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    Angelfall
    Angelfall
    Angelfall
    Audiobook8 hours

    Angelfall

    Written by Susan Ee

    Narrated by Caitlin Davies

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    TIME Top 100 Fantasy Books of All Time

    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 Raffe, an injured enemy angel. Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they journey toward the angels’ stronghold in San Francisco, where Penryn will risk everything to rescue her sister and Raffe will put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

    Revised edition: This edition of Angelfall includes editorial revisions.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateAug 28, 2012
    ISBN9781469222400
    Angelfall
    Author

    Susan Ee

    Susan Ee has eaten mezze in the old city of Jerusalem, surfed the warm waters of Costa Rica, and played her short film at a major festival. She has a life-long love of science fiction, fantasy, and horror, especially if there’s a touch of romance. She used to be a lawyer but loves being a writer because it allows her imagination to bust out and go feral.

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    Reviews for Angelfall

    4/5

    1,003 ratings119 reviews

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    • 2/5
      Eh it was ok kind of got bored in the middle
    • 3/5
      I Enjoyed this. I loved the banter between the characters and they are very easy to root for.
    • 5/5
      Oh my god. Ten out of five stars!!! Everyone read this book already! It's so freaking amazing!! ...ok so this may seem like a cliche overrated book about angel and post-apocalypse. But believe me. It's awesome, Susan Ee definitely knows how to write, she has me going on the first page and done with! She has created an amazing cast of characters dishing out the greatest heroine played and the kick-ass Raffe! But there is a lot of blood and gore but that makes it all the better. There is so much action and seriously, how much more dangerous can this deteriorating world get?! This book is sensational and the sequel can't arrive quick enough.
    • 5/5


      Angelfall deposits the reader right in the middle of this formidable post apocalyptic world where there are dangers lurking everywhere, both human and other. Angels have descended and ravaged the earth and those who are left resort to any means necessary to survive. Penryn is trying to take care of her small family since her father skipped out on them. She has to worry about a mother who is often lost in schizophrenic delusions as well as look out for her crippled and wheelchair bound little sister. Penryn is the one responsible for finding food and shelter as they try to constantly stay one step ahead of the dangerous street gangs and the bloodthirsty angels that can swoop down from above without warning. These angels have been in a really bad mood since their leader, Gabriel, was gunned down and they have been wreaking havoc, destroying so much of the world that the landscape has become unrecognizable and the few survivors struggle to endure day to day. It all seems rather hopeless and Penryn’s only motivation to continue on is the little sister who couldn’t survive without her. When Penryn impulsively saves an angel from being torn apart by his own kind, the other angels retaliate by flying off with her helpless little sister. Now Penryn will risk anything to get her back, including joining forces with one of the enemy.

      First lines:

      Ironically, since the attacks, the sunsets have been glorious. Outside our condo window, the sky flames like a bruised mango in vivid orange, reds, and purples. The clouds catch on fire with sunset colors, and I’m almost scared those of us caught below will catch on fire too.

      Awed..speechless…blown away…these are the words I would use to describe how much I enjoyed Angelfall. The writing was impeccable, I was lost in the story from the first page and it only got better as it continued. The author created a desolate world using vivid imagery and fascinating characters. I was as intrigued with some of the secondary characters as I was with Penryn and Raffe. For example, Penryn’s mother was an obvious schizophrenic who would seem to turn up unexpectedly throughout the book with strange and sometimes cryptic words and warnings for Penryn who wasn’t sure if her mother knew something of if she was simply insane. The angels and the street thugs were effectively terrifying, really setting the tone for the dangerous world they were a part of.

      I was surprised that, although these were the angels and archangels of the apocalypse, Angelfall didn’t stray too deeply into religion. It was interesting they way the author weaved bits and pieces of the angels background into the story, leaving them somewhat mysterious but giving enough of an explanation to satisfy, for now. I definitely want to understand more about them in the sequel.

      The growing relationship, not necessarily romance, between Raffe and Penryn was one of the highlights of the story for me. There was the slow development of mutual respect for one another which then progressed into trust and loyalty as they helped each other through some pretty scary situations. There was also a physical attraction that was always there but didn’t overshadow the more “real” things they started to feel for one another. I don’t see that slow, realistic progression often in fiction but I liked it. And Raffe….wow….I can’t wait to read more of HIM!!! His courage, strength, and loyalty was certainly swoon worthy for me.

