Karissa E. (ophelia99) reviewed Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days, Book 1) on + 2527 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This book was recommended to me by one of my Goodreads friends. It sounded interesting and ended up being a decent read. I am a bit sick of post-apocalyptic/dystopia type novels right now, so take that into consideration when reading this review. This is another YA post-apocalyptic novel but with angels!
I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook was okay. This isnt one of those audiobooks that was so stellar I would recommend listening to this instead of reading it. Still the narrator did a decent job of distinguishing between character voices. I had a bit of trouble with the different male voices since they sounded awkward and occasionally similar to each other.
Penryn is trying to survive in a world where angels have recently (6 weeks ago) ravaged many major cities on Earth. As if just surviving isnt bad enough Penryn has a psychotic mother and a handicap younger sister (who cant walk) to take care of as well. When an angel with black wings kidnaps Penryns little sister, Penryn is determined to rescue her. Penryn has decided the best way to do this is to kidnap an injured angel from the scene of the crime and make him take her back to his aerie.
This book was okay. It was pretty typical YA post apocalyptic type of fiction. In this case rather than a nuclear disaster or a plague wiping out humanity it's a host of angels attacking from heaven that wipes out all the major cities. This isnt ever explained very well and it seems like even the angels arent all that sure why they attacked the humans.
Penryn is an interesting character. She is small but tough. Penryns mother thinks that she (the mother) gets possessed by demons and is worried about hurting her daughter during one of her demonic episodes. As a result of this insanity Penryn has been trained to fight from a very young age. Penryn has this very practical attitude towards life and just kind of goes with everything. Her dedication to her family is admirable.
The other main character is the angel that Penryn rescues, Raffe. To be honest Raffe is kind of a pretencious jerk through the first part of the story...then again Penryn isnt very nice to him. As the story continues we learn that Raffe is a complex set of secrets and has a very complicated history of his own.
There is a lot of grotesque and horrific stuff in here. Including cannibalism, genetic tampering/torture of small children, and of course angels attacking humans in brutal ways. There is actually quite a bit of talk about sex as well; the angels really love human women and Penryn is constantly in danger of being sexually assaulted. Needless to say it's an incredibly dark story with very little light or hope throughout.
The book was decently enough written, but this book just basically sets everything up. We don't ever get any resolution around anything by the end of the book. There is no explanation as to why the angels have attacked humanity, as to why humanity couldn't defend themselves, or even much explanation about the angels' society in general.
Then there is the whole star-crossed love thing going on between Penryn and the angel she saves. This kind of made me roll my eyes a bit. I get a bit sick of the tortured man forbidden to love a human girl thing that seems to be ever present in paranormal YA.
Overall I didn't really love this book, but I didn't hate it either. It was somewhat engaging and an okay read. I did like the idea of angels causing an apocalypse, that was creative and intriguing....however, why all this happens is never really addressed. Penryn is an okay heroine, but didnt really stand out for me. The world is interesting but not all that well developed. I guess in general I am just a bit sick of post-apocalyptic YA and this book didnt change my mind about that. So if you are a huge fan of post-apocalyptic YA I would tentatively recommend this to you. I personally will not be reading any more of this series.
I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook was okay. This isnt one of those audiobooks that was so stellar I would recommend listening to this instead of reading it. Still the narrator did a decent job of distinguishing between character voices. I had a bit of trouble with the different male voices since they sounded awkward and occasionally similar to each other.
Penryn is trying to survive in a world where angels have recently (6 weeks ago) ravaged many major cities on Earth. As if just surviving isnt bad enough Penryn has a psychotic mother and a handicap younger sister (who cant walk) to take care of as well. When an angel with black wings kidnaps Penryns little sister, Penryn is determined to rescue her. Penryn has decided the best way to do this is to kidnap an injured angel from the scene of the crime and make him take her back to his aerie.
This book was okay. It was pretty typical YA post apocalyptic type of fiction. In this case rather than a nuclear disaster or a plague wiping out humanity it's a host of angels attacking from heaven that wipes out all the major cities. This isnt ever explained very well and it seems like even the angels arent all that sure why they attacked the humans.
Penryn is an interesting character. She is small but tough. Penryns mother thinks that she (the mother) gets possessed by demons and is worried about hurting her daughter during one of her demonic episodes. As a result of this insanity Penryn has been trained to fight from a very young age. Penryn has this very practical attitude towards life and just kind of goes with everything. Her dedication to her family is admirable.
The other main character is the angel that Penryn rescues, Raffe. To be honest Raffe is kind of a pretencious jerk through the first part of the story...then again Penryn isnt very nice to him. As the story continues we learn that Raffe is a complex set of secrets and has a very complicated history of his own.
There is a lot of grotesque and horrific stuff in here. Including cannibalism, genetic tampering/torture of small children, and of course angels attacking humans in brutal ways. There is actually quite a bit of talk about sex as well; the angels really love human women and Penryn is constantly in danger of being sexually assaulted. Needless to say it's an incredibly dark story with very little light or hope throughout.
