her. What I disliked about this scenario was he never actually helped her. They immediately fall into a relationship and fall in love. Other than her former boyfriend and his former girlfriend, there's no conflict. There's so much potential for things to go wrong but their circumstances aren't utilized by the author.Not much happens throughout the book until the last couple of chapters. Aside from many telepathic conversations, lots of cuddling and kissing and a bunch of "I love you's", there's hardly any action but tons of exposition. The Guardians have all this power but we see very little of it.Characters-For Sterling to be over 700 years old, he was rather unworldly in maturity. You'd think through hundreds of years of studying and interacting with the human condition he'd have a firmer grasp on mankind, their traditions, and be somewhat above petty emotions. I was struck by how infantile he (and Skye) was. Shouldn't an enlightened race of beings destined to help mankind be... well, enlightened? They were like a bunch of teenagers with bouts of jealousies and insecurities. It was disappointing to say the least.Claire was only seventeen and was suffering the effects of a former broken heart so I understood her caution towards Sterling but I didn't really care for her personality. She was insecure and needy.I however did really like some of the conversations she and Sterling had. I found myself smiling at their witty banter.I also really liked Ariana and Argento. Their quickly formed friendship was fun and lighthearted and they seemed very protective of Sterling, calling each other brother and sister. It was nice to see the closeness of them. I also really enjoyed the time spent with Claire's close knit family, especially the comical grandparents and her protective father.The Wrap Up:I think the author was on the right track with the story and I think this book had tons of potential but it just wasn't for me. The last chapters seemed to be building up to a showdown but that never happened, leaving me disappointed. It ended with a small cliffy but Im just not interested enough to move on to book two. However, if you're looking for a sweet and easy read without much conflict, then this would be a great book for a young reader.Note:: I read this as a R2R with The Knights of the Round Table at Goodreads. As always, a special thank you to the mods and author for allowing me to participate.