      The angels were crazy scary. At one point Penryn sees a sign that says “Who will protect us from the guardians” and I think that pretty much sums it up. They view humans as talking monkeys and are ruthless in taking what they want. These are not the pretty creatures we see on Christmas cards. Raffe really puts it in perspective when he tells Penryn:

      He shrugs in the dim light. “Angels are violent creatures.”

      “So I noticed. I used to think they were all sweet and kind.”

      “Why would you think that? Even in your Bible, we’re harbingers of doom, willing and able to destroy entire cities. Just because we sometimes warned one or two of you beforehand doesn’t make us altruistic.”


      Ultimately, this is one of the best, if not the best, book I have read in 2011. I can’t recommend it enough. I can’t believe this was only $2.99!!! Angelfall is as a fast paced exciting page turner that will keep you up late into the night reading. I devoured this in just one day, staying up until 4 in the morning to finish it! This dark and gritty and beautifully written novel is a must read for fans of fantasy, dystopian, post-apocalyptic, angels, or anyone who just enjoy an exciting and extremely well written story.


      (This book is available for $2.99 as a LendMe Nook book at Barnes and Noble. You can add me as a Nook Friend at ahappybooker at gmail dot com. If you happen to read it, please write a review so we can get the word out about this amazing book!!)
    • 3/5
      The teenager falling for the handsome de-winged angel was pretty predictable, but the whole scorpion creatures part certainly wasn't. But I don't mean that in a good way. I enjoyed many aspects of the story about angels and their war with humans, but once Penryn discovered the lab with the mutated children, the story took a turn into the world of horror movies -- and I'm not sure I wanted to go along for the ride. I honestly can't believe the book is marketed as young adult!

      I like Penryn and am curious to find out what's going on with her mother, but I'm not entirely sure my delicate sensibilities can take another tour around the horrific chamber of nightmares where the angels are experimenting for a reason that's still uncertain to me. There are, after all, lots of other books to read.
    • 5/5
      I really like this first book. It’s post apocalyptic but not too dark. Can’t wait to read the others in the series.
    • 5/5
      Love it! the world building! the characterization! The writing! ultimately superb! For once, the fad was true! I love it!
    • 4/5

      You believed Angels to be Beautiful, Merciful, Angelic Creatures. Made and lorded over by the almighty God himself. Possibly watching over you and your family. Floating on puffy clouds.... Sadly that couldn't be further from the truth. What if those Angels had never talked to God. Never even seen him. What is they were as much in the dark as us humans. What if those Angels hated humanity. And what if those very Angels were blindly and suddenly, all cast out of heaven. And put directly onto Earth...?

      I originally read this book in 2016. I remember it as a cool novel about angels and the apocalypse. But this reread. This book is truly a horror novel. So disturbing , so heart wrenching. (view spoiler) This is not a YA romance. This is a harrowing story about a Teenage girl. Willing to do anything, ANYTHING to get her sister back from the monsters who stole her. Those monsters being Angels. Angels cast from heaven in a series of apocalyptic weather and catastrophes. Having to fight to survive in a new absolutely fucked up apocalyptic word. Where it is every man for themselves. Penryn has to make alot of hard, grown up choices for a teenage girl. Having to make a deal with one of the Horrid cruel Creatures themselves.
      Penryn having watched an Angel get his wings brutally cut off by his enemies in the attack that made the Angels take her wheelchair bound little sister. Seeing the opportunity to find her sister. After some first aid care and light torturing of said angel. Come to be known as "Raffe". Mutual needs bring Penryn and Raffe together. Going on a journey together. Raffe to get his wings sewn on. And Penryn to find her sister. Along the way, they come to realize maybe the other, isn't as horrible as they both assumed......
    • 4/5
      I'm normally not a big fan of post-apocalyptic novels so imagine my surprise when I started reading this self published book (thanks to all the glowing reviews on goodreads and at the time the $.99 price tag!) and was completely hooked. Not only is this a post-apocalyptic YA book but it also features angels as harbingers of doom! Yes, these angels are beautiful, however they're also very alien and truly of the evil variety.

