Courtney Allison Moulton

Um, so wow... I don't even know if I can form coherent thoughts, let alone the proper praise for this book. I have been wounded by the intensity of just how amazing this book is! I seriously can't recover! Too many times a sequel or 2nd book in a trilogy has me shaking my head in disappoint. SO NOT the case with Wings of the Wicked! From beginning to end, I could not stop my jaw from dropping! I blatantly ignored my entire day's existence (this included ignoring the fiance and writing a show more college APA paper) because I feared to put this book down. I think I finally understand the desperation one has when reading the novel that impacts their life in such a way that the walls between your own reality and the book’s reality crumble leaving no separation... It kinda reminds me of Bastian reading the Neverending Story in the movie of the same name- yup that was totally me today, wide eyed and gasping as I turned each page. Anyway, enough about how I think this book is probably the most amazing thing I have ever read... on to the facts!
The writing... just wow... WOW... holy crap! The details, the emotions, the one-liners, the pure intensity of each character's emotion (none greater than Ellie & Will for me)... Nathaniel... even Ava!! And Cadan, wow… I thought I would not like him as much as everyone else does but even Cadan is written so brilliantly that you have to love him. Courtney Moulton... you are amazing, simply amazing! You write characters with such finesse it makes me all tingly just thinking about rereading this! (and I will, probably after I do that pesky schoolwork and be nice to the fiance). The depth of the characters… just brilliant. There is not one moment where I didn’t feel their pain, happiness, any emotion. They jumped off the page!
The storyline... BIGGER, crazier, more intense and yet, so perfect in following up with the original! The concept of the whole idea of the Preliator and reapers, angels, and demons... just fabulous. The way it is laid out and explained just has you salivating for more information. Every time I turned the page I had to catch myself from scanning and jumping ahead because the intensity of wondering 'what next?' was like a drug!
Of all the YA novels, especially the over abundance of 'angel' stories as of late, Angelfire and Wings of the Wicked stand out. They're top notch. The action is beyond entertainment and so well described, I can see it happening in my head, playing out like a movie! Courtney's battle descriptions make your head spin with just how defined and detailed every single move is. And it never gets old. I can't wait for Ellie to jump into action again and again! Reading about pummeling reapers is one of my new favorite things. Even the fights have gotten more intense and it shows in the action sequences. You can really tell that Courtney put in a lot of effort to make it visual and flow well off the page. Well, it worked!
The romance... oh the ROMANCE *pulls on ends of hair*!!! So sweet, heart aching, loving, gut wrenching, intense, hot... I don't think there are enough adjectives to describe it perfectly enough. Ellie and Will's story is by far one of the greatest romances I have had the pleasure of being involved reading, because that is what it feels like, like you are there with them... There is no couple and I have quite a few favs (especially in the angel ya world) that I root for more! I can't remember connecting with two characters more... and as a serious lover of Twilight, Mortal Instruments, and Angel Burn... that’s not a decision made lightly. All these romances are by far my favorites, but seriously... not match for Ellie and Will, they kick A** in comparison to them all...
The ending!!!
Oh, I don't want to say much and spoil it... but Courtney... you left me WOUNDED, seriously and truly ACHING with such a cliffhanger! I seriously feel like a part of me is going to be lost until there is resolution. It's going to kill me slowly until then...
With that said, it couldn't have been any more delicious from beginning to end. If you haven't read Angelfire or if you did and you haven't gotten to Wings of the Wicked (it just came out today so I'll give some leeway), than you seriously need to go out and READ it. It is by far a necessity to YA paranormal/romance and overall one of the greatest books I have ever read! show less

What can I say about Angelfire that isn’t going to sound like I am just garbling out a litany of adjectives!? If you follow my Twitter account you may know that this first half of February has been a funk of reading for me but Angelfire has been the one book I keep going back to and the only book I have finished this month so far. That in itself should say a lot.

