Book Review: City of Heavenly Fire

ΕRCHOMAI, SEBASTIAN HAD SAID. 

I am coming.
Darkness returns to the Shadowhunter world. As their society falls apart around them, Clary, Jace, Simon and their friends must band together to fight the greatest evil the Nephilim have ever faced: Clary’s own brother. Nothing in the world can defeat him — must they journey to another world to find the chance?  Quoted from Goodreads

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I'll be honest, I had some issues with the way The Clockwork Princess ended (mostly good, but a few things that really bugged me) so I was a little nervous going into this book to see if it was even worth reading books 4, 5, and 6 of the series when I enjoyed the way book 3 ended so much, and I did end up liking it.  I felt like this book sort of brought the series back up to where it was in the first three.  We get a lot more action and a lot less angst (of course there is some angst.  This is a Cassandra Clare book, after all).  

So what made this book stand out from all the others so far?  First: Jace and Clary's relationship.  Everything is just so much better here.  Yes, (and warning, there are some spoilers for the last book if you haven't read it, so be careful) they can't touch each other for a good portion of it, but their relationship is solid.  The indecision and doubt that we get in the five previous books is gone, so while they still have problems, they work together much better as a team.

Second: Action.  This book has an amazing prologue that completely sucks you into the story and never lets up.  We get deception, murders, war, kidnappings, and as evil a villain as you could desire, all of which leads up to a climactic ending.  I'll be honest, I was expecting more deaths (don't worry, we do get a few) and destruction, but I felt like it was still an satisfying conclusion, and enough bad things happened you never knew who exactly was safe.

Third, Cameos and the Clave. There are a lot of really fun cameos from the Infernal Devices (Tessa and Clary have a fun little conversation), so the books tie in well together. As for the Clave, I love that they're supposed to be good but  kind of evil at the same time.  It lets you totally see why Valentine was able to gather so many followers against them.  At one point, I was ready to overthrow them myself, which leads into my next point.

Warning. If you're thinking maybe I'll just finish up this book then take a little break from Cassandra Clare's novels for awhile, think again.  This book totally sets up her next series.  The prologue is all Emma Carstairs.  We periodically get chapters from her POV throughout the book, and there's even a pretty emotional cliffhanger ending for her part of the story.  Aaaaaaaaaaaah!  

As far as Clary, Jace, Simon, Sebastian, Isabelle, Alec, Magnus, Jocelyn, Luke, Maia, etc. goes, this is a pretty good ending (I'm not saying they all live, I'm just trying to give you all the people who get a POV in the story).  Things aren't perfect, and I'm betting they'll make small appearances in in the next series, but it ends really well.

So are these last three books worth it?  I'd say yes.  It's another fun adventure full of the characters you know and love.  It also ties into the ginormous universe Clare seems to be building, and it's fun to get all these connections. I'm giving it a strong 4 stars, with potential to being bumped up half a star later depending on how I feel in six months.  And I will be reading Lady Midnight when it comes out next year.  With the introduction to fiery, little Emma and all her problems, it would be impossible not to.

Book Review: World After

In this sequel to the bestselling fantasy thriller, Angelfall, the survivors of the angel apocalypse begin to scrape back together what's left of the modern world.

When a group of people capture Penryn's sister Paige, thinking she's a monster, the situation ends in a massacre. Paige disappears. Humans are terrified. Mom is heartbroken.

Penryn drives through the streets of San Francisco looking for Paige. Why are the streets so empty? Where is everybody? Her search leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans where she catches a glimpse of their motivations, and learns the horrifying extent to which the angels are willing to go.
Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them, he can't rejoin the angels, can't take his rightful place as one of their leaders. When faced with recapturing his wings or helping Penryn survive, which will he choose? Quoted from Goodreads

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I'll be honest I was a little bit scared to read this book.  I really, really liked the Anglefall, but while it had great reviews, I also went into it with a little trepidation.  Needless to say, I was blown away, but, again, I had pretty low expectations.  With this second book, however, my expectations were really high, and second books have a pretty sketchy track record.  Some are amazing, but a lot end up being the low point in their respective series. No worries here, though.  This book was exactly what I wanted from start to finish.

