Review: Meridian by Amber Kizer

Meridian by Amber Kizer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Goodreads summary:


Half-human, half-angel, Meridian Sozu has a dark responsibility.

Sixteen-year-old Meridian has been surrounded by death ever since she can remember. As a child, insects, mice, and salamanders would burrow into her bedclothes and die. At her elementary school, she was blamed for a classmate’s tragic accident. And on her sixteenth birthday, a car crashes in front of her family home—and Meridian’s body explodes in pain. 

Before she can fully recover, Meridian is told that she’s a danger to her family and hustled off to her great-aunt’s house in Revelation, Colorado. It’s there that she learns that she is a Fenestra—the half-angel, half-human link between the living and the dead. But Meridian and her sworn protector and love, Tens, face great danger from the Aternocti, a band of dark forces who capture vulnerable souls on the brink of death and cause chaos.


My review:

I was all set to start another book when I got the email from the library that my hold was ready for Meridian. I didn't remember putting the hold, but I scanned the synopsis and hit the download. The other book wasn't going anywhere...so I gave it a shot.


And was promptly hooked like a trout. To the point I was up until 3 am finishing it. I tried to go to sleep at around 1am (60% finished). Ten minutes later, my Kindle was open again.

I've had iffy luck with angel stories. There are the good (Unearthly series) and the bad (Fallen series) and several that fall somewhere in the middle. If the first book in the Fenestra series is any indication, this one's going to stay closer to the Unearthly side of that scale.

Meridian is an engaging and very real character. She's not perfect by any stretch. She's got her flaws, her whiny teenager I-didn't-choose-this-I-don't-want-it moments, and a touch of stubborn for good measure. But beneath that is a girl whose been ripped unceremoniously from her life, her family, and is suddenly thrust into a life that centers on what most people shy away from. Death.

One of the things that pulled me in was the way the author frames these half-angels and their reason for existence. The window between this world and the afterlife, the quilts Auntie makes in memory of those she's helped pass through. Meridian's heartbreak over trying to learn how to use her ability tugged at my heartstrings and brought tears to my eyes.

Tens is also everything a leading man should be. A little mysterious, a whole lot standoffish, but always hovering just on the edges to be there if needed. It took me getting further into the story before I realized the reasons behind his reticence. One it was revealed, though, I understood. And it rose him several levels in my estimation.

There's also a slightly dystopian edge to this surrounding the dark presence in Auntie, Tens and Meridian's life. The Pastor and his followers are frightening not only for what they do, but also for how easily such a situation could actually happen.

This is an emotional story in all the best ways. There is enough humor to balance out the sadness, a plot that pulls you in, a twist or two that pull in a few gasps, and a love that will warm your heart even when its fresh from breaking.