Stairway to Heaven

by Cheryle Williams

Sixteen-year-old actress Minx Reston dies while filming a Christmas special, kicked in the head by Rudolph the Reindeer.

She finds herself floating in a gray expanse between heaven and earth, marooned by the courier angel charged with flying her to the Stairway to Heaven so she can appear at Heaven’s Gate for processing. Rescued by a dark-winged night flyer angel named Reid, Minx learns the scoop about heaven from real insiders. Like the fact there’s sex segregation in heaven and interaction between male and female angels is severely restricted.

Reid forbids Minx to look upon his face for fear the two of them might imprint on each other. After all, once he delivers her to Heaven’s Gate and Minx gets placed in an Orientation House with other female acolytes, learning to be a proper angel, there won’t be time for them to meet anyway.

Or so they think.

210 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2014

About the author

URL for this site: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

Reviews

[Vanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

So very hard to rate. I enjoyed this tale all the way. Yes, there are some points for improvement. Cheryle is sometimes repetitive, unnecessarily describing in slightly different words the thoughts or deeds of a character. We already know now! She already made up her mind about his gender! But these are all little issues that don't take away the pace or the urge to read onwards.

So here it is... A young rising teenage star gets trampled to death during the recordings of what could have been her breakthrough performance. But as if dying had been the only thing that had gone wrong to her that day, her angel forgets to pick her up to bring her to heaven. And everything that happens afterwards is the set-up for one great romance between angels. A story recommended for readers who enjoyed stories like Twilight, and a good read for Christmas.

Writing

Cheryle's style of writing is quick, modern and delicious in its descriptions. It is fitting for the audience she is writing for, and the novel fits in nicely in the Young Adult category. The characters are teenagers of the ages of sixteen and seventeen and they are struggling with their feelings in a way that their actions are often hormone driven. Recognizable for readers of that age.

At the same time, her story shows to be very American in her writing and in the thoughts and actions of her characters. Which is delicious for most readers to read, but something to keep in mind as a European reader. The protagonist, Minx, is a populair high-school girl. She’s already making a career. At the same time, she is not innocent of mind, despite being sometimes described as looking that way. Her thoughts are the typical mean girl type: the extras on set are annoying so I will have to feign kindness t get them to shut up, this man feels like a jock so he must be yummy, the female angel is saying something I don’t like so she must be jealous. They are straight out of the mind of a sixteen year old, but one from an American cultural background. I am pointing this out as it is no problem, but might not be everyone’s cup of tea. If you expect a meek heroine who is full of love for her surroundings just because you’re reading about an angel, think again.

Bloody Mess

Before I continue I need to add this small note. The book does contain some very explicit descriptions of gore, notably when Minx is being trampled and her brains pop out. Although this scene doesn’t compromise the light overal tone of the tale. But it is something that needs to be mentioned.

Guilty Pleasure

But this story isn’t about good angels alone. Cheryle shows a version of the afterlife that is quite constricted. Genders are kept separated and angels have to be schooled. They are divided into orders, ( orders that struggle for popularity and to get the most interesting angels to join them), and they can make mistakes. This afterlife isn’t perfect and to a teenager (or even an adult) quite frightening in a way. But luckily we follow a headstrong heroine who has fallen in love and is determined not to let her crush get out of sight, even if it means breaking some of the angelic traditions up here.

Does it bring the Twilight feeling? It most certainly does. It’s a proper problematic romance between two teenagers who are determined to be together forever. I’ve read this book with these expectations, and it delivers. The heroine is not the ideal character I would have loved to see in a tale like this, and the writing is sometimes repetitive, but I could not help but enjoy it and read further. Therefore, I would consider this book a guilty pleasure and as a debut a success for Cheryle.

Christmas Angels

So, are you still looking for a book to read this Christmas? If you’re one for teenage romance and angels, then give this book a go. The language is modern, fast-paced, the heroes are pining and the construction of heaven is different than I have read before. This might just be what you need for Christmas.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a lot. It wasnt what i expected but was pleasantly surprised! I did feel though that it was a little drawn out in spme places but in others too fast paced without enough explanation. Albiet a good book about what heaven may be like.
Book given frew by author via voraciousreadersonly.

[InD'tale Magazine · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5.0

For a debut book, the author definitely brings a flare for description in her writing that helps bring her characters to life.

Read full review in the 2015 February issue of InD’tale Magazine.