First: Penryn.  She is one of my favorite characters. Seriously.  She's a kick-butt heroine as always, but she gets even more awesome in this second installment.  I especially love her relationship with Pookie Bear (you'll have to read this book to get that one).  Her reaction/relationship to her sister is also believable, heartbreaking, and wonderful all at the same time.  

Okay, let's be honest, the characters are probably the best/most crazy part of this series, that has a ton of crazy action/horror/tough situations.  I mean, there's what happened to Penryn's sister, Paige, and how amazing she is for handling what she went through. Then there's Penryn's mother, who is crazy but brilliant, and you never know exactly what's going to come next or how much is the crazy talking and how much is her utter and complete brilliance.  Of course there's the twins, who crack me up and always happen to be in just the right (or wrong) place at the right time, and Clara, who's strong and broken and unwilling to give up hope despite everything she's been though.

Oh, and then there's Raffe.  I know everyone whose read the first book has been waiting for him to show up in this review.  I loved him.  We don't see him quite as much as we did in the first one, but Susan Ea finds some fun work-arounds to keep him a main character despite Penryn's soul POV and separation from him.  We get a  lot of his history and why he is who he is here.  I particularly loved when we get the first time he meets Penryn through his POV.  Plus, I love, love, love his and Penryn's relationship.  They're the perfect  . . .  I don't know . . . star-crossed lovers that so many books try to duplicate and simply can't. Their relationship is sweet, full of trust and joking and safety in a book that is never safe.

The worldbuilding here is excellent.  We solve some mysteries and open up new ones. Ideas and creatures/situations we only glimpsed in the first book are more fleshed out. We get more background on Raffe and Urial's master plan.  The world is still dark and horrible, but there's also hope and good moments.  Maybe not enough to balance out the bad, but it keeps it from being too dark or hopeless.  And then there were a few points where I was laughing out loud, which seems almost inappropriate with how many gruesome, horrible things happen to the people in this book, but Susan Ea included some parts that cracked me up.

And Action. So much, never stop, in your face, someone might die, what new trial/horror is this action that keeps you obsessively reading until the book's finished and you finally, sort of, get a moment to breath.   

All in all, this is an excellent series. I was sort of shocked when I found out there were 5 total (I was expecting 3) but oddly enough I'm excited about this.  Sure, it means torturous waits and nasty cliffhangers, but the story is big enough, I'm glad it will have enough space to really develop it's potential. Plus, I'd rather find out now than at the end of the third book.  All in all, it's an amazing 4.5 star, nail-biting, stay-up-all-night, page-turning read you should really check out, though maybe not if you're super scared of the dark, because this book does have a lot of dark images and realities.

Book Review: The Beautiful and the Cursed

Ingrid Waverley is a young woman to be reckoned with. Faced with her brother's mysterious disappearance after an abrupt move to Paris, she is determined to discover what has happened to him. Soon she and her sister Gabriella are drawn into a Parisian underworld more terrifying than they could ever have imagined, but watching over them are two impossible (and impossibly handsome) young men. Luc is a 'Dispossessed', an ancient gargoyle whose sworn duty it is to protect the humans who inhabit his abbey. Nolan has secrets of his own too. He is a member of the Alliance - a shadowy group dedicated to keeping Paris safe from the demonic forces that threaten to destroy it.
Secrets, danger and hidden powers stalk the girls in this beautifully imagined paranormal romance that will keep readers gripped from beginning to end - and one thing is for sure - you'll never look at a gargoyle in the same way again . . . Quoted from Goodreads

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I have really mixed feelings about this book.  I love the idea of it: gargoyles, a girl with mysterious powers, a missing brother, Paris.  It's all set up to be amazing.  And part of it was, but then part of it wasn't.

Here's what I liked.  Gargoyles.  Okay, so they're called the Dispossesed in this book, and they were kind of awesome.  They hate but guard humans. They're cursed but regularly visit with angles (which, okay, is part of the curse).  Basically, they were a rich, diverse group of characters, and I really liked the mythology and their role in the novel.  I'm kind of jealous of the British cover because I think it gets this book a little bit more right, though the girl looks way too modern.

