Review: World After by Susan Ee (Penryn and the End of Days #2)

World After (Penryn and the End of Days #2)
Susan Ee
Published: Nov. 19, 2013 (Skyscape)
Purchase: Book Depository or Amazon
Review source: copy provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review

Reviewed by Amanda

Rating (out of 5): 4.5 stars

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

Life isn’t getting any easier for Penryn. She’s reunited with her sister and her mother at the cost of being separated from Raffe. Then, while she’s still trying to get used to the monster Paige has become, Paige disappears–and Penryn’s determined to find her. Only this time, she’s on her own, because Raffe’s got wings now, even if they aren’t his own.

Her search takes her to Alcatraz, and the abandoned prison-turned-tourist attraction holds horrors far worse than what she’d seen below the aerie. But there’s no Paige. Penryn’s got to find a way off the island and back to the mainland, and the only way to do it puts her smack in the path of the very species she’s sworn to kill.

The tension and the pace established in Angelfall don’t let up in World After. Things happen quickly, and the secrets come out at a fast clip. Penryn uncovers a lot about the angels’ agenda in short amount of time, and none of it is good–or hopeful. The humans will have their work cut out for them.

Because of what happened to Raffe at the end of Angelfall, they’re separated for a good portion of the book, yet the way Ee keeps them connected gives you insight into what’s going on in Raffe’s head. It does mean we miss out on the banter Raffe and Penryn perfected before they were separated. But when they’re reunited…well, let’s just say you need to be careful what you call an archangel’s sword.

Penryn really comes into her own. She’s already used to looking after others, but now that she’s in possession of his sword, she’s a force to be reckoned with. She puts aside her fear and exasperation time and again to do what she believes is right, even when it puts her in danger. And she’s smart enough, despite her young age, to figure out how to get out of most of those scrapes herself.

And once again, her attraction to Raffe falls way down on her priority list, but that doesn’t stop her from indulging in a few wishful moments. It helped me remember that under it all, she’s just a teenage girl who’s really, really hot for a guy she knows she can’t have–but she wants him anyway. I might have sighed with happiness when Raffe and Penryn were getting all confessional in the beach house. Maybe. (I totally did.)

World After does a fantastic job of setting up what’s sure to be an action-packed conclusion. Battles will be fought and painful, possibly heartbreaking, choices will be made in End of Days. I’m waiting impatiently for the end of Penryn and Raffe’s story, but in the meantime, I’m going to go back and read this one again.

Sexual content: none