| Book Review: Angelfall by Susan Ee | ||
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Book title | Angelfall |
| Series | Penryn & The End of Days #1 | |
| Author | Susan Ee | |
| Pages | 288 | |
| Year published | 2011 | |
| Rating |  |
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A fast-paced, exciting introduction to the Penryn & the End of Days trilogy.
Official Summary
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.
Traveling 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 have no idea what took me so long to read this book. I’ve been meaning to read Angelfall for years now, but only recently acquired the book after learning that the trilogy is now complete. I had high expectations because this book received so many great reviews on Goodreads and it was also my sister’s rec. I am glad to report to you that my expectation is more than met.
Let’s dive in!
Review
Angelfall is the first book in Penryn & The End of Days trilogy. No price for guessing the name of the protagonist.
It is a dystopian novel, set in the modern world that has been destroyed by the angels. Humanity still exist, but barely get by. Many people became part of gangs and they steal and raid to get food and shelter. The story kicked off with Penryn trying to get her mother and her disabled little sister out of their condo. They had to leave because it’s no longer safe in their neighborhood. Their journey was halted when they found themselves trapped in the middle of angels fight. Penryn’s little sister, Paige, was kidnapped by one of the angel, and all she left with was a broken angel named Raffe that has lost his wings and was bleeding to death. Penryn saved Raffe’s life and together they set on a journey to rescue Paige (Penryn’s goal) and to get Raffe’s wings sewn back on (Raffe’s goal).
I don’t know what it is that makes Angelfall so good. The premise is not entirely new. By now, I could mention a couple of dystopian books where the protagonist initial goal was not trying to save the world, just his/her sibling. I think everyone is familiar with Katniss’ ‘I volunteer as tribute’ action to protect her sister. The premise is even more similar with Rick Yancey’s The 5th Wave, where Cassie embarks on a journey to get to her little brother.
Having said that, Angelfall seems to be able to put every piece of puzzle in their correct places. Penryn is one of the most likeable heroine because she is not just badass by default. She’s not cold-blooded, but she will do things when it’s necessary and will not flinch from her actions. She saved Raffe’s life more than once and put him in his place, but she’s also willing to trade place and trust Raffe when it was necessary.
Another thing that I really like about Angelfall is that Ee doesn’t force her protagonists to fall in insta-love where there are more important things to do. Sure, the attraction is obvious, but the progress between those two seems slow and natural.
This book is fast-paced and it was so addictive, I basically read it in two sittings (I am usually a slow reader). I just cannot put it down. Everything about it just scream “read one more chapter” then “one more page” and so on until I finish the book. I appreciate that Susan doesn’t make a cliffhanger type of ending for this book just to leave people hanging. Everything is more or less wrapped up (loosely) by the end of this book. Of course, there are still unfinished business and questions remained unanswered, which I cannot post here because… uh, spoilers. Nevertheless, it was a satisfying ending.
Verdict
It was damn good.
Final Score
5 stars (out of 5 stars)