Angelfall

Penryn & the End of Days, Book 1

By: Susan Ee

Narrated by: Caitlin Davies

Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's 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 17-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 Penryn will risk everything to rescue her sister, and Raffe will put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

©2012 Feral Dream, LLC (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Ee’s debut novel is a promising opener to what looks to be a YA series worth following, one that explores what it means to be human and what it means to be a hero." ( Locus Magazine)

Still loved it 6.5 years later!

ORIGINAL REVIEW:
5 stars — Wow — just slightly out of character for the books I’m used to reading, especially in the paranormal type genre. Very dark, and heartbreaking at times. Vivid imagery, and the imagination to create this world…wow. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Loved Penryn and Raffe… Desperately wish the next book was out so I can devour more. Highly recommend.

ON REREAD:
4.95 stars — You know, I’m sure there is a part of me that, 6.5 years later, should be picking apart this story. But in the end, you know what? I was still hugely entertained and engrossed. Even though I’m bummed that 2 people I recommended it to didn’t find the same enjoyment, I’m immensely happy that I still did.

Let’s talk about narration first, since this second time around I listened to the audiobook: I was actually really impressed with Caitlin Davies. I found her narration to be well-paced, full of emotion, and she appropriately conveyed the attitude of Penryn…she just sounded like I imagined. Part of that is that she does have a younger sounding voice, so it fit with our teenaged heroine. And while I was initially put off by her voice for Raffe, it seriously grew on me as the book went on. The thing I was MOST impressed with was her ability to voice different characters in unique enough ways that I was never confused over who was speaking. Honestly, I don’t understand how good narrators do that…it’s almost like a whole other person is speaking those bits of dialogue, though you can tell they have the same underlying base. It was very consistent. I’m not sure if she’ll work for everyone, but I can wholeheartedly say that she was a winner for me…and I look forward to listening to the final two books as well.

As for the story, and our characters, it was still a hit for me. I was seriously drawn into this post-apocalyptic world, and curious from the first moment about who the angels were, why they were there, what was going on. There were so many little bits I had forgotten, mostly surrounding the resistance. I wasn’t quite as frightened and horrified this go-round, as I knew the “low demons” were coming, and I remembered at least the gist of what we’d find in the lab (though I forgot about the non-low-demon-experiments). I appreciated that there was a balance to the story-telling: there would be actions scenes followed by some more mundane moments where we could get to know our characters and center ourselves before things got crazy again.

I loved the world that Ms. Ee built. I wanted to look up these angel names and see which ones were accurate to religious texts, and which ones Ms. Ee took more liberties with. As I said in my original review, the imagery was very vivid, and I could truly feel the bleakness of this future after the angels came. The stark contrast between the aerie and the rest of the city…I almost *felt* it. And the whole ending was a wild ride.

As for our two main characters, they provided their own wild ride. Penryn felt like a teenager who had to grow up too fast, but who held on to some teenagerisms anyways. I loved the way she balanced between fierce and vulnerable. She couldn’t decide who she was. You could tell she still had a lot of growing up to do. But you could truly feel her love for her sister, and her desperate need to find her. I loved the strange relationship she had with her Mom…it was both horrifying and fascinating. Like watching a bad car accident. Her crush on Raffe could be cringe-worthy at times, but I understood her fascination and connection to him. They formed a reluctant bond.

Raffe was mysterious, aloof, at times a jerk…but you could tell he cared for Penryn…albeit reluctantly. I really loved the bond that they did form, and it made it all the more satisfying when he let his guard down at the end. I am HELLA curious what is going to happen in the next two books…like, so much so that I’m forcing myself to write this review so I can move on.

So yeah. Still a hit with this girl, even 6 years on. I’ve heard rumours the ending of the series is a bit disappointing, but I’m hoping going in with low expectations will help…

EXCITING, THRILLING, CANT STOP LISTENING

I listen to most apocalyptic paranormal, fantasy books on Audible, and Amazon. This is definitely one of my favorite. It’s not a lot of dialogue and drama like most. This one has some actual substance, Adventure, intrigue and a slow building relationship between an Angel and a lowly human. Of course,both are handsome and beautiful. Supposed to be enemies, but have to travel to the same destination, for very different reasons. With enemies everywhere they fight for each other through out the entire book. If you can’t get past the Angels being evil and deadly, then this book may not be for you. But I really liked these main Characters. It’s an addictive series. Great narrator!!! I like Caitlin Davies she’s got the perfect voice for these characters.

Surprisingly Great!

I wasn't sure I would like this book but it surprised me and kept me glued to it until the end. It was a great storyline with awesome characters. The narrator did a phenomenal job with all the voices. Once I started I couldn't stop. Can't wait to see where the story goes. Highly recommended.

Good YA story

I'm not really an angel fan, bring an agnostic, but heard the story was good so listened to it. For YA with impulsive emotions but still good with romance developing. Very good performance by the narrator ( so sorry I forget her name).

Still unsure

I cannot decide how i feel about this story yet. I loveCaitlin Davies, I always hear Neferette when she does the voice for Layla. I am going to continue the story to see if it gets any better. This series came highly recommended to me so I really want to like it.

Amazing Book Loved It!!!!!!!!

Would you consider the audio edition of Angelfall to be better than the print version?

I would say listening to this book is so so much better then reading it ... Great job narrating Caitlin Davies

Great read!

I love this book series! Has become a favorite story for my teen and myself!

