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A review by betwixt_the_pages
Angelfall by Susan Ee
4.0
It's been six weeks since the angels of the apocalypse destroyed the world as we know it. Only pockets of humanity remain.
Savage street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night.
When angels fly away with a helpless girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back...
---
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Quick Reasons: Engaging plot; well-written characters; mayhem and chaos for thriller and horror lovers alike; intriguing world and world-building
Yes, I know--I'm late, once again, to the bandwagon. At least it's not kicking me off, right? But I digress.
This is another book I sort of picked up on a whim. I've seen a lot of raves about it on tumblr recently, and with the third book having just been released, I figured it was time for me to see what I was missing out on. The first sentence was like a shock of cold water on a sunny summer day; the story that followed had me mortified, frustrated, and intrigued (sometimes all at once!)
When Penryn's wheelchair-bound little sister, Paige, is kidnapped by angels, she sets off on a journey of self-discovery and self-reliance. After kidnapping a wounded, bleeding angel in turn in the hopes of gathering information about the other side, Penryn gets a glimpse of something in the angel she hadn't expected: something akin to humanity.
As their journey leads them farther from her home and closer to angel territory, Penryn and Raffe tread unfamiliar waters, relying on each other to make it through dangerous and troubling times. While the world falls apart around them, they find themselves lured deeper into a snare they hadn't realized was set for them...and closer to each other.
There are some interesting and unique things happening in this novel that have piqued my curiousity; I'm already planning on reading the next book in the series, wondering what happens from here. The characters are well-written; Penryn and Raffe especially are not your usual run-of-the-mill variety. Details that might, with other writers, fall through the cracks are brought to life and reimagined by Susan Ee. The prose is poetic and smooth, shifting from one scene to the next like water.
There's a fine line between "biblical" and "completely new" that Susan Ee treads here. She blurs and melds these two extremes into a seamless, breathtaking world of angel wars, religious mania, and superstition. The sense of expectancy and breathless wonder during the reading process had me devouring the world and words quickly, shuffling details and imagery into every corner of my mind I could.
This is a stunning read, and I am almost desperate to know what happens next, which is what any good series should accomplish. On top of that, I feel a connection with even the most broken characters--a testament to Susan Ee's skill and craft as an artist. I highly recommend this read to anyone who enjoys mythological retellings, delicious world-building, and flawed but lovable characters. Definitely an enjoyable read!
Savage street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night.
When angels fly away with a helpless girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back...
---
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Quick Reasons: Engaging plot; well-written characters; mayhem and chaos for thriller and horror lovers alike; intriguing world and world-building
Yes, I know--I'm late, once again, to the bandwagon. At least it's not kicking me off, right? But I digress.
This is another book I sort of picked up on a whim. I've seen a lot of raves about it on tumblr recently, and with the third book having just been released, I figured it was time for me to see what I was missing out on. The first sentence was like a shock of cold water on a sunny summer day; the story that followed had me mortified, frustrated, and intrigued (sometimes all at once!)
When Penryn's wheelchair-bound little sister, Paige, is kidnapped by angels, she sets off on a journey of self-discovery and self-reliance. After kidnapping a wounded, bleeding angel in turn in the hopes of gathering information about the other side, Penryn gets a glimpse of something in the angel she hadn't expected: something akin to humanity.
As their journey leads them farther from her home and closer to angel territory, Penryn and Raffe tread unfamiliar waters, relying on each other to make it through dangerous and troubling times. While the world falls apart around them, they find themselves lured deeper into a snare they hadn't realized was set for them...and closer to each other.
There are some interesting and unique things happening in this novel that have piqued my curiousity; I'm already planning on reading the next book in the series, wondering what happens from here. The characters are well-written; Penryn and Raffe especially are not your usual run-of-the-mill variety. Details that might, with other writers, fall through the cracks are brought to life and reimagined by Susan Ee. The prose is poetic and smooth, shifting from one scene to the next like water.
There's a fine line between "biblical" and "completely new" that Susan Ee treads here. She blurs and melds these two extremes into a seamless, breathtaking world of angel wars, religious mania, and superstition. The sense of expectancy and breathless wonder during the reading process had me devouring the world and words quickly, shuffling details and imagery into every corner of my mind I could.
This is a stunning read, and I am almost desperate to know what happens next, which is what any good series should accomplish. On top of that, I feel a connection with even the most broken characters--a testament to Susan Ee's skill and craft as an artist. I highly recommend this read to anyone who enjoys mythological retellings, delicious world-building, and flawed but lovable characters. Definitely an enjoyable read!