Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days, #1) in Penryn and the End of Days Re-Read

Nov 09, 2013 Erica rated it really liked it

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This turned out to be one of the better dystopian YA books I've read.

Atmospheric, face-paced, with some interesting lore, and characters that can stand on their own.

I fully admit I had very low expectations going into Angelfall . After the wall-punching bile of Hush, Hush I nearly swore off all angel-themed PNR aimed at the under-18 crowd. The favorable reviews in defense are what eventually swayed me.

A big rallying point for me was Penryn. All too often the heroines of YA novels are touted a This turned out to be one of the better dystopian YA books I've read.

Atmospheric, face-paced, with some interesting lore, and characters that can stand on their own.

I fully admit I had very low expectations going into Angelfall . After the wall-punching bile of Hush, Hush I nearly swore off all angel-themed PNR aimed at the under-18 crowd. The favorable reviews in defense are what eventually swayed me.

A big rallying point for me was Penryn. All too often the heroines of YA novels are touted as intelligent, self-sufficient badasses only to fail epically, never living up to their informed abilities. Blessedly Penryn Young deserves the hype; she's clever, cautious, resourceful, a smart fighter with a believable reason for the training, and she doesn't discard her values or bypass instincts for a love interest.
Said love interest, Raffe (Thank you for a pronunciation guide in the text!) held his own as a character too. While he fit a lot of the tall, dark, and impossibly handsome checklist he also showed good humor, genuine concern and thoughtfulness, and never tore down Penryn for her actions or beliefs (unless it put her or both of their lives in danger, which is at least understandable). The back-and-forth between these two is half of what kept me grinning and the slow buildup of their attraction was credible, sexy, and a breath of fresh air.

Some of the later half of the book dragged a bit for me, and the (view spoiler)

The prose were good, favoring succinct over flowery but never missing an opportunity for some poetic symbolism, which I actually enjoyed. At times it felt like "as though" and "as if" were shortcuts for stating whatever needed to be stated without having Penryn be outright psychic but such is the limitations of First Person writing, so Susan Ee relying on that trick isn't a huge deal-breaker.

I'd definitely recommend Angelfall . I'm excited to see where this series goes, and hope future YA heroines are more Penryn Young and less Nora Grey. ...more

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Mar 20, 2014 Arikah Lynne rated it it was amazing

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that was so beautiful I wanted to cry. so very well written, definitely one of my most favorite books. I wasn't very excited on the idea of angels but this book was so wonderful. I recommend it to everyone. ...more

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Mar 14, 2014 Jess Munnery rated it really liked it

So, I love the choice of supernatural creatures and the kind of romance element. Not I'm fond of some of the characters nor do I particularly like the constant short sentences. I've been told that the use of short sentences is supposed to bring tension, so in this case you should be tense throughout the whole book.
I love the ideas and story line and am charging onto the next book as soon as I can! ...more

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