Author: Susan Ee
Release Date: January 1st, 2011
Series: Penryn & The End Of Days
Genre:  Young Adult | Dystopian | Post-Apocalyptic | Fantasy | Paranormal > Angels
Edition: Kindle
Pages: 288
Publisher: Amazon Children's Publishing and Skyscape
Source: NetGalley
Followed By: World After (Penryn & The End Of Days #2)

Blurb

It’s been six weeks since the angels of the apocalypse destroyed the world as we know it. Only pockets of humanity remain.

Savage street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night.

When angels fly away with a helpless girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back…

Rating

Review

Plot/Story:

This book is one of the best YA Dystopian books I’ve ever read! It’s also-fucking-lutely AWESOME! I loved the story line and and the pace of the book was amazing. No unnecessary heroism, no unwanted action and no unwanted love-triangle. I love it because it felt so (with a lot of Os) real. The concept of US being destroyed by Angels and the reasons behind it are so interesting that I totally fell in love with it’s story. It is an amazing dystopian with a lot of realistic elements (well, apart from an extremely handsome Angel!)

The story line is simple yet complex at the same time. The depth of the Angel’s day of Judgement is beautifully depicted (especially in the second part.) I read this one and the second part in less than 2 days inspite of being extremely busy… so that for em is something huge! the only reason I haven’t bought the third one yet is because it’s not yet released. But I’m going to buy it on it’s day of release.

Characters:

I LOVE , LOVE, LOVE Penryn! She is totally in league with Katniss (whom I adore.) Penny’s character is beautifully developed. She is not some hero but a 17 year old girl who is stuck in a dystopian world with a crazy mother and a disabled sister. She will do anything to keep them safe and fed. She has an amazing personality and is a kick-ass athlete. I loved how the author explained Penryn’s circumstances for learning all the self-defence stuff. Her research on the subject is amazing and to be honest, I’ve actually learned quite a few cool stuff about self-defence through Penryn.

The male lead, Raffe (Rafael) is the only guy character for whom I actually felt something stir in me (and that’s probably for the first time in a a book that’s by someone other than Nicholas Sparks.) He’s smart, devishly handsome, gentle and more than anything has a really well-developed personality that is amazingly believable (especially for an archangel.)

Romance/Kill:

There is equal parts romance and equal parts action. Both were superbly awesome. The romantic relationship between Penryn and Raffe is in it’s initial stage in this book. It’s subtle and does not have any unnecessary emotions. Their relation is one that develops ever so gently that both of them take a long time to feel it. And when they do, they try to hide their feelings really well.

No cheesy romance and no idiotic scenes in the middle of fights.

Writing:

The writing style of author is SUPERB! It story flowed like water and I loved reading this book a lot. It was an experience! Susan’s writing is equal parts serious and equal parts witty. In some line I giggled non-stop whereas some lines truly left a mark on me in terms of depth.

I’m sure as hell that after this epic series, I’m going to read all the books by Susan Ee (that she’ll ever write.)

Beginning:

I loved this book right from the first page. It gripped effortlessly.In less than 20 minuted I started to have a feeling that this is not some normal YA dystopian book, but something that is phenomenal.

Ending:

The ending was AWESOME! It was full of action and surprises. It wasn’t overly dramatic, which was a great relief as I would have been a shame if a book this good would have ended on a pretentious note. But I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it was as simple an ending as there could have been doe such an epic book. It wasn’t a cliffhanger ending but still it made me really curious about the next part as the entire time I was wondering, “What on earth can possibly happen in the next part?” And so I started with it’s second part, first thing in the morning.

Blurb:

It’s good enough (as nothing can really describe a this epic book in words.) But I do feel that the blurb makes it sound a bit like a regular book. If you ask me they should write EPIC SERIES (in bold) below the blurb 😉

Cover Art:

Scroll right to the top and see for yourself that how crazily stud the cover is. It’s simply amazeballs! I totally love it. If I could frame it on my wall, I’d do it happily.

Other Stuff

Opening line: Ironically, since the attacks, the sunsets have been glorious.

Highlights: Amazingly awesome plot, and characters, and writing, and world-setting, and… well, everything!

Lowlights: None.

Memorable Quotes:

Although She was practically a baby, she still made the connection between the turkey that made her laugh the sandwiches she ate.

In that moment, while I hold my breath, possibilities roll around the room like a roulette wheel.

A girl’s gotta improvise as the situation changes.

When I was little, I always thought I’d be Cinderella, but I guess this makes me the wicked witch. But then agin, Cinderella didn’t live in a post-apocalyptic world invaded by avenging angels.

Memorable Paragraph: 

Great. The world has come to an end, my mother is out there with the street gang, crazier than ever, my sister has been kidnapped by vengeful angels, and I’m concerned that my hair is greasy and my breath smells bad.

You are nothing but a bird with an attitude. Okay, so you have a few muscles, I’ll grant you that. But you know, a bird is nothing but a barely evolved lizard. that’s what you are.

-Says our beloved Penryn to Raffe, the amazingly handsome warrior archangel… lol!

I never thought of it before, but I’m proud to be human. We’re ever so flawed. We’re frail, confused, violent and we struggle with so many issues. But all in all, I’m proud to be a Daughter Of Man.

Final Thoughts: An EPIC read.

Review by:

Heena Rathore P.

My name is Heena and I’m a freelance writer, blogger and a book-reviewer (and soon-to-be author.)
I’m an introvert, thinker, neat freak (cleanliness OCD), hardcore idealist, fitness junkie, music fanatic, compulsive reader, self-assertive, opinionated, dog lover and an atheist.

The Reading Bud is my brain-child and is a huge part of my life. I love reading and reviewing. What started as a hobby has become my passion.

Read more about me here.