Second, the mystery that is Ingrid.  I mean, a girl who can call lightning from her fingers? Awesome, especially over a hundred years ago.  Plus, she's this beautiful, blond helpless looking thing, so I loved that she was given an excellent power that was made for nothing but destruction and fighting.  Beautiful contrast.  Plus there's her twin bond with Grayson.  You never know if it's related to her powers or just a simple twin thing, but I liked how she she knew when he was in trouble and the connection they had.

Of course that leads in to one of the things I didn't enjoy as much about this book.  The multiple viewpoints---Grayson's in particular.  I get that you're supposed to think, "oh no, what horrible things Grayson is going through.  They have to save him fast," but I don't think what you gain from his POV made up for loosing they mystery of where he was and what had happened to him.  In fact, besides one or two twists in the end where we learn the bad guy's main motive and plan, there really wasn't a lot of mystery.

Then there's Gabbie.  While I liked the sister's bond and that she wanted to fight despite her distinct lack of powers or training, I found her story a lot less compelling than her sister's.  Sure, she and Nolan were cute, and maybe even made more sense as a couple than anyone Ingrid was set up with, but she also ended up being a damsel in distress more often than not.  I'm hoping her role grows more in the next book, because she has a lot of potential, but her story was less compelling for me.

As for the romance, well, it sort of suffered from the typical YA problems.  The main love interest, well . . . he's forbidden.  And immortal.  And cursed. And not human.  In fact, they could die if they get together.  Sound familiar? Then there's the other guy. And he's just that,  the nice other guy.  Of course Ingrid is attracted to him because he's the safe, sweet contrast, but he's not Luc. Like I said, Gabbie's romance worked a little better for me, though I'm still team Luc all the way.  What can I say, I'm a sucker for those forbidden romances.

Despite some of the problems, there's a lot going for this book. There's tons of action.  Honestly, it was more violent than I first expected, full of dead bodies and hellhounds.  We have the mysterious Alliance, and of course, there are the Disposessed (gargoyles), with all their internal conflicts.  It's definitely not a slow book by any stretch of the imagination.  Really, it's an exciting 3.5 stars for me.  Yes, there were a few problems, but all in all it was a fun adventure, and I'll absolutely be reading the sequel.

Book Review: Clockwork Princess

THE INFERNAL DEVICES WILL NEVER STOP COMING

A net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute. Mortmain plans to use his Infernal Devices, an army of pitiless automatons, to destroy the Shadowhunters. He needs only one last item to complete his plan: he needs Tessa Gray.

Charlotte Branwell, head of the London Institute, is desperate to find Mortmain before he strikes. But when Mortmain abducts Tessa, the boys who lay equal claim to her heart, Jem and Will, will do anything to save her. For though Tessa and Jem are now engaged, Will is as much in love with her as ever.

As those who love Tessa rally to rescue her from Mortmain’s clutches, Tessa realizes that the only person who can save her is herself. But can a single girl, even one who can command the power of angels, face down an entire army?Danger and betrayal, secrets and enchantment, and the tangled threads of love and loss intertwine as the Shadowhunters are pushed to the very brink of destruction in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy. Quoted from Goodreads

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It is a truth universally acknowledged that no one emotionally tortures her characters (or her readers) as much as Cassandra Clare.  Really, this book is emotionally exhausting.  It's not that these are the most tortured characters in the world.  I can think of plenty that have far worse situations--Edmond Dantes (the Count of Monte Cristo) languishing in prison while his father dies and his fiance marries another man, Fantine, abandoned, forced to give up her daughter and finally dying as a prostitute after sacrificing everything for her child, etc.--but you can't read these books and not ache for the characters and what she puts them through.

I'd love to talk about Tessa, Will, and Jem, but I'm not quite sure how without spoiling things.  As far as their characters go, I really like all of them. Each of them is tortured in their own unique way (immortal, cursed, and dying), and I admire how each one handled their situation. Cassandra Clare put them in possibly the most horrible love triangle I've really ever read, which I think was kind of her point (and I suppose you could argue it's one of the most triangle triangles I've ever read, which is sort of what makes it so heartbreaking) and think she handled the ending really well. 

