Ee: Website • FacebookSeries: Penryn & the End of Days #1
Format: Paperback, 325 pages
Source: Public Library
Release Date: May 23, 2013
Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton
Genre: Paranormal > Angels
Age Group: Young Adult
Get It: Amazon • Barnes & Noble
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.~synopsis provided by Goodreads
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.
Recommended for ages 16 and up.
Ironically, since the attacks, the sunsets have been glorious.Angelfall is an interesting and unique twist on some of the other angel books I've come across. Six weeks ago Gabriel and Company came down to Earth and subsequently took over. Gangs rule the daytime and the angels at night. It's not safe to go out at any time, and if you do you're risking more than your life.
Penryn, her seven-year-old sister Paige, and bat-shit-crazy mother decide to leave their apartment as it is only a matter of time before the gangs realize they are still hanging around. On their way into the woods, they are stopped by angels falling from the sky. Luckily, it's not because they were spotted, but one of the angels is being attacked by his brethren. After the battle, where the singled out angel kicks some major butt, one of the angels does fly off with Paige. In an effort to save her sister, Penryn saves the angel, Raffe, who had been left for dead - not to mention wingless.
I found Penryn to be a strong and likeable character. I thought she was very relatable as she wold constantly wish she had a sarcastic retort for Raffe's comments, but wasn't nearly clever enough. While I do love a snarky heroine, I'm not quick enough myself so it was refreshing to see a heroine who wasn't always quick on her feet. However, when it came to fighting she was definitely bad ass. When she was younger, her mother signed her up for numerous self defense classes years in advance and Penryn faithfully went to each of them - this girl could hold her own. I do love the reason her mother signed her up for these classes in the first place: so she could protect herself when the demons came. (Perhaps she wasn't too far off?)
I'm not sure how I felt about Raffe. He was very secretive and I felt like he was trying to ditch Penryn at every turn, only for her to refuse and follow him anyway. He wasn't trying to ditch her in the "you're annoying, go away" sense, but trying to protect her... I guess? I need something in his POV to really see where he is coming from. This is one of the few books I've read where I'm annoyed with the first person POV.
There wasn't really a romance either. Yes, the two appear to have feelings for one another (at least over time anyway), but it's so far on the back burner that it doesn't really manifest until near the end of the novel. I'm in no way angry about this because it just wasn't in their characters to be deterred by romantic feelings. Raffe's goal is to get his wings back, Penryn's goal is to get her sister back and find her mother. Neither of them seem interested in anything beyond helping one another accomplish these tasks.
While I enjoyed the book, I wasn't truly engrossed in the story - weird because I rated the book a 3/5, right? It's one of those things that I can't really explain. I know the other members of the Young Adult Book Blogger Club LOVED it, but I merely liked it. I like Penryn, I like Raffe, I like the plot. The only thing I can tell you is this: it's not the book, it's me. I know, so cliche! But that's the truth. Just something about me and this book did not mesh well.
At the end of the day, I'm still going to recommend you read this book. It was unique, fresh, and an interesting read. I liked it more than I didn't, but just because Angelfall and I aren't going to live happily ever, doesn't mean that you two won't end up with a picket fence and a dog.
