Angelfall

Angelfall
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of Bookbridgr

It's been six weeks since the angels of the apocalypse destroyed the world as we know it. Only pockets of humanity remain. Savage street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When Penryn and her family stumble into an angel smack down, the angels are so busy trying to cut off one's wings, that they nearly get away.....nearly. When the angels fly off with her sister, Penryn will do anything to get her back...but when she does...she might not be the same.

Penryn will have to work with the angel she saved to get to the angel's base and rescue her sister, while Raffe just needs to get his wings sewn back on...but things are always more complicated than they should be....especially when feelings are involved.

HOLY SHIT! I can't believe it took me THIS long to read this book! Don't get me wrong, I've been intrigued for a while, but I don't have a lot of time to read books that aren't review books right now, and so I've been eyeing this up, then it popped up on Bookbridgr, presumably because the final one is out next month! But anyways, I had to grab it and I've been itching to finally get round to it and oh my god it has everything I want in a book!

First of all the originality is all over the book, I mean it's so unique I got far too excited, we all know I love to read unique books, that are a little bit different from the norm, and this is no exception. I mean we have an agnostic angel and I seriously was just like....that is freaking brilliant! If I didn't already love Raffe that would have done it!

The main thing was the premise, so unique, apocalypse by angels! I was sucked in from the beginning and totally glued to the page. I seriously couldn't put it down, I was fascinated and enchanted by the book and it's world. The world was so vivid, you could picture every setting, every single thing described, characters, buildings, the atmosphere oozed off the page and engulfed you as you where reading, it was incredible. I was delightfully disgusted at more than one point, it had a nice dark edge to it in places.

The premise was just as strong as it's plot, I didn't even bother trying to guess what was going to happen next, I just rolled with it and went along for the ride. And what a ride it was, there was always something going on, something to keep you reading, action and what not. The plot was complex, there was the whole deal with Penryn looking after her sister and Raffe helping her, but there was a complexity in the angels. They have some serious political mess going on, they don't know why they're there, or what they're doing and their messenger was killed and now they need a knew one, so they're kind of all fighting over it, and one angel wants to be the new messenger, but Raffe's soldiers want him to be it and so on, but Raffe has gone missing as far as they're aware, none of them seem to know he was ambushed by the angels working for the dude who wants to be in charge and had his wings cut off and that he hasn't abandoned them. So yeah, it's complex!

The other thing about the angels that added a sense of originality was that the angels all looked different, in that they all had different wings, most books have them all looking the same but this one added this cool element! I'm trying to work out what each wing means!

Penryn was an awesome main character, she's everything I love, she's badass, her dedication to finding her sister was inspiring, and just amazing. She was written so strongly that you connected with her immediately and you have nothing but respect for her character, looking after her sister, going after her to rescue her, and having to deal with her mother at the same time. I'm slightly convinced there's more to her mother's illness than meets the eye, but maybe I'm just overly suspicious!

Raffe. I liked Raffe. I didn't suspect what his real name was and as a fan of Supernatural I'm slightly aware of angels and who is what. Should have seen it coming. I loved his interactions with Pen, their banter and bickering where hilarious, and they work together, they have a certain chemistry that jumps off the page. I was so gutted when someone stole his wings and he got stuck with the demon wings, but he's so adorable, trying to be all " I don't even like you" yeah...sure mate, whatever you say, and then checking they had her in the van and everything. So adorable. He better get his damn wings back and takeover and kick the asshole angels asses. I swear.

I enjoyed how the romance was almost secondary to the plot, it was subtle, growing naturally and then kind of coming to centre stage towards the end, and I can't wait to see how their relationship develops in the final two books! It's going to be very well done either way and probably with lots of feels and aaawwss!

So yeah, before I gush on about it for pages and pages and pages, I'd better end the review here! The ending just left me wanting more and I really didn't want to leave the characters or the world! I can't wait to get my hands on the second book and I may have to take a break in my reviewing schedule to fit it in, because I'll be damned if I'm waiting months!

Angelfall is darkly atmospheric, enchanting, enthralling, original, expertly crafter, incredibly written, atmospheric, macabre....I could go on all day! Not to mention the rich background and history and mythology to the book and the angels and the world. I love me some rich mythology and background! Especially when it's slotted in perfectly with an engaging narrative.