That being said, and I won't give anything away so dont' worry, the ending was almost too perfect for me and heartbreaking all at once.  I had my ship, I knew exactly who I wanted to end up with Tessa, and, again, without giving anything away, I was really pleased with what happened.  At the same time . . . well I'm not sure how I feel about the epilogue.  I'll freely admit, part of it made me cry (though I really shouldn't be held responsible for any tears shed after 10:00), but part of it . . . well, can an ending be too perfect?  Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I read the epilogue, but maybe next time I read the series, I might just stop at the end.  Despite all it's perfection and happiness, it sort of left me feeling sad. 

Despite all that, I really did love this book (see the 5 star rating below!).  I liked the action, the peril, the relationships between the characters. I especially loved getting to know Will's little sister Cecily. Everyone else in these stories has two books worth of anguish weighing them down, where she gives us a wonderfully fresh viewpoint.  Sure, she has her own issues with her brother and she didn't like Shadowhunters at first, but that's mostly over with at the opening of this book. I really appreciated her new perspective, seeing how she views everyone half from the outside, half from the inside. I loved Gabriel Lightwood for the same reason.  He has his own demons to carry, but it's nice to see things from a slightly different perspective.

And finally we solve the mystery that is Tessa. Sure, it's been explored in the first two books, but I loved discovering Mortmain's plan and why he needed her so desperately.  I also love how she uses her abilities to save her friends.  She grows up a lot from the girl in the first book, fresh off the boat from New York, and it's fun to see the person she's become.

I'm know there are tons of other things I'll think about as soon as I post this review that I want to add.  I'm still emotionally all tangled up in that world. I'm sure things will be clearer in a day or two, but I wanted to review this book today, give a whole first impression blog instead of a one-week-and-with-clearer-thoughts review later. This book is a wonderful 5 stars for me.  It tied the series up nicely, really leaving me with just one pressing question I'm sure I'll find the answer to later. All in all, this is a great series.  I love the time period, the characters, the relationships, the conflicts, and I'm sad to see it come to an end. 

Book Review: Shadows in the Silence

Your strength in heart and hand will fall. . . .
Ellie knows that the darkest moments are still to come, and she has everything to fight for:

She must fight for Will.
The demonic have resorted to their cruelest weapons to put Will in mortal danger, and Ellie makes an unlikely alliance to save him and to stop Lilith and Sammael, who seek to drown the world in blood and tear a hole into Heaven.

She must fight for humanity.
As the armies of Hell rise and gather for the looming End of Days, Ellie and her band of allies travel to the world’s darkest and most ancient regions in her quest to come into her full glory as the archangel Gabriel.

And Ellie must save herself.
Her humanity withers beneath the weight of her cold archangel power, but Ellie must hold tight to who she is and who she loves as she prepares for the ultimate battle for Heaven and Earth. Quoted from Goodreads

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And so we get come to the end of yet another trilogy. This is the fourth series that's ended this year for me, and while closure is great, it's also kind of sad.   Still, the Anglefire trilogy's been fun, and now that it's over, if you haven't started it, you can read it from straight from the beginning!

Honestly, I don't know how I feel about this ending.  I enjoyed it, don't get me wrong.  It had tons of great action, cute characters, and plenty of hardships to overcome.  I think my biggest problem was with the mythology itself, specifically Ellie as Gabriel.  Angel books are so much harder than books based on vampires or Greek gods because, as far as I know, no one goes around worshiping Zeus and Apollo. 
I think Courtney Allison Moulton did an excellent job of pulling familiar angelic/demonic characters and ideas and creating her own mythology.  But by casting Ellie as Gabriel, I expected the final battle to be more of an end of days type conflict, and it just didn't live up to my expectation.  It was a good battle, plenty of fighting, etc., but it lacked the epic, world-shattering feel I was expecting. 

The only other problem I had was with Ethan Stone.  In some ways he was a really fun character.  He was mysterious, quirky, turned up at odd times and eccentric--everything rich billionaires should be.  But he made things a little bit too easy, I thought.  He solved too many problems and gave too many answers to Ellie.  I kind of wanted him to betray them or something, because he seemed just a little bit too convenient.

Now you've been warned, don't be put off.  It's still a really fun book with a great ending. There are all sorts of obstacles Ellie has to overcome before she gets to the final battle and some surprising new characters, just to add a fun twist to the whole thing.  It starts with a bang and just keeps going from there. There is a good mix of silly and sad moments in between all the traveling, romance, and action. 

