Courtney Allison Moulton

Although this story is outside my usual genre, I genuinely enjoyed it. Ellie felt very real to me as an ordinary seventeen year old suburban girl thrust into extraordinary circumstances and discovering extraordinary things about herself. She seemed a real teenager, not an adult's idealized concept of what a teenager should be. The creatures she faces in battle each have a distinct personality and motivation, which lends more interest than a world populated by generic bad guys who are defined show more only by their species' characteristics. And I'm not entirely certain all those she's opposing *are* irredeemably bad guys. While developing the mythology of this world and revealing the challenges Ellie faces, the author has been ambiguous - perhaps even devious - and left us with plenty of mystery to uncover in the remaining two books of this series. I'm looking forward to the journey. show less

Oh. My. Goodness. Angelfire was absolutely amazing. I could not put it down. In fact, I may or may not have seriously procrastinated on studying to read this book.

Let’s start with the writing. Courtney Allison Moulton does a fantastic job of capturing the reader’s attention with numerous fight scenes (well-choreographed fight scenes, might I add) and horrifying reapers. There is rarely a moment of down time for poor Ellie (though I can’t complain, because I really, really loved the show more battles). The writing is fast-paced yet highly descriptive, and it fit with the storyline perfectly. I also think that Angelfire could easily be a movie. Just saying.

I absolutely loved Ellie as a protagonist. She was such a BAMF! If you asked me to pick a YA heroine who is “strong” and “tough”, I’d definitely pick Ellie. She faces both family and paranormal problems, and thought she has her wavering moments, she comes out on top in the end.
It was really neat how Ellie went from being a shallow party girl to a serious warrior within a few chapters! The development of her character through memories of past lives was very interesting, too.

Second to my love for Ellie is my love for Will. I’d say he’s in the top five of my “YA love interests” list. He’s dark and brooding like any other YA hero, but he has a great sense of humor and a love for Ellie that stretches centuries. I love how he treats Ellie—although he’s her Guardian, he acknowledges that she’s way stronger than he’ll ever be, and he doesn’t stifle her at all. He’s a perfect balance of protector and partner. (Also, I totally melted every time Will got awkward in a social situation. Cute!)

Angelfire not only has amazing characters—it has an amazing storyline, too. From Ellie’s first encounter with the reapers, I knew that Angelfire was going to keep me captivated, and it did! The story was action-packed and filled with twists and turns (and the ending! Aah!). The author’s incorporation of Fallen angels was definitely original, and I loved the reaper concept. Their history is well fleshed-out and makes a lot of sense.

If you can’t tell, I’m a HUGE fan of Angelfire. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone! I’ll for sure be buying a finished copy, and I can’t wait for the next book in the trilogy! (Ellie and Will must somehow be together! They’re too adorable!) show less

Look, just go into this book with the right expectations. Set your expectations to 'unoriginal story with cliched hot redhead who turns out to be a "speshul" teenage girl' and then you will enjoy it. There are lots of good action scenes against some gnarly demons. I enjoyed her back story about being the reincarnation of an ancient warrior that helps angels in their battle against evil. That's pretty cool right? So if you want a fun, light read then just sit back, quiet the inner literary show more critic, and read. If not then I look forward to your long and scathing review. Please add some of the dialogue into your diatribe.
e.g. "And every time you die, a little piece of me dies with you.”

and

“He reached forward to cup my cheek, the touch surprising me. "Please understand that no matter what I am or what has happened in the past, I am yours. I am devoted to you above all else, including my own life."
I exhaled after holding my breath for what felt like forever. "That's pretty heavy, Will."

*wipes tears away* that's the good stuff right there. show less

This review can be found at ReadingAfterMidnight.com4.5 ★Wait!!!No whiny female character?No "I see you and I know that you are my soul mate"?No "you want to kill me and you treat me like crap but I am still madly in love with you"?.. No obsessing?!?God, what's 'wrong' with this book?! ... yeah, I'm being ironic..In fact I mean.. what's right with this book?And the answer is: everything!I think that the author took all the bad things that we find in some paranormal YA, turned them into show more good stuff and then put them into this story.. And you know what? It really worked.That's why we don't have a dumb main character, but a smart one with a strong personality.. We don't have a dangerous abusive male character, but a caring one (and it also helps that he is good looking, just so you know)... We don't have idiotic parents, but understanding ones (in fact, I am talking about her mother here.. Her father is another story and I just have a feeling about him, but I'll see in the next book if I am right or not), we don't have a stupid & forced falling in love for no reason at all, but a sweet romance, after some realistic amount of time, a more healthy falling in love if you want.. And as I said, this recipe did work perfectly.Yes, I am not usually mad about angel stories, but I kind of liked this book... a lot.First I liked the main character. Ellie was smart, had good friends, an awesome mother, and a past she couldn't quite remember, but that made her stronger than she thought. She also had a great 'voice' that didn't annoy the hell out of me with too much complaining, and I loved to see the girl in the story being the strong one for once. Also she wasn't driven only by her hormones, that was great for a change."His fingers traced the curve of my shoulder softly, as his gaze fell. I gasped sharply. If he tried to kiss me, I’d slap the crap out of him. Bond or no bond."Then I liked Will. - don't read the spoiler! - "So, my name’s Will. You don’t remember me, but we’ve known each other for five hundred years. You hunt monsters and I’m one of them, but I’m also your friend. Oh, I can fly, too." - God, I told you not to read it!! - Will was great. He had a history, a lot of secrets and gorgeous green eyes. Also he was strong, caring, charismatic and sweet if/when he wanted to be.. And the most important is that he has always been there for Ellie, risking his life for her for centuries, trying so hard to keep her safe, dying inside every time he couldn't manage to keep her alive, believing in her and loving her with all his heart even if he doesn't quite know it yet..“I hate . . . ,” he started, his shaking voice trailing off. “I hate when you die. It destroys me. I know I have no right to be so upset, because I’m not the one losing my life, but it breaks me apart inside. I’m not very good with words, and I don’t know how to explain to you how I feel. I get lonely when you aren't with me. I miss you. And every time you die, a little piece of me dies with you.”Let's see.. what more did I like?The action, as some people said before, was movie-alike... You can see it in your eyes while reading it. I am not a fan of too much action but I did enjoy it a lot. The secondary characters were likable too, and realistic, and fun. It was nice too see that Ellie had some great friends - like her friend Kate ;)"You’re going to be alone with him for a whole weekend doing God only knows what—okay, hopefully God doesn’t really know what...” There are some more questions without answer, but this is only the beginning of this journey so we will have to wait to find out more.All this being said I would have loved to see more of Ellie and Will being together, but let's hope for that in the next book... Can't wait for it :D“I'll always come back to you..."“Don’t forget that I'll always love you,” he whispered against my lips, rubbing the tip of his nose to mine.“Don’t forget.” show less