      It's written in first-person present tense narrated by Penryn, a girl trying to survive along with her sister and mother. This narrative style really works in this post-apocalyptic world and added the unpredictability and urgency. The tension and pacing was near perfect. Also, the ending with it's unexpected twists was very satisfying without having to rely on a major cliffhanger. I highly recommend this book and look forward to book two.

    • 4/5
      Interesting storyline and a good plot. Decent character development. Raff and Penryn make an interesting pair. Leaderless Angels and revenge seeking humans. This story draws you in and holds you there. Given the way book 1 ended, I wonder what is in store for us in book 2.
    • 4/5
      I thought that this was a pretty good read. There were some really great parts. Such as the paranoid schizophrenic mother who forced her daughter to take numerous self-defence classes, in case the daughter should ever need to defend herself from HER. That does something moving to my insides. I also liked Penryn and Raffie, as well as Obi and his crew.

      I did occasionally wonder where all the normal people were. I mean there had to be a few non-homicidal or non-victimised people out there. There just had to be. But Penryn only seemed to meet up with potential murders or completely broken people. That didn't feel particularly realistic to me. Sure there'd obviously be some, even a lot, but EVERYONE?

      That's a small quibble though. I only have two real complaints. One is that the whole thing had a bit of a 'we did this, then I did this, and then this happened' feel to it. This is often hard to avoid with any first person, present tense narrative, but I REALLY felt it here. What's more, it felt very much like we were JUST getting an accounting of what Penryn was doing, without feeling like it was also leading up to anything. It felt like it just so happened that this minute to minute accounting of her life occurred in the midst of a post-apocalyptic dystopian future, as opposed to this future angelic war zone and her contributions to it being pivotal to it in any way. Interesting, but unimportant to the whole. I'm not saying that was the case, just that it felt that way.

      The second is that the question of WHY is never addressed. It's a bit like reading a novel set during D-Day without anyone knowing or telling the reader what World War II was about or why June 6th, 1944 was important. This lack of understanding stole a bit of the gravity from the story.

      On the whole, however, I read it in a day and enjoyed it. I'd even be interested in picking up the sequel at some point.
    • 5/5
      Stupendous, thrilling, intense, and even suspenseful at times, I was anxious and terrified at what would happen next. This book was all these things and more. The authors storytelling was perfect, it flowed with ease and depth. I love Penryn, she's a true heroine, she's a bad-ass who kicks, you got it "ass". And Raffe, he is so chill that you sometimes forget he's a freaking angel that can rip you apart with his hands. This book was the bees knees, a magnificent, paranormal, suspenseful, post-apocalyptic, thrill ride. I'm giving myself a pat on the shoulder for not waiting too long to read this book and i'm now on a high and not sure which book would dare to follow it. Book 2 would have been great but no such luck.
    • 4/5
      I really really enjoyed this book. Not sure why it took me so long to read since it's been on my list for a while now. I enjoyed the character Penryn - she's a tough girl who can fight her own battles and will do anything to save her family. And I enjoyed the angels. The book isn't long and doesn't take very long to read. That mixed with the page-turning quality of the story makes for an intense read. Watch out or you'll find yourself skipping from dialogue to dialogue in order to figure out what happens faster. I am really looking forward to the next book in the trilogy. Recommended if you enjoy dystopia or apocalyptic books.
    • 5/5
      This was an interesting book. I really liked the whole idea of the angel apocolypse and while there may be an entire genre that I haven't read, this is new to me. I enjoyed the main characters and their interactions. Penryn's mother was an entirely interesting character and I would like to know how she plays into the sequels. The ending was dark and while it tried to end on a positive note, it didn't quite hit it. I will definitely read the sequel but I am very curious of how she will continue this series.
    • 5/5
      READ THIS BOOK, my husband bought it for me because it was on sale for our Kindle a few months ago. I have a hard time getting into new genres/authors but our internet went out for a whole weekend so I decided to read it. I could not put it down from start to finish, I even read it while walking around grocery shopping. The reviews on amazon for it are spectacular as well.
      There is so much going on and different parts of the story to explore and the characters are great and Im dying for book #2 right now!

      Edit: Aug, 7, 2014 -- this is STILL my all time favorite book EVER!
      I want to fangirl all over it and do whatever I can to get everyone to read it! There is supposed to be a movie coming out someday, so read it before it explodes into popularity! DO IT NOW!

