Book Title: Angelfall
Author: Susan Ee
Series: Penryn and the End of Days #1
Date Started: June 2nd 2013
Date Completed: June 5th 2013
Genres: Romance, Dystopian, Fantasy, Adventure, Comedy, Action, Mystery, Thriller
Rating: Four stars
Review:
I've been hearing about Angelfall for a very, very long time. Described as an 'internet phenomenon', I knew that the hype for this book was already incredibly high. This actually made me doubt how good the actual book was going to be. In my opinion, it didn't live up to the madness surrounding reviews. But that doesn't mean it wasn't a absolutely brilliant book that will be sitting on my favourites shelf for quite a while.
Angelfall is set in a dystopian Earth after angels have invaded and destroyed everything with their superior power. With only a few hundred survivors, Penryn Young is among those who escaped the first waves of death. She's on the run with her wheelchair-bound sister Paige and her schizophrenic mother when they run head-first into a execution by the angels - of one of their kind. In a desperate attempt to create a distraction for her family, Penryn attacks the angels and manages to save their victim, but her sister is carried off in the process. What follows is an adventure across the US to San Francisco for Penryn to rescue her younger sibling, with only the help of a wingless angel.
The one negative thing I have to say about this book is the writing. Since the book is a debut from Ee, I wasn't surprised to find that the writing didn't really flow in a lot of places and words were repeated a great deal (e.g. beginning practically every sentence with I).
However, there's actually a lot of potential in the description and movement of the text - I'm slightly disappointed because I felt it was almost like this version was still a draft that just had to be revised a couple more times to get the writing perfect.
I read a lot of dystopians - and most of them are violent. But none are presented as so hauntingly horrific and violent as this one. I usually feel that clashing genres like dystopians and then supernatural and fantasy as well are hard to make work since the overload of different cultures just doesn't move smoothly against each other. But actually, it kind of worked here; the mixture of magic and demons and destruction were relevant to the plot rather than being throw in there to attract more readers.
The romance was just right. I rant a lot about plots becoming romance focused - and I would essentially call this book a romance novel. But actually, I found it very bearable and subtle enough to noticeably be there, but not have the plot revolve around it. Very well done.
I really liked Penryn - she was still able to find humour (that was actually funny) in a lot of serious situations without making it too comical and hard to take seriously. She might be the typical strong female protagonist with all the martial arts talents and resourcefulness, but there's something else about her that I can't quite pinpoint - but it makes her a lot more relatable and enjoyable to read from the perspective of. She's also more concerned about her missing family that swooning over her wingless angel (thank god).
Raffe is a very good male interest as well: I thought he'd be the typical strong, moody, emotionally-distraught angel - and he was - but he was also a lot more likeable because Ee presented him as actually caring, but being more concerned about his predicament. Like I said, the romance is just right.
(I also really like Dee-Dum - don't ask me why, I'm not sure myself. But the twins are really interesting in my opinion and I hope they're in the next book.)
I was dubious at first of the pace, since the first chapter implies that not a lot is going to happen, but things picked up pretty fast from there. Angelfall is a short book, so there's always something going on. I just wish it was slightly longer so the characters had time to get into more trouble and we got to learn a little bit more about them. I feel like the book was over before it had really begun - which is a shame because I actually really really enjoyed it.
I would recommend Angelfall to anyone who likes to read romance, dystopians, action, fantasy, comedy. It's quite a light read - although some parts are harder to get through because of the inexperience of the author - but it's still enjoyable to read. There's a lot that happens, and everything's obviously open for a sequel. Can't wait.
Image Source: http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1319887835l/11500217.jpg
I've been hearing about Angelfall for a very, very long time. Described as an 'internet phenomenon', I knew that the hype for this book was already incredibly high. This actually made me doubt how good the actual book was going to be. In my opinion, it didn't live up to the madness surrounding reviews. But that doesn't mean it wasn't a absolutely brilliant book that will be sitting on my favourites shelf for quite a while.
Angelfall is set in a dystopian Earth after angels have invaded and destroyed everything with their superior power. With only a few hundred survivors, Penryn Young is among those who escaped the first waves of death. She's on the run with her wheelchair-bound sister Paige and her schizophrenic mother when they run head-first into a execution by the angels - of one of their kind. In a desperate attempt to create a distraction for her family, Penryn attacks the angels and manages to save their victim, but her sister is carried off in the process. What follows is an adventure across the US to San Francisco for Penryn to rescue her younger sibling, with only the help of a wingless angel.
The one negative thing I have to say about this book is the writing. Since the book is a debut from Ee, I wasn't surprised to find that the writing didn't really flow in a lot of places and words were repeated a great deal (e.g. beginning practically every sentence with I).
However, there's actually a lot of potential in the description and movement of the text - I'm slightly disappointed because I felt it was almost like this version was still a draft that just had to be revised a couple more times to get the writing perfect.
I read a lot of dystopians - and most of them are violent. But none are presented as so hauntingly horrific and violent as this one. I usually feel that clashing genres like dystopians and then supernatural and fantasy as well are hard to make work since the overload of different cultures just doesn't move smoothly against each other. But actually, it kind of worked here; the mixture of magic and demons and destruction were relevant to the plot rather than being throw in there to attract more readers.
The romance was just right. I rant a lot about plots becoming romance focused - and I would essentially call this book a romance novel. But actually, I found it very bearable and subtle enough to noticeably be there, but not have the plot revolve around it. Very well done.
I really liked Penryn - she was still able to find humour (that was actually funny) in a lot of serious situations without making it too comical and hard to take seriously. She might be the typical strong female protagonist with all the martial arts talents and resourcefulness, but there's something else about her that I can't quite pinpoint - but it makes her a lot more relatable and enjoyable to read from the perspective of. She's also more concerned about her missing family that swooning over her wingless angel (thank god).
Raffe is a very good male interest as well: I thought he'd be the typical strong, moody, emotionally-distraught angel - and he was - but he was also a lot more likeable because Ee presented him as actually caring, but being more concerned about his predicament. Like I said, the romance is just right.
(I also really like Dee-Dum - don't ask me why, I'm not sure myself. But the twins are really interesting in my opinion and I hope they're in the next book.)
I was dubious at first of the pace, since the first chapter implies that not a lot is going to happen, but things picked up pretty fast from there. Angelfall is a short book, so there's always something going on. I just wish it was slightly longer so the characters had time to get into more trouble and we got to learn a little bit more about them. I feel like the book was over before it had really begun - which is a shame because I actually really really enjoyed it.
I would recommend Angelfall to anyone who likes to read romance, dystopians, action, fantasy, comedy. It's quite a light read - although some parts are harder to get through because of the inexperience of the author - but it's still enjoyable to read. There's a lot that happens, and everything's obviously open for a sequel. Can't wait.
Image Source: http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1319887835l/11500217.jpg
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