Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days)

This book came recommended Goodreads via a friend who shares my love of paranormal fiction and romance. She claimed she read it in one sitting and that it was a must-read, so naturally I immediately went to Amazon and found it for less than $5 in paperback. So instead of ordering my textbooks, I happily dropped this into my cart and had it in my hands two days later.Now, I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again. I am a sucker for paranormal books that deal with angels. Sadly, many books in this genre are disappointing, riddled with weak plots, poor writing, or completely ridiculous love triangles. I was delighted to discover that Angelfall avoids all three of these problems, and adds a twist to the genre by setting it in a post-apocalyptic society. This end-of-the-world setting is fantastic because it makes sense, as there are multiple times in the Bible when God and his angels intervene and cause destruction as punishment (the great flood, the destruction of Sodom, etc). This book hammers down the often-forgotten concept in popular culture that angels are warriors, not cherubic spiritual beings who are meant to lazily float in heaven all day long.I applaud Susan Ee for doing her biblical and mythological research about Angels while adding her own imaginative twists. She expertly weaves in tales of Nephilim, the Daughters of Man, the hierarchy of angels, and other biblical tropes to form the foundation her world building, while adding her own unique (and sometimes disturbing) twists. She blends dystopian, paranormal, and sci-fi together and chooses her setting as the Northern California Bay Area, and as a California native I was jumping up and down with delight. So rarely are books set in California set anywhere but the beaches in SoCal, and it adds a level of realism to know where in the world the book is set, as so often post-apocalyptic books never really disclose where their characters are in pre-apocalyptic geography. Knowing exactly where they are lends a lot more realism to the plot, especially if you’ve ever visited San Francisco or the Silicon Valley.Ee also does a great job at developing strong characters as well. I was delighted to discover that Penryn shows a lot of agency for a female protagonist, without being emotionally unreachable. She’s relateable even as she’s shoving steak knives in her pocket and holding people hostage for information. The brief moments throughout the book where she reflects upon her childhood with her schizophrenic mother provides an interesting look at mental illness and the impact it has on family relationships. Penryn may not be the one hundred percent full feminist protagonist that many readers are still waiting for (for instance, there are times when I wished she would have spoken up more) but she’s a strong step in the right direction, as she’s sassy, resourceful, and never deviates from her main goal from the beginning of the text. Also, most of her dialogue is realistically hilarious:“I never kid about my warrior demigod status.”“Oh. My. God.” I lower my voice, having forgotten to whisper. “You are nothing but a bird with an attitude. Okay, so you have a few muscles, I’ll grant you that. But you know, a bird is nothing but a barely evolved lizard. That’s what you are.”For some reason that line had me in peals of laughter, possibly because this book kept me up until all hours of the night reading it.Yes this book has romantic undertones but it’s not forced upon the reader, and is secondary to the major plot elements (which is a realief because both characters have bigger issues to deal with). Raffe, the angel she teams up with, is witty but also realistic in his often cool detachment and business-like attitutde…which is a nice reminder that these paranormal creatures are not humans and should not conveniently fall head over heels for some ordinary female protagonist. There is an undercurrent of chemistry throughout the book that will probably develop throughout the next in the series, but there was so much other great, interesting, intriguing, and disturbing stuff going on that the romance isn’t the main thing that will make me return to the series.Also, a point of clarification for my rating: one of the reasons I didn’t give Angelfall a 5/5 star review is that some of the imagery is really quite disturbing, and I am not usually one who is a fan of the horror genres. Yes, it did add greatly to the dark, post-apocalyptic atmosphere of the book but I was taken by surprise because I wasn’t expecting such imagery from the YA genre. To me, it was even more graphic that Hunger Games (which may not be saying much, but I’m not a big zombie/gore/horror person). And while I’m sure some of my questions will be answered when I pick up the sequel, it does feel a bit mind-boggling in this book when you have angels alongside gruesome science experiments, cannibalistic demons and reanimated, stitched back together corpses…But it all serves as just more reasons to pick up the next one! However horrifying, I can’t not read the next one, so Ee has done her job at creating a strong readership for her series.Final Thoughts: I give this book 4/5 stars for it’s original yet historical take on the angel genre, strong and original characters, and dealing with difficult issues such as handicaps and mental illness. Don’t get me wrong, if you love romance this won’t disappoint, but it’s a subtle brewing tension rather than hitting you in the face with the obvious five chapters in. If you don’t do well with disturbing imagery, I might stay away or at least not read it right before you go to bed (a mistake I made that jolted me awake at 6am on a Sunday morning). This book is less than 300 pages and will have you finishing in no time as it’s writing style and short chapters prove it impossible to find a satisfying place to take a break from the story.Recommended for: Those who want a more realistic and graphic depiction of the post-apocalyptic world, those who appreciate a not-obvious and realistically building romance, those who gravitate toward darker depictions of mythology. For those who read and enjoyed: Daughter of Smoke and Bone, The Lux Series, Hunger Games.

