Book Review: Angelfall by Susan Ee

Book: ANGELFALL
Author: SUSAN EE
Genre: YA FANTASY/POST-APOCALYPTIC
Published: May 2011

Series: Penryn and the End of Days #1 (upcoming series)
Source: Purchased with my own funds

From Good Reads:
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.

My Review:
Writing my first review of 2012, and having it be for such an awesome book as ANGELFALL (which was actually the first book I finished reading in 2012, too) is a great feeling. This book paints angels in a very, very bad light. The main character, Penryn is a human trying to survive the angel apocalypse that has started on the west coast of the U.S. with her mother, and beloved, but wheelchair bound younger sister. The story is galvanized by the abduction of Penryn's sister by an angel. In fact, this happens in the very first pages. The action is non-stop and the ride is creepy, dark, and absolutely exhilarating.

Penryn's character is brilliantly penned by Susan Ee. There's a beauty to how Penryn owns herself. Her body, her actions and her choices. Though ther are times when the reader can clearly see that Penryn's determination is going to land her in a maelstrom of trouble, I had to admire the way that from thought to action, she followed through. ANGELFALL does not have a dithering female as its lead. And because I think the phrase "strong" is overused and misused to describe YA protagonists, I'm not going to put it in here. BUT...

Though the reader gets to experience the narrative through Penryn's eyes, all of the other characters are just as interesting and fully realized as her. Raffe, the angel that Penryn saves at the cost of her sister, is mysterious and taciturn, but I never felt frustrated at how much is revealed about his character. Same too for Penryn's mother. Almost none of her character's motivation is explained, however her place in the book is important.

ANGELFALL is the perfect novel to read, if you are looking for the next great post-apocalyptic novel to fill the void. Not only am I still thinking about it days after finishing it, it's one of those books that has gotten under my skin. One of those books that could potentially ruin the next book I try to read, because nothing will quite be as great just now. Susan Ee is amazing at the macabre and I'm waiting anxiously for the next installment in Penryn's life.

5/5 for plot
5/5 for characters
4.5/5 for language

My Rating: 14.5/15 (5 stars)

Must Read, if you liked:
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Other Life by Susanne Winnacker
Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton
Enclave by Ann Aguirre

Find the author at:
Blog | Twitter | GoodReads | Facebook

Purchase book at:
Barnes and Noble | Amazon

Available formats: NookBook, Kindle

ARC Review: Demon Bait by Moira Rogers

Book: DEMON BAIT 
Author: MOIRA ROGERS 
Genre: POST-APOCALYPTIC/SCIENCE-FICTION ROMANCE 
Published: November 2011, SAMHAIN PUBLISHING  

Series: Children of the Undying #1 (upcoming series)  
Source: Author, no other compensation given for honest review

From Good Reads:  
Fifty years after a demon apocalypse devastated the world, summoners still bear the bulk of the blame. Marci lives in secret, hiding the gifts that could cost her a secure spot in one of humanity’s underground cities, and access to their virtual world. After all, her chances of avoiding the genetic-testing lotto are better than her chances of surviving topside. 

The bastard son of a terrifying incubus, lust heats Gabe’s blood and sex fuels his magic. Innate charm and charisma help him navigate the cultural gap between the outcast town he calls home and the human settlements he infiltrates for trade. His latest mission nets him an unexpected asset–a summoner strong enough to soothe his darkest needs. 

Trust a half demon, especially one who uses a lockdown to trap them together? Not in this lifetime. Yet Marci can’t resist Gabe’s offer to see her safely to a selective outcast settlement where she can live without fear. The journey alone is as dangerous as the way Gabe makes her heart race, but it could be her one hope of a real life. 

If only she could be sure Gabe’s telling her the whole truth…  

My Review:
Honest truth, I have never read a Moira Rogers novella or novel that I didn’t like. So, right off, DEMON BAIT is not going to be the exception. In fact, I would say with DEMON BAIT, Rogers has really stepped up her game. I love science-fiction and cyber fiction and romance. Rogers has combined all of these in this latest novella.

Though the page count is short and the pace is quick, I didn’t feel as if anything was missing from the plot. This is one of Rogers’ greatest strengths. The duo that writes under the pseudonym knows how to pull together a tight plot and make every word germane to the story. Their world-building is nominal; no long passages explaining the set-up of the world. No exposition that shifts the focus of the plot. No external characters that just serve to show that this is a fantasy world. That’s what I love, truly. The fact that Rogers can pull me into their world and their story that quickly and make the journey believable, no matter how short the novella may be.