      Raffe <3 <3 <3 forever!!!!
    • 3/5
      I read this because it had been recommended to me, and because I wanted something easy and undemanding to read. The novel delivered on that!

      It took me a very long time to warm up to the characters, or to care particularly about what was happening to them, but by the time I got to the endgame of the book I found that some kind of connection had developed, because I would screw my face up and flinch at everything that wasn't going according to plan. The narrative is written in the present tense, from a first-person perspective, which helps make things visceral and immediate. Or so I found by the end, anyway.

      There were a couple of things that irritated me during the book -- firstly, it relies a lot on Christian lore, which I'm not very knowledgeable about. In particular, agnosticism is depicted as a weird or unreasonable perspective to have, which is logical given the premise of the book, and so it wasn't a BIG deal to me, but it made me a bit uncomfortable at times. Secondly, there is a vague kind of romantic subplot in this book which wasn't really working for me, which I would like to chalk up to the hormones of the seventeen-year-old protagonist, but I guess we shall see.

      Overall though, the novel is quite readable, with very short, bite-sized chapters so it's easy to read a little bit at a time in any five-minute break. If the premise intrigues you, the novel shouldn't let you down!
    • 3/5
      I honestly did "really like" this book, but I groaned out loud a few too many times over a few certain parts to justify four stars. I'm not in the same boat as everyone gushing that it's the best thing ever, but it's certainly not the worst.

      -Penryn is a decently kick-ass heroine. There are some cool scenes with her kicking butt because of all of the training she undertook as a kid, but the fight scenes aren't the most well-written. She's a strong and determined lead, and it's easy to root for her. I like her devotion to her sister, and even to her mom, as being her goal. It's not written in a way where you're super sick of hearing about them--but you are aware that finding them is her motivation. She's been the caregiver for so long, and it gives her an admirable inner strength to match her physical skills.

      -My only issue with Penryn herself is that her dialogue is sometimes childish and immature. Her inner musings are much of the same. Honestly, the dialogue in general often reads that way. But I have a particular disdain for cliched (and overly goofy) lines like, "You want a piece of me?" Like, I hate them. A lot. Especially when they're lines from like the 80s and 90s and still pop up in media in 2018 (ignoring the actual publish date of this book). That line in particular isn't in the book, but the point is that a lot of the dialogue reads that way even if the lines themselves aren't actually cliches. Like calling a sword "Pooky Bear." Please stop. (That's actually in book 2, but whatever.) But then other dialogue is palatable, so.

      -Let it be known that I rarely complain about pacing. Maybe that's because it usually takes a while for me to get through books now because of work and life, or the fact that it's usually not a big enough issue in whatever book to bother me, but my main complaint with this book is with the pacing. It was just kind of wonky--too rushed for some things, done well for others. Less than 100 pages in, we're already meeting a resistance group. I didn't like any part of that section of the book, and when Penryn was debating leaving when she had the chance or running back to the safety of the camp, I was saying OUT LOUD, "Please don't go back because I'm already sick of reading about them and you've only been there for a day." After getting through that part and now already being halfway through the next book, I understand introducing them, but those several chapters just didn't feel right. I think there were a few other things pacing-wise, but that was the main one for me. I just didn't like any of the characters or the way it was introduced, I guess. The events at the aerie were exciting, though, and the timing for all of that was well done.

      -I mostly enjoyed Penryn and Raffe's interactions, even though their banter is where most of that icky worse-than-corny dialogue comes from. Nothing was suuuper swoony in this first book, which was a tease but also welcome. They rely on each other and have spoken--and unspoken--agreements, and that was enough for me at this point. Mostly because of the other pacing issues I had. I'm glad it's kind of a slow burn between them, especially considering the hurdles of an angel and human having a relationship.

      Overall, I did enjoy this book and I have every intention of reading the whole series. My issues with the pacing and dialogue weren't enough to turn me off of that.
    • 4/5
      After reading the modern day YA books, I can see how this was an epic beginning to this genre of books. Its tale is simplistic , yet very nail biting when the action comes off the page (near the end).
    • 3/5
      Here's an out of context quote:

      Please, please don't make him take his shirt off.
      The Writing and Worldbuilding

      I've been intrigued by this book since the moment I found out about it. It's basically what happens when The Hunger Games and The Mortal Instruments are popular at the same time. However, I found it somewhat lacking. It definitely could have been executed better.

