Reviewed by Sylvia Heslin for Readers' Favorite

Samantha English’s life has become a deep dark nightmarish dream. Her best friend Lucas whom she had grown up with and his brother Ethan are powerful angels. They are special angels sent from above to help watch over and protect Samantha. The life that she thought was her own was all just a façade. After the life-altering events that followed the death of her father, James English, she is forced to confront a world that she didn’t even know existed, a world that she was protected from for almost eighteen years. It is a world where fallen angels, the Exiled and the Faithful, are at war with each other. It is Light against Dark, but both were needed to keep the balance of the universe. The Box of Hope was the key, the special box that James England died trying to protect from the hands of the Exiled. Samantha must find the box for she is the keeper of the pendent, The Heart of Hope. The two must come together in order for the balance to be restored. Samantha has been told that she is the key to keeping the balance between both sides. She must find the box along with The Heart of Hope pendent. She is the keeper of hope, faith and love and without it, only darkness and despair would exist. Born of both the light and the dark, Samantha must make a powerful choice. Will she fight on the side of light or will the pull of the darkness inside overcome her?. The love that she has for her guardian angel Ethan is all but forbidden, and after the ultimate betrayal that devastates her, Samantha has no other choice than to follow her destiny.

"Torn" by author Christine Hughes is a supernatural fantasy at its best. As the title implies, the characters are all fighting a battle within. Torn is a place where angels coexist and live undetected by humans. It is a world where there is continuous struggle between light and dark, good and evil, and hope and despair. Torn is a world that one can’t help become lost in. The characters in the book are interesting and it all seems very real and not just a supernatural fantasy. And the story is believable in that the reader has no other choice than to be captivated by the words on the pages. The reader easily gets swept up in Samantha English’s world where angels prevail and evil is all around. If you enjoy the lure of the supernatural, this book is for you. "Torn" by Christine Hughes will not disappoint you and will keep you longing for more. I can’t wait until book two becomes available.