Review: Angelfall by Susan Ee

Title: Angelfall

Series: Penryn & the End of Days, #1

Author: Susan Ee

Date Published: August 28th, 2012

Publisher: Skyscape

Rating: 4.5 Stars

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. 

My Thoughts:


So, I've been hearing about this series for a long time. A few friends of mine recommended Angelfall to me a while back, but I just never got around to reading it. The thing is, I am very leery of reading any kinds of books featuring angels. I guess, I have my own preconceived notions about angels, due to my upbringing. However, I did read Unearthly, by Cynthia Hand, an I really liked it! After reading more praise for Angelfall, I decided to just go for it.

I'm so glad that I did!

Wow, I have to say- Susan Ee is a such a great writer! She also has a really vivid imagination. There were parts of the story that were dark and dreary, but the world-building was fantastic, and Ee's characters were fresh and unique.

When I first read about the main character, Penryn, in the synopsis, I honestly didn't think that I was going to like her. Sometimes, hard, tough characters like that can turn out to be mean and/or headstrong, and sometimes irritating. While, Penryn could be impulsive at times, I really liked her! She was tough because she had to be, yet she also showed some vulnerability and really cared about her family. She had her reasons for being the way that she was, and there were many times that I could catch glimpses of the old Penryn, or at least what she must have been like before the destruction.  I loved her thought processes and how she went about things. She knew her strengths and weaknesses, and when to ask for help (so refreshing!).

Then there was Raffi. What a troubled and mysterious character! We didn't learn much about him, but we did know he carried a huge burden. I had so much compassion for him and my heart was so sad for things that happened to him.

As for Penryn's mom and sister...well, they were just creepy at times. I gotta say, Penryn had the patience of a saint, when she had to deal with her mom. Yikes.

I am so glad that I read Angelfall. I am very much looking forward to the second book, World After. There are some questions that I hope to have answers to, and there are some things that I hope to see resolved.