      The biggest issue was the first person narration. It had that snarky wit prevalent in YA and MG fiction and unfortunately, instead of adding necessary humor to lighten the darker themes, it lessened the darkness. It felt tonally unbalanced--tone deaf, if you will. Much of the plot felt juvenile and unrealistic (namely the "cat-fight" with Anita) and much of what happened ultimately could have been cut. The book does not wax philosophical and therefore has no central themes. It says nothing on the human condition, the state of society, and morality, which are all things its premise implies it discusses. Ultimately, it's meaningless fun.

      A big issue was the perceived age of the characters. I can believe that Penryn is supposed to be 17, but I cannot even comprehend the intended age of much of the rest of the cast. Raffe feels distinctly 25 at least, 35 at most (physically, of course, since his real age is MUCH older), and the same with Obi, especially considering their positions in society. All this girl's love interests would be considered perverts in real life; something is very wrong here.

      The world itself was probably the best part. I really like post-apocalypses and I really like angel-demon fiction, so there was definitely stuff to love there.

      The Characters

      Penryn: She's snarky in that "I'm a YA heroine--look at me kick butt!" way so there wasn't really much to care about, but her quest to save her sister instead of her mother was appreciated. Rescuing parents is too cliche at this point.

      Raffe: Besides being the resident old man, he was my favorite character, and I quite enjoyed reading about him. Though I'm not sure how his blue eyes can be so blue that they are black, Susan Ee. That's a little nonsensical.

      The SpOo0oOoky fam: Penryn's mom's madness was...a little offensive, I imagine, to people with schizophrenia, and I thought it would play more into the plot, but overall, I appreciated the way it was introduced and explained. I'm excited to see where Paige's character goes now that things are...different.

      The Resistance: Obi and his gang were okay but didn't feel real whatsoever. Honestly, they could have been cut completely and the story would have mostly played out exactly the same and probably would have been better.

      Conclusion

      It's pretty standard as far as YA books go. Not much there and not too intense for the youths, but with the beginnings of potential deepness. I enjoyed it and will likely continue the series.

      But the truth is that we're all just stumbling around in the dark.
    • 4/5
      A solid four stars...for now. This book is interesting, creepy, macabre, and keeps a pretty good pace. Putting it down wasn't easy. I almost-ALMOST- connected with the characters, but not quite. Maybe that will happen with future books. This ended in such a cliffhanger I can't help but pick the next one up. I am giving this a four star rating for now, but chances are that will change. I just can't imagine this story leaving me anytime soon, and to me that is a hallmark of good story telling.
    • 2/5
      I've had this book on my To Be Read list for ages and finally decided to give it a go. I am sorry that I did! There was nothing remarkable about it and by the halfway mark, when Raffe and Penryn were captured by Obi and his soldiers, I was bored. The pace improved near the end, but I had lost all interest by that stage.I really liked Penryn as a protagonist. She was fierce and brave, although at times reckless, but she never backed down from a fight. Sadly, I didn't have the same liking for Raffe. I couldn't understand why he could be powerful in some situations but absolutely useless in others. While I quite liked his banter, I never felt he was suitable for Penryn.Suffice to say, I won't be continuing with the series.
    • 4/5
      I downloaded this book to my kindle, based on a full page add I saw in a magazine. I am happy that I did.

      The book started off right in the middle of the action. The angel apocalypse has been going on for a few weeks now, and humanity has crumbled. Penryn, her mom and sister, are on the move, looking for a safer place to stay. When her sister gets kidnapped by an angel, Penryn vows to get her back.

      I liked that in this book, the angels are the bad guys. Many books portray them as kind and friendly being. In this one, they are mean, sadistic killers. I thought that this book had a strong beginning, a weaker middle section, and a strong ending. By the end of the book, the action is non stop, and so are the shocks. The laboratory of the angels reminded me of stories I have read about the Nazi party's medical experimentation. It seems to show a true, unfathomable evil.

      I truly hope that the planned sequel to this gets written. I want to see what will happen next to Penryn and her family. And what happens to Raffe, and the people in the resistance. Can't wait!
    • 3/5
      I read this for the Cryptozoologist square for Halloween Bingo

      Men with wings. Angels of the Apocalypse. Supernatural beings who’ve pulverized the modern world and killed millions, maybe even billions of people.

