BOOK REVIEW: End Of Days – by Susan Ee

Title: End Of Days
(Penryn & The End Of Days #3)
Author: Susan Ee
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Dystopia
First published: May 12th 2015 
Finished reading:  September 7th 2015
Pages: 344

“Come on. Say it, Raffe.” I give him a half smile. “I love it when you say Pooky Bear. It’s just so perfect when it comes out of your mouth.”
“She might kill you in your sleep one of these days just so she can get rid of that name.”

I still can’t believe I’ve waited this long to actually finish this series! I really enjoyed the first two books of the Penryn & The End Of Days trilogy, although Angelfall still is my favorite. I’m not saying I didn’t like the last two, but I did have a feeling the story has lost its original touch in the sequels. End Of Days just isn’t up to the same level of the first book and the first part was way too focused on the romance scenes. I’m not saying I wasn’t keeping my fingers crossed for Penryn and Raffe, but one of the things I liked of Angelfall was the fact that it wasn’t all about their ‘relationship’. The prose was as good as ever with some pretty funny quotes (boy do I love Pooky Bear and the twins!). The second part of End Of Days does have a lot more action than the first part and with its fast pace I was able to finish this one quickly. The ending is quite fitting as well, although in a way I’m sad it’s over… This series by Susan Ee is definitely recommended if you enjoy YA fantasy/dystopian series with angels.

WARNING: Possible spoilers! Please don’t read this summary if you haven’t read the first two books yet. I’ll keep the summary super short but it’s impossible to keep it completely spoiler-free…

Penryn and Raffe only barely managed to escape the angels and are now on the run. They are desperate to find a doctor that can help Raffe and Penryn’s sister back to their original state. Things are not that easy though… Raffe’s past seems to be back to threaten them all. Part of the angels are getting ready to unleash an apocalyptic nightmare onto the world, and Raffe and Penryn seem to be the only ones able to stop them and prevent a civil war. But will the war be enough reason to make unlikely alliances and strategies work? Will they be able to save both themselves and the rest of the world?

I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy End Of Days, because then I would be lying. Still, I was disappointed by the emphasis on Raffe and Penryn’s relationship in the begining of the story. It’s not that I don’t like the idea of them together, but I didn’t exaclty sign up for a romance novel. The second part has a lot more action in it though and makes up for it. I love the twins and their crazy ideas! Susan Ee was able to write a very enjoyable series and I honestly hope she will write more novels in the future.

WWW Wednesdays #56 – September 9th

WWW WEDNESDAYS is hosted by Sam at Taking On A World Of Words and is all about answering the three questions below.

• WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

Wait, only one book?! It’s been a while since I haven’t started more than one book at a time… But I really want to enjoy Queen Of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas without reading other stories in between. So far I’m loving it!

• WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?

Six finished books since last week, which is quite a decent number.
The first is a travel memoir; Five Weeks In The Amazon by Sean Michael Hayes. I enjoyed the setting and it was nice to learn more about the Ayahuasca ritual. It was a fast read as well, although I did have some problems with it.
I read I Was Here by Gayle Forman next, which was my previous TBR jar pick. It was an interesting read, although I’ve read better books with the same suicide theme.
I continued with Legend by Marie Lu, a series I have been wanting to read for ages. I really enjoyed reading it and I will probably read both sequels soon as well. Still, I felt something was missing to turn it into something mindblowing.
The next book None Of The Above by I.W. Gregorio was just as good as people kept promising me. A very interesting topic and beautifully written; definitely recommended!
I then read End Of Days by Susan Ee. I’m still not sure I have been waiting this long to finish this series! I really enjoyed it, although it wasn’t as good as the first two.
The last book on this list is Breakfast At Cannibal Joe’s by Jay Spencer Green, an ARC that was sent to me last week.

• WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL READ NEXT?

The Kill Order by James Dashner is still high on my list, although I will probably try to read Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer first. I was actually going to start it last weekend, but I got my hands on a copy of End Of Days and Queen Of Shadows and I just HAD to read those first. My newest TBR jar pick is The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski; a series I have been looking forward to start, but I’m not sure I will actually be able to read it before I leave…

BOOK REVIEW: World After – by Susan Ee

Title: World After
(Penryn & The End Of Days #2)
Author: Susan Ee
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Dystopia
First published: November 19th 2013
Finished reading: May 15th 2015
Pages: 320

“I look up to say something but he puts his finger to my lips and whispers, “Don’t talk. You’ll just spoil my fantasy of rescuing an innocent damsel in distress as soon as you open your mouth.”

