Review: End of Days by Susan Ee (Penryn and the End of Days #3)

End of Days (Penryn and the End of Days #3)
Susan Ee
Published: May 12, 2015 (Skyscape)
Purchase: Book Depository or Amazon
Review source: purchased

Reviewed by Amanda

Rating (out of 5): 5 stars

Note: While this review is spoiler free, it does reference events in the previous books. If you haven’t started the series yet, check out VBC’s review of book 1, Angelfall.

Penryn and Raffe are running out of time. They need to find a doctor capable of reversing the horrible changes forced on Raffe and Paige. After that, they have no choice—to accomplish their opposing goals, they’ll have to split up for good. Penryn’s determined to help the Resistance rid Earth of the angelic host determined to take over her world, and Raffe’s determined to rejoin their ranks.

But circumstances throw them back together. To prevent the apocalypse, they’ll need help from the most unlikely place, and they’ll have to work with people they can’t trust. When it’s all over, they’ll have to make the decision they’ve been putting off: their own kind, or each other.

End of Days follows in the footsteps of its predecessors by putting its foot on the gas and not letting up until the very end. Escaping from the new aerie, the end of Penryn and Raffe’s story unfolds at a fast clip. At one point, Penryn quips she can’t remember the last time she’s slept and she’s running on adrenaline, which isn’t the best diet for a human. She’s not kidding. Poor girl can’t catch a few hours of sleep without something happening—people fighting over Paige, uncovering more of the angels dirty tricks, bloodying Pooky Bear with hellion blood. There was a point about halfway through the book where I thought the story could fall apart, the tension breaking too soon. I was so wrong.

And in this final installment, you really see how torn Raffe’s become. He would give everything to rejoin the angel ranks, even, Penryn fears, turn his back on her. But he’s grown quite attached to his Daughter of Man. He gets pretty growly whenever someone brings up Penryn falling for someone else, and it leads to some fun and sarcastic bantering between Penryn and Raffe.

There’s more from the cast of supporting characters—Penryn’s mom has got everyone fooled, including Penryn, and the twins Dee and Dum had me smiling and snort laughing. But what I loved most was that everyone, from Dee and Dum to Paige to Penryn and Raffe, stayed true to themselves and their goals, even when it put them at odds. These are strong, vibrant characters and there’s no waffling allowed.

I one-more-chaptered the hell out of this book. Ee doesn’t give her characters much room to breathe, and she doesn’t give her readers much room, either. So don’t make plans when you sit down to read End of Days. You’ll just end up breaking them.

Sexual content: kissing