Book Review – Angelfall

Author: Susan Ee
Series: Penryn & the End of Days
Genres: Young Adult, Science fiction, Urban fantasy, Paranormal
Release Date: 23rd May 2013
Publishers: Hodder & Stoughton
No. Pages: 326
Source: Bookbridgr
Buy at: BookDepository

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.

---

Now this is how you write a book about angels.

Susan Ee’s debut novel is a highly addictive and captivating read. Angelfall has set the bar so high that I don’t think I can read another post-apocalyptic book without comparing the two.

Six weeks after the angels descended onto earth, the world has been torn apart by war. When seventeen year-old Penryn hastily attempts to intervene as Raffe, a warrior angel, is brutally stripped of his wings she draws the attention of one of the perpetrators. Who then kidnaps her younger wheelchair-bound sister. Now Penryn is hell-bent on finding her and demands Raffe’s assistance.

Penryn is one of my favourite heroines. She’s an intelligent, self-reliant, badass but she’s also an ordinary girl trying her hardest to keep her family safe. Her unwavering determination to find her sister and the small things she does for her schizophrenic mother are admirable.

Then we have Raffe… He’s shrouded in mystery and it’s obvious he’s hiding things but I couldn’t help but be lured in by his confident and witty demeanor. There’s also the fact that he’s compassionate, caring and incredibly sweet. His relationship with Penryn builds gradually and naturally as they struggle to survive together. Whilst there is a romance between the two, it’s so subtle that it’ll leave you craving more.

Susan Ee is a fantastic writer. She’s created a realistic post-apocalyptic world, with a well-fleshed out plot line and dynamic characters. Ee writes graphic imagery and so if you’re a reader who doesn’t like gruesome scenes, you should be warned this book contains a few.

My only quarrel with this book is the lack of questioning on Penryn’s part. Why have the angels come to earth? Why now? Who sent them? However, I’m confident these questions will be answered in the future books and so for now I wouldn’t worry too much about it.

If you haven’t picked this book up yet, what are you waiting for?