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Angelfall, Angels, Angels and demons, author, book, book reviews, books, characters, End of Days, fantasy, fiction, literature, novel, plot, read, reader, review, stories, story, Susan Ee, World After, write, writer, writing, YA, young adult
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy or Science Fiction, Apocalypse, Angels & Demons
Pages: 283
Point of View: First (Penryn)
Released: May 21, 2011
Series: Penryn & the End of Days
Predictability: 3 out of 5 (Where 1 is George RR Martin (If the characters make a plan or think about the future I know it isn’t going to go that way.) And 5 is Cinder (where I guessed what was going to happen long before it did, but it was still a great book.)
Source: Kindle freebie
My Rating: 8/10 Stars
My summary:
Two months ago the world ended. Angels came out of the sky, comets struck the earth, and tsunamis and storms destroyed large portions of the cities. Penryn is a survivor, not only does she take care of her seven year old paralyzed sister, but her schizophrenic mother.
Penryn witnesses a battle between angels which leaves one wingless. When her sister’s kidnapped she aides the wingless angel to discover where the others could have taken the little girl.
My Review:
Penryn’s had a rough life being the adult of the family at only seventeen after her father left. As a child her mother forced her to go to every sort of self defense class after an accident left her sister paralyzed. (Which I thought was a great way for Penryn to kick butt!)
I know Penryn loves her mother, because she’s her mother, but I hated seeing such an abusive relationship! We don’t get to see the abuse, but we’re told about it happening in the past. (It’s not like her mom’s better now. If anything she’s more scary crazy.) I couldn’t like her mom because of this and I wanted to, because she was scary crazy to the bad guys too!
The Good:
The world is the one we know, albeit a bit more rubble. Still the author manages to create a unique post apocalyptic world.
I loved the two main characters! Their relationship was wonderful, from uncertain allies to unlikely friends. Their banter was great! I love when a book manages to be dark and funny at the same time!
Angelfall was face paced and nicely plotted. I never knew what was coming next and I gobbled it up. (I needed this book! Thank you to everyone who recommended it!)
The Bad:
I had so many questions about the angels and where they came from, why they’re here, but we aren’t really given any answers! I need answers!
There was quite a lot of violence and general grossness in this book. Most of the parts I didn’t like were more of a personal taste thing. The ending was fine. I was disturbed and not totally happy about everything, but it worked. (Note: I am easily grossed out so it might not bother you.)
WORLD AFTER ~ No spoilers!
Pages: 438
Released: Nov 19, 2013
My Rating: 7/10 Stars
I like it when a sequel picks up right where the last one left off (That way it feels like I didn’t miss anything) and World After picks up literally the next second. She’s quick to remind about what happened previously without getting boring.
The book was fine, but I’d probably have liked it better if I hadn’t just read Angelfall. (Angelfall great, World After just good)
The Good:
The BEST parts of these books are the Penryn and Raffe moments. We still get a few excellent moments between the two, but for the most part Raffe isn’t in the book. (Which was so sad!)
I cracked up at one part towards the end. It was perfection! (I’m not going to spoil the joke, but if you’re not liking this book as much you should still keep reading, it’s worth it.)
A few of my questions were finally answered! (Even if these answers raised even more questions)
The Bad:
Penryn alone isn’t nearly as fun and I was annoyed with her a little bit. (I am with most main characters at some point though)
I felt like too much time was spent on unimportant things and the whole book could’ve been greatly reduced. (Okay, I just wanted the parts without Raffe. The beginning needed reduced so we got more time with him!)
Okay, where’s the third book? I kind of have to know what happens next!!! End of Days will be released on May 12, 2015. (At least I didn’t have to wait two years!)
Unrelated question this week, but something I’ve been curious about. How young is too young for the protagonist of a book? Do you have a cut off age? If so, how young of a character will you read?
