Book Review- Hades

I just finished reading Hades by Alexandra Adornetto for an Around the World ARC Tour.

From Goodreads:

Bethany and Xavier are even closer since battling Jake Thorn and his evil influence (in Halo) and Beth and her angel siblings must still protect Venus Cove from the Dark Forces.

When a party game – a séance – inadvertently releases Jake from the Underworld, he disguises himself and tricks Beth into taking a ride on his motorcycle. When the highway opens up and swallows them, Beth learns too late that she’s now a prisoner in hell. What happens to angels there? As her archangel brother, Gabriel, her sister Ivy, Xavier, and her best friend, Molly search for her, Beth must weigh Jake’s bargaining for her freedom: one night with him, and she will be released back to Earth.

Can Jake be trusted in this wager? And is he also using Beth to engineer the fall of the archangel Gabriel? Xavier has already lost one love – when Jake tricks him into thinking that Bethany is dead, his grief and anger result in a betrayal that will leave Bethany – and readers – wondering if he is so good after all.

It will be up to Beth to use everything she’s learned about her powers as an angel – and about love – to free herself and those she loves from the clutches of Hades.
 
I am not a religious person at all.  I don't like to read books that throw religion in your face.  And I knew that when I read the first book in the series, Halo, I was taking a chance.  But I didn't feel like I was being preached too.  Unfortunately, in this book, I feel the religion was much more in my face and it put me off a couple of times.  But past that, I really enjoyed the story.
 
The book is a romance novel/ christian novel.  There is some action but it's really a love story.  And I love love stories (okay, that was too many "love"s in a row!)  So once I got past the religious aspect, I found  myself really engrossed in the story.  I love Xander and Beth's relationship.  Yes, they are too solitary, but I've known so many teen couples like that.  And it wasn't a bad solitary.  Except the ending.  I wasn't fond of the ending.  It was too rash and not realistic (not like the book is realistic, but you know what I mean).  I found myself rolling my eyes there.  But there was a major cliff hanger for the last two paragraphs.  And I'm hooked! I can't wait to see what is going to happen next!
 
I gave this book a rating of 3.5/5.
 
This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2011 100+ Reading Challenge: 79
2011 ARC Reading Challenge: 63
2011 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 61
 
*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.