Hardcover: 453 pages
Release date: February 15th 2011
Publisher: HarperCollins
Amazon ││The Book Depository ││ Barnes and Noble
Goodreads Summary: When seventeen-year-old Ellie starts seeing reapers - monstrous creatures who devour humans and send their souls to Hell - she finds herself on the front lines of a supernatural war between archangels and the Fallen and faced with the possible destruction of her soul.
Amazon ││The Book Depository ││ Barnes and Noble
Goodreads Summary: When seventeen-year-old Ellie starts seeing reapers - monstrous creatures who devour humans and send their souls to Hell - she finds herself on the front lines of a supernatural war between archangels and the Fallen and faced with the possible destruction of her soul.
A mysterious boy named Will reveals she is the reincarnation of an ancient warrior, the only one capable of wielding swords of angelfire to fight the reapers, and he is an immortal sworn to protect her in battle. Now that Ellie's powers have been awakened, a powerful reaper called Bastian has come forward to challenge her. He has employed a fierce assassin to eliminate her - an assassin who has already killed her once.
While balancing her dwindling social life and reaper-hunting duties, she and Will discover Bastian is searching for a dormant creature believed to be a true soul reaper. Bastian plans to use this weapon to ignite the End of Days and to destroy Ellie's soul, ending her rebirth cycle forever. Now, she must face an army of Bastian's most frightening reapers, prevent the soul reaper from consuming her soul, and uncover the secrets of her past lives - including truths that may be too frightening to remember.
It took me a longer time to finish this due to procrastination and perhaps a little lack of interest. It turned out to be different from what I expected. The premise was intriguing and the cover compelled me to give it a shot.
I have a neutral feeling towards the book. I don’t love it but I don’t think it’s too bad either. I have no problem with the writing and I liked the idea of reapers and angels. Ms. Moulton executed a good way of retelling the angel folklore while giving a twist to it. It’s also comforting to know that the author believes in God as much as I do. What redeemed the book for me is the action-packed plot. Almost half of the book was gripping and full of action. I’m glad I finished it and went against my earlier judgment.
Ellie was a kind of person I could connect to. She’s a normal teenager coping with her normal life while being the Preliator that protects the humankind. Little did she know that turning seventeen would change the constants in her life, finding out about her numerous lifetimes and real identity. I admire Ellie for her resilience despite the pressure she’s facing. Trying to prevent the end of the world is especially hard if you have a jerk dad. Fortunately, the dark and brooding Will, her guardian for five hundred years, was there to protect and look after her. One of the few other things that made me continue reading this is the mystery behind these two characters. I liked that their constant interaction brought Will’s tough guy façade to wear thin. His resolute fidelity with Ellie was really admirable. There were also flashbacks of Ellie’s past lifetimes, revealing the causes of some of her deaths.
It’s quite disappointing that Will and Ellie aside, the characters lack development. Ellie’s mom is likeable, but other than her, no one really stood out in a good way. Her father’s horrible, that I can very much confirm. I hope Ellie’s bad relationship with him gets resolved in the next books.
The story wasn’t very remarkable either. There were times that I almost gave up on the story (especially on the first part) and thought of it being cliché. The romance was forbidden, which wasn’t surprising either. I also found the ending too plain. There are questions left unanswered and I admit that I was expecting a cliffhanger.
Regardless of its flaws, I still feel like giving the sequel a chance. I want the answers to my questions and I hope that I will get them in the last two books of the trilogy. If you loved Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick and Fallen by Lauren Kate, I recommend this novel to you.
I have a neutral feeling towards the book. I don’t love it but I don’t think it’s too bad either. I have no problem with the writing and I liked the idea of reapers and angels. Ms. Moulton executed a good way of retelling the angel folklore while giving a twist to it. It’s also comforting to know that the author believes in God as much as I do. What redeemed the book for me is the action-packed plot. Almost half of the book was gripping and full of action. I’m glad I finished it and went against my earlier judgment.
Ellie was a kind of person I could connect to. She’s a normal teenager coping with her normal life while being the Preliator that protects the humankind. Little did she know that turning seventeen would change the constants in her life, finding out about her numerous lifetimes and real identity. I admire Ellie for her resilience despite the pressure she’s facing. Trying to prevent the end of the world is especially hard if you have a jerk dad. Fortunately, the dark and brooding Will, her guardian for five hundred years, was there to protect and look after her. One of the few other things that made me continue reading this is the mystery behind these two characters. I liked that their constant interaction brought Will’s tough guy façade to wear thin. His resolute fidelity with Ellie was really admirable. There were also flashbacks of Ellie’s past lifetimes, revealing the causes of some of her deaths.
It’s quite disappointing that Will and Ellie aside, the characters lack development. Ellie’s mom is likeable, but other than her, no one really stood out in a good way. Her father’s horrible, that I can very much confirm. I hope Ellie’s bad relationship with him gets resolved in the next books.
The story wasn’t very remarkable either. There were times that I almost gave up on the story (especially on the first part) and thought of it being cliché. The romance was forbidden, which wasn’t surprising either. I also found the ending too plain. There are questions left unanswered and I admit that I was expecting a cliffhanger.
Regardless of its flaws, I still feel like giving the sequel a chance. I want the answers to my questions and I hope that I will get them in the last two books of the trilogy. If you loved Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick and Fallen by Lauren Kate, I recommend this novel to you.
Ooh, I really wanted to read this book! Even though you said that this book wasn't one of your favourites, I really appreciate your truthfulness! It didn't make me want to read it any less -- actually, it made me want to read it even more now that I know the main characters are likable -- but honesty in reviews is my favourite thing! :) I like reading about what was good and what was bad.
ReplyDeleteAwesome review, Dea! :) I'm really glad that you're giving the sequel another chance to WOW you!
I liked Ellie too.
ReplyDeleteThanks for review.
Brandi from Blkosiner’s Book Blog