Hallowed (Unearthly, #2) by Cynthia Hand

Description from Goodreads:

For months Clara Gardner trained to face the fire from her visions, but she wasn't prepared for the choice she had to make that day. And in the aftermath, she discovered that nothing about being part angel is as straightforward as she thought.

Now, torn between her love for Tucker and her complicated feelings about the roles she and Christian seem destined to play in a world that is both dangerous and beautiful, Clara struggles with a shocking revelation: Someone she loves will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning.

In this compelling sequel to Unearthly, Cynthia Hand captures the joy of first love, the anguish of loss, and the confusion of becoming who you are.

--

It was nice to start reading Hallowed, because when I started reading Unearthly, I didn't like the first book at all. But then the more I read Unearthly, the more I started liking it and in the end I was quite smitten by it. So it was super nice to get on with the second instalment of the trilogy. I really liked the relationship between Clara and Tucker, and I just couldn't wait to get some more.

But I was a bit disappointed that in the end of Hallowed we don't really get that much Tucker action. Instead, we are more focused on the relationship between Clara and Christian. I have always been Team Tucker, but I have to admit, the book two really made me question my choice of team. Even though Tucker is the dreamiest and kindest guy, Christian turns out to be pretty decent guy too. I would have never guessed that I would end up liking him! Christian is the perfect combination of patient and eager, nice and bad. In a way, I'm pretty content that my dislike for Christian turned into admiration, but I'm still a bit disappointed that Clara seems to be becoming more drawn to Christian than Tucker. Let's hope that Team Tucker will thrive in the third book!

I also grew to like Angela more in the second book. In the book one, I found her a bit too passive-aggressive and know-it-all, but at some point I noticed that I was relating more to her than I was to Clara. There is something about Angela (maybe because she is a bit of an outside, a bookworm, and very ambitious) that just made me smile whenever she was talking. I like her witty attitude and her verbal flexibility. Another character who triggered my interest was Samjeeza. He is a very tragic character, and even though he is a terrible creature, I'm just dying to know more about him and the Black wings in general. I love that Hand didn't write him just as the personification of the evil, but we get to see how he can be vulnerable as well. There is always something about those malicious bad guys who might have been decent at some point, but in the end chose the bad side - the complexity makes me so intrigued!

I didn't expect though that the book would made me laugh! There were some pretty good one-liners that actually made me snigger. Also the references to Fight Club and other popular books were spot on and gave the book some comical aspect to it. I can't remember if the first book had its share of humour, but I think that Hallowed did do better job on that than Unearthly. The jokes weren't pushed too far and felt really natural part of the narrative/dialogue. The book wasn't all about joking around and having cultural reference, but those additions were well paced and slowly started to cease when the end of the book was near which really emphasised the chancing atmosphere nicely. 

One of the things that made me like Hallowed a tiny bit less is because the plot was rather stable throughout the whole book. Yeah sure, there were some twists and some of them were even quite surprising, but most of the time the ups and downs didn't feel very intense or monumental. For example, the readers get to know this very emotional turn of events in Clara's life, which in itself warsreally sad, but I wish there was more elaboration to it. I'm sure the handling of this issue will continue in Boundless, but I thought there would be more to it in Hallowed. By all this I don't mean I was bored while reading or that I didn't like the book, but I just felt like something was missing from the plot (the excitement, maybe?), but I can't put my finger on it. 

I'm a bit torn between 3 and 4 stars. Initially I was thinking about giving 4, but maybe I should give 3 after all because the plot felt a bit flat to me. There were plenty of things I did appreciate like the character development of Christian and Samjeeza, but I really can't just ignore the fact that story line didn't float my boat that much. But then again, I did really like Hallowed in general. So maybe it's 4 stars? 

☆☆☆☆

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

Description from 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?

--

Before I start to talk about the actual review, I think I need to mention that my expectations for World After were exceptionally high. I loved the first book of the series, Angelfall , and I think I could even mention it being one of my favourite horror books as it seemed to had it all: intriguing but imperfect female protagonist, disturbing and haunting world, and a continuous threat that could develop into anything and everything. So, if the first book is something like I just described, it is pretty natural to expect similar text from the second one. But I'm afraid, that at least I have to say that my expectations weren't met. 

We were left off in a very intense situation in the end of the first book, but World After takes a slightly calmer approach which is totally fine as the readers indeed need to take a breath after all that action and chaos. However, the calm does last for very long as Penryn, Paige, and their mother reach a resistance military camp where they need to think about their next move. The beginning sort of drags on even though Ee includes some action and interesting insights to Raffe's past (which are my favourite parts of the book!!). However, I couldn't help the feeling that all this was seen already before: Penryn's kickass martial arts, Penryn's mother doing her own crazy thing, and then one of the most disappointing twists: Paige goes missing, AGAIN. 

