Susan Ee

Like many other readers, I felt burned out by the onslaught of copycat young adult dystopias, fantasies, and paranormal romances, but I heard this series was exceptionally good, so I decided to plunge back into the genre. Indeed, it was entertaining enough that I avidly raced through all three books.

The series starts with Angelfall. Instead of the bizarre trope often used in YA books that has an angel or two coming to Earth and going to high school, this one begins quite differently. A whole show more slew of angels has come to Earth and triggered an apocalypse. (Eventually we find out why that happened, along with learning that the angels are as much in the dark about a “plan” for the universe as we are.)

The books are narrated by Penryn Young, 17, a typical California girl perhaps in "The World Before," who now is trying to ensure the survival of her remaining family - seven-year-old Paige, who is a paraplegic, and their paranoid-schizophrenic mother. In “The World After” as Penryn calls it, rival gangs and apocalypse cults control the assets, and the streets are dangerous, especially for the occasional angel who gets caught there and attacked for body parts that can be sold or traded.

While trying to get her family to a safer place, Penryn encounters a group of angels fighting each other, with five against one. The larger group slices off the wings of the angel being attacked, and they leave him to die. On the way out, one of the group grabs Paige and takes her with him.

Penryn is desperate to get Paige back, and feels that her only hope is to help the downed angel and get him to take her to wherever the angels would have taken Paige. She hides him and helps him heal; he tells her his name is Raffe (Rah-fie). In fact, as she eventually learns, he is the Archangel Raphael.

When Raffe is able, Penryn and Raffe - in disguise - join the human resistance and penetrate the angel aerie in an attempt to get Paige back. What they discover in the aerie changes all of them, both physically and psychologically.

Evaluation: These books are page-turning fun. Not all of the plot threads hold up under the scrutiny of reason, but I didn’t care at all. The characterization is excellent, with Penryn and especially her sister and mother being totally unique unexpected heroines. I found the author’s imagination and sense of humor delightful. show less

Let Angelfall be an example for us that publishing houses don't always have the perfect choosing ability. This makes me want to read more self-published books; who knows what hidden gems we'll find?

Imagine this scene in which a publisher is arguing with his boss over Angelfall:

Boss: Look at this atrocity! Who is going to want to read this?!

Publisher: But I found it entertaining to read.

Boss: *scoffs*Entertaining to read? This is most certainly not an enjoyable book to read. Where are the show more vital components of a young adult book? Where is the insta-love? The love triangle? The perfect female lead? Angelfall does not conform to our standards.

Publisher: But, I think—

Boss: You think teens these days want to read a book like this – an imperfect protagonist, a love interest who isn’t over protective and there to save the day? No.

Publisher: Isn’t it better that this book takes a different approach to this topic, and doesn’t severely underestimate the intelligence of our target audience?

Boss: No, it is not. People don’t like change. Look at all the copies of the books that go by our standards have sold. Look at all the copies that Twilight and Hush Hush have sold.People don’t care if it is virtually the same story but with different characters; they just care about the romance.

Publisher: Sir, that is very unfair of your to judge people like that.

Boss: Meh. This book is utter rubbish.

*Tosses book in the trash*

Too bad for them. Susan Ee be all like:



This book has EVERYTHING I crave in my paranormal books. Every. Freakin. Thing.

Interesting plot? Check.
Believable heroine? Check.
Slow-developing romance? Check.
Goes in depth on angels, without any info-dumps? Check.
Well-written setting? Check.

I must say, my favorite part was when Penryn pretended to be an angel, by holding wings behind her back to give the illusion that she is an angel, in order to save Raffe. I swear, this had me laughing for at least 5 minutes straight.

And the fact that she slaps Raffe when she first meets him? That just increased my liking of her. This girl's got brains, she's tough, and best of all, she's funny.

The end had me horrified. This is certainly how a post-apocalyptic novel should be written, and it is written perfectly. I am waiting for that next book! show less

Waiting for this book was like waiting in line for over an hour for that one roller coaster at the amusement park. It's long, agonizing, and you begin to wonder if it'll all be worth it halfway through the line. When it's finally your turn, you're thrown in a fast-paced thrill ride of many ups and downs and maybe a little loop de loop that makes all your worries fly away. Even before you finish the too-short ride, you already know you want to do that again. Yeah, reading World After is kind show more of like that.

At first, I was afraid that World After was going to be a rehash of Angelfall considering Penryn was once again on a search to find her missing sister, Paige. I have trouble with the common trope of using younger siblings as plot devices, but luckily, it wasn't too much of a problem in this book. Paige is a lot less helpless now compared to Angelfall, considering what happened to her at the end of the first book. Paige's transformation also adds a tension to her relationship with her sister as Penryn struggles to even look Paige in the eye. I'm really curious to know how the two of them will develop further in the next book, because for me, the book is just as much about family relationships as it is about romantic relationships, if not more.

