Review: Penitence by Jennifer Laurens

I recently read Penitence, by Jennifer Laurens, for Around the World Tours. This is the sequel to Heavenly, which I reviewed here.

Summary: In this stunning sequel to Heavenly, Zoe's true love and guardian angel, Matthias, has disappeared, and in his place, an evil spirit has appeared who is trying to capture her soul and destroy those around her. Her family still faces their normal difficulties with her brother's drug abuse and her sister's autism, and her best friend, Britt hates her now too, since her old boyfriend has fallen in love with Zoe and a relationship has ensued. When Matthias finally returns, will things go back to the way they were, or will the evil spirit destroy them all?

My Thoughts: Wow, what a great sequel! I loved delving back into the story of Zoe and Matthias whose unearthly love first captivated me in Heavenly. If you haven't read Heavenly, I highly recommend you do, and on that note, Penitence is not really a standalone novel. You should certainly read its predecessor first in order to fully understand this one. This story was really gripping with lots of excitement. While the love between Zoe and Matthias is so intriguing, I think it was really cool that the author added a whole new aspect in this book, in that the main storyline was the evil spirit who was essentially stalking Zoe around, trying to capture her soul and force her into evilness (and wait until you find out who he is!). I also thought it was a great twist that she added another love interest into the story, in that Zoe begins dating another guy, but feels conflicted because of her love for Matthias. This book definitely kept me turning the pages, and I'm looking forward to the next one in the series!

The Bottom Line: A really great sequel! Angels, spirits, romance! I think you should check this series out if you're looking for something a little different.

My Rating: 4/5