Thursday, May 19, 2011

Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

Cover from Goodreads - http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7285498-angelfire

Product Description

First there are nightmares. 

Every night Ellie is haunted by terrifying dreams of monstrous creatures that are hunting her, killing her.
Then come the memories. 

When Ellie meets Will, she feels on the verge of remembering something just beyond her grasp. His attention is intense and romantic, and Ellie feels like her soul has known him for centuries. On her seventeenth birthday, on a dark street at midnight, Will awakens Ellie's power, and she knows that she can fight the creatures that stalk her in the grim darkness. Only Will holds the key to Ellie's memories, whole lifetimes of them, and when she looks at him, she can no longer pretend anything was just a dream.

Now she must hunt.

Ellie has power that no one can match, and her role is to hunt and kill the reapers that prey on human souls. But in order to survive the dangerous and ancient battle of the angels and the Fallen, she must also hunt for the secrets of her past lives and truths that may be too frightening to remember.

I found this to be a very enjoyable read. Lately, it seems I've been swamped with books, that instead of being enjoyable were just a chore to read.  Angelfire was a nice change of pace.

What I likedThe main characters.  Ellie, though I think she has room to grow, is a very likable character. She came across as rather well grounded, concerned about many typical teen concerns (school, clothes, parties), but not overly spoiled or snotty.  Will is your typical brooding, dark and handsome love interest. 

The bad guys:  No, I'm not on their side, but I thought the Reapers were a nice departure from your usual demons out to destroy the world.

What bothered me: There were two things that I found disturbing.  Ellie's acceptance: When Ellie is "awakened", she seems to accept what is happening rather quickly. I guess that's to be expected when you are forced to fight the Reapers or die.  I just thought she might have questioned her sanity a little more. I think most teens would.

Ellie's father:  This isn't a criticism of the book. I just don't like him. He is certainly up for the bad parent of the year award.  I sometimes wonder if he's been possessed by a Reaper.

Over all this is a great book. If you like good vs. evil with a little bit of romance as well as action, then this is a book that you should read.  It is true that there are a lot of unanswered questions, but I think the author planned it that way on purpose as there are two more books yet to be published.  Angelfire is a new and interesting spin on what seems to be a fast growing popular genre of books about angels.  There is enough action and enough twists and turns (including a surprising revelation about Ellie) to keep readers turning the pages.

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