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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
This review is for the entire series because I’m too lazy for individual reviews. Spoilers for book 3 will be marked, spoilers for books 1-2 possibly not.
I like this series a lot in theory. I also like it in practice but my being enamored by the idea of it allows me to overlook some of the flaws more than others it seems.
Series in theory rating: 5 stars
Series in practice rating: 4 stars
So let’s start with the good.
This series is technically young adult but it doesn’t feel like any young adult book I’ve ever read. It takes its audience seriously and isn’t afraid to be dark and deal with the realities of society falling apart. But at the same time, it keeps a very important balance between disturbing things and light-hearted breaks that allow the reader to breath. An overwhelming dark atmosphere was one of the big reasons I couldn’t stand the Wicked Lovely series. Penryn certainly could have gone that direction (and almost started to in the beginning of book 2) but was ultimately rescued by a cast of extremely likable characters and bouts of genuine humor. Penryn’s mother was another excellent character who was basically a walking deus ex machina at times but worked. I do lament that we didn’t find out more about her. Was her madness actually based in some version of reality the rest of us couldn’t see? It seems implied so with her knowledge about the eggs but we never really find out for sure.
One of the most refreshing things to me about the book was the overall lack of romance. I extremely appreciated the fact that Penryn doesn’t know if she could trust Raffe even right up until the end. It’s a stark contrast to say, Hush Hush, another YA angel book wherein an angel is blatantly trying to kill our lead and she just willingly trusts him. Good on you, Pen, for having some damn common sense. I’ve read a lot of complaints that the 3rd book upset people in how
Overall, I think this series far surpassed the rest of its genre by leaps and bounds for how underplayed the romance was and characters pining for one another.
Ok so let’s deal with some of the shortcomings.
First and foremost, that ending.
Speaking of real threats, there’s nothing to say the angels won’t come back later, either. Sure, Michael has taken over but maybe he’ll get bored leading and tell the angels to go play on earth for a while so he can finish his crossword. That’s a pretty ominous cloud to try and give us a happily ever after, which admittedly Ee didn’t necessarily do. She made the ending about rebuilding and hope rather than “everything is great, let’s get married and have kids!”
And speaking of Raffe and Pen…. That bed scene. When I read it I remember cringing and thinking how awkward and out of place it seemed. When I read other peoples reviews I was kind of shocked by the outrage. I didn’t see it as molestation rather than Pen being immature and shifting so that her crush’s hand would brush up against her breast. I have never been a straight male angel so possibly I am wrong but I was under the impression that if you were asleep and your hand brushed something soft your reaction wouldn’t be to immediately start kneading it and launching into sexy times. To me, the event was horribly forced and awkward but not molestation. I do at least appreciate the realistic portrayal of Pen as a hormonal and curious girl…? Half points only for that though, Ee.
There are plenty more little things I can nitpick or praise but overall, I liked the book and the series. As I said, extremely pleased to see this come from the YA genre which is in desperate need of some decent writers who understand how stakes work and how to write good characters. I read that the first book was self-published and the other 2 were under a publisher so I suspect that might have had something to do with the character changes many people disliked in book 3. If that’s the case I hope Ms. Ee can move away from that and continue to give us many more high quality YA series. I’ll be waiting.
I like this series a lot in theory. I also like it in practice but my being enamored by the idea of it allows me to overlook some of the flaws more than others it seems.
Series in theory rating: 5 stars
Series in practice rating: 4 stars
So let’s start with the good.
This series is technically young adult but it doesn’t feel like any young adult book I’ve ever read. It takes its audience seriously and isn’t afraid to be dark and deal with the realities of society falling apart. But at the same time, it keeps a very important balance between disturbing things and light-hearted breaks that allow the reader to breath. An overwhelming dark atmosphere was one of the big reasons I couldn’t stand the Wicked Lovely series. Penryn certainly could have gone that direction (and almost started to in the beginning of book 2) but was ultimately rescued by a cast of extremely likable characters and bouts of genuine humor.
Spoiler
I am still extremely impressed that Ee managed to make a cannibalistic Frankenstein child as likeable as she did. I was seriously expecting Paige to go down for Penryn’s growth Hunger Games style.One of the most refreshing things to me about the book was the overall lack of romance. I extremely appreciated the fact that Penryn doesn’t know if she could trust Raffe even right up until the end. It’s a stark contrast to say, Hush Hush, another YA angel book wherein an angel is blatantly trying to kill our lead and she just willingly trusts him. Good on you, Pen, for having some damn common sense. I’ve read a lot of complaints that the 3rd book upset people in how
Spoiler
Penryn seemed to worry only about Raffe. Honestly, that didn’t bother me. By this point Pen knows that her sister is more than capable of taking care of herself and her mother is an unstoppable ninja. The thing about Raffe is that throughout the story he’s the only reliable partner Pen has ever had so her loyalty to him doesn’t bother me.Overall, I think this series far surpassed the rest of its genre by leaps and bounds for how underplayed the romance was and characters pining for one another.