I’m debating on how young my main character should be. (Pabkins sister was nice enough to point out that it depends on what my target audience. I’m thinking young adult. Even though there’s no romance, it’s written more mature, and I just can’t get the page count down enough for middle grade. She was originally going to be 10-11, but I’m thinking 12-13 might be better?)
Woven Magic Books 
This sounds like an interesting read. I like books dealing with angels and demons! I do like some background and clarification to though, give me all the W’s and dot those I’s, yes please! How old is too young for a protagonist? I think it really depends on your target audience and the plot. 😉
Pabkins@NotYetRead says hello!
I like books with demons, but not usually angels. Since these ones were evil, it worked. I agree I like to know why something is happening and how it all came to be. Oh, good point I hadn’t really thought of target audience. Thanks for stopping by!
Hello back to Pabkins. 🙂
I really need to read the second book but I am ad that there isn’t as much Raffe time in it, I really like his character.
Wonderful review! Maybe I will hold off reading this until book three is closer. It seems like there has been a long wait between books.
I really like Raffe too! It was obvious how much he adds to the story. Thank you! Yeah, it’s not a book that has to be read right away, but there are some great parts in the end. I have high hopes for the finale! I think the books only come out every other year!
Nice review.
I think, for me, the youngest I would read is late teens. But different audiences are, well, different. If you’re aiming at young teens, then I think the same age is good for the protagonist.
Thanks!
I guess I don’t know what age range I’m targeting. I was thinking teenagers, but I’m worried that she’s too young. I wanted her to age as the books go, that’s why I started her younger. Also, my second main character is like 30. I so don’t know what I’m doing. Thanks for your input.
I felt the same way about World After: not enough Raffe. It’s not that I’m really enamoured with him (unlike Penryn… her teenage gushings kind of made me roll my eyes at times), but I do enjoy their banter when they get together. Without the plot device that the author used (with the sword), I think that book would’ve been pretty dull.
As for main characters and their ages… I think the unofficial rule of thumb when you’re writing for younger readers is that the main characters should be slightly older than the target audience. I guess kids and teens generally don’t like to read about characters younger than they are. This is why middle grade books (which are intended for the 9-12 crowd) often have 13-year-old protagonists. Then you get into YA (which is generally for 13 and up) and you’ll find lots of 16-, 17-, and 18-year-old main characters. There are exceptions, of course. But I think, in general, younger readers want to read about things that they can aspire to doing in the near future… not things they’ve already done.
I really don’t care about the age of the main characters in the books I read, as long as the age is appropriate for the story. I’ve read a few with an obvious mismatch, and it was kind of awkward. (I’m thinking in particular about a book called The Puzzle Ring by Kate Forsyth. Based on the 13-year-old main characters (who seemed even younger than that), I would have guessed that the book was middle grade. But it was way too long for that age group, and got bogged down by too many historical facts. It was really too bad; it had potential to be a decent YA book had the author made her characters a bit older and more mature. There’s also another book that I’m thinking of called Dream Spinner by Bonnie Dobkin that had sort of the opposite problem: it was YA, with teenaged characters, but the story involved things like talking wolves and unicorns that seemed just a little too juvenile to be in the same plot with high schoolers. Neither of those books impressed me that much. It wasn’t that I didn’t think they had potential… but the age thing was off.)
Yeah same here, it’s not that I love Raffe, it’s that he makes the story so much better! Their interactions and banter is what makes the book fun! I agree on the sword thing too. That part was cool, but I wanted MORE!
I remember liking to read about older characters now that you mention it. Yeah, sometimes a kid just doesn’t come off like a kid even thought there are differing levels of maturity. It’s tricky matching the age of the character to the book and of course mine isn’t obviously for any one age group. I think my problem is I want her to be a little younger than the target audience, which just doesn’t work. It’s hard because I want her to age in the books, but not get too old too fast.
Thanks for your input. You gave me a lot to think about. 🙂
I honestly don’t know why I haven’t read this yet! You’re only like the 100th person I’ve heard raving about it, and it’s literally gathering dust on my shelf!
