Surrender the Sky by Meradeth Houston

*I was given this book by the author in exchange for an honest review.*

Following Gabby, an angel-like creature called a Sary, this story is a decent YA read. Although it ended up being not quite my cup of tea, I was able to get through it pretty quickly. On personal opinion, I am giving it 2 stars because it didn’t capture me the way I had hoped. I felt no emotional connection toward the characters. However, as a light, paranormal teen read, I am giving it 3 stars. I think a different reader would appreciate this story a lot more than me.

I love the idea of the Sary. Essentially, these winged people’s sole purpose is to save suicidal humans from killing themselves. It’s very unique, and I really enjoyed how the positives and negatives of being a Sary are explained throughout the story. However, the rules of being a Sary were not very clear, especially the rules about love, which took away from the impact of the story.

The writing was quite good, especially when Gabby’s blunt way of thinking didn’t interfere. It has a really great combination of description and dialogue, not over or under doing it at any point. The beginning was very quick and exciting, a great way to start the story. The first few lines drew me in instantly. 

Gabby is very much like a teenager, despite actually being decades old. Her way of thinking is very frank and sarcastic, which hurt the narration, in my opinion. She is also, at times, quite childish and bratty. There wasn’t much character development throughout the story with any of the characters, but especially with Gabby. She remains confused about what to do most of the time. Also, in the beginning, it doesn’t seem like she makes much of an effort to save Chad, which is her sole job.

As expected, there was a bit of insta-love between Gabby and Jassen, as well as Nathan and Bree. However, it was bearable. The relationship Gabby and Jassen have, seems more like an unrequited crush at first, and it takes a while for anything serious to happen, which was good, at least.

Overall, this was a nice story. Being a YA book, it is definitely meant for teens, in my opinion. There wasn’t much depth to the characters, but the plot was enjoyable, and the writing was very good.