AngelFall

Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days, 1)
by Susan Ee
Rating: 5 Bows!

It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

This book took everything I had read about angels in other books and threw it out the window. The concept about angels being the good guys and fallen angels trying to redeem them selves doesn't exist in this novel. But that's not a bad thing!

The book starts off with Penryn and her family trying to survive in a world were Angels have taken over. Hence...Angels are not the good guys in this story. Penryn is the strength of her family since her little sister is in a wheel chair and her mom is a schitzo. When she encounters a group of angels taking the wings of another she can't help but stare. Unfortunately this costs her and the group of angels kidnap Penryn's little sister while her mother flees. Determined to get her sister back, Penryn plans to nurse the wing-less angel back to health and strike a deal to get him to help her find her sister.

Penryn is just a normal girl trying to get her sister back. I had to admire her determination even when all the odds were against her. Her mentality was always "famlily first" and she stuck by it. She was strong, caring, and always did what was right, even if it meant going against your own kind to save an angel. 

Now Raffe...oh my. Carmel skin, black hair, deep blue eyes, and a toned athletic body...swoon! This was one case where I did not mind the attitude at all. Raffe is arrogant, bossy, and hard to read. Raffe agrees to help Penryn and I was pleasantly surprised that given Raffe's attitude, he was shocked and amazed whenever Penryn refused to leave Raffe behind. 

I loved this novel because of its originality. The mere fact that the two main characters are true fighters and will fight until the end for their cause. It was different to see Rafee and Penryn learn to truly care for each other through trust and of course through fighting together!

Angelfall is about a journey with an unexpected ally and discovering secrets that not even the high ranking angels new about. This novel does not have an obvious romance but it is there and we get to see a little bit of it towards the end which leaves me wanting the sequel so badly to see where it takes them. There is plenty of action and drama that will leave you cheering for Penryn and Raffe! 

Hidden Wings

Hidden Wings (Hidden Wings, 1)
by Cameo Renae
Rating: 3.5 Bows!

Seventeen is a life changing age for Emma Wise. As her family's sole survivor in a car crash, she is left with a broken arm and a few scrapes and bruises. But these are only outward marks; inside, her heart is broken and the pieces scattered.

Whisked away to Alaska, to an aunt she’s never met, Emma starts over. Secrets unveil themselves and now…she doesn't even know who or what she is.

A centuries old prophecy places Emma in the heart of danger. Creatures of horrifying and evil proportions are after her, and it will take Emma, her aunt, and six, gorgeously captivating Guardians to keep her safe. But, if she can survive until her eighteenth birthday... things will change.

The summary is very vague but as far as angel books go, this one was pretty good! We have Fallen Angels, prophecies, and hot guardians... what else do you need?

The story line was very good. There was a plot, which is a miracle because I feel like now a days stories just ramble with out there being a point, and the characters were phenomenal. 

My only issue, which made me know off .5 of a bow, is that Emma's personality was hard for me to believe. She either had no emotions or they seemed fake to me. I would have been devastated at the loss of my parents but instead she's swooning over Kade... I mean really? Give it a week at least before falling for the guy. Her feelings for Kade were developed way to quickly for my taste but that's not too big of a problem for me, what is a problem is that it seemed funny instead of swoon-worthy.

Putting that aside, the story had plenty of action and mystery. The side characters were a mix of funny and stoic and of course...HOT! I really ended up like this book to the point of getting the second one in the series right after! This book definitely deserves to be given a chance, ignore the vague summary and pick up a copy!!

Vade Retro Satana

Vade Retro Satana (VRS, 1)
by Michele Suzanne
Rating: 4 Bows!

It’s never easy living up to your father’s expectations, but when your father is Satan, and he sees you as his ticket to world domination, it’s especially tough.