Great review!
Too young of a character? Hmm. 12-13 is a little young for YA I think, but personally I’m a big fan of books that straddle the line between MG and YA. I think, personally, anything under 11 or 10 would be too young for me. 12-13 I wouldn’t think would be too young. More of a MG age but not too young for YA, or even just upper MG. In my mind ages 12-14 are more upper MG than YA, but I don’t think most people actually consider upper MG a thing!
Now I think I’m just rambling… =)
I put Angelfall on my books to read before the end of the year and everyone recommended it so I moved it up on my list. I guess you should dust if off. Thanks.
Yeah I’m thinking I’ll start her as 12-13 and then it could be older middle grade. Thanks for the opinions. It’s nice to hear from someone who likes and reads MG. I really appreciate it! (I stress over the silliest things)
There’s nothing wrong with rambling. I babble all the time. 😉
You know admittedly I’m not much into middle grade. I read a few now and then but its rare. I’d say maybe less then five a year at this point because i’m just not interested in the MG stories…I like there being a touch of romance now and then as long as it isn’t the main plot. Lately I prefer my MC to be 17/18 if reading YA and more and more I find myself gravitating to adult fantasy and them just having younger characters anywhere from 18 to 30ish.
I haven’t read much middle grade either. It’s just hard to know which ones are good because so often the authors try to dumb it down for kids. (which is totally unnecessary) Before this year all I read were adult books, so it still all feels new to me. I agree, I like a little romance too. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Oh and I agree Penryn alone in the second novel is not as fun to read as her and Raffe together.
So often I feel that way about books (that they’re better when the two main characters are together) It doesn’t have to be romantic, just the joking around makes the book more enjoyable for me. Banter is fun though! 🙂
I still need to read World After but I enjoyed Angelfall very much! Raffe *swoons
I think for YA protagonists, they should be at least 16. Younger than that I would probably see it more fitting as a MG character.
Eileen @ BookCatPin
I really liked Angelfall too! The two main characters together are what really makes the story. It really became obvious when Raffe wasn’t there and the story dragged.
Thanks for your input on character ages. I think that’s one of my problems, it seems to vary.
Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Oh I didn’t know there was a release date yet for the next one! Hooray!
As for your other question. I’m 31 and read a lot of YA, but if the main character is any younger than 15, I can’t usually stomach it. But then again, I’m not your target audience 🙂
I’m glad it’s coming out soon. I don’t have long to wait at all. 🙂
For me it’s not a matter of character age as in how the author writes it. Too often they try to dumb it down for kids and have simply plots ect, which I don’t think is even necessary. I’m not sure what my target audience is. Thanks. I appreciate getting everyone’s opinions. I found myself judging books based on the character’s ages and that made me paranoid.
This does sound like a good book (I only read about the first one, as I didn’t want to accidentally see a spoiler). 🙂 I like that the book had you engrossed and that you had so many good things to say about it. The mom sounds awful. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
No worries. I never put spoilers in my reviews without a warning first. The sequel review was safe even if you hadn’t read Angelfall. I needed a really good book like this. But the problem with good books is they’re over too fast. Now I need another one. Her mom was awful, fortunately most of the bad things she did (to her daughters) were only in the past. Thank you!
Yes, yes, I agree with pretty much all of this. I don’t think it is just you, some of the things WERE disturbing for sure! It didn’t detract from the book for me, but it was gory, no question. And seriously, you lucked out just reading these. I feel like I read the first book like 10 years ago (being dramatic) and will need to reread when book 3 finally graces us with its presence 😉
As for your question, I don’t really enjoy protagonists who are too young. But I am not a fan of MG either, so that kind of aligns with that. I think for YA, 16 and older works best. But if you’re going for an MG audience, then you could do 12 and up, no problem.
I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who was disturbed. Yeah, I procrastinated reading this just long enough. Two years between books is too LONG.