      This is categorized as YA, which made me a little nervous but besides having a heroine, Penryn, who I think is supposed to be around 17yrs old and some causal, leaning towards immature talk, this read adultish.

      Even the worst of the new street gangs leave the night to whatever creatures may roam the darkness in this new world.

      The beginning had me pretty locked in, I'm always up for an apocalyptic story but as the story went on, I started to get frustrated with the lack of world building. This is only book 1 in a 3 book series but I'm growing a little tired of incomplete stories for the sake of stretching out to sell more books. This is all from the pov of the heroine, so we only know her side of things about the angels attack and a lot of the time she is awfully tight lipped about what happened. The angels seemed to have dropped down to earth one day and started blowing up cities but frankly, even that is vague. Did they attack all over the world? There is talk about humans (maybe) killing Gabriel, but was it at first sight or was there some communication?

      Not even the angels know why they are here.

      Through some conversations with our heroine's companion Raffe, an angel she saved from being killed by other angels, we, again, vaguely get some intel from the angel's side of things but Raffe doesn't seem to know a whole heck of a lot either. This can work to create some mystery and excitement to read on in the series, to gain and learn the answers but it can also make the world building seem flimsy and lazy, keeping me from wanting to read on.

      My mind swirls with conflicting emotions. Who is the enemy in this room? Whose side am I on?

      Since our heroine is so young, it felt a little awkward with the alluding to a building attraction between her and who is supposed to be a millennial old angel. She thinks his chest and face is hot, he seems to admire her fighting skills and towards the end of the book, thinks she looks hot in a tight dress, there wasn't much for me to go on with the hit you at the end supposed to be epic love loss.

      From the front, they look human, but from the back and the sides, they look utterly alien. Plump scorpion tails grow out of their tailbones to curl over their heads. They end in needlelike stingers, ready for piercing.

      Most of the book is the heroine and angel traveling together and us readers getting a vague introduction to the world and characters. There is obviously something up with the heroine's mom but, again, vague. Towards the end, we get hit with some truly creepy described visuals and the dirty, grungy, and hungry apocalyptic world, starts to bleed into more of a horror show. The wall of children was some truly inspired horrific stuff.

      The author had a great way of writing scenes that gave me some fantastic visuals but the character depth and world building was lacking for me. Even though this is a series and I expect some questions to be left answered in the preceding, I need a solid foundation to want to carry the interest over to the next books; not completely sure that happened here. The visuals were good, having an agnostic angel was intriguing, but the attraction between the heroine and hero was awkward and the world building felt shallow.
    • 5/5
      I absolutely devoured this book. I'm a huge fan of most anything dystopian, post-apocalyptic etc....I was a bit hesitant that this has angels in it since my previous YA / angel themed books were quite predictable. I think that the main character Penryn is a wonderful heroine in this story. She is strong, realistic, and brave as she uses Raffe to try and find her sister who has been taken by the angels for some reason. Her attraction to Raffe was a bit predictable but I was totally OK by it. I think her schizophrenic mother is a very interesting character as well, she seems to have some advantages in this new world and uses her mental illness to her advantage. When I got to the last page of the book I was a bit upset that it ended where it did but luckily I had the next book ready to go!
    • 5/5
      I purchased this book from Amazon to #buddyread with my bestie @mycornerforbooksand. All opinions are my own. ????? Angelfall by Susan Ee. Everything you think you know about Angels comes undone in this work of adventure packed fiction. The war has just begun as Earth become the battleground between humans and angels. A young girl trying to rescue her family intervenes in an angel fight and saves an angel then cashes in on the favor of her saving his life so he can help rescue her family. Peryn's only responsibility is to take care of her family and she must continue to remind herself over and over again in the presence of a beautiful angel. With fighting all around them will they be able to get Peryn's family to safety in time before the apocalypse? Review also posted on Instagram @borenbooks, Go Read, Library Thing, Goodreads/StacieBoren, Amazon, Twitter @jason_stacie and my blog at readsbystacie.com
    • 5/5
      It's taken me forever to get to this and now I'm kicking myself for not doing it sooner. This book was an escape and I don't know what I was expecting but I didn't realize how much I would love it. Reminded me of Laini Taylor's book The Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Penryn's narration was strong and she was loyal to the nth degree, even to her detriment.. Her character was well-rounded and not lost to plot devices.Raffe. What can I say. He is that engaging combination of charm, repartee, physical strength and brutality.larger than life.Paige was a surprise to me, with me finding empathy in this character and nail-biting to the bitter end.Humor and sarcasm was wonderfully written. Writing good dialog is difficult but Susan Ee was a pro. Fast paced, and entertaining but imperfectly perfect. The perfect escape.Many thanks to Netgalley for my copy. All views herein are my own.
    • 5/5