I really enjoyed what the characters became in this trilogy.  I love how much Ellie has grown, and of course, Will is adorable and rock steady throughout.  Caden, though, is the one who stole my heart in this third book.  He's been cute and mysterious from the beginning, and while I never believed Ellie would get with him (another half-love triangle that never really got off the ground) I sort of fell in love with his character myself, which really makes me wish we would have seen a bit more of him in the end.  Who knows, maybe there will be a spin-off series featuring Caden as love interest?  It worked in Vampire Academy.

I also thought C.A.M. did a good job pacing the story.  From saving Will to the final battle, things kept moving, threats kept coming, and monsters kept attacking.  Just as things start to calm down, something else happens that forces you to keep reading.  From the beginning this series has been full of action, fighting, chase scenes, and risk of exposure, and this third books ratchets it up another notch.

If you're looking for an action packed book with a fun take on the angle mythology and a heavy dollop of romance, this is it.  I thought it was a fun 3.5 stars, and I can't wait to see what Courtney Allison Moulton comes out with next.

Book Review: Boundless

The past few years have held more surprises than part-angel Clara Gardner could ever have anticipated. Yet from the dizzying highs of first love, to the agonizing low of losing someone close to her, the one thing she can no longer deny is that she was never meant to live a normal life.

Since discovering the special role she plays among the other angel-bloods, Clara has been determined to protect Tucker Avery from the evil that follows her . . . even if it means breaking both their hearts. Leaving town seems like the best option, so she’s headed back to California - and so is Christian Prescott, the irresistible boy from the vision that started her on this journey in the first place.

As Clara makes her way in a world that is frighteningly new, she discovers that the fallen angel who attacked her is watching her every move. And he’s not the only one. . . . With the battle against the Black Wings looming, Clara knows she must finally fulfil her destiny. But it won’t come without sacrifices and betrayal.

In the riveting finale of the Unearthly series, Clara must decide her fate once and for all. Quoted from Goodreads

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This is, without a doubt, one of the best paranormal romance books out there, and possibly the best love triangle ever written.  I loved this series from the beginning, and Boundless concluded it in the absolute best way possible.  So if you haven't started this series, you need to start now, and if you already read the first two books, pick up the third.  It's just about perfect.

First, action.  These books are beautiful books, but they're not exactly action packed.  Yes, they have their shining moments when they fight off blackwings, but most of the book is more about figuring out their purpose, coming of age, and balancing relationships.  This book, however, was far more action packed than the first two, which I thought was rather perfect for the conclusion of this amazing trilogy. 

You can absolutely tell Cynthia Hand knew where she was going from the beginning. All the dreams Clara had are suddenly explained and her purpose made more clear, even if she did, at times, try and avoid it.  I love books that are well planned out, where little details  add up to significant moments.

I also actually loved this love triangle. I don't know that I've ever said that before.  Honestly, I don't t know if I ever thought that before.  Yes, there is a bit of sadness because Clara can only get with one guy, but that's also part of the beauty in the tragedy.  I love Tucker and Christian both. This is the first time I didn't know going into the last book who the main character was going to get with.  It's also the first time I didn't care.  She could have gotten with either of them, and I would have been just fine.  I loved them both, but was satisfied with Clara's decision in the end.

Another thing I loved about this book was all the perfect, little moments between the different characters.  I love Clara's relationship with Michael and how he helps her, the creepy yet touching moments with Samjeeza, and a particularly the brief chat she has before sunset at her thinking spot.  I also enjoyed Jeffery's story. Yes, he gets a bit lost and bumped about, but you can't help but care about him. Finally, Clara.  Every book makes me love her more.  Yes, she learns how to swing a sword, but that isn't really what makes her the hero. It's what she becomes, what she is willing to do for those she loves that finally allows her become the person she wants/needs to be.

This book is an amazing 5 stars for me. It is the perfect end to an excellent trilogy. I really feel that Cynthia Hand took most of the overused, stereotypical ideas and showed everyone how they should be written, so check out this series. I loved it.

