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Review: Angelfall by Susan Ee (Penryn and the End of Days #1)

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Angelfall by Susan Ee // VBC ReviewAngelfall (Penryn and the End of Days #1)
Susan Ee
Published: Aug. 28, 2012 (Skyscape)
Purchase: Book Depository or Amazon
Review source: purchased

Reviewed by: Amanda

Rating (out of 5): 5 stars

True story: A friend of mine raved about Angelfall for months before I broke down and bought it. It took me another two years to actually read the book (Amazon says I purchased it in March of 2013). I should not have waited so long. If you have this book and you’ve been waiting, for whatever reason, stop what you’re doing and go read it. Because this book is just jumping-up-and-down, I-cant-believe-it amazing.

It’s been six weeks since the apocalypse destroyed the world as we know it, the angels ruthless in their determination to eradicate the human race. Penryn, her younger sister Paige, and their mother finally venture out of their Silicon Valley condo in search of safety in the hills surrounding the Bay Area, only to interrupt an angel versus angel battle—ending in the abduction of Paige and an angel lying helpless in the street, his wings sheared off.

Penryn’s determined to get her sister back, so she makes a deal with the angel: help her find Paige, and she’ll help him find a surgeon who can sew his wings back on.

Where do I even start? How about with how deliciously dark this book is? It is. It is so very dark, and I loved every second of it. Penryn’s been practicing one form of martial art or another since she was a young child as a way to protect herself from her mother, who suffers from paranoid (and occasionally violent) delusions. With her father out of the picture and her mother frequently unable to provide adequate care for her and Paige, Penryn’s had to step up and take on responsibilities more in line with an adult, making her more mature than your average 17 year old.

It shows in her interactions with Raffe (pronounced raff-ee), the angel she saved. Raffe is inhumanly gorgeous, even for an angel (and we later find out why). But acting on her attraction to him rates well below staying alive and finding Paige on Penryn’s to-do list. She rarely dwells on it, in fact, focusing on how to get the two of them into San Francisco without anyone finding out that Raffe’s an angel minus his wings. It was refreshing to see the romance take a back seat to the action, especially since the action was so overwhelming and grim.

By the time they make it into the city with a plan to infiltrate the angel’s aviary, Penryn and Raffe have faced down a small army of humans, hunger, pain, and some unearthly creatures that have a very disturbing origin. Because this is only the first book in the trilogy, there’s only so much you can say about the plot before you give something crucial away. There was a growing sense of dread in the pit of my stomach the closer I got to the end, and the end itself kicked me in the stomach… and then I scrambled to get my hands on the next book.

Why are you still reading this review? Go! Buy the book!

Sexual content: kissing

 

3 Responses to “Review: Angelfall by Susan Ee (Penryn and the End of Days #1)”

  1. Laura says:

    YES. TO ALL THE THINGS.

  2. Angie says:

    I totally agree and so look forward to the conclusion coming out in May. 🙂

  3. Lee says:

    OK. I have the same story – this has been sitting on my Kindle, unread, since…well, a long time. Your review is encouragement to finally read it!

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