Torn by Christine Hughes

Destiny has a plan for Samantha that she knows nothing about. Before he can teach her what she needs to know to take her place after him, her father is killed trying to guard and hide the Box of Hope. Protecting and training Sam is now the responsibility of Lucas and Ethan. The protection her father gave her will wear off when she turns eighteen and so far, Sam is clueless. Having grown up with her, the guys decide Sam needs to know the truth her father kept from her if they are going to have her continued cooperation.

Samantha more special than she could have imagined. Her parents were part of the Fallen, angels who are descendants of angels who left heaven. It's all about choices. The Exiled are those who chose the dark side seeking to control everyone and convince them to walk away from their faith in God. The Faithful are those who strive to protect humans from the Exiled, to remind them that God still exists. Sam sits in the middle. Her mother was one of the Faithful, who died when Sam was born. Her father, a former Exiled, who walked away when he could no longer tolerate what was being done, kept his past from his daughter as long as possible.

The guys take her to New England where others can help train and protect Samantha. There she meets others who can help. The voice is back stronger than ever, taunting her, telling her to run. Sam's abilities are more powerful than the others thought and fed by her emotions. Her power comes from both parents and isn't under her control yet. Frustrated by a love that shouldn't be and blindsided by betrayal from a direction she couldn't have anticipated, Samantha is torn in two and doesn't know how to pull herself back together. She better figure it out quick; she's running out of time.

Hughes has taken two familiar themes and put her own spin on them. Most of us have heard of Pandora's box at some point, most likely in school. In Torn, Hughes put her own spin on it, creating something new to play with in the form of the Box of Hope. I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that many readers of fantasy have come across the term "nephilim at one time or another too, generally considered to be the children of angel and human parentage. Here again, Hughes has put her own twist on things and given us a division where one side wants to control everyone and the other wants to protect free choice.

A teenager still struggling to come to terms with the truth of her father's life and death, a destiny that sets the fate of the world square on her shoulders, and good and evil angels are more than any girl should have to deal with. Hughes spins an intriguing story that works well with the twists she has put on things. Samantha is very believable as an emotional and occasionally over-wrought teenager. Well written, near perfect editing, I truly enjoyed this story. I'm also very happy I don't have to wait for the sequel as it's already in my library.

I was gifted a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 4 stars

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