Book Review: Radiant

Clara is desperate to get away—from the memories that haunt her in Wyoming and the visions of a future she isn't ready to face—and spending the summer in Italy with her best friend, Angela, should be the perfect escape. . . .

For as long as she can remember, Angela has been told that love is dangerous, that she must always guard her heart. But when she met a mysterious guy in Italy two years ago she was determined to be with him, no matter the costs. Now she must decide whether she can trust Clara with her secret, or if telling her the truth will risk everything she cares about.

Alternating between Angela and Clara's perspectives, Radiant chronicles the unforgettable summer that will test the bounds of their friendship and change their lives forever. Quoted from Goodreads

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I've never actually reviewed a novella before.  Don't get me wrong, I've read plenty, but I never really counted them as actual books. It always felt a little like I was cheating when I added them to my Read shelf on Goodreads.  Still, when I heard that Harper Teen Impulse was releasing a series of novellas, I was excited.  I love learning more about characters I've grown to love and getting different points of view you would normally never see in the actual book.

Radiant absolutely delivered.  It mostly reveals Angela's back story, with a few moments that foreshadow how amazing Boundless is going to be. I learned a lot, and I loved getting in Angela's head. From the beginning she's been one of those fun, ambiguous characters whose story arc could go so many ways. This novella doesn't change that at all, but I do feel like I understand her a lot better than I did before.

  At the same time, we still see enough of Clara to keep tie the story into Unearthly, Hallowed, and Boundless. Clara's still struggling after the ending in Hallowed, but she's also dealing with  hints and visions of a new problem. It's interesting to see Clara from someone else's POV.  Angela has her own issues, so you take what she thinks with a grain of salt, but I enjoyed seeing Clara and her problems through Angela's eyes.

Then there is the lovely Phen, Angela's mystery boy. I loved this introduction.  You know he's been lurking in the background since the first book, but you never actually get to meet him.  Still, I'm pretty sure he's going to have a key part in Boundless, so I'm really excited. Yes, I missed Tucker and Christian (they, unfortunately, only appeared in Clara's and Angela's memories), but it is kind of fun to have Angela be the romantic focus for a minute.  Plus, Phen is a great foil for Clara's two love interests.

I give this this novella 4 stars.  It's everything a novella should be.  Is it as complicated as a book?  Of course not, but it's still absolutely worth reading.  I don't know how essential this is to reading the next book, but it's a great glimpse into Clara's world. The ending left me counting down the days to Boundless.

Flashback Friday: Unearthly

In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees . . . .

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy.

Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.

As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

Unearthly is a moving tale of love and fate, and the struggle between following the rules and following your heart. Quoted from Goodreads

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For Flashback Friday, I usually try and pick books that I read years ago.  It lets me remember fun reads from my childhood and early teen years that I haven't thought about in awhile. But, I've also decided it's a good place to review books that I'm super excited for that may have sequels coming out soon.  Boundless, the third book in this series, comes out in January, and I'm beyond excited. Plus, a short novella, Rapture, comes out in a few weeks.  So this week, for Flashback Friday, I decided to do a book that I read only a short two years ago: Unearthly.  And I love it.

There are so many ways this book could have gone wrong or stereotypes it could have fallen into, but it didn't.  1. There is a love triangle I didn't hate.  Yes, it's true.  So many love triangles are hideously predictable or so one sided I'm shocked that they even get the label.  2. There's the poor, underdog heroine who's picked on by one-note, high school mean girls.  3. There's the supernatural ability that magically appears, and a bunch of secrets kept by parents mostly designed to keep kids in the dark and make the plot murky.

Fortunately, Unearthly avoided all of those. 1. Love Triangle: No insta love. They talk. They hang out.  No boy who is clearly better than the other.  Honestly, I was a Tucker fan in this book, but then Christian won me over in the second one, so who knows what will happen in Boundless.  2.  The mean girl is given depth and a heart that can actually be broken and maybe even a few good qualities. 3. Her mother tells her what she is. Yes, Clara's mother still keeps secrets, and there are a lot of them.  But she tells Clara what she is and what she can expect being an angel.  She is there for her daughter, trying to help.