"I am not afraid of you, your kind, or your god."Penryn Young lives in a post-apocalyptic future with her seven-year-old sister, Paige, and her paranoid schizophrenic mother. While Penryn attempts to herd her family to safety, Paige is captured by angels and whisked away. Desperate to rescue her sister, Penryn forges a tenuous bond with one of the enemy, Raffe, a de-winged angel. Can he help her find her sister...or is he just waiting to turn her in?You know how all these YA novels these days are proclaiming to be the next Hunger Games? Yeah, they're all posers, hacks, drippy romances concealing their naughty bits with shreds of dystopia and strips of the apocalypse. They are more concerned with getting our heroine her two love interests than creating a real conflict. They are more concerned with having our heroine gush over her beaus than have our couple have any real chemistry. They are more concerned with the status quo than forging new territory, twisting the norm, and being unique and gripping.THIS is the new Hunger Games. THIS is a spell-binding, page-turning, nail-biting, I can't stop reading and it's 3am in the morning and I have to get up for work at 6am book. The characters aren't fashioned out of cereal box cardboard. The romance isn't thrown together, like a Big Mac at Burger King. The conflict isn't so pathetic, even an eight-year old would roll her eyes. The dystopian/post-apocalyptic atmosphere isn't so poorly constructed that a quick glance could tear apart all the flaws, like a used car salesman.THIS book is frakkin' amazing. I read it in a whopping TWO DAYS and most of that was NOT while I was flying!! (I tend to read a lot more when I am shoe-horned into a window-seat for 3 hours.) I tossed this book in my luggage, hoping it would be as good as everyone said...and when I finished it, 5 minutes into a flight, I had to take 10 minutes to sit there, gripping the book to my chest and figure out what the f@#$ I was going to do with myself now that A) I had finished the book and B) I didn't have book 2.Susan Ee, I am begging you...write faster!!Penryn Young is the kick-@ss heroine that tons of YA "dystopias" wish they had. She is competent, caring, determined, strong-willed, and smart. We don't need half the book describing her "sexy" fighting lessons with one of her love interests; she already KNOWS how to fight. If you liked Katniss Everdeen, then you will definitely like Penryn.Raffe was amazing. In general, I loved the entire deconstruction of what being an angel entails (from them being always good to their sense of humor--or lack thereof!--to how they too have questions about God), but I definitely loved Raffe. Somehow, he can be a snarky "bad boy" and yet you legitimately care about him.And Penryn and Raffe DEFINITELY have some chemistry, and I'm not talking about "I can barely keep my hands off you" territory. They hardly even TOUCH in this book, and yet you STILL find that you have to fan yourself every so often. THIS is how you write potential romantic couples, people!The story is gripping and interesting. At first, I wasn't so sure about these "Angels killing humans for no apparent reason" thing, but then, I started to like it. It takes what we expect--angels being good and sweet and looking out for humans--and twists it, making us wonder "ZOMG, WTF is happening?!"There is a journey in this story, as Raffe and Penryn have to fight their way to San Francisco. And I LOVED IT. There was tension, there was creepiness, there was spookiness, there was foreboding...every page, something new happens. And while bits of the story go along the path you expect, trust me, the last 100 pages go somewhere I totally didn't expect. And I still loved it!An important part of this novel is the post-apocalyptic setting. And yes, it works. We get an actual, real look at life, instead of vague "Oh, we can't read anymore" or "People are starving...somewhere". No, we get an in depth look at this world through Penryn's eyes. Civilization has been destroyed, gangs have arisen, people are so hungry and food is so sparse that the topic of cannibalism is brought up. The world has changed, and Ee has shown us HOW instead of making us guess.And let me talk about one thing that many books (specifically,  Shatter Me ) have done terribly: the description.Here is a sample from aforementioned book:"My eyes break open. Two shattered windows filling my mouth with glass."Here is a sample from "Angelfall":"My heart flutters in my chest like a dying bird."Which is better? While I know that Mafi was going for a more, erm, "unique" description, honestly, I think sample 2 was better. It was clear, it got to the point, and I knew EXACTLY what was going on. I didn't need my decoder ring to figure out WTF was going on.At this point, I feel the obligation to make a few potential warnings. There isn't much in the way of swearing or sexual situations (a few "da**s" at most, the women that approach the aerie are for the angel's *ahem* entertainment), but there IS quite a bit of gore/violence. So the weak of heart, be wary! However, unless you are VERY weak of heart, don't let this put you down--I hate reading about "gobbets of flesh", and I ADORE this book.After seeing this pop up all over the place on Goodreads, I added this book to my "To Read" list and when I found it in paperback on Amazon, I snatched it up. But in the back of my mind, I wondered if it really was as good as people said. I actually tossed it in my luggage more on a whim than really thinking I would get into the book.Joke's on me. This book is TOTALLY worth the price of paperback (I paid $12.99). I can't BELIEVE that major publishers keep churning out this crap posing as dystopian/post-apocalyptic fiction instead of picking this book up. Do yourself a favor and buy this book--either paperback or Kindle. You don't know what you are missing!Brought to you by:*C.S. Light*

