View source for Angelfall (Penryn and the End of Days Book 1) by Susan Ee

{{infobox1
|title=Angelfall (Penryn and the End of Days Book 1)
|author=Susan Ee
|reviewer=Steve Shayler
|genre=Fantasy
|rating=4
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|isbn=978-1444778519
|pages=272
|publisher=Hodder
|date=May 2013
|website=http://susanee.com/
|summary=Penryn is forced to take on a quest to save her little sister in a post-apocalyptic world ruled over by violent angels. Her story is thrilling from start to finish; introducing new creatures, twisted experiments and romance, all making this a very enjoyable read. 
|cover=144477851X
|aznuk=144477851X
|aznus=144477851X
}}
Angels have ransacked the Earth and humankind is facing the apocalypse. The people who are left are desperate and starving. Penryn is one of the survivors and the protector of her disabled younger sister Paige, and when Paige is kidnapped by an angel for an unknown purpose Penryn has to do everything within her power to find and rescue her. Embarking on a quest containing all manner of horrors both human and supernatural, Penryn is forced to make dangerous decisions and question her own humanity.

We experience this post-apocalyptic world through Penryn who is a seventeen year old girl attempting to care for her younger sister Paige and their crazy mother. Paige is captured by angels early on and their mother goes missing at the same time. Also at this time Penryn gains a new companion in Raffe, who is one of the enemies, an angel. Raffe never hides his dislike of humans but he is Penryns only hope for finding her sister. They form an unlikely alliance which leads to many exciting and terrifying situations in their shared quests but also to many touching moments.

''Angelfall'' is a fantastic combination of action, horror and romance all of which are accomplished really well. Right from the start we witness an angelic battle and from there on in there is little respite in the action giving the story great pace. Although this book is primarily for a teenage and young adult audience it is at heart a great horror with some very well realised creatures and situations and never holds back on the chilling elements. I love a good horror story so this book impressed me even more than I anticipated as it contains some genuinely tense and disturbing horror. 

I didn’t expect to enjoy the almost inevitable romantic element to this story but I really did. Penryn and Raffe share a bitter sweet relationship that always holds back and develops slowly during the course of the story and just feels natural. It can be a sweet sort of romance between the two but is never sickly sweet. The banter between them is very realistic and adds some much needed humour to very dark circumstances. Their edgy relationship is thoroughly spellbinding.

Penryn is a fantastic character who is in a similar vein to Katniss Everdeen and Buffy; she is a strong and intelligent teenage girl who has a huge amount of responsibility on her shoulders. She can look after herself and is incredibly stubborn; nothing and no one will prevent her from doing what needs to be done.  All in all she is a thrill to read and develops wonderfully as the story progresses.  

The mother in the story is a different matter however and is a very disturbing character that flits off from the story early on only to appear randomly throughout. Her appearances can feel a little too convenient to the story at times and she can feel very unrealistic. I found myself happily believing all manner of creatures and situations that were well written within the story but her sudden entrance at crucial moments felt a little staged. This is a small point and the character is still intriguing she just doesn’t fit right at times. 

When ''Angelfall'' reached its conclusion I was left more than satisfied, with all the threads of the story being well resolved but also opening up new possibilities. There is a lot of scope for the next book or books as we end the story with the world in a potentially more positive state with the hope that Penryn may become a major player in the future of humanity. ''Penryn and the End of Days'' could shape up into an epic series.

Susan Ee is a name I will be watching after reading this book; she has introduced me to a well-developed world of exciting characters. Although the world created is dealing with the apocalypse it feels as though it has a great future with hopefully a few more books to come. I would thoroughly recommend this book to anyone from teenagers up.

Those who enjoy this would also like [[The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins]] or for a comical take on the angels of the apocalypse try [[Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman]].  We also have a review of [[World After (Penryn and the End of Days Book 2) by Susan Ee]]. 

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