Monday, April 30, 2012

Review: Angelfall by Susan Ee


Kindle Edition: 255 pages
Release date: May 21st, 2011
Publisher: Feral Dream
Goodreads Rating: 4.39
Goodreads Summary: It’s been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back. Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel. Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl. Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels’ stronghold in San Francisco where she’ll risk everything to rescue her sister and he’ll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.
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I’ve been on a roll with self-published books lately due to their sheer awesomeness. Indie authors just proved that their works can be better than some of those published by major publishers. So after reading Shelley Crane’s masterpiece of a series called Significance, I had to search for others I knew the majority of YA readers and I have been missing out on. Apparently, my search has led me to Angelfall and boy was I glad that it did! 

In other words, my mind was blown away by this book. There are A LOT of bad and overrated angel books out there while there are some good ones (Unearthly,Daughter of Smoke and Bone, and Angel), but honestly none of them has truly stuck with me. Angelfall easily tops my list for the best angel book I’ve ever read. 

Six weeks after the angels descended and wiped out the world, seventeen year-old Penryn is determined to take her little sister and mother to safety. The three of them takes the risk of facing the world beyond the confines of their old home one night, despite the danger of getting caught by street gangs or worse, the angels who brought upon the apocalypse. When Penryn witnesses the angels cutting off the wings of one of their own kind, she steps up and saves the wounded angel. She loses her little sister in the process when the others strike back by taking off with her. Now Penryn will do anything to save her helpless sister, even if that means sticking with the angel she saved, Raffe, to help her take her sister back. 

I was amazed how Susan Ee created a world where angels are the enemies as they have evidently succeeded to take over the world. Because dystopia has been a huge trend since The Hunger games, numerous authors have created their own dystopian world as well and I’m vastly grateful for that. Being a post-apocalyptic buff that I am, I’m more appreciative when an author thinks out of the box and provides readers with a distinctive atmosphere while preserving the dystopian theme in the story. That is precisely what Susan Ee did. 

The atmosphere was creepy and there were some gory scenes that I didn’t mind one bit. She wrote her characters in a way that I can almost feel like I’m inside their skin. Which leads me to my most favorite thing or rather person in the story—Penryn. I seriously love everything about her! Starting from the name… well I like my main characters’ name unique because that’s what makes me remember them, besides Penryn sounds cool which suits her. Penryn has learned how to cope and survive for the three of them in six weeks since the angels arrived. She’s smart and practical and willing to do whatever it takes to save the people she loves, even if her own life’s at stake. 

Raffe is a breath of fresh air from the other heroes I know. I love that he’s not so protective and he’s definitely not someone who acts like he’s hundreds of years old. He’s sarcastic and has an enigmatic personality. And weirdly, he’s agnostic. I especially enjoyed his banter with Penryn and the slow-building relationship they share.

The last few pages literally left me breathless. All I wanted to do was give Penryn and her family and the humans more strength and hope. Raffe also deserves a hug and reassurance. His kind is the reason why Earth is in chaos, but he’s the exception. 

Angelfall is the kind of book that I only spent a few dollars in but would willingly spend more for a copy. And saying I’m looking forward to reading the next book is cliché and a huge understatement. Oh and I will read anything by Susan Ee after this one.

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