I should disclose that I'm not a massive fan of first person books (which this is), but that is my problem and may have affected my overall enjoyment. Overall, the concept of post-apocalyptic fiction which angels is fascinating to me. I like Angels and if you do too then you'll probably like this. From the off we're essentially thrown into this devastated world and we just go. I think Penryn was a little too covienient at times, especially being on of those people that seemingly has every martial art under the sun. The relationship between her and Raffe also felt a little quick too. Personally I would've loved the build up to the angel invasion before it happened as the beginning, because anything to do with the angels is awesome. While I'd decided that I'd not continue the series the ending alone has been reconsidering that decision. Overall, love the Angels and the possible direction they could go, but not so hot on our MC.

'Men with wings. Angels of the Apocalypse. Supernatural beings who’ve pulverized the modern world and killed millions, maybe even billions, of people.'Why oh why haven't I read this before now? This book has been out since 2013 and I've only just read?I read in a few hours because a) I couldn't get enough and b) I couldn't put it down.  Anyway......In this post apocalyptic world, the angels have wrought down their idea of vengeance on humans and now basically rule until they are given a 'message' to go elsewhere.Pen meets Raffe, helps him and she basically seals their fate. She sets off with her mentally ill Mum and Raffe so she can rescue her disabled sister, Paige who has been taken and Raffe can get what he wants back from the angels.Along the way they meet some interesting people, there is banter, there is blood, gore, cannibalism and scary things and I really enjoyed it. Also Pen and Raffe stole my heart!

Six weeks after an attack on earth, the world has been torn apart by a war between angels and humans. Penryn accidentally finds herself watching an angel getting his wings brutally cut off. In trying to help, she is forced to watch as her wheelchair-bound little sister is taken away. Penryn demands that Raffe provides assistance in finding her sibling, and the two natural enemies must work together to outwit danger at every turn.TO BEGIN WITH, SHOUTOUT TO SIAN FOR TELLING ME TO READ THIS BOOK.FOUR FOR YOU SIAN, YOU GO SIAN.I've read my fair share of angel books, and they've all disappointed me. But Angelfall is different in a post-apocalyptic world where Angels have taken over, Penryn is only trying to survive with her schizophrenic mother and sister. Like most books about angels, the main character is usually swooning over these adonis looking people, but no, these angels are brutal and terrifying (and beautiful). Susan Ee's fantastic debut is one of the best post-apocalyptic YA I've ever read, and it blew me away with its perfectly paced blend of action, story, and emotional tension.Penryn is a fantastic heroine, a funny girl who happens to be amazing in combat. Her interactions with everyone else is so entertaining and hilarious. Raffe is not your usual broody YA main character. [ps agnostic angels was something I was not expecting!]. He's so intriguing and funny it's impossible not to be drawn to him anyway. His relationship with Penryn develops slowly and naturally as they struggle to find shelter and to survive in bleak circumstances, all against a dark backdrop of war and all kinds of unspeakable horrors.Readers who are uneasy with gruesome books should be warned that there are some pretty intense scenarios, although they are well done and mostly appear in the aftermath.It's exciting to find an author who writes such dark and vivid imagery and doesn't shy away from the gory scene.I have a few minor complaints, mostly about Penryn's failure to ask enough questions, as this seemed entirely out of character for someone who tries to guess whether she can keep someone alive long enough to be of use to her. I also wish we'd learned a bit more about the war. (also, I heard this went from a 5 book series to 3...why?!!)The action-packed story, funny dialogue, unforgettable characters all make for an incredible read. The twists and turns of this story are greatly done.

