World After (Penryn & the End of Days #2) by Susan Ee

Title: World After
Series: Penryn & the End of Days #2
Author: Susan Ee
Genre: Fantasy/Paranormal/Young Adult/Romance/Science Fiction

Maturity Rating: 13+
Initial Rating: 3/5
Technical Rating: 4/5

My Quickie Synopsis: Penryn finally has the family back together again, but things go awry when Paige slips away after a terrible massacre at their new home base. Penryn and her mother, desperate to not lose Paige again, attempt to find her, but find trouble instead.
Raffe isn't having much luck of his own, as he tries to recover his wings and exact revenge on the angels that took them.

My Initial Response: It's always bad when you attempt to write a synopsis and you struggle to articulate the point of the book. And then, when you come up with something that sounds right, it mimics the point of the first book of the series. What is that all about? I wanted to rate this book higher, if only because the writing seems to have slightly improved. Apparently, this book is longer than the first one, but I actually didn't take issue with finishing it. It's still choppy in its structure sometimes, but it was bearable. So that must count for something, right?

Really? The same basic plot twice?

Turns out, I still only felt the mildest twinge of interest for this book. Why, you ask? Well, nothing really happens in the story. You get a little bit of background on Raffe, and you find out what happened to Paige and even uncover what Uriel is trying to do. But by the end of the book, it doesn't feel like there was any stride forward within the overall plot. All the information that was provided simply creates a better foundation, but it doesn't magically create the house as well. The series darn well should be called "The Hunt for Paige and Raffe's Wings" because that's all there is to it at the moment. The main characters are so focused on those elements alone, that everything else might as well be window dressing. Locusts? Yeah, they are bothersome, but I need to get to Paige. Angels seeking an Apocalypse? Oh, that is worrisome, but I need to get my wings. It was fine for the first book, but to rehash the same thing in the second book makes the series start to feel repetitive. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how hooked you are), the next book isn't slated to drop until 2015, so that gives me plenty of time to possibly let the series grow on me. I wouldn't hold my breath though.

Character Building: 1/1
I'm glad that we got a little more insight into Raffe's character. I'm also glad that there was a little bit of growth in the relationship between Penryn and Raffe. However, right now, my favorite character is Paige. Ms. Ee is taking her in quite an interesting direction, and I hope that her character is explored more in the coming book. Overall, I'm not sure if the character building evolved as much as I would have liked, but it was still on par with what she created in the last book, so a full point for that!

Plot Strength: 0.5/1
There is a very rude part of me that wants to give this a big fat zero. But, I'm not without heart. I think that Ms. Ee used this book as a means of creating some of the foundation that she probably should have had for the first book. But nothing really happens in the story. It seems like an updated re-run of the first story. You learn some tidbits here and there, but it doesn't lead up to anything, really. The ending was middling to fair. There was a big, heavy, action-filled moment and then...nothing?! It fades off abruptly and that's it. That's the end. It's definitely weaker than the ending of the first book in the series.

Sincerity: 0.5/1
There was some improvement here! I started caring just the slightest as to what was happening to the characters and what was going to happen next. The story felt a bit more genuine and the writing came together a bit better than it did with the last book. However, it still needs polish.

Editing: 1/1
Nothing really to add here; the editing was fine.

Pacing: 1/1
I felt a bit more locked into the story and it never felt like the pacing was lagging behind. If anything, perhaps there were times when the pace was a little too fast for the story; but, just as with Angelfall, these flaws didn't detract from the story overall.

My Icing on Top:
It seems like Ms. Ee is getting a better grasp on her writing style, but I think that her plot could use some work. If the Paige/wings plot somehow repeats itself in the next book, I just might lose my mind. Well, at the very least, I'd be hesitant to complete the series. I really am rooting for the series to get better, because it does have the potential. Part of me is glad that the third book in the series doesn't come out for a while, because I really don't want to be disappointed again so soon. Is that mean of me? Yeah, probably. But I have to have a healthy does of skepticism in with my optimism :) If you've already read Angelfall, you might as well continue on with World After. It isn't necessarily better, but it isn't worse either. If you haven't started the series at all yet, you may just want to let this sit on the back burner for a while until the majority of the books are out. Just my two cents!

Check out my informal review on Goodreads!

Happy reading!

-K

Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days #1) by Susan Ee

Title: Angelfall
Series: Penryn & the End of Days #1
Author: Susan Ee
Genre: Fantasy/Paranormal/Young Adult/Science Fiction

Maturity Rating: 13+
Initial Rating: 3/5
Technical Rating: 4/5

My Quickie Synopsis: Angels have descended upon Earth and they aren't particularly friendly. When Penryn's sister is snatched away by the winged predators, she makes an unlikely alliance with Raffe, an angel who brutally had his wings removed. Together the pair trek to the nearest angels' home base; Raffe goes with the hope of saving his wings while Penryn simply wants to rescue her sister. But the journey is rife with danger at every turn, with unimaginable horrors terrorizing the streets. Even if she makes it to the stronghold, there's no guarantee that Penryn will ever see her sister again; but, in a world full of desolation and darkness, it's a chance she has to take.