Fresh and imaginative!

As I started this book. I thought"oh no same old apocalypse tale", but I was wrong. This is a new twist on the genre. I really got hooked after the first few chapters. I highly recommend this first of three books. I hope the next two don't disappoint.

Good YA! Bring on Doomsday!

This is good YA. There is a lot of YA out there, and I enjoy it, I even enjoy some YA that's maybe...not great. I read the entire Divergent series despite having issues with it. I found it fun enough for light reading, but 'Angelfall' is fabulous YA. It made me remember why I like YA, why I enjoyed 'The Hunger Games' and Suzanne Collins so much. Susan Ee created a good young female for us to follow. She is strong, challenged, and doesn't look for someone to save her. This doesn't mean she's and idiot and won't accept it when available, but Penryn is a character I would want young adults to read.

Angelfall is about Penryn, her paranoid schizophrenic mother, disabled seven-year old sister, and the angel Raphael. There are some other characters but these are the core. Angels have come to earth and have ravaged it. Power is unreliable, food is rare, civilization, houses, and cars have been abandoned in the three months after the Angel's arrival. How do you fight what humanity was led to believe is divine? These are not sweet cherubs. These are the warriors from the Bible. This is not dystopia: it is a Doomsday scenario.

The book starts with Penryn and her family evacuating. They stumble upon Angels fighting each other. As a distraction to give her family the best lead possible she tosses the outnumbered angel its sword. His wings have been cut off but still fights off his attackers. Penryn's reward is a vengeful deserting angel plucking up her sister and taking her away. Penryn is responsible for her family and strikes up an uneasy alliance with the angel, Raphael, so she can save her sister. She leaves her mother to fend for herself. Susan Ee makes the point that at the end of the world the mentally unstable and paranoid are the most capable of surviving. I find this thought something repeatedly getting mulled over in the back in my mind.

This book passes the Bechdel test. There are female characters that don't fit static stereotypical molds and exist outside their relationship to the men in their lives. Penryn is trained in multiple forms of martial arts and self defense. Her mother had a mental break and took out all their savings, due to her fears of the devil and demons, to enroll Penryn in every self-defense class she could find. This was the breaking point in her parents marriage. The money was to help Penryn's little sister with medical for her paralysis. Her father snapped and left, and Penryn became the head of the household. She took her lessons seriously being witness to her mothers episodes.

She is a responsible young woman whether the position she has been put in is fair or not. Susan Ee, however, still represents her as a girl with the challenges that young girls encounter along with the ones that come with the end of the world. She is not an adult woman in the shape of a 17-year-old girl. This means there is still teenage language and written in a teenage voice. We are privy to her internal dialogue where she thinks about her awkward attraction but also acknowledges the reasons she can't act on it. What person hasn't had feelings they knew they couldn't act on? This is an important lesson for anyone to learn. That being said, while I love and am impressed with this book, if your expectation is for an adult book in the form of YA, this isn't it. This is YA fiction, enjoye it, but don't make it something it isn't

There is a question of romance: a forbidden attraction between angel and daughter of man. Penryn and Raphael deal with feelings of awkward attraction. Let me rephrase, Penryn deals and Raphael may be showing signs of attraction. Raphael, however, isn't an ageless male paranormal that has a sudden epiphany that a teenage girl is the answer to his amorous desires and calls it love. In short, he is not an irresponsible predator...at least not yet. I praise Susan Ee for writing a responsible male character. Raphael is an accountable paranormal male instead of the love-struck vampire seen in a lot of YA. Put a pretty face on it, it doesn't change that a 100-year-old/eons old being is taking advantage of a teenager. ...Okay, I recognize I just went on a rant. I apologize. I will even admit I enjoy books that fall in this category. That doesn't mean I don't get uncomfortable or question what kind of problems we might be creating with the amount of literature published, geared to young adults, that makes having a relationship with older men not only acceptable but fascinating and tantalizing. (End of Rant)

I recommend this for people who enjoy good YA or are considering taking a foray into YA. Start with the good stuff so you don't run from the genre screaming. I also have to say I enjoy Susan Ee's take on Angels. They are not stereotypical. I'm impressed at her realistic characters you like even as you acknowledge their flaws. Enjoy it, I'm going to go pick up the next book. I am worried. The third hasn't been written and after this book there will be no immediate gratification. Be aware before you start the series...

Crazy fantasy

I love fantasy. Every once in a while I come across one that really rubs me the wrong way. This book is based on angels that come to destroy the people of the Earth for reasons which we aren't clear - yet. Obviously, or maybe not so obvious to some, the apocalypse predicted in the Bible is based on a great punishment of mankind in which the believers are first removed leaving the rest of humanity to suffer. Oh but no, that's not what this story is about. The near total omission of God in any of it didn't sit well with me. I mean if you are going to base a story on Angels and demons, certainly one would expect an explanation. None is given. But no matter, I enjoyed the action, the impossible situations that Penryn gets in, the budding forbidden relationship between her and Raffe. I did really enjoy the book.
Now to the Audible performance. I HATED it. Caitlin Davies may be good for some books but her sing songy voice inflections and mousy performance was just all wrong for this book. Penryn's narration should have been one of a confident and feisty teenager with a generous helping of sarcasm; something on the order of Juno in the movie would have been more fitting. I ended up listening to this book as little as I could but I do enjoy listening while driving. I found myself rolling my eyes and mimicking the reading in frustration.