Book Review | Angelfall by Susan Ee

Title: Angelfall 

Author: Susan Ee

Publication: May 21st, 2011
Publisher: Feral Dream
Source: Borrowed from the library

Rating: 4 out 5 stars

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Synopsis: 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. 

Review: I went to this book sort of on a whim. I kept hearing amazing things about this one, it seemed that everyone was reading it and falling completely in love with it. I found this book at my local library and dived right in, dying to know what everyone was raving about. While I wasn't disappointed in what I found, I found myself blindsided by what I did find. 

Susan Ee creates a unique world that has yet to come close to anything I have read before. This apocalyptic world is realist - there's struggle, gore, horror, and violence which is what I would imagine a realistic apocalyptic world to be. Ee is the first I've seen to create a horridly disturbing world that everyone (including me) wants to divulge themselves in. If you're looking for a happy-go-lucky, beautiful angels and a world with occasional rainbows, this is not the book for you. But if you want a glimpse into what one imagines a destructive world would be like, and want to journey with two people trying to survive it, then pick this book up. 

I loved Penryn's character. While she's not a straight-forward kick-ass heroine, she's a girl you wouldn't want to mess with. Her strong and dedicated heart is something to root for. I was constantly admiring her for her strength and determination to find her younger sister. I loved her occasional smart-alec (or as I would say, cleverness) attitude that especially came between her and Raffe. Raffe is a character that grew on me, but is still somewhat of a mystery to me after finishing this book, but this is not a bad thing. I feel as though Raffe and Penryn's relationship is a very slow, slow burn that continues to grow throughout the novel and I loved watching it burn brighter. 

Lets talk angels. I think I've only read one or two other angel books and they weren't the best books I've read. I think angels are hard to do. Susan Ee does them unique and utterly fascinating. She did an absolutely amazing job of adding her own spin onto angels. I give high praise to Ee for her brilliance in creating an unparalleled story. 

Oh, the plot of this story. I was thrown for so many loops throughout this book. There are so many twists and turns that I didn't see coming. This story kept me on the edge of my seat and nervous as hell as to what was going to happen next. I'm currently reading the next book in this series, World After, and I'm enjoying it even more than I did this novel. I can't wait to see where this series goes. 

Have you read this one and if so, what did you think of it? Any angel books that you've read and recommended? Are there any books lately that you've read that have kept you on the edge of your seat?