Austan Paumgarten wrestles with normal fifteen-year-old issues like grades, girls and winning sports matches, along with some abnormal ones like what to do when his father possesses his roommate. Initially, Austan withdraws, believing himself to be a curse on others but is drawn out by three new friends; Imani Baptiste, a girl with a harrowing past who sees running fast as her only hope of going to college; Gabe Michaels, Austan’s roommate, a socially awkward guy who desperately hopes to find friendship and fit in at St. Ignatius, a competitive all-boys boarding school, and Fr. Bonaventure, a kindly old priest with a chilling connection to Austan’s family.

When his father forces him to collect souls, Austan struggles with his demonic destiny as the devil’s son and his innate desire to help those he cares about.

*I was given this book in exchange for my honest review*

I've yet to read a novel that dealt with Religion, more specifically with Satan, and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this novel. 

The background story is rather creepy but intriguing at the same time, like in movies where you don't want to watch but you just can't look away! The story is a perfect balance of intense, hilarious, and mystery. 

What really worked for this novel was the mixture of personalities from the characters: Austan was aloof and mysterious but conflicted about who he was and what that meant, Imani was a strong hearted girl who just wanted to get ahead in life, and Gabe was the kid that is always striving to please everyone. Their interactions were great to watch and it reminded me of my time in high school.

I liked how we get to see the characters struggle with developing who they will become because that is something we all go through...of course, Austan's case is a little different...
The choices and consequences of our actions are what makes us who we are and that is no different for Austan, Imani and Gabe. 

Told from different perspectives, Vade Retro Satana is the story of how parents influence ones life and how that affects those around you. Austan will need to find the strength to do the right thing even if it's not what he want or there will be consequences...bad ones.

Michele Suzanne, thank you for introducing me to this gang of witty and stunning characters, I look forward to see where you take them!

Black City

Black City (Black City, 1)
by Elizabeth Richards
Rating: 5 Bows!

A dark and tender post-apocalyptic love story set in the aftermath of a bloody war.

In a city where humans and Darklings are now separated by a high wall and tensions between the two races still simmer after a terrible war, sixteen-year-olds Ash Fisher, a half-blood Darkling, and Natalie Buchanan, a human and the daughter of the Emissary, meet and do the unthinkable—they fall in love. Bonded by a mysterious connection that causes Ash’s long-dormant heart to beat, Ash and Natalie first deny and then struggle to fight their forbidden feelings for each other, knowing if they’re caught, they’ll be executed—but their feelings are too strong.

When Ash and Natalie then find themselves at the center of a deadly conspiracy that threatens to pull the humans and Darklings back into war, they must make hard choices that could result in both their deaths.

Wow. That's all I can say about this book because nothing I think of does it justice. I was not expecting this book to be this great and I was glad to be proven wrong. The story sorta reminded me of Darkness Before Dawn by J.A. London but it held its own.

A quick explanation of the story: The city is divided by a wall that keeps Darklings separated from humans and Darkling half-bloods. There is a law trying to be passed, Rose Law, to completely eliminate any half-bloods living with the humans and send them out with the Darklings. Natalie, the emissary's daughter, meets Ash, a twin-blood darkling, who happens to attend Natalie's new school. Natalie and Ash have a connection but exploring that connection leads to a ripple of events that have a catastrophic ending. 

Natalie, to me was the perfect heroine, she wasn't afraid to stand up for what she believed, she wasn't discriminating, and she wasn't a pushover. Ash was a class-A jerk but given his circumstances, I wasn't too hard on him. I love that Ash and Natalie don't have an instant love connection and that they don't like each other at the beginning, this made their relationship feel more real. The concept was new to me and it was a little confusing as to how the Darklings came to be but I was grateful that the explanations were made simple and not overcomplicated; The most interesting explanation or "legend" was the blood mate story, it was beautiful. 

This novel pulled so many emotions out of me: I cried for Natalie and Ash, I screamed in frustration at the injustice of discrimination, and got angry of the unfairness of it all. 

Reading Black City, I experienced betrayal, lies, and shocking revelations that left me speechless but with a hint of hope as well. Black City is not a series to be missed!!