Angelfall

Angelfall
by Susan Ee


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. - Back o' the Book

I had heard a lot of hype about this book and it seemed to be on a lot of best sellers lists so I decided to give it a try. The blurb on the back was interesting enough. Although I did like the story line and the concept was awesome, there seemed to be something wrong with how it was executed. I think what turned me off was the last of detail in the surroundings and in transitions between places. It seemed like the story was moving forward with a white background and only dialogue and inner thought to give you a sense of where you are. I felt lost while I was reading it. 

I'm not saying it was a bad book. I did enjoy the intrigue and the slight romance but then again, the characters seemed very flat to me. The main character, Penryn (which is an awkward name to say aloud) din't seem to grow at all during the whole book. I knew exactly what she would do from start to finish and she seemed too much like a fiction character. The main guy, Raffe, was also flat to me. He didn't have much to say and his actions seemed bored and apathetic most of the time, like a hollow shell of the cliche "YA bad boy" persona. Even other characters in the book that came by only for a scene or two seemed very fake and empty.

I feel a little bad for being so critical but I wasn't as insanely impressed as I thought I would be and I could tell by page 1. However, I don't regret reading it. It was quick to get through and kept me interested the whole way through. I can say it was never boring. I know that the author is planning another few books in the same series and I'm willing to get the next one and see if she develops her characters more. Not super great but not a bad read either. Just my opinion anyway.