This review was first posted on http://www.rubysreads.com. 
 I might not be in the best frame of mind in which to write a review of this book. I've been on a pretty strict diet of YA for a while now and, to be honest, I've been feeling the burn. So to speak. I love YA and, to be honest, I never would have thought that I could get sick of it--and I'm not, exactly--but I need a reprieve. That's why I broke down and read Serengeti Heat when I should have been glued to Shadow Walker. All that said, I will try to be as fair a reviewer as possible. If you should have a moment, you can leave me a comment telling me that I a) fell so wide of the mark that you're pretty sure I'm somewhere in the Pacific Ocean or b) scored a perfect reviewer's 9.9, 9.8, 10, 10, 10. 
 Today, I'm going to use a reviewing technique I've seen on other blogs. It's basically a five-point review system. My five points are these: 
 1. Good Stuff 
 2. Bad Stuff 
 3. The Characters 
 4. The Romance 
 5. Anything Else? 
 I know. You're, like, totally jealous I thought the five point system up before you. 
 1. The Good Stuff 
 I liked Gabe. A lot. Even though he confused me and I wasn't sure what his motivations were or why he was so loyal to Az and Kristen. There's also some interesting world-building. liked the concept of there being an undead subculture in New York (though Neal Shusterman did it better in Unwind). I especially liked the separation of the five boroughs. 
 2. The Bad Stuff 
 Events in the story happen really fast and jump ahead in time. Also, the whole angels being about love and therefore it shouldn't be so unbelievable that one might be gay felt a little preachy. And doesn't really make sense given the reason for Az's fall. And I still don't really get what a Sider is. Is this going to be a series? But isn't "Upstairs" supposed to be all-knowing? How do they not know about the Siders? And, I had issues with the idea that confession is what makes the ultimate fall happen. Why aren't actions more important? And if love is so important, why doesn't that have more weight on people's (and angel's) decisions? 
 3. The Characters 
 I don't really like characters who become the center of the universe. I like some universal love of the heroine, but not so much that even the evil characters think she's ridiculously awesome, too. Eden inspired devotion in too many people for me to like her much. I especially didn't understand Gabe's love of Eden. Eden and Az--well, attraction explains that one. It would have made more sense to me if Gabe cared about Eden because he cared about Az. But he genuinely has affection for Eden, too. Az, I never had a sense of. He's the least explored character in the book. Which is probably why I was sad that Gabe was gay and therefore not an option for Eden. Sigh. 
 4. The Romance 
 The romance happens really fast. It's basically love at first sight. Whatever relationship developments between Eden and Az happens off-screen. The scenes we see between them leap forward to the time when their feelings for each other had matured and developed into love. Or so they say. Also, because Az is given so little characterization, I didn't get why Eden loved him so much. I totally would have been mooning over his gay best friend. Az just kind of mopes around and doesn't do anything. Gabe is all action and Az is broody man candy. Yawn. 
 5. Anything Else? 
 I'd really like to give this book another try in a different frame of mind. After writing all this down, I've realized that I didn't enjoy reading it. There were times when I was absorbed in a story, but I was definitely looking forward to finishing it so I could get onto reading River Marked. It's too bad that I had to pass it on to the next person in the book tour. I need to read some other reviews so I can get some perspective.