I have to say I actually liked Angelfall better than the sequel. BUT: World After is still full of awesomeness. I cannot help but fangirl all over this series and Susan Ee made it straight to my favorite authors list. The worldbuilding, characters and prose; everything works just brilliantly together. The fact that this is one of the few YA fantasy series without a love triangle is a huge bonus as well. I would have liked to see more of Raffe as Penryn can become annoying at times, but I still loved reading this sequel. Action, horror and romance are mixed with a humor and dialogue between Penryn and Raffe that will probably make you laugh out loud at some points. Those who have already read World After will understand it when I say: Pooky Bear! Susan Ee was able to write down some great lines with that one. Now I can continue to ramble and fangirl all over the place, or simply conclude that this series is definitely worth your time if you enjoy YA fantasy. I know there is a huge hype around this series, but in this case it’s absolutely worth it.

WARNING: Possible spoilers! Please don’t read this summary if you haven’t read Angelfall yet. I’ll keep the summary super short but it’s impossible to keep it completely spoiler-free…

People are still trying to survive after the angel apocalypse, but things are not getting easier. Penryn’s sister Paige was able to escape the angels, but when a group of humans captures her thinking she is a monster things become messy. Paige disappears and Penryn has no other choice than to try and find her sister. Again. That is not as easy as she originally thinks it is, because she has no idea where Paige or the angels went in the first place… And Raffe doesn’t seem around to help her this time. Raffe is still busy trying to get his wings and respect among the angels back, but will he really ignore Penryn when her life is in danger? And what about the secret plan the angels are working on to finally claim the earth as their own?

Susan Ee writes in a way that makes you just want to keep on reading and I’m not sure how long I will resist the temptation of buying the recently published third books of the Penryn & The End Of Days series. Both Angelfall and World After have been brilliant, so if End Of Days has anywhere close to the same quality of setting, character development and prose I’m sure I will love it. Question is: do I really want this story to be over? I’m not sure if I can say goodbye to Penryn and Raffe just yet…

BOOK REVIEW: Angelfall – by Susan Ee

Title: Angelfall
(Penryn & The End Of Days #1)
Author: Susan Ee
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Dystopia
First published: 2011
Finished reading: May 11th 2015
Pages: 326

“My friends call me Wrath,” says Raffe. “My enemies call me Please Have Mercy. What’s your name, soldier boy?”

This series has been on my TBR for a few months now, and with all the hype around the third book I thought it was about time to finally start reading it. Angelfall didn’t disappoint. Actually, I almost slapped myself in the face for not getting to this series earlier! This first book of the Penryn & The End Of Days series is simply awesome and almost left me without words… Or more precisely said: fangirling all over the place. The worldbuilding, characters, prose… Everything works just perfectly together and Penryn and Raffe will go straight to the list of my all-time favorite main characters. A dystopian world where angels are actually the bad guys; one being different from the rest after his wings are cut? Check. A kickass female heroine who is not afraid to say what she thinks and has great survival skills? Check. Two different missions that will lead both characters to the same destination and will force them to work together? Check. All ingredients that makes this novel by Susan Ee full of awesomeness and definitely recommended to fans of the YA fantasy genre. Ok, I promise to stop fangirling now. 😀

Six weeks ago, the angels destroyed the world as people knew it… The human race is now struggling to survive in this apocalyptic world full of chaos. Violent street gangs, savage angels, lack of food… Things sure aren’t easy. Penryn has a hard time taking care of her crazy mother and handicapped sister, but is determined to keep them safe at all cost. When angels end up flying away with her helpless sister, Penryn will do anything to get her back… Even if that means helping a wounded angel in the progress.

Penryn is able to save the angel who just got his wings cut off by another angel during battle. She is trying to use him to find out where they took her sister, but the angel (Raffe) is not really cooperative. Somehow, they end up together anyway as they need each other to get what they want. Raffe is looking for revenge and wants his wings back, while Penryn wants to save her sister before it’s too late… But will they able to reach their destination on time and get what they want?