This is a dark book. Shockingly dark, taking into consideration the fact that it's young adult.I've read adult books that have shied away from things in a way that this book completely does not. This is a post-apocalyptic book and Ee explores the gory, gritty potential of a post-apocalyptic worlds in all its horrific glory. I am warning you now: parts of this book are gruesome, they are horrific and can be disturbing and upsetting if you are of a sensitive constitution.Susan Ee has done her research, unlike other authors with Angel-inspired characters *cough*CassandraClare*cough*. This is a nice, refreshing change for an Angel-centric book. Anyone who has read the bible (well, the Old Testament at any rate) knows that Angels aren't the caring, peace-loving creatures society seems to think them. They were messengers and soldiers. They were either out there preaching and spreading the word of God, or they were out there fighting the battles he told them to. I don't know why society has decided otherwise - I can't remember them being loving and benevolent in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. Anyway - Ee did here homework.Penryn *sigh*. Of course she is super resourceful and resilient and knows a gazillion different forms of martial arts. Of course she does. I love a strong female who can take care of herself as much as the next person, but they're all the same? They all have some sort of fighting skill. They're all perfectly equipped to deal in a post-apocalyptic world. It's getting hard to distinguish between them all now.Raffe. This is more like it. Not at all what I was expecting him to be like. Friendly but distant (and we all know he can be a softy when he wants to - he doesn't fool us), efficient, witty, and surprisingly human. I loved him.The romance? This is a difficult one for me because Penryn's feelings felt completely natural. It's what you would expect from a 17 year old girl travelling with a strikingly attractive man who has been doing his best to help and protect her. That sounds about right. Raffe's feelings? Not so much. I get that the book is written from Penryn's perspective but there was absolutely NO indication of his feelings for her up until they reached San Francisco, so when things started happening it didn't feel natural.This book was an entertaining read the whole way through. I thoroughly enjoyed this, but what really makes it stand out is that last third of the book. Incredible.I've already got World After, but I'm going to put off reading it until closer to the release of End of Days.Definitely recommend for anyone who liked Daughter of Smoke & Bone and (even though I'm technically still reading it, and it's not about Angels but it reminds me a lot of Angelfall) The 5th Wave.

I wanted to like this, I really did. And I expected to as well, given all the rave reviews and the posters in the tube claiming it was the 'internet phenomenon', but I found the storyline quite dull...I was bored, and by the end I really didn't care what was going on inside that giant angel-filled luxury hotel. Or how much Raffe did or did not feel for Penryn.Penryn was fine as a heroine, but I felt her motivation (to save her sister - Katniss Everdeen anyone?) was reiterated too many times. As though Susan Ee thought - what reason can I have to make these two (Penryn and the angel hero Raffe) stick together for the duration of the novel? It felt like a plot trick - she needs him to take her to her captured sister and he needs to get to the same destination to get his wings sewn back on. Good, innit? They both have the same destination in mind. And this is repeated over and over: this is what the characters NEED. This is their MOTIVATION for everything they're doing. Sister and wings. To me it felt a tiny bit hack-handed.That said the plot trots along and it is an easy read. Penryn isn't as irritating as other first person present tense narrators. However, I could have done with a little more information. A little background. This felt like a book that had been worked right down and pared back until there was nothing left but the 'correct' elements for a good story. And for me it missed a little bit.I won't read the next book, and I think that's always an indication of how much I enjoyed a first-in-a-series.