Angelfall by Susan Ee Review and Discussion!

A little bit o' info...

The cover makes it seem much more light than it really is. Angelfall is the first book in a new series called Penryn and the End of days. Angelfall is set in this mid apocalyptic world which has been ravaged by evil angels. Street gangs scavenge during the day, while those who are as desperate as Penryn hide in the night as they move to their next home. 

When moving from their apartment, six or seven angels come crashing down. For an uknown reason they chop off his wings.  Being the heroine she is, Penryn saves him from the other angels by chucking him his sword. Unfortunately the other angels are not happy with her and so one of them steals Penryn's wheelchair bound sister. 

If this sounds like something you'll like, it's available on amazon but I have not yet seen it in UK bookshops. It is available for kindle and best of all, it's cheap!

Review (No Spoilers)

Penryn is a fantastic main character, she is caring, funny, badass and just interesting. She's holding her family together which is so difficult when her mother is insane and  her sister is in a wheel chair. 

Raffe is such a mysterious character but since Penryn doesn't question him until it's necessary you forget that we know next to nothing about him. This could've gone wrong so easily, Penryn could've spent her every thought wondering about him, thankfully she didn't.

They have amazing chemistry and their relationship makes you laugh. Together they bring the perfect amount of hilarity in a horrific world. 

I really loved it!

*****

Discussion!

I ship Raffe and Penryn so hard, their relationship is my favourite thing I just can't skfhdksfhk

"I saved your life. Twice. In some cultures you'd be my slave for life." - Penryn to Raffe.

 The humour is needed otherwise it would be an entirely upsetting and disturbing book.
Penryn's mother freaks me out, the fact she collected all those articles about mothers killing their children is terrifying. Personally I think the mother broke Paige's spine. Though she's so creepy her scenes always make me laugh.

"Penryn? Who are you talking to?" My mother sounds almost frantic now.
"Just my own personal demons, Mom. Don't worry. He's just a little weakling."..."Oh." She sounds calm suddenly, as if that explained everything. 

The resistance camp is an exciting development which I think we're going to see a lot more of. Obidiah is a good guy and Jed from the Host pops into my mind. He definitely wants to help Penryn but I think he's the kind of person who is reluctant to sacrifice someone but he will do. I'm scared for how Penryn and raffe are going to clash with him. (They will.)

The hybrids. I just cannot understand why they would need them. Why make Paige a weird Frankenstein's monster type child? So many ideas! Are the angels going to have a civil war? I think that those who thought that killing the humans was God's word and those who didn't are going to go against each other. The former are probably the ones who have made/ will use the hybrids. 


Exciting things are unfurling in this series, i can't wait for the next one called World After which comes out on the 19th November 2013!


See you soon!

-E

Allegiant Review/Discussion!

A little bit o' background on Allegiant...

Allgiant by Veronica Roth is the third book in the Divergent series. 

Synopsis of Divergent:

Beatrice Prior is sixteen years old and she has to choose her place in society between five factions, Abnegation, Erudite, Candor, Amity and Dauntless. Factions are different parts of the city which all follow different ways of life, Beatrice comes from Abnegation, the selfless sector of the city. Some time after their sixteenth birthday, every child must choose which faction they want to live in on their Choosing Day. Beatrice realises that she can make a new life for herself in a new faction and descovers a brutal world outside the safety of the Abnegation sector.

Review-y Part ( NO SPOILERS)

Allegiant is shocking, to say the least. Although I did find some things predictable and slow I really did enjoy Allegiant, despite those minor problems. 

My favourite thing about the Divergent series is Tris' character development throughout each book. Her development is split up among the three books perfectly and it's so obvious. Some people talk about character development when it's so subtle it's not worth noticing but anyone can see how far Tris has come over the series.

All in all I give it **** because of some personal preferences and are not faults. I like more in-depth writing styles and I thought that Tris and Tobias didn't have enough difference to have their own chapters. I understand that one of the reasons they have their own chapters is because now that they are both key we need to know what the other is doing to understand the story.

SPOILER FILLED DISCUSSION!

I was so anxious when we first saw Tori's brother, half expecting Tris's parents to appear. But sadly they did not. For a moment it was like a light at the end of the tunnel, that people who died in the experiment, it was cruel. After Tori's death it seems like a door of death opening and characters start to flood through it. The last to cross through of course was Tris.

Damn, I had hoped to discuss everything else a little more before I got here, but hey never mind.

I liked the ending to Allegiant, granted I didn't care for the epilogue as much as I would on a second read.

If Veronica Roth is, by some miracle, reading this I would like to say this:

I am proud of Tris. She grew as a character and made the right choice at the end. She died for love and not guilt, she wasn't on a self destruct mission, she was being selfless. Tris is not how she claims to be in Divergent as 'I am selfish. I am brave' in Allegiant she is selfless, she is brave.  She saved Caleb because she knew that he wouldn't get out alive and she had a chance to save him and live. Somehow she finds it in her heart to forgive him despite him turning her in. 

And that is why I am proud of Tris. Well done, Tris. "My dear child, you’ve done so well.”

If you didn't like the ending, why not?

Something I do wonder is, was Uriah's death needed? He was less of character in this book on account for being in a coma, yet he was just caught up. It's not as if he was trying to carry out a job and was interrupted. I suppose he was just one of the people who get's caught in the cross fire as people do in all wars.

Now Tobias, let's talk about old Four Fears. I was surprised to see him crumble instantly after being called 'Genetically Damaged' then go out and blow stuff up. It seemed like something very 'Un-Tobias-ish'. I do trust Veronica Roth to do things with reason. I think it was to create that barrier between  Tobias and Tris which ultimately brought them together again. I'm glad for it.


Thoughts on the Epilogue. I was so glad when Evelyn chose Tobias, after all that he went through and all that he was going to go through he needed someone firmly on his side. I wasn't that bothered about it at the time because I was reading through sobs but I know I can appreciate it better after calming down.
When Tobias was about to take the Memory serum, I was distraught. Just like Christina, I believe taking that serum means removing someone so special, so wonderful from his life was so selfish, especially after Tris' sacrifice. As much as I hated him at that moment, I understood him. Tris was such a massive part of him, he wanted to forcefully remove it.


Wow it's almost one in the morning, I should be off to read Game of Thrones! Nighty Night.

-E

Welcome to my Blog about Books!

Hello,

My name is Emilia and I am a bookaholic. 

I mostly read YA fantasy novels but I do enjoy the occasional classic or contemporary. 

Current Favourites:

• Harry Potter series
• Percy Jackson series
• Heroes of Olympus
• The Heist Society Series
• The Fault in Our Stars, Paper Towns & Looking for Alaska
• Skulduggery Pleasant Series.
• The Hunger Games

I spend my spare time reading, watching my favourite programmes and interneting. 

I intend to start posting reviews and thoughts about books and programmes soon!

Until then, 

Goodbye

-E