It seems like a lot of adults don’t like reading middle grade. I wonder why that is. Thanks for the suggestion, I think I’ll start her at 12. I can always make it a young adult book later once she gets older.
Everyone has been recommending me Angelfall but I still haven’t read it (even though I own both books, I’m terrible) but this review definitely gives me a much needed push, I love a character dynamic like this-Penryn and Raffe sound so great together.
I was late to the party too. I’m glad I finally decided to jump on board. I hope you enjoy them too. 🙂 Yeah, Penryn and Raffe together is the BEST! I’m a sucker for banter though.
I too enjoyed book one slightly more than the second book, but overall this is probably one of my favorite YA series right now. It is killing me that book three doesn’t even have a cover yet. I wants it.
Yeah book one was better, more plot and action. (as well as Raffe) I have high hopes for number three though. At least there isn’t long to wait now!
I LOVED Angellfall but I kind of agree…so many unanswered questions. I feel like the world-building didn’t get enough attention but the characters jafsdklads I just love them a ton and a lot. I never got my hands on World After. The library doesn’t have it. *cries*
*whispers* In answer to your question, if you want to write YA I suggest the character being 14+, otherwise it’s really MG. Just depends on what you want, right?! I mean, there are plenty of adult books narrated by super young narrators (like To Kill a Mockingbird is narrated by a 6 year old) but, lol, take it from someone who wrote a YA narrated by a 8 year old and found it really hard to even get a look in from agents…. >.>
I’m happy you enjoyed Angelfall too! 🙂 Yeah, I’m just an inquisitive person, I have the need to know these things. You don’t have a Kindle? That was the only place I found these books.
*whispers* Thanks for the suggestion. Yeah, I didn’t even think about trying to get an agent. I want it to be young adult, but I think I want her to be younger more. I’m leaning towards 12 at the moment.
I heard a lot about these books but I haven’t read any I confess but I should to see how they are. It sounds interesting even if you had a lot of questions during your reading. thanks for the little reviews!
That’s why I finally decided to read them too, everyone told me to. I hesitated, because I’m not much of an angel person, but I enjoyed them. I usually have a lot of questions. I’m hoping the final book answers them all. *fingers crossed* Thank you! 🙂
I LOVE THIS SERIES SO MUCH. THE BANTER. THE BANTER IS GOLDEN.
I’m not easily grossed out at all so I think it’s why I loved this book to pieces. I did have trouble with the world building as well though! I’ll tell you a funny story though! I read this around exam time and just couldn’t go on without knowing the ending to World After. I did my research, found out where Raffe comes in and then just read the last chunk of it. So technically, I feel like I’ve read it because I read the end (HORRIBLE) I SWEAR I WILL ONE DAY GET BACK TO ALL THE BORING BITS LOL
And to answer your age question, yikes, I must be picky then! The YA age that I would read is 15 and up. In fact, it’s pushing it at 15 for me. I like it best at 16, I suppose, but I’d like it better at 17. I think that’s why I avoid YA works aimed at the younger end of the spectrum like the plague. I just can’t do it. But in your case, do what feels natural to you? What age does she feel more like?
The banter is the best part of the books! They just have such a great rapport. I am easily grossed out, but I still really liked it. Yes, I need answers! The whys and hows are important to me. hahaha That was smart! I really don’t think you missed all that much actually.
So many people only read books with older protagonists, dang. I really wanted it to be young adult, but she just isn’t that old at the start. (She will be eventually) Thank you! 🙂
I was disappointed but I think most of it came from the worldbuilding, it should have been explained more
I agree! I was left with so many questions! I’m hoping the third book explains things.
Interesting. I haven’t heard of either Angelfall or World After, so both stories are new to me.
I think 12 or 13 might be a little too young for YA. All of the protagonists in YA novels I’ve read regardless of genre have been anywhere between 16 and 18 years old. Harry Potter is an obvious exception, since he’s 11 years old in Sorcerer’s Stone. But maybe it was an MG series to start, and then evolved into YA as he got older…?
