Review: Angelfall by Susan Ee || When second time’s the charm

Title: Angelfall
Author: Susan Ee
Series: Penryn & the End of Days trilogy, book 1
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic, Paranormal, Romance, [Young-Adult]
Heat Rating: Cool
Page Count and Format: 284 pages, Paperback
Published: August 28th, 2012 by Skyscape
Source: Purchased
My Rating:

Blurb (from Goodreads):

It’s been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Travelling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels’ stronghold in San Francisco where she’ll risk everything to rescue her sister and he’ll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

---

I read Angelfall and World After back in 2015 but I never got to pick up the third and last book of this trilogy which I finally bought this March. As I didn’t quite remember anything from the first 2 books, I decided it would only be wise if to reread the first of them as well. So, I decided to buddy read it Raven @ Dreamy Addictions because we both kinda had the same situation. Anyway, I think I enjoyed Angelfall more than I did the last time. Well, this is definitely one of the perks of rereading.

Angelfall deals with the post-apocalyptic world where the chaos is everywhere. The angels have taken over the earth and no place is safe anymore. Penryn along with her mother and crippled sister is on the run until her sister is snatched by one of the angels and leaves one of their wounded, behind. Raffe quickly becomes an ally than a leverage when Penryn learns they are on the same side. The search for her sister is not what she expected it to be, will she be able to reach her in time?

“Sometimes, as we’re stumbling along in the dark, we hit something good.”

The plot was refreshing and I couldn’t put the book down. This book is divided into small chapters which made it a smooth read. Penryn like everyone else just wants to survive. Her whole family which consists of her mother and sister, Paige depends on her. While she is on the run, she witnesses a fight between one angel, Raffe’s against a few others. They cut off his wings but Penryn’s timely intervention saves him but her sister gets snatched by the big bad wolf, Belial. Penryn somehow helps Raffe and they both set on a journey to find her sister. I was constantly on the edge while reading this book.

This book never failed to surprise it. While they are on the search for their sister, they met the rebels who in my opinion were a wackjob. They thought they were prepared to take on the angels but oh well, they got their answers. But I loved Dee-Dum, the twins. They were notorious but they had a good heart, and they reminded me of the Weasley twins. Raffe and Penryn made quite an unlikely team and daaaamn I totally ship it!! According to Raffe, angels are not allowed to socialise with Daughter of Men which kind of made their chemistry more intense. I ship it! I ship it! I ship it! And Raffe’s sense of humour was quite, what can I say… interesting.

“My friends call me Wrath,” says Raffe. “My enemies call me Please Have Mercy. What’s your name, soldier boy?”

Anyway, I digress. I loved Paige who was wheelchair bound and I felt so bad she got taken. When Penryn finally managed to reach where her sister might have been kept, I was as horrified as Penryn to see what in the hell that was actually going on. I felt equally disgusted. On the other hand, I don’t actually know what to think of Penryn’s mom, she was a nut job but the sanest person at the same time.

I expected the world-building to be more… I don’t know the exact word but let’s settle for precise. I wanted more answers, I wanted to know why the angels were here and what they actually wanted to do which now when I think, half of the angels did not know the answer to this question. And the wingy twist, I definitely wasn’t expecting that. Nonetheless, I hope to get my answers in the next book.

Overall, Angelfall was an intriguing read. I loved how the plot was executed, it was unpredictable and kept me on my toes. Although there isn’t much romance in this book, I loved the chemistry between Raffe and Penryn. The writing was smooth and addictive and it was fast paced throughout the book.

Recommend it?

Yes!

---

So guys, what did you think about this book? Was it a cup of your tea or did you expect more from it?

• 4 stars
• 4 stars out of 5
• Angelfall
• August release
• Blog Buddy Read
• book 1
• buddy reading
• Paranormal
• Penryn & the End of Days trilogy
• Post-Apocalyptic
• Purchased
• re-reading
• romance
• Skyscape Publishers
• Susan Ee
• trilogy
• YA
• Young-Adult