The book was decently enough written, but this book just basically sets everything up. We don't ever get any resolution around anything by the end of the book. There is no explanation as to why the angels have attacked humanity, as to why humanity couldn't defend themselves, or even much explanation about the angels' society in general.
Then there is the whole star-crossed love thing going on between Penryn and the angel she saves. This kind of made me roll my eyes a bit. I get a bit sick of the tortured man forbidden to love a human girl thing that seems to be ever present in paranormal YA.
Overall I didn't really love this book, but I didn't hate it either. It was somewhat engaging and an okay read. I did like the idea of angels causing an apocalypse, that was creative and intriguing....however, why all this happens is never really addressed. Penryn is an okay heroine, but didnt really stand out for me. The world is interesting but not all that well developed. I guess in general I am just a bit sick of post-apocalyptic YA and this book didnt change my mind about that. So if you are a huge fan of post-apocalyptic YA I would tentatively recommend this to you. I personally will not be reading any more of this series.
This is a thought-provoking book, wrapped in an end of the world setting. It may seem weird to mix a post apocalyptic world with heavenly beings but now that I think about it, Im surprised this is the first Apocalypses brought by Angels story Ive read, given that anybody whos vaguely familiar with the Book of Revelation knows that angels and the end of world go hand in hand.
Penryn is definitely my kind of gal. She doesnt whine or puts her head in the sand. Instead, she makes the tough decisions and lives with the consequences. She doesnt dwell in the past or the way the world used to be, she knows theres no point in wishful thinking. She doesnt berate herself if she fails and just keeps going. Also, she doesnt let her feelings get in the way of what she needs to do. At one point, Raffe thoroughly humiliates her (I really felt for her) but she composes herself and puts it out of her mind. She doesnt forget it but she realizes that saving her sister is more important than anything else.
With this description, I dont mean to imply that Penryn is a robot or unfeeling but the contrary. She's loyal, loves her sister dearly and resents her parents because shes had to make all the hard decisions and cant count on them. At the same time, she feels guilty about those feelings and tries to do the best for her mother. Shes tough, but sometimes the façade collapses and we can see her vulnerability and realize that shes just a really young woman in an untenable situation.
Although Penryn is only 17-years old, this is really grown-up book. The author doesnt gloss over the terrible consequences of war, the realities of sexual desire or the question about the existence of God. They all have a place within the story and they are very well handled.
All I can say is that this book was terrific and that I cannot wait until book 2. Im sure Ill be pre-ordering it as soon as its available!
Penryn is definitely my kind of gal. She doesnt whine or puts her head in the sand. Instead, she makes the tough decisions and lives with the consequences. She doesnt dwell in the past or the way the world used to be, she knows theres no point in wishful thinking. She doesnt berate herself if she fails and just keeps going. Also, she doesnt let her feelings get in the way of what she needs to do. At one point, Raffe thoroughly humiliates her (I really felt for her) but she composes herself and puts it out of her mind. She doesnt forget it but she realizes that saving her sister is more important than anything else.
With this description, I dont mean to imply that Penryn is a robot or unfeeling but the contrary. She's loyal, loves her sister dearly and resents her parents because shes had to make all the hard decisions and cant count on them. At the same time, she feels guilty about those feelings and tries to do the best for her mother. Shes tough, but sometimes the façade collapses and we can see her vulnerability and realize that shes just a really young woman in an untenable situation.
Although Penryn is only 17-years old, this is really grown-up book. The author doesnt gloss over the terrible consequences of war, the realities of sexual desire or the question about the existence of God. They all have a place within the story and they are very well handled.
All I can say is that this book was terrific and that I cannot wait until book 2. Im sure Ill be pre-ordering it as soon as its available!
The end, it seems is all to near. The world has erupted in chaos. Humans and Angels are locked in a battle of survival and dominance. Yet no one, Angel or Human knows why they came or for what reason.
In these trying times and End of Days, Seventeen year old Penryn must take care of her disabled sister as well their paranoid schizophrenic mother. But while trying to escape the gang infested streets of L.A she happens upon a group of angels trying to kill Raffe, a beautiful angel with snow white wings. In order to buy time for her family to escape she decides to help Raffe in his battle but not before his wings are brutally hacked off and Penryn sister is kidnapped.
How much does Penryn love her sister? Penryn will stop at nothing to get her back. But where did they take her sister? Her only hope is to team up with the wingless angel Raffe who so desperately want his wings back and revenge on those who cut them off. But is she willing to trust the very creature that has killed so many of her kind? Will he kill her? Will she kill him? Can she find her sister? Is it too late to fix Raffe's wings? Is their world really going to end this way?
I really enjoyed reading this book. the concept is new and terrifying. I cannot wait for book 2!!!! Well Done Susan Ee, well done!
In these trying times and End of Days, Seventeen year old Penryn must take care of her disabled sister as well their paranoid schizophrenic mother. But while trying to escape the gang infested streets of L.A she happens upon a group of angels trying to kill Raffe, a beautiful angel with snow white wings. In order to buy time for her family to escape she decides to help Raffe in his battle but not before his wings are brutally hacked off and Penryn sister is kidnapped.