Angelfall was so good that I just had to read the sequel World After straight after I finished it. I first tried to stick to my read-a-thon TBR, but I just couldn’t help myself in the end. I fell in love with the world Susan Ee created with this series and I can say the same for the main characters Raffe And Penryn. Another bonus: no love triangle! Add a brilliant prose and fast pace and you have the mix for a perfect YA fantasy novel… And a series I will probably end up rereading in the future.

WWW Wednesdays #39 – May 13th

Originally featured at Should Be Reading and now hosted by Sam at Taking On A World Of Words, WWW WEDNESDAYS is still about answering the following three questions:

• What are you currently reading?

I started reading both Falling Into Places by Amy Zhang and Don’t Tell Mummy by Toni Maguire yesterday. The first was a TBR jar pick, and unfortunately I’m having a hard time warming up to this story… I’m not liking the main characters at all so far. The second book is a very well written memoir I have a feeling will turn out to be heartbreaking…

• What did you recently finish reading?

I’m participating in the Bout Of Books read-a-thon so I’m trying to read as much as possible. I loved the first two books of this read-a-thon; I finished Unwind by Neal Shusterman yesterday and it was definitely a strong read. I will be getting a copy of the sequel soon… Angelfall I was able to finish on Monday and I instantly became a Penryn and Raffe fan. I need to read the sequel by Susan Ee ASAP!

• What do you think you’ll read next?

Like I said above, I really want to know what becomes of Raffe and Penryn! Since I have a copy of World After on my shelf, I will probably forget about my read-a-thon TBR and pick up this sequel next. Either that or Treasure Island, a classic pirate story written by Robert Louis Stevenson that I can use for my Bookish Bingo challenge… (Also not on my Bout Of Books TBR; oops!)

Bout Of Books 13 – Day 1 Update

The Bout Of Books 13 read-a-thon started yesterday! 😀 I decided to continue Angelfall by Susan Ee first; I was at 16% on Monday morning and against all odds I was actually able to finish it in one day. I even started by second book, Unwind by Neal Shusterman, as well during the evening, so I guess this first day of the read-a-thon turned out to be a success. Yay!

• DAY 1: MONDAY MAY 11th

# Pages read today: 274 (Angelfall) + 20 (Unwind)
# Total pages read: 294
# Book started: Unwind by Neal Shusterman
# Book continued: Angelfall by Susan Ee
# Books finished: Angelfall by Susan Ee

 

Happy reading! 😀

WWW Wednesdays #38 – May 6th

Originally featured at Should Be Reading and now hosted by Sam at Taking On A World Of Words, WWW WEDNESDAYS is still about answering the following three questions:

• What are you currently reading?

I started reading Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion the other day and while I’m normally not really into zombie stories, this one is pretty good so far. I’m also going to start reading Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater later today, so I will cheat and count it as currently-reading as well. 😉 I have been wanting to start this series for ages so I’m excited to finally read this one.

• What did you recently finish reading?

I finished Reel To Real: The Video Store Murders by Joyce Nance yesterday and it was without doubt an interesting read. This book is based on a true story of the video store murders in Albuquerque, and the author does a great job of getting inside the head of the killer and sidekick. I also finished Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan a few days ago, a novel that turned out to be completely different than expected but I really enjoyed reading it. Full reviews of both books are still to come…

• What do you think you’ll read next?

I decided to use my TBR jar again and it got me Falling Into Place by Amy Zhang. While I’ve been looking forward to read this one, I’m not sure I can handle another teen suicide story right now after reading The Last Time We Say Goodbye last month and using up my supply of tissues. So I will probably stick to the YA fantasy genre and read Angelfall by Susan Ee next; another series I’ve been wanting to start reading for a while now.

Friday Finds #14 – November 7th

FRIDAY FINDS is originally featured at Should Be Reading and showcases the most interesting books I’ve encountered during, in this case, the last two weeks and have added to my neverending TBR list on Goodreads. I have been trying to limit new additions in order to downsize my TBR list a bit… Below you can find some of the titles I’ve added anyway:

My finds:

• Falling Into Place by Amy Zhang
• The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
• The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell
• Angelfall by Susan Ee