My Initial Response: I struggled to finish this book. Everything about the story screams that it's something that I should love, so I feel bad for not adoring it. everything, or some of the plot elements, but something about it was really off-putting.

Something is definitely suspicious here

 And for those who claim that this is a romance book?<rant> Get over yourselves, please. There are maybe two hints of romance going on here and that's it. I can understand that perhaps that's where the series is heading, but it's not there yet! So stop putting this as a romance! If a guy simply looks at you or even hugs you, it does NOT mean he wants to love you forever and ever. That being said, yes, I know, the ending. But come on! It's not a romance, it simply has the slightest bud of one. <end rant> When I started this book, I made the mistake that I always make; I didn't check to see how many books were in the series or if they were all out yet. If there's one thing that can kill a series for me, it's having to wait overly long for the conclusion. Don't get me wrong, though; I started Harry Potter in the 5th grade and stuck it out until I was a senior in High School. Reading like that can be a very frustrating commitment. At best, you can't get the story out of your head and you crave the next book until it's released. At worst, you slowly start forgetting the story, and by the time the book comes out, you're not sure if you care enough to finish it. For each series that falls into the former, there are about a dozen more that fall into the latter. Is it unfair to an author who had a pretty good story going? Absolutely. It's why I try not to read a series until it's finished. My point here is that because I'm already squarely on the fence with the series, I'm not sure I'll finish it in the long run. And that kind of makes me sad. Overall, Ms. Ee is set to release five books in this series, with two of them already out. The third book is slated to drop in 2015. So just keep that in mind!

There's just something so incredibly dry with the writing that I couldn't read more than a few chapters at a time before focusing my attention elsewhere. I'm not sure if it was the tense that it was written in (first-person present), or the clinical descriptions of

Character Building: 1/1
It's kind of hard to believe that Penryn is only 17 years old. She makes references to high school a couple of times, but other than that, she just doesn't seem that young. I'm going to go ahead and say that it's because of how she grew up, but don't be surprised if you catch yourself thinking that she's older. Honestly, I can't say for sure if Ms. Ee did this on purpose or not though, so I'm not going to knock it. Raffe is an interesting character as well. It's a little difficult to get a proper read on him, but that's only because the book is written in Penryn's voice. Not much you can do there except to learn about him through her eyes. There is a veil of mystery surrounding almost all of the characters, but in this case, I don't think it's a sign of weak character building.

Plot Strength: 0.5/1
Ah, the plot. I know that Ms. Ee has a full series to build up, and I understand that it's normal to not have everything laid out in black and white in the first book. However, almost nothing is said about what exactly happened during the first six weeks of the apocalypse and it leaves you feeling slightly detached from the story. And it's not just that; there's a great majority of background information that's left out. When you build such a complex setting and pair it with an intricate plot, you've got to give it a stable foundation to stand on. A good background is usually a part of that foundation. And then there's the ending. If you read it, you'll understand. Something there just didn't add up.

Sincerity: 0.5/1
My main problem with this book is how flat the writing was at times. There are a lot of exciting scenes, but I never felt as if I was on the edge of my seat. The descriptions, although well-articulated, felt lukewarm. The disconnect comes from Ms. Ee doing a great deal of telling instead of showing. It's such a fine line to walk, but it can affect the feel of the entire book.

Editing: 1/1
The editing was great-nothing out of the ordinary.

Pacing: 1/1
I do think that at times the story was dragged out. But only in a select few spots. Overall it wasn't bad. The pacing was appropriate for the plot.

My Icing on Top:
My sincerest hope is that the series will evolve with each new book. The story line could be incredible, the characters have raw potential and the author seems to have the ability to give me one of my favorite series of all time, but it all just needs a little bit more push to it. It may just be that I should re-read it at some point in the future; there has to be a good reason why a great majority of reviews (especially from some of my most trusted sources) are so overwhelmingly ecstatic. But for now, if you're looking for a new angel series to start, I would suggest reading The Premonition series by Amy Bartol first. I am head over heels in love with this lady and her books, and her foray into the genre feels a lot more genuine than Angelfall. But, if you can handle intense first-person present writing, and love angel stories anyway, go ahead and give this a try. I'm not making any promises, but considering the rave reviews, chances are you'll like it.

Check out my informal review on Goodreads!

Happy reading!

-Keana