Titus and Atreus by Meridi Myers

Publisher: Hero Publishing
Release Date: December 1st, 2009
Source: Author

Grief-stricken by the loss of his parents, Titus Attwater is convinced his life will never improve. His older sister ignores his calls, his grades in school have plummeted, and his house, once a place of warmth and security, is now lonely, cold, and alien.

But when a young man appears one night in Titus's house, claiming he came in upstairs through the full-length mirror, Titus's life gets turned upside-down. For, as Titus soon discovers, this intruder is not from Earth. Against his will, Titus is kidnapped and taken to another world, a place like Earth but markedly different. It is here where he will befriend angels, face assassins, and help a young prince unravel a prophecy that proves much darker and more twisted than any of them had imagined. [from goodreads]

With a bright cast of characters and an action-packed story, Titus and Atreus proved to be entertaining novel with a few surprising twists.

Initially it took me some time to get into the rhythm of the story since the beginning chapter or two was set-up but after that, the book picked up gradually until I hit the middle and ended up devouring the rest in one sitting. Myers had a very fluid, descriptive style when it came to her writing and while there were some passages in the story where I felt could've been streamlined better (sometimes the descriptions of the places or characters distracted me), overall it didn't detract from the story; it merely enhanced the vision that the author wanted to convey.

The plot itself was imaginative and while I had a good grasp of what was to come, Myers did manage to sneak in a few surprises that I never saw coming. However, the greatest strength of this novel had to be the characters: the humans and the angels. Their interactions with one another felt really genuine; they just had this inviting quality to them and it was easy to like the entire cast (well, except for the villain!). From Titus whose confusion and loneliness melted away into strength and courage to Atreus whose stubborn ways sometimes made things harder than it had to be... every character had a tangible personality that readers can connect to--even the secondary characters.

With well-developed characters and  a smooth, creative writing style, Titus and Atreus was an enjoyable read filled with drama, action, and a light sprinkling of romance. I hope this is part of a series because while the ending wrapped up nicely, there's room for some plot lines to expand... and I hope that Myers does just that!