Christina Lauren

Christina Lauren books

ANGELFALL, By Susan Ee

15 Comments

From the 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. 

 

Christina: I can pretty much sum up this book in one gif:

Not exaggerating. Not even a little bit.

So we’ve all read books that start out with a bang, and then just tank from there. Well, my lovelies, this is not one of those books.

The apocalypse has come and the angels have pretty much destroyed everything, humankind as we know it is a thing of the past, and Penryn, along with her small family are just trying to survive. They spend the majority of their lives hiding (from the angels and the gangs that have taken over the streets), they scavenge what they can, and are just trying to make it through another day. That all comes to an end when Penryn’s 7-year-old sister is plucked from her wheelchair and flown off into the sky. (this is all in the summary so no spoilers here)

Enter Raffe, an angel, and Penryn’s less than willing companion. Now I haven’t read a ton of angel books, but I have read a few, and what I love so much about Ee’s angels are that they aren’t just humans with wings. These are no halo-wearing, harp-playing visions, they’re terrifying and brutal, have an epic superiority complex, and pretty much see humans as nothing more than monkeys. A fact Raffe is sure to remind Penryn of whenever he can. Raffe is HOT, yes. But he’s no swoony boy throwing out line after line of flowery dialogue (he’s swoony but you’ll see what I mean). Raffe is a warrior and grows to respect Penryn for her strength and bravery and epic badassness. That is totally a word because holy hannah, not only is this girl smart and resourceful, but she’s about as badass as they come. Along with all of this, Ee does a fantastic job of making us like and understand Penryn.  Also, I loved that her ability to fight isn’t just a random detail thrown in to make Penryn seem tough, but rather a by-product of her upbringing. Which brings me to another point…

This story is about layers. Penryn can fight for a reason. Raffe’s secretiveness begins to makes sense. Something happens at the beginning of the story and then BAM, it fits like a key to a lock in the end. Full disclosure: there are some pretty intense (read: MEEEEEP!!) scenes in here, so consider yourself warned. Also, this is part of five book series, and though there’s a full story arc in this one, there are still A LOT of unanswered questions.  No epic cliffie, just enough to make you count down the days on a special Raffe calendar until you can get your hands on the next one. *whistles*

Gah, it’s so good. In fact, I’d say it’s right up there with The Hunger Games in terms of action and suspense. And did I mention that it’s ONLY $.99??!! That’s right, Angelfall is self-published, available now (Barnes & Noble and Amazon), AMAZING, and less than a dollar. WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR??

This one gets:

1. Badass Chick On Board
2. Swoony Boy Alert
3. I Will Reswoon Soon
4. Straight to the Favorites Pile

Have you read? Thinking of reading? TELL ME AND WE’LL FLAIL TOGETHER. We’re giving away two e-copies, so let us know if you WANT! (Trust me, you do).

About the Author: Susan Ee is the author of Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days, Book 1). Her short stories have been in various publications including Realms of Fantasy and The Dragon and the Stars anthology. She is also a filmmaker whose latest film played at major film festivals and on cable TV stations throughout the U.S. She studied creative writing through workshops at Stanford, The Iowa Writers’ Workshop and Clarion West. Twitter – Website – Goodreads – Facebook

 

Comments

  1. sarabara081 says

    I saw this book mentioned on a few blogs a couple weeks ago and people were raving about it! It sounds great and I love angel books, though it is hard to find good ones. So I am really excited to give this one a try! 🙂

  2. Krystel says

    I have seen this mentioned on a few blogs, amongst friends, so it already has my attention and a spot on my TBR list. I am a huge lover of Angel books, and this one seems very unique with it dealing with a post-apocalyptic world. Thanks for another great review of a book a desperately want to check out!!

  3. ShellWRX says

    This books sounds amazing! Suspense, drama, romance and action? It's everything a good angel book should be. I read a rave review on Goodreads as well. I can't wait to give it a read!

  4. Christina2227 says

    YES, C, YESSSSSSSSSS! I was sitting here like a bobblehead (that was bouncing up & down on the bed with her hubby's tablet) agreeing (with a few squees) with all of your assessments and the parts you highlighted. I LOVED this & quickly read it all in one sitting. ("FAMILY,SHHHHUSH, I'm at a really good part!"<<which just happened to be the entire book… Sorry, family.) Penryn is the epitome of your kickass chick & Raffe is delicious in a way only *he* can be. It is my opinion that everyone should be reading this if you aren't already.

    Huggles,

    Christina

    P.S. I hope you two enjoy your time together!!!

  5. Stacee says

    I saw this rec'd on Twitter a few days ago and figured I had nothing to lose for only .99. It didn't disappoint. I had no idea that it was going to a 5 book series…

    I love Raffe. He's swoony without being the type of swoony we're used to. And Penryn is an amazing, strong character.

    Another great rec, ladies. 🙂

  6. Becca says

    I LOVED this book! I've been touting it like mad and gushing with einfach about it. I've been thrusting it at everyone I know who loves books because it's so wonderful! And Susan Ee is a wonderful lady. I emailed her thanking her for such an awesome book and shared my book bog fangirling on her and she responded with such enthusiasm!
    Such a great book and Raffe/Penryn are such a great duo! Glad you enjoyed it C!

  7. Michelle V. says

    Wow, another book I need to read. Wait, I think I have this…Maybe I'll read it this weekend. I can't resist reading books that you ladies rec.

    I can't believe it's self-pub'd. Amazing.

    Thanks for another swoony rec!

  9. lemonie1 says

    Gonna definitely have to read this.. only trouble I,m in the UK – wonder if I can order overseas from B & N or Book Depository? Anyone know? Just looks to good to miss! Thanks for the recs everyone!

  11. emma says

    Hi lemonier,

    I’m from the UK too and have just downloaded from Amazon UK to my kindle and you can get a hardcopy from them too! And its like, 77p!! Can’t wait to start reading 😉

  14. lemonie1 says

    Have just read this after finally getting it on Kindle – What can i say? Brilliant, Absolutely Brilliant! There are so many good things about this book. There is a strong allegory in the book to history’s treatment of minorities Nazi Germany, Bosnia etc and of persecution. And parts of the book our horrific and definitely on the same level of The Hunger Games. But what a Kickass Heroine Penryn is and as for Raffe…….swooooon! Well done girls every book you’ve recommended on here that I have read has been fantastic! I eagerly await the follow up to Angelfall – anyone know when it might be coming out?

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