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

Jan 20, 2014 Amie's Book Reviews rated it it was amazing

ANGEL FALL by Susan Ee

Penryn Young may be a teenager, but she is definitely not ordinary.

Growing up with a mentally disturbed mother and a younger sister, Paige, who is confined to a wheelchair after a mysterious "accident" when she had been left alone with their mother. Penryn's father is no longer around and Penryn has spent the last few years taking every kind of defensive and fighting skills class available. Penryn knows how to survive.

This is a good thing because the Angels of the Apocaly ...more

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Feb 13, 2014 Emily rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: favourites

This book was everything I expected it to be.
Lately I've been in a bit of a reading slump. I took a break from traditional novels and read some manga to change things up a bit, and dear did I buy enough new books, but I just wasn't in the mood to read anything in particular. Then I was walking around in a bookstore in Toronto with a friend last weekend and saw this book and, remembering hearing some people talk about it, decided to pick it up. I do not regret this decision.
Angelfall tells the st This book was everything I expected it to be.
Lately I've been in a bit of a reading slump. I took a break from traditional novels and read some manga to change things up a bit, and dear did I buy enough new books, but I just wasn't in the mood to read anything in particular. Then I was walking around in a bookstore in Toronto with a friend last weekend and saw this book and, remembering hearing some people talk about it, decided to pick it up. I do not regret this decision.
Angelfall tells the story of Penryn Young, a 17 year old girl who interferes in a fight between angels after the world has fallen apart. This leads to her younger sister being kidnapped, leaving her with an injured, wingless angel named Raffe. Together, they make their way back to the angels' stronghold in search of Penryn's sister and a way to reattach Raffe's wings.
Oh, I have searched far and wide for a good angel story, and this is it. This book was everything I wanted it to be, and it successfully pulled me out of my reading slump. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I went out and bought the sequel, World After, before I was even halfway done this one because I liked it so much. Now, it wasn't a perfect book, which is why I only gave it four stars, but it was damn good.
Just warning people now, I won't intentionally include spoilers in this review without the proper way of hiding it, but there might be a few places here where I will reveal information that I don't feel is a spoiler, but might be to others.
Character-wise, we are slightly limited. We have Penryn and Raffe, of course, and occasionally Paige, her mother, and the Resistance members. I enjoyed Penryn's character so much! She was strong, intelligent, and independent - what more could I ask for in a female protagonist? She reminded me a lot of Katniss from The Hunger Games in some ways. Seriously, we need more female MCs like Penryn and Katniss. I liked that she was seriously badass despite being surrounded by supernatural beings. She wasn't perfect, but we got a good combination of strength and intelligence from her - she wasn't unbelievably strong for a petite girl but she could hold her own, and neither was she extremely, unrealistically intelligent. I just enjoyed her so much. (view spoiler)
However, I feel like she lost a bit of this awesomeness as the story went on. During the first half of the novel, I was extremely impressed, but during the second half, I was feeling a bit more of that typical-dystopian-female-protagonist vibe from her, if that makes sense. Of course, it was understandable considering she was (view spoiler).
As for Raffe, well, he was awesome. At times his strength was a bit unrealistic considering the extent of his injuries, but (view spoiler) He was sassy, intelligent, and independent as well. I think that's why I liked his and Penryn's relationship so much. There was no insta-love, which scores even more points for the author, although the romance was there. It was sweet and believable.
Another thing I enjoyed a lot about this book was that despite developing their relationship, the author always kept the characters as two unique individuals with separate goals. Raffe is, of course, still loyal to the angels, and Penryn still feels loyalty to the humans. The distinct line between their species wasn't erased simply because they were making googly eyes at each other. This was one of the main things that made them so believable and relatable. That bit of mystery and deception to their relationship made it so interesting and unique.
The secondary characters were A+ as well, which I always like. Penryn's relationship with her mother was an interesting one, and I'd like to see this explored further. I'd also love to see more of the Resistance members in the second book.
Okay, I think I've gushed about the characters enough. I think I've also covered most of my thoughts about the plot, which I enjoyed. The one thing I have to say about the plot, and which is a contributing factor to the 4 stars instead of 5, is that I felt it moved a little too fast at times. I'll take a fast-paced book over a slow one any day, but more than once I felt myself wishing that the author would take a bit more time between scenes. Some scenes could have been expanded on, and everything happened very, very quickly. This wasn't a big thing, though, and I still enjoyed it immensely. (view spoiler) Some things were left unexplained, I will admit, but since it's a trilogy, I'm sure all questions will eventually be answered.
Now, on to the writing. At first, I was a bit hesitant, and I wasn't sure if I liked Ee's writing style or not. At times, it felt like she was telling me things were happening rather than letting me experience them myself, if that makes sense? However, once I got used to the flow of the writing, I found this didn't bother me as much. Not the most amazing writing I've ever read, but it was very good, yet another reason why it warrants 4 stars rather than 5.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. If you're looking for a good angel story, definitely check this out because it's probably the best I've read. Or if you're just interested in reading a well written, strong female protagonist, this might be the book for you. I would definitely recommend it. ...more

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May 14, 2014 Marissa rated it it was amazing

AHHHHH!! I love these books. Just saying, I am reviewing this series after I've already read the whole trilogy. This was the perfect introduction and first book to this very dangerous and very addicting world. This was such a cool concept and take on Angels! It's almost believable because if Angels happen to take over the world, this is probably what would happen. I know how crazy that sounds but this book does make you think in-depth. If you are looking for a quick, light read, this is not your ...more

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Jul 11, 2013 Katie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fant-ya-fav

Reread, upgrading from 4-5, can't remember when held me back before, maybe the short length? The connection is a little rapid but repressed enough to completely endear itself to me... Just love her writing and the subtlety of the complex realities she paints, love how the mothers metal illness is explained and how this led to Penryn's survival training, love Penryn's honest confessions when her survival instincts kick in and her guilt after, love Raffe's attempts to distance himself but the subt ...more

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Jun 07, 2014 The Book Backlister rated it it was amazing

Wow, I'm speechless. ...more

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Mar 13, 2014 Masha rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, 2014

Just finished it, it was awesome! Penryn was such a kick ass character and I found myself laughing out loud quite a few times :) I do have some questions about why everything is as it is. Why are the angels attacking earth? Hope that's going to be answered in World After, can't wait to start reading! And oooh Penryn and Raffe aaw. More of that in the next one? ...more

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