DEMON BAIT does take a turn from their usual fare. The two other main series that Rogers writes deal with vampires and werewolves, shapeshifters and witches (oh my!). But, lately the author has been stretching into other genres, and even mixing and matching sub-genres that might have never been combined before. I would say that DEMON BAIT would appeal to readers that like science-fiction, or post-apocalyptic plotlines. Even readers who have read other work by Rogers outside of just the SOUTHERN ARCANA series, or the RED ROCK PASS series would probably really enjoy it.

The awesome writing and stunning tension that marks all of their work is present here, but DEMON BAIT might not strike the same interest if you do not have any interest in cyber or science-fiction based books. For me, it was one of their best, and I look forward to snapping up further books in this series, as well as anything else Moira Rogers authors.  

5/5 for plot 
5/5 for characters 
4.5/5 for language 
My Rating: 14.5/15 (5 stars) Must Read

Find the author at: Website | Blog | Twitter (Bree) | Twitter (Donna) | GoodReads | Facebook

Purchase book at: Barnes and Noble | Samhain Publishing | All Romance E-Books | Amazon

Available formats: NookBook, EPub, PDF, Kindle  

Advance Review: Enclave (Razorland #1) by Ann Aguirre

Book: ENCLAVE
Author: ANN AGUIRRE
Genre: DYSTOPIAN/POST-APOCALYPTIC FANTASY
Published: April 2011, FEIWEL AND FRIENDS

Series: RAZORLAND #1
Outpost (Razorland #2) (Published: 2012, FEIWEL AND FRIENDS)
Source: Publisher via Good Golly Miss Holly Book Tours, no compensation for an honest review

From Good Reads:
In Deuce's world, people earn the right to a name only if they survive their first fifteen years. By that point, each unnamed 'brat' has trained into one of three groups-Breeders, Builders, or Hunters, identifiable by the number of scars they bear on their arms.

Deuce has wanted to be a Huntress for as long as she can remember. As a Huntress, her purpose is clear--to brave the dangerous tunnels outside the enclave and bring back meat to feed the group while evading ferocious monsters known as Freaks. She's worked toward this goal her whole life, and nothing's going to stop her, not even a beautiful, brooding Hunter named Fade.

When the mysterious boy becomes her partner, Deuce's troubles are just beginning. Down below, deviation from the rules is punished swiftly and harshly, and Fade doesn't like following orders. At first she thinks he's crazy, but as death stalks their sanctuary, and it becomes clear the elders don't always know best, Deuce wonders if Fade might be telling the truth.

Her partner confuses her; she's never known a boy like him before, as prone to touching her gently as to using his knives with feral grace. As Deuce's perception shifts, so does the balance in the constant battle for survival...

My Review:
I'm not sure that I can point out why ENCLAVE resonated so much with me, but I'm going to give it a good try. Because this book wowed me from the very first page, to the very last, and it left me anxiously awaiting the next installment, which won't be out for more than a year. *Weeps for a moment, at that realization*.

Anyway, the book introduces the heroine, Deuce, to the reader at her naming ceremony. If you didn't already know that this book was going to be a dystopian, here's the first big clue. In a somewhat barbaric ritual, Deuce is indoctrinated into her society, taking the scars of a Huntress. This is a job that she wants, though it seems much more dangerous than any other that is "allowed" by the ruling members of her enclave.

Deuce is an amazingly strong character, not in stature, but in spirit. I actually kind of pictured her as a somewhat small, wiry girl that would probably be mistaken for a teen or early 20-something well into her thirties, if she had the opportunity to live that long. Alas, her world is one that doesn't even name their children until the teens, because a high percentage of "brats" don't make it to adolescence.

Though Deuce and her partner, Fade, who has to follow her into exile, do encounter their share of danger, the novel is fairly sparse in high action. It moves along at an average pace, certainly not quite as quickly as I've come to expect from many YA novels, but the story is solid, very solid. It also comes with its fair share of excellent writing.

Ann Aguirre entranced and entrenched me so well into her plot that I read it in one go in the very late night hours, when I should have perhaps, been getting some well-needed sleep. And, when I emerged from the pages at the end, it left me kind of dizzy and disoriented. ENCLAVE is the first book of 2011, where I wasn't sure what to do when it ended. I wanted to go back immediately for a re-read, just to make sure that I had really gotten the whole story. This is one of those books that I will have to have for my bookshelves, and for myself.

4.5/5 for plot
5/5 for characters
4.5/5 for language

My Rating: 14/15 (5 stars)

Must Read, if you liked:
The Hunger Games (series) by Suzanne Collins
Feed by Mira Grant
Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Links for the author and books:
* Website
* Twitter
* GoodReads
* Facebook

Purchase at:
* Barnes and Noble
* Book Depository
* Amazon


Available formats: Print (Hardcover)

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