Review : Angelfall by Susan Ee

Summary (from Goodreads)

Title : Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days #1)
Author : Susan Ee
Publisher : Feral Dream
Publication Date : May 21st 2011
Goodreads - Amazon

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.



Personal Thoughts

I've just finished reading this book and I'm in absolute awe of this masterpiece of a book. Angelfall is a book that's never attracted me because it is a book about angels. I've only read a few angel books, but none of them have really appealed to me due to various reasons. While going through the wonderful and glorifying reviews from my Goodreads friends, it dawned on me that I was missing out. Boy, was I amazed by Angelfall! This book just vied to become one of my all-time favorite books.

In the world in which the main character, Penryn lives, angels have descended on Earth and have destructed the world. Every single human being lives in fear of these heartless creatures. When Penryn's younger sister, Paige, is taken away by a warrior angel, she is devastated, but she vows to do everything she can to do save her. Lucky for her, she stumbles upon Raffe, an angel whose wings have just been cut off. The two of them rely on each other for survival while she tries to save her sister and he tries to put his wings back on.

I loved how realistic the characters in Angelfall were, making them utterly likable. Susan Ee sure does know how to craft beautiful characters that bring life to the story. The main character, Penryn, is one of my all-time favorite characters, right next to Rose from VA and Tris from Divergent. I loved the strength that she showed in the face of all the problems she was going through. Penryn wasn't the sort of character who bowed down when she came across obstacles. Instead, she was the kind of girl who tried her best to find her way out of these barriers. Not once did she whine or wallow in grief. She simply used her grief and turned into a vicious strength that remained part of her. Her independence was also one of my favorite character trait of hers. However, what I loved the most about Penryn was the absolute love she had for her handicapped sister, Paige. She was ready to do anything, even endanger her own life, to help her sister out. Throughout the story, the depth of Penryn's love for Paige was crystal clear. I connected with Penryn because of that. My younger sister and I share a similar relationship to Penryn and Paige. While reading the book, I saw glimpses of myself in Penryn, making her even more likable in my eyes. Plus, she could fight, so I had to love her just for that! Raffe, the angel with the cut-off wings, was so mysterious that I had a very hard time trying to figure him out. However, I did fall for the angel ... hard. I loved how he could provide comic relief during intense scenes. For a descendent of evil angels, he sure did know how to make sarcastic and funny comments. I loved his sense of humor and his ability to constantly tease Penryn. He was,indeed, very easy to like! The characters in Angelfall were all multi-layered, ensuring that I was never bored by their interactions.

The plot of Angelfall is definitely the pivot of this book. There was a subtle, slow-burning romance, but it never took over the plot. Instead, it remained in the side-lines, satisfying me, but never overwhelming the plot line. Be warned that this book is not for everyone. It's gory, gruesome and at times absolutely horrifying, but I loved it just because of that. Susan Ee doesn't hold out on the freaky , "I'm going to have your spine tingling in fear" scenes. She sure knows how to write such scenes in an excellent way. I loved the ability of the book to take me by complete surprise and that happened like in every scene of the story. Susan Ee has incredible writing skills. I swear, I fell in love with the writing right after I read the first paragraph of the book. Her prose is beautiful, but never confusing. However, my favorite part of her writing is the conversations she wrote, especially between Raffe and Penryn. They had so many witty banters that had me laughing at times because of the heavy sarcasm and humor they both possessed. Angelfall began with a bang and the action never ceases even until the very end of the book. The world-building in the book was incredibly well-written. Susan Ee provided all the necessary information to let you know what's going on in this post-apocalyptic world. I just can't tell you guys enough how much I loved this book. Just read it if you haven't. You'll understand why I'm singing its praises so much!

If you're looking to read a really well-written angel book, then I highly suggest you read Angelfall ... right now! I know I've said this a million times in my review, but this book was incredible! This is a book that ruined me for any other angel books. Don't let the fact that book is self-published put you off from reading it. I assure you that this is so much better than so many published books. Honestly, Angelfall is a gem in the YA genre.

Rating

Cover : 4/5
Plot : 5/5
Characters : 5/5
Writing : 5/5