      It's not often I find YA that I would give 5 stars to and they are well deserved. To be honest I'm not to fond of books containing angels or religion as a whole and was worried that Angelfall wouldn't live up to my expectations. But I should of trusted the friends who've endorsed it wholeheartedly and I'll never question them again!

      It had me hooked from the beginning, I couldn't put it down and spent the better part of my day ignoring my kids and finishing the book. And what a book, gripping from the first page, I loved the character of Penryn, tough and mature beyond her years, she has taken responsibility for keeping her family safe in the most extreme circumstances and doesn't swoon over Raffe but sees him as the enemy that he is.
      I will now add my voice to the throng and say read it you won't regret it.
    • 2/5
      Great start, decent finish (albeit a bit weird) but nothing in between. You just can't send God's angels down to earth, have them destroy it, and provide absolutely no explanation.
    • 3/5
      To say this book isn't in my wheelhouse would probably be an understatement, which probably isn't a surprise as it's very *very* clear that I'm not in the target market (ie, women :). But at the urging of my lovely and persistent wife, I decided to give it a shot.

      Now, as with so many independent books, this one could probably do with a heavy dose of editing... cliches leak through here and there, the prose is a stilted and forced at times (in particular, there's a few witticisms littered in the text that struck me as strangely out of place), and the dialog often felt awkward and... unvaried? Same-y? I'm not sure how to put it... it seemed to me that all the characters, including Penryn and Raffe, who clearly come from *very* different worlds, spoke with a very similar voice (ie, same slang and colloquialisms, same structure and rhythm, etc). Of course, writing dialog is one of *the* hardest things to do when writing prose, so I sympathize with the author, here.

      On top of that, let's face it, I'm a dude, and the book is written with women in mind, so there's definitely a few romance novel cliches thrown in here and there that stood out for me (and as a semi-related aside, my white-night tendencies were incredibly put off when the author assured us that Penryn wouldn't normally eat heavy, fatty foods while understandably wolfing down her first proper meal in days or weeks... as if eating a steak with bernaise is normally a shameful act for our protagonist, only excusable in the direst of circumstances).

      All that said, the story was certainly interesting, and the final few chapters were definitely page turners... I just wish we weren't left with such a massive cliffhanger! I power through the end of the book only to be rewarded with a semi-happy ending and very little insight into what was actually going on in the damn world. Of course, this book clearly sets up a sequel, so that's totally understandable, but it doesn't make it any less frustrating!

      So, to sum up, my 3 stars, here, are probably more like a 2.5 rounded up, but I give the extra 0.5 for making me not want to put the damn book down until I finished it.
    • 4/5
      The characterizations are good and the writing moves the story along well, but the real strength in this book is the dystopian plot and it outshines the characters, at least in this first volume. Apocalypse - the end of the world as we know it. But it is not a human Armageddon, it is an invasion of angel armies who reek havoc on humankind and the earth. And while the angels are not human, they are vulnerable and Michael, the messenger, has been killed. He was the only one who knew what God had commanded and now there is a civil war between the angels for who will become God's messenger and that may determine how the apocalypse continues to unfold. Meanwhile their unchecked power is being abused and influenced by evil. Against this growing abomination of the angelic forces stands a small band of resistance fighters, and Penryn and her mom and sister, and the angel Rafael, but he has been beaten and may not be strong enough to counter the growing evil among the other angelic forces. While Ee has obviously done her research on angels, her story has some theological flaws. But it is not theology; it is sci-fi fantasy and it is a really imaginative plot and is fairly well written. I am anticipating the next installment and that may increase my rating on this one as I see how her characters grow the plot continues to unfold.