Review: Angelfall by Susan Ee

Angelfall by Susan Ee (May 2013, Hodder Paperbacks, ISBN: 144477851X)

The world is in chaos. Angels have destroyed civilisation as we know it and Penryn is living with her mentally ill mum and disabled sister Paige in a shady apartment block in Silicon Valley. One night they are about to make their escape to the country and are on the streets when several angels swoop down and have a fight amongst themselves. One angel is heavily outnumbered and is punished by having his wings cut off. When the victorious angels leave, one of them swoops up Penryn's sister and flies away with her. Penryn offers to help the de-winged angel, Raffe, get his wings reattached in return for him helping her to get her sister back. Angelfall tells of Penryn and Raffe's journey to get to the angels' headquarters, and what they see and who they meet along the way.

Angelfall is a compulsive read and you really feel that you are in this apocalyptic world. The relationship between Penryn and Raffe is a difficult one as, though he looks like a god he is one of the race that has burnt her world; and she is one of the despised humans. They have to help each other to achieve their respective goals but is that the only reason they get on quite well? With their antagonistic banter, Penryn and Raffe make an appealing pair of strong characters in a broken world.

Susan Ee's Angelfall has been an internet phenomenon and I was a little anxious about whether it would live up to the hype but it does in spades. I can't wait for the sequel, World After.

NB. I'm not sure whether Angelfall is YA (seventeen-year-old-protagonist) or adult (where it's shelved in my library) but it does contain a couple of unpleasant scenes, one involving children.

Review: Forbidden by Syrie James & Ryan M James

Forbidden by Syrie James and Ryan M James (February 2012, HarperCollins Childrens Book Group, ISBN: 0062027891)

Review: Forbidden is the first in a projected series about Claire and Alec. Claire is a sixteen-year-old student at an exclusive school in Los Angeles. Her mum is prone to moving them on every couple of years, “to keep them safe” and her father is unknown. Alec is a mysterious figure who has decided to opt out of his job, well he has done it for a century, and pretend to be a regular human and enrols at Claire's school.

Alec find himself hanging out with Claire and her two friends Erica and Brian. But something odd's happening to Claire: she's begun to have psychic visions and for the first time in her life can sing like an angel. When Alec saves the group's life after some scaffolding collapses, Claire begins to suspect Alec is not quite human.

Both Claire and Alec have secrets which they eventually reveal to each other which complicates their future whilst their attraction to each other is deepening into love. There are people (or beings) who want to kill Claire and it's against Alec's previous rules to be with a human. However they forge a bond which will not be destroyed by anything.

Without wanting to give too much away, Forbidden sets up a new 'angel' mythology (and Alec has some cool powers). There are a couple of action scenes and an unexpected turn of events near the end but it's the romance which is to the fore. Gorgeous, Scottish Alec falls for Claire the minute he sees her and their relationship has to overcome many obstacles. Fortunately Claire has her friends and a mysterious figure who comes to her telepathically to guide her. The point of view alternates between Claire and Alec so the reader gets to know both characters and what's going on with them. I liked how Claire had friends whom she kept in the loop, rather than suffering alone, and there is the vague hint of a love-triangle with Neil, who's she's had a crush on for two years, who is now being interested in her, though of course Alec is THE ONE.

Forbidden is an enjoyable, romantic read, and the mythology made more sense to me than that in Lauren Kate's The Fallen series (though I've only read the first two books). I hope there will be a sequel as there are plenty of unresolved issues to tie up.