Spoiler
There is actually never a moment in the books where Pen or Raffe say “I love you” and I really appreciate that. They are two people from opposite sides of a war who are attracted but need more time for a proper love to develop. The closest we get is Raffe asking if Pen doesn’t recognize a heartfelt confession of love when she hears one but I’m pretty sure he was being a bit sarcastic at the time. Another complaint I’ve seen is “Raffe is abandoning his people for a 17 year old girl!”. I don’t buy this one either. For one, Raffe clearly states that he will never be accepted back among his people. He doesn’t even view the angel host as his people anymore now that he has his Watchers back, which are his true family. Sure, he is staying partially because of Pen but she’s far from the only reason.Ok so let’s deal with some of the shortcomings.
First and foremost, that ending.
Spoiler
Deus ex machinas for all! We’ll just happen to randomly discover a way to go to Hell with the angel swords and just happen to pull out the loyal Watchers and just happen to have an angel plague made off camera and… Yeah there’s a lot of just accept. As others have pointed out, Laylah was extremely busy off camera making a bunch of our deus ex monsters and plague which might have been nice to see more of than just a few rumors here and there before the finale. But I also acknowledge that if Pen had been able to sneak into ALL their super-secret labs it might have been less believable. Speaking of that plague, those plague monsters are still chilling on Earth. What’s to stop Raffe or a watcher from flying too low and dying horribly? Also, if they’re in the ocean won’t they eventually contaminate the food supply? They’re still a very real threat.Speaking of real threats, there’s nothing to say the angels won’t come back later, either. Sure, Michael has taken over but maybe he’ll get bored leading and tell the angels to go play on earth for a while so he can finish his crossword. That’s a pretty ominous cloud to try and give us a happily ever after, which admittedly Ee didn’t necessarily do. She made the ending about rebuilding and hope rather than “everything is great, let’s get married and have kids!”
And speaking of Raffe and Pen…. That bed scene. When I read it I remember cringing and thinking how awkward and out of place it seemed. When I read other peoples reviews I was kind of shocked by the outrage. I didn’t see it as molestation rather than Pen being immature and shifting so that her crush’s hand would brush up against her breast. I have never been a straight male angel so possibly I am wrong but I was under the impression that if you were asleep and your hand brushed something soft your reaction wouldn’t be to immediately start kneading it and launching into sexy times. To me, the event was horribly forced and awkward but not molestation. I do at least appreciate the realistic portrayal of Pen as a hormonal and curious girl…? Half points only for that though, Ee.
There are plenty more little things I can nitpick or praise but overall, I liked the book and the series. As I said, extremely pleased to see this come from the YA genre which is in desperate need of some decent writers who understand how stakes work and how to write good characters. I read that the first book was self-published and the other 2 were under a publisher so I suspect that might have had something to do with the character changes many people disliked in book 3. If that’s the case I hope Ms. Ee can move away from that and continue to give us many more high quality YA series. I’ll be waiting.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Meh. It was good in that weird fantasy, sci-fi, horror, teen romance way that I came to expect from the first two books. I'd say it was on par with book one right up until the end (I wasn't as crazy about book two, but that's not to say it wasn't good). I'd have given it 4 stars but for the ending. There were a few more things that I think could have been expounded upon and it just felt... well... not so much lazy, as it didn't feel like it meshed with everything that had led up to it.
Tl;dr: it was alright. I'm just not quite satisfied with the end.
*edit to add: That thing with Beliel, though? Wonderfully tied up. Marvellous, heartbreaking stuff. Good work, Susan Ee. *slow clap*
Tl;dr: it was alright. I'm just not quite satisfied with the end.
*edit to add: That thing with Beliel, though? Wonderfully tied up. Marvellous, heartbreaking stuff. Good work, Susan Ee. *slow clap*
This was a good end for the series, but it was not amazing. I think Susan could've done better, done more. I remember that Angelfall blew me away, End of Days was mostly fun and entertaining to read.
Don't get me wrong, I still loved the book!! It just did not totally reach my expectations. Maybe I'm just whining because I'm disappointed that it's over (and not 6 books long as it used to be) ..
Raffe was still hot as ever, Penryn still badass as ever and Pooky Bear was still as tough. Despite the name.
I loved the talent show at the end. At first I had some mixed feelings about it because I thought it was cheesy, but later on I realized that it perfectly showed how creative, brave and strong humans could be, and that despite the chaos all around them, they were still able to have good and heartfelt time. It was also a good way to fight the angels. Raffe I'm glad you chose the good side! Love you foreverrrr
Don't get me wrong, I still loved the book!! It just did not totally reach my expectations. Maybe I'm just whining because I'm disappointed that it's over (and not 6 books long as it used to be) ..
Raffe was still hot as ever, Penryn still badass as ever and Pooky Bear was still as tough. Despite the name.
I loved the talent show at the end. At first I had some mixed feelings about it because I thought it was cheesy, but later on I realized that it perfectly showed how creative, brave and strong humans could be, and that despite the chaos all around them, they were still able to have good and heartfelt time. It was also a good way to fight the angels. Raffe I'm glad you chose the good side! Love you foreverrrr
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Excellent conclusion to the series. Penryn is a kick-ass heroine from start to finish, growing as a leader and yet Susan Ee managaes, always, to keep her real, and sympathetic, and admirable. You cannot help but root for her. The author's style tends more towards graphic horror than I prefer, but the writing and the story are so good that I will read (and anxiously await) anything else she publishes. So glad I found these books, and I cannot recommend them enough.