As someone who is not religious in nature I immensely enjoyed the way Moulton employed not only Christian Bible religion but show more other Eastern traditions as well. I enjoyed her mythology and I thought it was very well done. I have read most of the Angel Lit (as I have dubbed it) out there and I truly only feel comfortable recommending this book and one other (Unearthly) as those you should read. This book is begging to be read!

Some of the mythology:

“Do you mean that real angels exist? The Fallen are demons, aren’t they? Does that mean that God exists? Satan too?”
He took a breath. “Yes. Lucifer rebelled against God and lost the First War, as you have probably learned at some point in your life. God banished Lucifer from Heaven, and he fell into Hell, but his war fell to Earth. The angels who joined Lucifer’s cause fell with him and became demons – the Fallen. Two of the Fallen bore horrible children, whose decedents are the creatures we know today as the demonic reapers. In desperation for more soldiers to fuel his army of the damned, Lucifer uses the reapers to collect human souls.” Pg 123 ARC

Moulton writes action scenes that are big screen worthy. The characters are well fleshed out and fabulous. Ellie is reluctant but not whiny. I had no problems with the writing, and generally nothing to to complain about at all, except maybe for the shady way her father acts but my instincts tell me that is going to play a part in books to come.

Ellie has a fantastic Mom which is something I love seeing in YA fiction, while her Dad leaves a lot to be desired, like I said I think this is going to play a part later to come. Will is a fantastic love interest but we meet a dashing young man closer to the end of the novel and I find myself wondering a lot about him.

I give it a 4.5 out of 5 only because the fantastic action scenes felt a bit repetitive at times and amnesia is a personal problem for me I want my characters all knowing and even though Moulton does a fantastic job with Ellie not remembering everything and it didn’t annoy me in the slightest, I had I’m on a boat syndrome.

Ragnuk at times seemed that he was going to utter Wizard of Oz lines his evilness was tinge over the top but I am telling you people. That is what makes Ragnuk so bad-ass. You really must read Angelfire. show less

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

Angelfire is the successful combination of several elements of recent paranormal YA trends. There are demons, angels, reincarnation, an alternate world in which only the supernatural can travel, battles to save mankind and even a little bit of romance. While it might appear old and stale, Ms. Moulton brings together the elements in a way that is fresh, exciting, and fascinating.

Ellie is an incredibly sympathetic heroine. The reader knows that there is more to her than meets the eye, and the show more revelations that abruptly become known to her are of such a shocking nature that most people would end up medicated in order to be able to recover from them. Instead, Ellie shoulders her burdens with a sense of responsibility that is admirable. The teen angst that epitomizes this genre is absent, which allows the reader to get caught up in Ellie's struggles to remember without getting bogged down among the drama.

Thankfully, the romance stays in the background, for this novel at least. It does not overshadow the greater story of Ellie's fight to save humanity but does add a fine layer of tension. Even better, Ms. Moulton thoroughly establishes the background and explains the supernatural forces at work. There is no confusion as to who is fighting what and why. Nor is there any confusion about the historical events that led Ellie to this moment. This clearly-explained back story allows the reader to simply enjoy the action as it unfolds rather than get caught up trying to figure out what is happening.

Angelfire does follow the YA trend of being a series. However, Ms. Moulton is able to balance the need for closure while creating enough interest in the remaining unanswered questions that a reader does not mind that Ellie's story has not reached its full conclusion. She does not save her big reveals for the last paragraph, which allows the reader to absorb the shock while piquing his or her interest in what the news means for future stories. That sense of frustration over abrupt cliffhangers does not exist, yet the reader's need to know what happens remains high. In other words, it is a successful transition to the next novel.

Angelfire starts slowly and builds in action, drama and tension with a surprising depth to the story that establishes it as more than just another paranormal romance YA novel. Ellie and Will make a great team, and the twists and turns will leave the reader gasping in surprise. While there is enough resolution to satisfy the reader, all is definitely not resolved in Ellie's story. I, for one, cannot wait to find out what happens next!

Thank you to GLiBA and the publisher for my copy! show less