The writing in this was just about perfect.  It flowed, seamlessly slipping you into Clara's head, without being too ornate or noticeable.  It's not an action packed book until the end, but there is always something happening, whether mystery, training, or falling in love, I couldn't put it down.

Angel books are hard.  Sometimes, they seem more like vampires with a twist.  Other times, they land solidly in the dystopia genre. Most often God doesn't exist; angels are just powerful beings who are lead by somewhat flawed beings.  Honestly, I would never dare write an angel book.  Too much divinity and where is your conflict? So I can see why authors leave it out . . . but then you're really sort of back to vampires with a twist.  Of all the angel books I've read, I think Cynthia Hand does it best. There's a lot of stuff I still don't understand, but I think that's kind of the point.

This book is a heavenly 4.5 stars for me.  I loved it.  If you want to see a YA paranormal romance done right, this is it.  It didn't reinvent the wheel.  Instead, it proves what good writing can do with old tropes. Now here's the book trailer in case you weren't already convinced you need to read this. Enjoy!

Book Review: Angelfall

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. Quoted from Goodreads

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This is the exception to the rule, the book that laughs in all the other books faces, a dream within a dream.  Okay that last line was from the Princess Bride and sounds more like Inception than this book, but still, Angelfall is amazing.  Why?  you ask.  Because it was self published and about angels.  

I know!

I've read self published books before and most of them are a smoldering mess of, well, primordial goo probably comes closest.  Many of them have potential but they needed an editor, and a lot of them really needed someone to just say no.  They weren't ready to be thrust upon the world. 

Then there's the angel thing.  While I loved the Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare (which hardly counts) and let's face it, Unearthly by Cynthia Hand is unparalleled and magnificent, the angle genre is full of mediocre books.   Luckily this was not one of them.

Let's start with characters.  Penryn is a kick-butt heroine, no question.  She is smart, emotionally stable, focused, keeps her priorities straight, and has been taking all sorts of self-defence classes since she was five---to protect her from her mother.  Yes, her mother suffers from schizophrenia, and in one of her more sane moments, signed up her daughter for all sorts of classes because she was afraid she might kill her.  Isn't this sounding delicious already?  The author gives us a seventeen year old girl with a crippled, seven-year-old sister, a crazy, demon seeing mother, and a father who abandoned them a year before. Then Susan Ee destroys the world just to give poor Penryn something to do.

Okay, this also sounds a little bit like Hunger Games.  In truth, it kind of is.  Not the plot.  From here on out it is completely different, but the hope amid violence, the fight for survival, and amazing characters are the reminiscent.  After I finished Hunger Games, I recommended Blood Red Road and Divergent to anyone who wanted something similar.  This would be right up there with those books. 

Then there's the relationship with Raffe (pronounce Rah-fee).  I love enemies working together, unsure how far trust goes, and the slow build up towards friendship. This is the thing: they both have goals and those goals aren't sunk in a sea of raging hormones.  There are soooooo many obstacles between them, but the little hint at romance was wonderful, and I can't wait to see what happens in the next books. 

As for the world, I found it delightfully creepy.  Things happened that made me cringe, but there is also hope and humor.  My only problem is that the world ended, basically, only six weeks before the beginning of the story.  I admit, millions died and chaos reigns.  I get that.  But everything seems more like the world ended years earlier.  I mean, they were eating cat food at one point.  Plus, I'm a little confused at the Angel's motivation for what they did and lack of a clear hierarchy, but I'm hoping those questions will be answered in the next book.

Now for the writing.  This is going to be hard for me because unless the writing is horrible or beautiful, I don't pay much attention.  In most cases a three or four is probably better than a five, because a five draws more attention to the words themselves, distracting from the story.  So as far as writing goes, I'm going to give this book a 4.  The writing was good.  It creeped me out and gave me hope; was show, not tell; and easily let me follow the action of the characters in rich, vivid detail.

As for whether I liked this book, it should probably be obvious by now. 4 stars all the way.  Give me a month or two and it might even hit the five star mark.  This is an excellent book, and like I said before, the exception to the rule with self published books.  In fact, you should all just buy this, because it's only $2.99 right now at Amazon. It's not out on Nook yet, but it is only $3.60 online at Barnes and Noble for the paperback. Now, what to do with my time until the second one comes out . . .