REVIEW - Immortal City by Scott Speer

Title: Immortal City
Author: Scott Speer
Series: Immortal City #1
Publisher: Scholastic UK Ltd
Published: April 5th 2012
Genre: YA Paranormal/Fantasy Romance
Links: Goodreads / Amazon


Summary:
Jackson Godspeed is the hottest young Angel in a city filled with them. He's days away from becoming a full Guardian, and people around the world are already competing for the chance to be watched over by him. Everyone's obsessed with the Angels and the lucky people they protect - everyone except for Madison Montgomery.

Maddy's the one girl in Angel City who doesn't breathlessly follow the Angels on TV and gossip blogs. When she meets Jackson, she doesn't recognize him. But Jackson is instantly captivated by her, and against all odds the two fall in love.

Maddy is swiftly caught up in Jackson's scene, a world of glamour, paparazzi - and murder. A serial killer is on the loose, leaving dead Angels' wings for the police to find on the Walk of Fame. Even the Guardians are powerless to protect themselves in the face of this threat … and this time it's up to Maddy to save Jackson.

4.5/5

I loved loved loved this book!! I love the world that the author has created. This is like no other angel book I have ever read. Action-packed and with a romance that will leave you breathless, this book is a must read!

The angels have landed and they are everywhere. Since they made themselves know 100 years ago, their status on earth has rocketed up the social ladder and they are now the biggest celebrities around. The used to protect because they could, but all that's changed and now they charge people for their services. I loved the idea behind the angels and their greedy nature. If angels did actually exist and made themselves know I could totally see them being just as the author has described in the book. We live in money-hungry, fame-obsessed world so why wouldn't the angels want a part of this? It was a new and fresh change from all the angel lore that is out there. 

Maddy and Jackson I loved. I loved that Maddy wasn't obsessed with the angel craze as everyone else is. She seemed to be a fairly level-headed person, and knew what she wanted in live. She is completely unfazed by the whole thing and doesn't want anything to do with the angels. That is until Jackson steps into her life. Jackson I LOVED! He is the hottest angel around and so he is THE biggest celebrity out there. He has fame, fortune, and is used to getting what he wants and to people not saying no to him. But then he meets Maddy and he is left shaken by this stubborn girl. She intrigues him as she doesn't want anything to do with him and so he sets out to woo her. What he slowly comes to realize is is that not everyone falls for the glitz and glam. I loved seeing him grow and watch him learn that there is more to being an angel than the money. That angels were once better than that. Everything he has ever believed in is questioned. I loved the relationship between him and Maddy. It was a bit insta-love but not in an annoying way. It was very believable and I can't wait to see where it will go in book 2.

The book is action packed. There is a serial killer on the loose who is cutting off angels wings and killing them. When we find out who the killer is I was like WHAT?!?! Get out!! I so did not see that coming! You are left guessing who it could be and then when we do it's such a shocker that you will be left wondering if you did actually read that. Props to the author for creating such a climax!

Now the only reason I didn't give this 5 stars has to do with the narration. It is in 3rd person and is told mainly from Maddy's POV but we do get glimpses of Jacksons POV and then one or two others. Now that is all well and good, I felt that we got a better idea of what was going on and got to see the bigger picture. But sometimes during one persons POV we get little snippets of the other persons thoughts. This became a bit confusing at times and I didn't really like it. To give you a better understanding of what I'm talking about I've included this little paragraph from the book. Don't worry, it's not spoilery.

Teaser:

“You’re right,” Jacks said. “You’re not part of my world. You’re not one of those girls. And maybe that’s why.”

“Why what?”

“Why I can’t stop thinking about you.” 

Maddy rolled her eyes. “Guys like you don’t say that to girls like me.”

“I’ve never said that to anyone, actually,” Jacks corrected. “In fact, I’ve never done anything like this before.” He let out a little laugh. “How am I doing?”

He swallowed hard, trying to push down his nervousness. He was astonished to realize he was nervous. Somehow being around Maddy just put him in a different space. Jacks felt so present. 

Maddy stared at him, letting the anger and frustration surge through her. 

“Why are you doing this to me?” she asked finally.

He paused, considering. 

“I’m being honest. I know you may not believe me. But I haven’t been able to not think about you. When we were in the back at the restaurant, and . . .” Jacks’s voice trailed off, his face coloring. “I still feel terrible about what I did. I lied to you and, even though I had good reasons for it, it was wrong of me.” 

Maddy studied him. Was he telling the truth?

Jacks smiled. “I mean this in the best possible way: I’m not going to leave you alone until you let me make it up to you. I’m serious. I’ll be here every night. You might as well get me some pajamas and a toothbrush.”

Despite her best efforts not to, Maddy laughed. She looked at Jacks and could see the faintest twinkle of light in his eyes. 

“So what you’re saying is that I should just give in and let you make it up to me. Otherwise you’ll be tormenting me like this for the rest of my life?”

“Pretty much. Yeah.”

“Well.” She sighed. “What do you have in mind?”

“Come fly with me.”