(Ed. note: Our giveaway for an advanced reader copy of Angelfire is now closed. The winner will be announced on Dec. 30.)
Angelfire (Angelfire #1)
Courtney Allison Moulton
Published: Feb. 15, 2011 (Harper Teen)
Purchase at: Book Depository or Amazon
Rating (out of 5): 4 stars
Angelfire is full of potential and by the end of this series opener, I knew I’d want to read more.
Ellie thought she was the middle-of-the-road teenager. Not crazy popular, but with good friends. Her big concerns were her jerk of a dad and school. Until she started having nightmares of being murdered by monsters. It was then that a super hot guy started showing up everywhere she went. He was there to protect her as she rediscovered her memories and learned her true role as the reincarnation of an ancient warrior sent to protect the world from demon reapers.
She wasn’t particularly athletic, but now Ellie must re-learn to use swords, call fire to her blades and discover a way to keep everyone safe. Will helps her memory along, and it doesn’t take much before she’s ditching her friends for him nightly.
Courtney Allison Moulton has crafted a new “hot boy with sword” archetype in Will. While the other HBWS guys we’ve fallen for (yeah, we’re talking about Prince Ash) have been bad boy types, that’s not true with Will. He’s brusque, sure, but his sole purpose is to keep Ellie safe and it quickly becomes clear there is no sacrifice he wouldn’t make for her. We know she once saved him, but all we see is this stoic — and super hot — guardian willing to help her discover who she really is …and how to wield a sword like no other.
The chemistry between Ellie and Will is undeniable and will make any reader take notice. You’ll quickly be thinking, “they should just kiss already.” But I assure you, their relationship is more complicated than one could imagine. With great twists on the Ellie/Will front at the end of the novel, we’re already dying to know what will happen with the two in the future.
The only downside to Angelfire was it took me quite a bit to warm up to Ellie. (Though, a part of me wonders if this is just because it’s been awhile since I was a teenager.) The first half of the book, Ellie is very focused on her expensive new car (her friends are very focused on it being an Audi, as well). For me it was distracting to have the barrage of brands peppered through. Ellie is wealthy — I get that — but all the focus on items made it hard to connect with her early on.
However, as she begins to discover who and what she is, it becomes easier and easier to like and care about her. Her interactions with Will make her far more intriguing and worthy of readers’ devotion. She begins taking her duty to kill reapers seriously, we get to see her evolve into a strong, powerful woman. Her fight scenes are extraordinary and the use of flashbacks to previous lives and memories are what lift this novel above so many other debuts in the YA paranormal genre.
Moulton’s fresh take on angels in Angelfire gives us explosive fight scenes, sizzling chemistry and a guy you’ll add to your “book boyfriend” list in a heartbeat. Once you’ve read it, you’ll be watching for when book 2 in the series comes out.
CONTEST DETAILS AND RULES
1. Fill out the entry form.
2. This contest is only open to residents of the U.S. and Canada.
3. Contest is closes at 11:59 p.m. CST on Tuesday, Dec. 28.
4. Winners will be selected using Random.org and announced on Dec. 30. Then they will be contacted via email and given 48 hours to claim their prizes. If we do not hear from the winner(s) within that time, new winner(s) will be selected.
6. Entrants must be at least 13 years old, or have their parent’s permission to enter this contest. Please review our privacy policy, if you have any questions as to how Vampire Book Club uses your information. (Short version: we’ll only use it to contact you for this contest.)
7. Though unlikely, Vampire Book Club has the right to change or cancel any giveaway at any time without prior notice.
8. A big thank you to Harper Teen for providing this ARC.
OOOOOOHHHHH!!!!!!!!
This book looks good!!!
Thank you for this contest…
Kelly M
crazyforbooks@comcast.net
Thanks for the giveaway and review.
Awesome blog! Please enter me in your giveaway! And if you’re into giveaways, I’m having a little giveaway on my blog as well. 😀
Oh pick me pick me!
e.e.walker9@gmail.com
OMG! I want to read this book soooo bad 🙂 I cannot wait for February 15th! It’s too long of a wait, ah!
Great review! Makes me even more excited to read it *__*
Have been waiting on getting a copy of this book to read and review but February is a long way away, would love to win an ARC copy before January rolls around!
Especially since your review was positive about the book and the main characters…
jackie >_<
jacabur2008(@)gmail(dot)com
Great review! This book sounds great but I’m not looking forward to all the teenage-ish stuff even if I am one still.
This sounds GREAT…marked it in my calender 🙂
Looks like a good book!
This sounds cool. I love the idea of reincarnation used to help someone.
Great giveaway this book sounds so good thank you for the chance!
awesome giveaway!
Thank you for the chance to win this…