How much does Penryn love her sister? Penryn will stop at nothing to get her back. But where did they take her sister? Her only hope is to team up with the wingless angel Raffe who so desperately want his wings back and revenge on those who cut them off. But is she willing to trust the very creature that has killed so many of her kind? Will he kill her? Will she kill him? Can she find her sister? Is it too late to fix Raffe's wings? Is their world really going to end this way?
I really enjoyed reading this book. the concept is new and terrifying. I cannot wait for book 2!!!! Well Done Susan Ee, well done!
Kristin K. (escapeartistk) -
This book is 'good enough;' at least, that's what it is for me as an adult reader. The writing is nothing remarkable and the romance is cliche. The concept and plot are engaging albeit imperfect: there are several holes in the logic (example: angel can heal from life-threatening wounds in a couple of days, but blisters pose a problem), which I just sort of chose to disregard, and a few rather convenient coincidences to explain characters' behaviors and abilities. I was more impressed by several other young adult fantasy novels ("Daughter of Smoke and Bone," Ship Breaker," "Shadow and Bone," and even "Divergent"); however, the story in this one is suspenseful enough that I plan to read the sequel.
Stefani K. (stef140) reviewed Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days, Book 1) on + 28 more book reviews
** spoiler alert ** Given the overwhelming flood of high ratings and reviews for this, as well as the exciting premise of the novel, I really really wanted to fall in love with this book. In fact I really really tried to fall in love with it! But I just couldn't do it. But let me start with the good...
This is a good representation of angels, I was impressed. I am tired of books where angels are perfect, benevolent and sit on clouds watching over human beings. It's clear this author has at least read a few Bible verses about angels, and accurately portrays them as God's warriors. And she knew the names of the archangels, fantastic! The story starts off really well, angels have decimated the world in a few short weeks and no one is quite sure why. But they certainly aren't going to come out of the shadows to ask them.
Enter Penryn, who is thrown into this mess when she witnesses an angel being butchered by one of his own kind. When she steps into his aid, his companions kidnap her handicapped sister. She then decides to kidnap this injured angel and demand that he help her find her sister. This is a good premise, it intrigued me and I wanted to know more. But unfortunately that is about where the good parts ended...
I was very frustrated by the lack of answers in this book. For example, how did Penryn's sister become paralyzed? It is suggested that their mother did it, but we never really get answers about that. Like, if her mother did do this why wasn't she prosecuted? Why did she still have her children?
Was there supposed to be a romantic angel between Raffe and Penryn? Because I didn't buy it in the least. They spent most of the book saying and acting like they really couldn't stand each other. Then all of a sudden at the end of the book they have feelings for each other? When did that happen? When was that explained? Because I certainly never saw it!
If you're going to throw a curveball into the ending of the book, at least have it make sense. This one had one curveball that came straight out of loony-ville and was never explained and really never amounted to anything. The other curveball was a little bit more expected, but again it never really went anywhere or was explained. That frustrated me. The ending of a book is supposed to make me want to read the next book, this didn't. It left me on a cliffhanger, but I don't really care what comes next because it just made so little sense.
Ultimately it was a worthy attempt, but I just couldn't find myself enjoying it as much as I hoped I would.
This is a good representation of angels, I was impressed. I am tired of books where angels are perfect, benevolent and sit on clouds watching over human beings. It's clear this author has at least read a few Bible verses about angels, and accurately portrays them as God's warriors. And she knew the names of the archangels, fantastic! The story starts off really well, angels have decimated the world in a few short weeks and no one is quite sure why. But they certainly aren't going to come out of the shadows to ask them.
Enter Penryn, who is thrown into this mess when she witnesses an angel being butchered by one of his own kind. When she steps into his aid, his companions kidnap her handicapped sister. She then decides to kidnap this injured angel and demand that he help her find her sister. This is a good premise, it intrigued me and I wanted to know more. But unfortunately that is about where the good parts ended...
I was very frustrated by the lack of answers in this book. For example, how did Penryn's sister become paralyzed? It is suggested that their mother did it, but we never really get answers about that. Like, if her mother did do this why wasn't she prosecuted? Why did she still have her children?
Was there supposed to be a romantic angel between Raffe and Penryn? Because I didn't buy it in the least. They spent most of the book saying and acting like they really couldn't stand each other. Then all of a sudden at the end of the book they have feelings for each other? When did that happen? When was that explained? Because I certainly never saw it!
If you're going to throw a curveball into the ending of the book, at least have it make sense. This one had one curveball that came straight out of loony-ville and was never explained and really never amounted to anything. The other curveball was a little bit more expected, but again it never really went anywhere or was explained. That frustrated me. The ending of a book is supposed to make me want to read the next book, this didn't. It left me on a cliffhanger, but I don't really care what comes next because it just made so little sense.
Ultimately it was a worthy attempt, but I just couldn't find myself enjoying it as much as I hoped I would.
