Series review - Penryn and the End of Days by Susan Ee.

It's been six weeks since the angels of the apocalypse destroyed the world as we know it. Only pockets of humanity remain. 

Savage street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. 

When angels fly away with a helpless girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back..

In this sequel to the bestselling fantasy thriller, Angelfall, the survivors of the angel apocalypse begin to scrape back together what's left of the modern world.

When a group of people capture Penryn's sister Paige, thinking she's a monster, the situation ends in a massacre. Paige disappears. Humans are terrified. Mom is heartbroken.

Penryn drives through the streets of San Francisco looking for Paige. Why are the streets so empty? Where is everybody? Her search leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans where she catches a glimpse of their motivations, and learns the horrifying extent to which the angels are willing to go.

Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them, he can't rejoin the angels, can't take his rightful place as one of their leaders. When faced with recapturing his wings or helping Penryn survive, which will he choose?

End of Days is the explosive conclusion to Susan Ee’s bestselling Penryn & the End of Days trilogy.

After a daring escape from the angels, Penryn and Raffe are on the run. They’re both desperate to find a doctor who can reverse the twisted changes inflicted by the angels on Raffe and Penryn’s sister. As they set off in search of answers, a startling revelation about Raffe’s past unleashes dark forces that threaten them all.

When the angels release an apocalyptic nightmare onto humans, both sides are set on a path toward war. As unlikely alliances form and strategies shift, who will emerge victorious? Forced to pick sides in the fight for control of the earthly realm, Raffe and Penryn must choose: Their own kind, or each other?

End of Days published: May 12th, 2015
Series publisher: Skyscape

Curlypow's thoughts:

I must admit that I have a bit of a love/hate releationship with angel books.  I hate to start them because I don't think I'll like them very much, but in the end I usually love them.   This series was no exception.  I had looked at Angelfall at the library many times, even took it home once, but couldn't bring myself to start it.

Well, am I ever glad I finally took the plunge.  I ended up reading all three books in 7 days - somewhere around 1000 pages - and I enjoyed every page, no exaggeration.  

Ms Ee's writing gripped me from the first page and I was easily able to relate to Penryn and her situation. Nothing seemed contrived in this story.  Penryn's mother is a paranoid schizophrenic which aptly explains her craziness and why Penryn and her sister Paige are the way they are.  Penryn to me was a real hero.  She didn't want to do many things, but her compassion for humanity in general shone through at every turn.

"I hope Raffe made it to a shadowy corner somewhere.  I hope Paige is okay and that I'll soon find her.  I hope Mom and Clara are doing all right and are successfully escaping.  And now, there's Andi, who I clearly need to take with me when I leave because it'll be a death sentence for her if her twin walks off or gets killed.  And then there are all those people on Alcatraz.... Too many."   (World After p 227

There is also a romance in this book, and it was epic to my mind, but it took a back seat to the action and never threatened to become the focus.  A few times I even lfound myself smiling at Penryn's inner thoughts concerning Raffe and it was at those times that we are reminded she is just a seventeen year old girl.

"I know that soon I'll have to think about Paige, Mom, and Clara.  My priorities will be all about survival and getting my family together and keeping them safe from monsters and people alike.

But for now, for just this moment, I let myself be a seventeen-year-old girl in a strong guy's arms.  I even let some of the what-ifs seep in, the kind of possibilities that might have blossomed between us in the World Before.

Just for a little while.

Before I carefully fold my dreams away into the vault in my head." (World After p 275)

The series starts with Angelfall and the roller coaster ride begins.  And this is a ride that really doesn't stop until the last page of End of Days.  There is action all the time.  We get a few pages to take a breath, here and there, but not many.  In fact there were times when I just had to stop reading because I needed to let my heart rate slow down a bit.  I knew what was coming (or I thought I did) and I needed to prepare for the anguish.  Then I'd go back and be surprised again.   Some of the action is terrifying and much of it is really quite gruesome, but it was almost impossible to stop reading.

'"If you don't let me go, you won't feel quite so human anymore.  Being human isn't about whether you fit in or look like the rest of us.  It's about who you are and what you're willing to do or not do"......

....."Did you really kill an angel? he asks."
"Yeah." I've killed two.
"You're the only one I've met who has.  What happens if I let you go?"
"I return to my family and try to keep us all alive."
"Everybody? You'd try to keep all of us alive?"
|I meant my family.  That's hard enough.  How would I even begin to keep everyone alive?" (End of Days p 135)

This series was completely mesmerizing for me.  I loved every character, even the really nasty ones.  Their actions and thoughts made sense, and I was able to relate.  Some of the situations were quite revolting,  and I could see the sequences  just spooling through in my mind, it was so clear.  If you haven't read this series yet, now is the time.  All three books are available and that's the best way to read it. Well done Ms Ee.  I will be on the look-out for anything else you may write.  Perfect for angel fans, or just for fans of a good story.

I would like to say thank you to Megan over at MB Communications who not only sent me a copy of End of Days to review, but also arranged for me to get copies of Angelfall and World After when I told her I hadn't read them.  I owe you for these Megan, thank you.