Review: Kissed by an Angel, and Evercrossed, by Elizabeth Chandler

Goodreads Description:

An angelic romantic suspense trilogy in one volume!

"Kissed by an Angel": Ivy and Tristan have the love of a lifetime--until Tristan dies in a car accident. Now Tristan returns as an angel, but Ivy is unable to feel his presence.

"The Power of Love": Tristan has learned that the person responsible for the car crash is after Ivy. Can he cross the boundaries of life and death to warn Ivy that she is in trouble?

"Soulmates": Tristan must rescue Ivy, but if he does so his mission will be finished and he will have to leave his true love forever.

Goodreads Description:

It’s been a year since Ivy’s boyfriend, Tristan, died. They’ve both moved on—Tristan to the other side of the afterlife, and Ivy to sweet, dependable Will. Now Ivy’s heading to Cape Cod, hoping to leave the horror of last summer behind. She wants nothing more than to lie on the beach, sip lemonade, and hang out with her friends.

           

But then a car crash ends Ivy’s life.

As she floats to the beyond, looking down on the life she’s left behind, Tristan breathes life back into her with a passionate kiss. She wakes up in the hospital, surrounded by Will and her family, but all she can think about is the love that she lost.

But memories aren’t all that’s come back from the past. And this time, Ivy’s not sure love will be enough to save her.

	Kissed by an Angel	Evercrossed
Originality:	I thought that both were original in that Tristan seemed like a “real” angel, the type you’d generally hear about along with some miracle. He wasn’t like angels you usually read about that are straight from “The Fall” with Lucifer aka Satan. He was the true form of what I have in mind when I picture an angel.
Characters:	Kissed by an Angel was told in third person, from the points of view of both Ivy and Tristan. They were accompanied by friends and family; Philip, Gregory, Beth, Will, Eric, Suzanne, etc. I absolutely loved everyone, even if they were a bad guy. I felt like every character could be related to. Like Beth, for example. She’s a writer who always has a pen and paper with her. She is always writing, writing, writing. I think so many of my author friends could identify with Beth ;)	Evercrossed was only told from Ivy’s perspective, still third person. This time she was with Beth, living with Beth’s aunt and her two..cousins? I think they were her cousins. Or maybe one of them was. Hm.. Anyways, there were new people introduced in the story that I hope have roles in the future. I was upset at the lack of old characters, though. Like Suzanne. She was such an important part in Kissed by an Angel and she wasn’t even present in Evercrossed. I think she was mentioned, like, twice.
Content:	The content was great for both. It wasn’t just about Ivy and Tristan’s relationship lasting beyond death. It was somewhat of a mystery story. I was always on the edge of my seat wondering what would happen next. I have to say, I was shocked at so many things when I first read Kissed by an Angel. This was my second time reading it, and I was still surprised at events because I didn’t remember them.
Setting:	Kissed by an Angel was set in upscale New York. It wasn’t the busy city you mostly get when dealing with NY. It was more secluded. The neighborhood was for the richer kids, yet the book didn’t give off that snobby, “we’re better than you because we have money” feel.	Evercrossed was set in Cape Cod. You don’t really get the idea of the beach, though. Cape Cod is right on the Eastern shore. To me, there just wasn’t enough of that being portrayed. If you’re looking for something to delve more into the Cape, I’d suggest reading Melody, well, the whole Logan series, by V.C. Andrews. She really knows how to describe her scenery to where you feel like you’re there with the characters.
Overall Enjoyment:	Kissed by an Angel was originally published in the mid-‘90s and technically consists of three separate books. However, I have the new, re-released version that mashes all three books into one. Evercrossed was published very recently. Obviously there were a lot of differences. Evercrossed was more modern. I kind of hoped it would still be like Kissed by an Angel. I love books published before 2000 J Overall, I really enjoyed re-reading Kissed by an Angel, but I was disappointed by Evercrossed, which I bought in August but just now read. I don’t think Evercrossed needed to be written. I thought the series was fine how it ended in Kissed by an Angel. There was enough closure in the end, no cliffhangers that made me expect a sequel. Now, with how Evercrossed ended, I know there’s definitely going to be more. I believe the next book is called Everlasting, but I’m not sure.