Before I start this review, I feel like I need to state my general dislike of books based on angels, especially fallen ones.
It has nothing to do with my religious beliefs and everything to do with the fact that I find this whole affair of angel guy falling for human girl very cheesy. This might explain why I keep pushing some of these books further into my schedule despite them getting pretty great reviews everywhere I look.
My dislike, however, doesn’t stop me from reading the synopses of these books, which in the case of Angelfall , was my first step in realizing that it isn’t like other angel-based books. For one thing, Raffe isn’t an angsty fallen angel and Penryn isn’t a regular girl attending high school. For another, this is a post-apocalyptic novel, which immediately caught my interest.
This book is about 17 year old Penryn Young trying to survive in a world destroyed by avenging angels, where angels are nothing but enemies to the human race. She bears the responsibility of her mentally unstable mother and physically disabled sister, Paige. However, everything changes one night when Penryn witnesses the angel Raffe being assaulted by other angels and having his wings sliced off, when she loses her own sister as a price for helping Raffe against his assaulters. Now Penryn needs to get her sister back and Raffe needs to get his wings sewn back on. And to do so, they require each other’s help, which results in an unlikely partnership between the two.
Susan Ee’s style of writing is great but it’s nothing YA readers haven’t seen before. Ee also seems to have a tendency to state the obvious and a major part of the plot was made highly predictable due to certain scenes. This, however, doesn’t stop the book from being a gripping read, particularly because of the lead characters.
Penryn is a perfect example of a strong female protagonist from YA novels and it is easy to liken her relationship with her mother and sister to that of Katniss Everdeen’s from The Hunger Games. Just like Katniss, Penryn is the one who has to bear the responsibility of her family. All in all, Penryn is an easily likeable character who’s hard to forget. She believes that saving her sister’s life is much more necessary than engaging in a forbidden romance with an angel.
Raffe, likewise, is an equally interesting and likeable character. He’s one of those male leads who treat their female counterparts as equals but at the same time are forever ready to do anything they can to protect them. If you’re into witty, sarcastic male leads, you’ll love Raffe.
In general, I think the asset of the book is the ‘frenemy’ relationship between Raffe and Penryn and their distinct strong personalities which make them stand out among other YA protagonists. Angelfall is a flawed book but it is one of those that will make you want to keep it on your favourites shelf despite its flaws. It is every bit deserving of a 5 star rating. Thoroughly enjoyed this one.
It has nothing to do with my religious beliefs and everything to do with the fact that I find this whole affair of angel guy falling for human girl very cheesy. This might explain why I keep pushing some of these books further into my schedule despite them getting pretty great reviews everywhere I look.
My dislike, however, doesn’t stop me from reading the synopses of these books, which in the case of Angelfall , was my first step in realizing that it isn’t like other angel-based books. For one thing, Raffe isn’t an angsty fallen angel and Penryn isn’t a regular girl attending high school. For another, this is a post-apocalyptic novel, which immediately caught my interest.
This book is about 17 year old Penryn Young trying to survive in a world destroyed by avenging angels, where angels are nothing but enemies to the human race. She bears the responsibility of her mentally unstable mother and physically disabled sister, Paige. However, everything changes one night when Penryn witnesses the angel Raffe being assaulted by other angels and having his wings sliced off, when she loses her own sister as a price for helping Raffe against his assaulters. Now Penryn needs to get her sister back and Raffe needs to get his wings sewn back on. And to do so, they require each other’s help, which results in an unlikely partnership between the two.
Susan Ee’s style of writing is great but it’s nothing YA readers haven’t seen before. Ee also seems to have a tendency to state the obvious and a major part of the plot was made highly predictable due to certain scenes. This, however, doesn’t stop the book from being a gripping read, particularly because of the lead characters.
Penryn is a perfect example of a strong female protagonist from YA novels and it is easy to liken her relationship with her mother and sister to that of Katniss Everdeen’s from The Hunger Games. Just like Katniss, Penryn is the one who has to bear the responsibility of her family. All in all, Penryn is an easily likeable character who’s hard to forget. She believes that saving her sister’s life is much more necessary than engaging in a forbidden romance with an angel.
Raffe, likewise, is an equally interesting and likeable character. He’s one of those male leads who treat their female counterparts as equals but at the same time are forever ready to do anything they can to protect them. If you’re into witty, sarcastic male leads, you’ll love Raffe.
In general, I think the asset of the book is the ‘frenemy’ relationship between Raffe and Penryn and their distinct strong personalities which make them stand out among other YA protagonists. Angelfall is a flawed book but it is one of those that will make you want to keep it on your favourites shelf despite its flaws. It is every bit deserving of a 5 star rating. Thoroughly enjoyed this one.