I hadn’t heard of them before this year either. Apparently Angelfall was/is an independently published book.
Yeah, that’s what I was worried about that 12 was too young for young adult, but she just doesn’t feel like 16. I don’t know what Harry Potter is. It’s hard to classify books where the characters grow up. Usually they get darker as they go and wind up feeling more young adult in the end.
I’ve heard so many fabulous things about this series. And lucky enough for me, I can actually wait and maybe binge read them all. I hope that the third book doesn’t fall short. Great review with the goods and bads as usual 🙂
Good idea! I was going to wait until they were all released, but I couldn’t. I’m glad I read them early and at least it’s not too much longer. I’m always worried about the last book in a series, because sometimes it just doesn’t work. This isn’t really the last book, just the last one staring Penryn, the series will continue, so I’m curious to see what she does with that. Thank you! 🙂
Well, the series seems to be a good one so far so I will try them out. Happy the characters are peeps I can love!
It is a good series so far. I hope you enjoy it! 🙂 Yeah I’m a big fan of banter.
Sounds like an interesting series!
I’d read a book with a 10-11 year old as protagonist, but if the story is more mature I guess it’d make more sense for her to be older.
It is an interesting series.
Yay someone who would read a young protagonist! My book isn’t mature in violence or anything like that. I just didn’t dumb down anything plot wise.
Yes how amazing are Penryn and Raffe? I still haven’t read World After so I need to get to that one soon. I do agree, some of the things in book 1 were gross bleh.
Nice reviews, Molly! <33
Penryn and Raffe are great, but I always like banter! I only hope they don’t get boring if/when they get together. I loved the parts of World After with Raffe, the other parts were just okay. I’m glad I wasn’t the only one grossed out.
Thank you! 🙂
I still haven’t read World After! Book frustrations!
I’m saving up money for more books.
I know how that is. I was lucky enough to get the ebook on sale for $2.
Unique & excellent world-building are two traits I look for when vetting post apocalyptic books, so I’m happy to see that this one featured both. I often struggle with angels though, and I’m unsure about the story’s high ick factor.
Carmel @ Rabid Reads
World building is so important! I struggle with angels usually too, but it helped that these ones were the bad guys. Yeah, it was rather gross at times. I’d still recommend it though.
Yeah, I found parts of this gross and also wanted to know more about the angels. Book two was way more gross for me. And I also missed Raffe. I think MC’s like Penryn need someone to bounce off. I guess this might be why we see a lot more – can I say – vanilla characters in first person?
I know, I had so many questions about where the angels came from and what their world was like! Yeah, I was grossed out too! I didn’t think of that, but you’re totally right about Penryn needing someone to bounce off of. I like there are two main characters together, because it’s almost always the interactions that make the book for me.
I completely agree Molly. I think it was an intriguing take on angels, but I felt we never learned why they came, you know? Thanks for sharing and, as always, fabulous reviews!
I’m not surprised that we agree, we seem to have similar tastes. 🙂 I’m hoping that the third book provides answers. I would’ve liked to have the first book or even the sequel explain where the angels came from and what their world was like though. Thank you! 🙂
Hmmmm, everyone raves about these but I’m so undecided! I love dark and humorous, but I’m also easily grossed out D: Maybe I’ll try it and just use my normal approach of kind of skimming the gross parts, haha. Can you give more details to help me figure out if it is beyond my threshold or would that ruin it?
I’m easily grossed out too. Sure. The thing that bothered me the most was when the main characters found some people that had been attacked and eaten, some of them children. There was something else too, but it didn’t bother me as much as that did, and I might spoil something by explaining it. I’d say it’s still worth the read even with the grossness, because I really did enjoy the banter!
Hurrah, that’s what I was looking for, what a information! present here at this website, thanks admin of this website.
You’re welcome. I’m glad. ☺