Speaking of romance, if you expected a lot of new Raffe/Penryn interactions, you might be disappointed since there isn't a whole lot of Raffe in general until the second half of the book, but that's too be expected from the second book in a series. Seriously, it is just me, or is there some implicit rule of all sequels that the main love interests must be separated in some way for a while? Just me? Okay. Anyway, I didn't mind all too much as it allowed several things to happen:

1. Penryn kicks (more) ass on her own. If you were to ask who my favorite book heroine is, I'd have to say that without a doubt it's Penryn, no matter how much she'd like to deny that she is one. She's equal parts caring, witty, and badass. She has her soft moments, and she mopes about once in a while missing Raffe, but she doesn't let that define who she is. She's independent and has her own missions to accomplish. Ugh, I just love her.

2. More time for other characters. Aside from Penryn and her family, we'll also see the reappearance of certain people. For example, Dee-Dum are back, and they're as sneaky, troublesome, and mud-fighting-obsessed as ever. They have a special place in my heart since I like to think of them as a cross between the Weasley twins and the Hitachiin twins.

3. It makes Raffe/Penryn's actual reunion 10x more satisfying. There's really nothing I want to add to this point, because I don't want to spoil it for anyone and also YOU HAVE TO READ THE BOOK YOURSELF, IT'S WORTH IT.

Plotwise, I'm also glad there's the return of the Rebellion and the angel politics, especially all the talk of Apocalypse. There were some great reveals in this book, and between Penryn's personal struggles and the overall backdrop of a possible war coming up, I just can't wait for the third book in Penryn and the End of Days.

Also, Pooky Bear.

Wait, what? What the hell is a pooky bear? Why is everyone who read this book mentioning it? You'll have to read the book to find out. I promise it will all be worth it. show less

See review @ Bookcharmed

Waiting for this book was like waiting in line for over an hour for that one roller coaster at the amusement park. It's long, agonizing, and you begin to wonder if it'll all be worth it halfway through the line. When it's finally your turn, you're thrown in a fast-paced thrill ride of many ups and downs and maybe a little loop de loop that makes all your worries fly away. Even before you finish the too-short ride, you already know you want to do that again. Yeah, show more reading World After is kind of like that.

At first, I was afraid that World After was going to be a rehash of [b:Angelfall|11500217|Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days, #1)|Susan Ee|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1319887835s/11500217.jpg|16435765] considering Penryn was once again on a search to find her missing sister, Paige. I have trouble with the common trope of using younger siblings as plot devices, but luckily, it wasn't too much of a problem in this book. Paige is a lot less helpless now compared to Angelfall, considering what happened to her at the end of the first book. Paige's transformation also adds a tension to her relationship with her sister as Penryn struggles to even look Paige in the eye. I'm really curious to know how the two of them will develop further in the next book, because for me, the book is just as much about family relationships as it is about romantic relationships, if not more.

Speaking of romance, if you expected a lot of new Raffe/Penryn interactions, you might be disappointed since there isn't a whole lot of Raffe in general until the second half of the book, but that's too be expected from the second book in a series. Seriously, it is just me, or is there some implicit rule of all sequels that the main love interests must be separated in some way for a while? Just me? Okay. Anyway, I didn't mind all too much as it allowed several things to happen:

1. Penryn kicks (more) ass on her own. If you were to ask who my favorite book heroine is, I'd have to say that without a doubt it's Penryn, no matter how much she'd like to deny that she is one. She's equal parts caring, witty, and badass. She has her soft moments, and she mopes about once in a while missing Raffe, but she doesn't let that define who she is. She's independent and has her own missions to accomplish. Ugh, I just love her.

2. More time for other characters. Aside from Penryn and her family, we'll also see the reappearance of certain people. For example, Dee-Dum are back, and they're as sneaky, troublesome, and mud-fighting-obsessed as ever. They have a special place in my heart since I like to think of them as a cross between the Weasley twins and the Hitachiin twins.

3. It makes Raffe/Penryn's actual reunion 10x more satisfying. There's really nothing I want to add to this point, because I don't want to spoil it for anyone and also YOU HAVE TO READ THE BOOK YOURSELF, IT'S WORTH IT.

Plotwise, I'm also glad there's the return of the Rebellion and the angel politics, especially all the talk of Apocalypse. There were some great reveals in this book, and between Penryn's personal struggles and the overall backdrop of a possible war coming up, I just can't wait for the third book in Penryn and the End of Days.

Also, Pooky Bear.

Wait, what? What the hell is a pooky bear? Why is everyone who read this book mentioning it? You'll have to read the book to find out. I promise it will all be worth it. show less