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

World After

Author: Susan Ee

Series: Penryn and the End of Days #2)

Pages: 314

Amazon

Release date: 19^th November 2013

Synopsis. (Goodreads)

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?

Review: 4 ½  out of 5 stars

Contains possible spoilers from the first book

World After would have to be one of my most anticipated reads for this year. Angel books are definitely hit or miss but I was absolutely captivated by the first book in this series, Angelfall with its wonderful characters and fabulous world-building so I dove straight into this as soon as it was downloaded.

World After picks up right where Angelfall left off, Penryn is left temporarily paralysed after being stung by a scorpion-angel monster and believed dead, Paige her sister has been mutilated, mum is still a tad crazy and they have been left by Raffe with a Resistance group, other humans that have survived the angel apocalypse.

Seventeen year-old Penryn is snarky, witty and one of my fave heroines with her kick-butt awesomeness and her dedication and protectiveness of those she loves, in particular her sister Paige who has endured so much; the characters in this series are truly amazing and beautifully developed but there was a certain swoon worthy angel noticeably missing physically for the most part of this book which was a big letdown for me, in saying this when he did make an appearance it was definitely worth it, the banter between Penryn and Raffe and their chemistry was wonderful and I can’t help but hope for more for them.

(Quote 77%) He puts his fingers to my lips and whispers, “Don’t talk. You’ll just spoil my fantasy of rescuing an innocent damsel in distress as soon as you open your mouth.”

Speaking of Raffe, his sarcasm, strength and surprising devotion to Penryn left me swooning, he is a fierce warrior now sporting a pair of demon wings, and his main focus is to retrieve his own wings to reclaim his place amongst his kind. I enjoyed this aspect and I’m curious to see what is to come of him.

The secondary characters each played a pivotal part in this book, especially Penryn’s mother despite her craziness; my heart broke for Paige and what she has been through which was pretty horrific, Uriel and Beliel are unbelievably cruel and power hungry and I have to mention Pooky Bear the sentient sword, some parts had me giggling.

(Quote 91%) Do you realize that when she fights battles, she's going to have to announce herself to the opposing sword?  She'll be forced to say something ridiculous like, 'I am Pooky Bear, from an ancient line of archangel swords.'

There were some intense moments with brutal action sequences, they were written very well and Ms. Ee certainly didn’t hold back on the details; the world is a lot darker and bleak. The plot was engaging and filled with revelations I didn’t see coming, the angels are fierce with their plans to take over the world; the element of surprise is one of the things I have appreciated, you never quite knew in which direction the author would take things which I liked but in the end it all came together nicely.

Susan Ee’s story-telling is mesmerising, I was captivated by the events which took place, her dialogue is witty and the characters loveable. This is most definitely one of my favourite angel series.

Overall, World After is an impressive sequel, filled with angel politics, unnatural abominations, violence and some wonderful action-scenes, I’m more than eager to get hold of the next book in this amazing series but have my fingers crossed our wait won’t be as lengthy.

(Quote 37%) “You broke me out of the grasp of a living horror when I thought all hope was gone. You gave me the opportunity to crawl back to life when no one else could."
She glances over at me, her eyes shining in the dark. "You're a hero, Penryn, whether you like it or not.”

About the author: (Taken from http://www.susanee.com)  Susan Ee has eaten mezze in the old city of Jerusalem, surfed the warm waters of Costa Rica, and played her short film at a major festival. She used to be a lawyer but loves being a writer because it allows her imagination to bust out and go feral.

Her debut novel was the bestselling fantasy thriller, Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days series). Angelfall Has been translated in 19 languages and the film rights have been optioned by Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert and Good Universe.

You are invited to become her friend on Facebook, Twitter, or Goodreads.