Review: Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days #1) by Susan Ee

Amazing.

Fascinating.

Title: Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days #1) by Susan Ee
Pages: 235
Release Date: May 21st 2011
Published by: Feral Dream
Source: Bought
Buy: Amazon

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 will be honest. I wasn't expecting this book to be as well written as it was. But the moment I've read the first paragraph, I know this book will win me over even before I finish chapter one. And it did! The end of the world came and the ones we think will save us brought about Mankind's downfall and destruction in this Post Apocalyptic book. It's about Angels, but not in the way you think it would be.

Penryn had to do what she can for the sake of her family's survival. Because that's what matters in the world at that time. Surviving in a world where either the gangs or the Angels will kill you. The six weeks that led to the apocalypse and destroyed the world has made a warrior out of a seventeen year old girl. The stubborn will to live on, a strong sense of family and love for what's left of it is what made Penryn a character that the readers would love to read. She can be fierce and catty when needed, but she can also just be a teenage girl missing her disabled younger sister. Vulnerable but strong, that is Penryn.

It was easy to figure out just who Raffe is, but that cliched part of the story can be easily overlooked when you take into account the amazing portrayal of Angels Susan Ee made in Angelfall. They certainly weren't sent to Earth to save but to destroy. They're more of a foe than a friend. They're cunning, powerful, frightening, selfish and violent, basically going against all the qualities used to described these winged creatures. But Raffe is intensity personified. A warrior who has fallen from grace but desperate to get back on his feet. He's arrogant and excruciating, a bad boy through and through. But Raffe is different in one sense. He has begun to question the plans the one Above has for the Angels.

Susan Ee presents the readers a new face of the apocalypse. Dangerous, dark to the point of hopelessness. The author was able to draw a dreadful and horrific landscape, a great backdrop for a great set of dynamic characters and very engaging storyline. Combine vengeful Angels with cannibals (mostly children) and demons then you have one heck of a book! But it doesn't stop there. Scene after scene of continuous heart racing action will greet the readers until you can't get enough. It's a race against time for Penryn's sister's life and for the future of a world, a chance to be rebuilt from what it has become. What made me frightened of this book is the cruelty for humans. We consider ourselves superior in a lot of ways, but what happens when we become the prey instead of the hunters? The desperation to live to the point that one will do anything just to put food into the mouths of those starving, for security, for a better life is palpable.

I can't really put it into this words but Angelfall is one of the best books I've read in 2011, hands down. It brought back my faith in self-published books, seeing how well-made this one is. I wish more people would know of this book, because every single minute you'll spend reading it is worth it. There's tons of action, spine-chilling scenes and heart aching romance. And the plot will just wow you into oblivion. Angelfall will sweep you into a tide of emotions, excitement, fear, hope, love. Susan Ee will make you feel a roller coaster of emotions as she takes you into one astounding ride of a story. Honestly, a book this good should be priced more than 99 cents!

My rating:

Content (plot, story flow, character):

WOW.

Stunning: Worthy of a Goddess' Praise!

Book Cover:

Gorgeous!