World After by Susan Ee

5 stars

(sequel to Angelfall)

AHHHHHHH!!!

 So. Damn. Good.

I must calm myself. Well, this was one hell of a sequel, readers!

We pick up from we left off with Penryn and circus family trying to adapt to the new events in their life. Penryn longs to find Raffe, but she is struggling to cope with a lot of new life events like the unusual behavior of her mutated sister, as well as trying to blend in. Alas, everyone knows that someone as badass and wild like Penryn cannot simply blend in, but at least the twins as Penryn make a fun trio!


I can't help but think that the twins remind me of a non-magical set of Weasley twins; up to no good, conniving, weird but funny, and really clever.

At some point of the book Paige runs away and Penryn is determined to find her sister in fear that somebody will harm her. Thus beginning the adventure once again as along the way we find out more about Raffe, the angels, and what the hell is up with the nephilim/scorpion creatures. We also get to learn more about Raffe's super special awesome arch-angel sword!

The book was heartfelt and warming; despite the struggle of Penryn and Paige. Sisterly bonds stand above all else. There were also some other heartfelt scenes that I can't wait for you guys to find! The sequel is just as horrible and scarring at some parts as the first book. The ending was seriously awesome, and left quite a cliffhanger for the third book! 

Angelfall by Susan Ee

5 stars

Occasionally in life, there is that book. 

That book you go into not really sure what to expect and then you read it and it isn't what you expect at all, and yet you're not really disappointed...this is that book. Except along with a lack of disappointment, I also was accompanied with the emotions of shocked numbness, eagerness, and horror.

Step 1: Readers, you know those fluffy images of sweet angels full of guidance and good advice? Take that image, crumple it up, and... 

THROW IT OUT THE EFFIN' WINDOW.

There you go...

 because Angelfall doesn't have those types of angels! HAH. No, no. According to this storyline, we are under the impression that angels lead to the fall of humanity. That's right, they led to this dystopian setting.

Step 2: Don't eat while reading this book....just trust me, okay?

This book is not for the weak of heart...or stomach, and if you tend to have horrible nightmares induced by anything you watch or read, I probably wouldn't recommend this book to you, either. I'll give you a little taste of whats under the cover.

To me, the most horrifying were the children that were cannibalistic little monsters and the nephilim. Who knew such a disgusting thing could be created by the joining of angels and humans?

 Nephilim are seriously romanticized in other books compared to these things...

Now that you've braced yourself, enjoy the crazy! With a heroine like Penryn, who originates from a family circus of crazy (mother is batshit crazy, father abandoned them, sister is paralyzed), and still manages to kick some serious ass in order to survive and save her sister, you just can't dislike her. Not to mention, she's daring enough to bargain with an angel, Raffe, for his help and assistance. That's ballsy. 

Hang onto your seats, cuz you're in for quite a wild ride...

My review for the sequel, World After.

The Waking Dark by Robin Wasserman

4 stars

Not what I expected, but still really good! 

I'll admit it took me awhile to finally just let the darkness just become a norm for me to get into the horror themed story of Waking Dark. All in all, it's pretty intense, guys.

Welcome to Oleander. 

I do not like this town. This town to me, screams, "Run, and never look back!"  Every character is as extreme as they possibly could be in most of the time, a bad way. As in it's creepy. 

It's bad enough that this town was built upon the ruins of the previous Oleander town, where a fire started and by the next day not a single person had survived.

But that's just the history. We are thrown into a story told  by multiple perspectives, but it's smooth flowing since it's not broken up by each chapter, and names are used often. We read about five different murders scenes right from the beginning. Each horrible, gory, and unexplained. Each leaving one scarred and horrified witness in it's wake. Each killer has killed themselves along with their victim(s) except one. 

One who doesn't remember even committing the deed or why she did it.

A lot of people die in this book, even important main characters which makes this book seriously intense. The town felt so creepy, domesticated, and old fashioned to me from the start. It had almost a Stepford Wives feel to it. It only got worse from there. 

Each main character has a twisted and sympathy cuing story and lifestyle, and it's harsh because it's the truth in some aspects. 

What really attracted me to this story, was not only that while I was cringing while reading, smacking my forehead, thinking, "Could shit get any worse?" (And it always did.) I still couldn't put my kindle down, it was addicting! You want to know what's up with this messed up town, and you know there's a reason behind it. It takes almost the entire book for the source to be revealed, but while we wait, we get to experience the town's descent into madness and violence.

It's a dark and thrilling ride.