Book Review: Angelfall

Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days #1)
by Susan Ee
Kindle Edition, 255 pages
Published May 21st 2011 by Feral Dream

Summary:

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.

Review:

Angelfall is not your typical post-apocalyptic angel YA fantasy book. Heck, I'm not even sure if there are other post-apocalyptic books that features angels as the cause of the devastation. Sure, there are some angel books where the angels want to annihilate the existence of humanity, but in no book does these angels succeed.

In Angelfall, the readers are transported into a post-apocalyptic world defaced by angels. Penryn, along with her wheelchair-bound younger sister and mentally unstable mother (mentally unstable as in someone-who-talks-to-the-devil-and-puts-lipstick-and-draws-six-pointed-stars-to-corpses-just-because type of mentally unstable) strive to survive the dismantled world. However, an encounter with a fight between an angel and five others separated their family. Her younger sister was abducted by the angels while her mother escaped. One of the angels lay unconscious in the aftermath, stripped off of wings. And in the hopes of finding her sister, Penryn decided to save him.

It's been so long since I read a book that has rendered me absolutely speechless. Angelfall's awesomeness was entirely unexpected, something that made it all the more surprising. Angelfall also has no boring page. The good scenes just keep coming and coming. It is action-packed, and the heroine is a badass. Both Penryn and Raffe are very likable characters. Penryn's mom is a serious case of nut, but I find her amusingly creepy. Other than her, there are also some more gruesome vivid scenes that may not be appropriate for the weak-hearted.

Also, original plot. And no insta-love! I like that Raffe and Peryn's relationship developed gradually. Although there's no clear signs of romance, the hints are everywhere. Overall, Angelfall is a captivating read that is capable of transporting you right into its world and keep you there long after you finish reading it.

Rating: 5/5 stars!!!!!

READ THE FIRST 5 CHAPTERS HERE

Book Review: Ashfall

Ashfall (Ashfall #1)
by Mike Mullin
Hardcover, 466 pages
Expected publication: October 11th 2011 by Tanglewood Press
Source: NetGalley

Summary:

Under the bubbling hot springs and geysers of Yellowstone National Park is a supervolcano. Most people don't know it's there. The caldera is so large that it can only be seen from a plane or satellite. It just could be overdue for an eruption, which would change the landscape and climate of our planet.


Ashfall is the story of Alex, a teenage boy left alone for the weekend while his parents visit relatives. When the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts unexpectedly, Alex is determined to reach his parents. He must travel over a hundred miles in a landscape transformed by a foot of ash and the destruction of every modern convenience that he has ever known, and through a new world in which disaster has brought out both the best and worst in people desperate for food, water, and warmth. With a combination of nonstop action, a little romance, and very real science, this is a story that is difficult to stop reading and even more difficult to forget.

Review:

Ashfall was a real shocker for me. Reading this was a spur of the moment decision, so I wasn't really expecting anything from it. Plus, I kind of didn't like the cover. It looked to me like a MG book. (And I don't dig MG.) So you can only imagine my surprise when I read it and actually really, really, really loved it! I was even reading this while eating! o.o

Ashfall was told from Alex's point of view. (Male POV, yay!) The book starts with a narrative from Alex about how he regretted having a fight with his mom before she, along with his dad and younger sister took off to visit a relative's place, leaving him alone at the house. Later, we find out that the reason why he regretted this was because of the eruption of a supervolcano.

Before the volcano erupted, Alex came off as very bratty and immature. But as Alex became closer to his family, he grew to become mature and responsible. The road to find his family wasn't an easy one though. Along the way, he met a lot of strangers who were driven by hunger and desperation to survive. This was quite violent, really with some reference to cannibalism and rape. I don't dig violence, but I still thoroughly enjoyed Ashfall.

Recommended to older teens and lovers of dystopian/post-apocalyptic books!

Rating: 5/5 stars!!!

Disclosure: This e-ARC was received from the publisher (Tanglewood Press via NetGalley) for free in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Enclave

Enclave (Razorland #1)
by Ann Aguirre
259 Pages - Hardcover
Published April 12th 2011 by Feiwel & Friends
Challenge: Dystopia Reading Challenge
Source: Bought

Summary:

WELCOME TO THE APOCALYPSE

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 using his knives with feral grace.

As Deuce’s perception shifts, so does the balance in the constant battle for survival. The mindless Freaks, once considered a threat only due to their sheer numbers, show signs of cunning and strategy… but the elders refuse to heed any warnings. Despite imminent disaster, the enclave puts their faith in strictures and sacrifice instead. No matter how she tries, Deuce cannot stem the dark tide that carries her far from the only world she’s ever known.

Review:

I’m starting to lose faith in dystopian novels. I have read three dystopia this month and the lot of them disappointed me. After Matched and Divergent, I was looking forward to Enclave. Hoping it could break the two-streak disappointment that both dystopian books brought upon me. But was I right about Enclave...?

Aguirre has created a world that is both fascinating and creepy at the same time. I like that Enclave starts straight to the plot. I thought it was a little fast, but I like it better than having the real plot start when I’m halfway done with the book. I find the characters very amusing. Deuce's ignorance about the sun, moon, rain, furniture and canned goods is really fascinating. I fell in love with Fade the moment Deuce mentioned him. But it was only short-lived. At first, he is described as a scary boy who keeps to himself. He has the blackest eyes, like bottomless pit. That said, I thought he was one mysterious, aloof guy with the darkest past.

I am one of those girls who are attracted to these types of hotties. But wrong! A couple of chapters after that, Fade is revealed to be a really soft guy who smiles and greets his friends. I’m not saying that this isn’t a good thing. I was just disappointed that he did not turn out like how he was first described. Because honestly, after picturing him as a dark, mysterious boy, it's quite hard to imagine him as a guy who smiles and greets people. Awkward!

Also, based on the author's note, Aguirre clearly put so much effort into writing this book. It's quite cool to know that the little, almost insignificant things in the book were based on facts. But like I said, I thought they were almost insignificant. I didn't even give much thought into them until she mentioned them. But still, it's really cool. Also, while I like that this starts straight to the plot, I kind of missed Deuce's back story. Like how she learned to fight or just more about her childhood.

There are a couple of WTF moments here too. Silk's appearance in Deuce's dream is very unconvincing. They are not even close to begin with. I was tempted to use google and see if Enclave also includes the paranormal genre aside from dystopia. And oh, the love triangle! At first, I was really happy because there was no love triangle. But behold! It sprouts towards the end of the book. WTF? Not only was it unconvincing. It seemed forced too.

Rating: 2.5/5