So of course, Penryn needs to go after her, maybe even more so now as Paige has been the object of terrifying human experiments which has turned her into a demi demon, causing her to lust after raw meat (even though her spirit still was the same old Paige). And the similarities to the first book do not end here (spoilers ahead so if you don't want to know what is going to happen in the book, please do not read) : Penryn gets captured by the terrifying Scorpions (like she got caught by the resistance) but she manages to escape (like she did from the resistance camp) and Penryn also infiltrates the Angel headquarters and gets to be an eye candy for the Angels (like she infiltrated the Aerie in the first book and had to flirt with one of the angels), and gets rescued by Raffe in the end. I just kept feeling that I was reading the same book for the second time with only slight changes and additions. I was hoping World After to have a unique plot from the first one but instead they ended up being rather similar, at least in my opinion.

One another thing that was sorely disappointing was the relationship development between Penryn and Raffe. In the first book, we get quite a lot of teasing (which is just fine by me) yet there were some sparks like the kiss we get in the end of the first book. First of all, we get a good look at Raffe only almost at the end of the book (if the flashbacks aren't included) and even though his first appearance is rather tingling and great, the rest of his time on the book was wooden and predictable. I had always liked Raffe, but I felt like his personality changed quite a lot during the second book. He suddenly started making a lot of jokes (which weren't even funny) and started teasing Penryn (which was very awkward) every chance he got. Where did the brooding and suffering Raffe go? I want him back! Secondly, I do realise that even though Penryn and Raffe had always felt the pull between them and of course they would be thrilled after seeing each other again after such a long time, I think they were just too friendly to each other after their reunion. I mean, they barely know each other and still they were all lovey dovey and almost pronouncing their undying love for each other. And that didn't suit me very well.

I'm not here to state that the book was absolute rubbish as it had it's moments as well. Penryn's combat scenes were as impressive as ever and I have to give Ee credit for doing such rigorous research for it as you can see that she didn't make it all up. I also loved the flashbacks to Raffe's earlier life which also gave some context why Raffe is the way he is and how the angels used to behave before the apocalypse. Another interesting thing that I didn't see coming was that we also get to know what Paige experienced while she was angels' captive. Those details gave the book another dimensions that it desperately needed.

I think I do want to read the third book of the series, but I have admit that I won't be having as high expectations as I had for this one. The thing that I'm most afraid is that the relationship between Penryn and Raffe is going to end up being very superficial and predictable. They had so good start in the first book but the direction they are headed doesn't sound very appealing to me. I guess we just need to wait and see.

☆☆

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

Description from Goodreads

It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

--

I read this book on November, 2012 after noticing what a huge amount of hype there was on Goodreads. Angelfall started off as an internet phenomenon. I remember my flatmate warning me that I shouldn't have so high expectations as those books don't always have the same standard as those being published by publishing houses. Nevertheless, I found the description so fascinating that I had to order it from Amazon US as it hadn't been published back then in the UK. 

I probably had to wait a few weeks before the happy day came when the mail man finally delivered the book. I still remember that I read the very first pages in a bus, going to my first lecture of the day. I think I hissed a little when the bus finally arrived to the Uni, because I knew the next time I was able to read the book wasn't until I was going back to home (I have to mention that my bus ride to my Uni lasts over 40 minutes so I was nicely captivated the book when I arrived to the campus).

The first thing struck me as amazing in Angelfall was the absolute post-apocalyptic setting. The world was in ruins, and nothing was exactly same as we know it to be in our world. The world was physically  devastated as the angels brought the havoc. And that leads us to the angels. I hadn't read any angel books before, but I had always been quite interested in the whole angel mythology. Even though Angelfall doesn't exactly play with angelology, I was so captured with the angels of the book - they were cruel, malicious and power-hungry. Nothing what one would expect from a stereotypical angel.

And the characters! First of all, Penryn is such a kick-ass heroine. She is self-efficient, brave, loyal and righteous. At some level, she reminds me of Katniss Everdeen, the heroine in The Hunger Games trilogy (which maybe is my favourite trilogy ever). I think that reference tells quite a lot how awesome character Penryn is. To be honest, I probably wouldn't change a thing about her - I just find her so perfect, even with her imperfections as it makes her more realistic character in an unrealistic world. 

One the most entertaining things in the book is the relationship between Penryn and Raffe, the angel who has promised to save Penryn's little sister Paige with Penryn. The relationship isn't insta-love as Raffe and Penryn are sworn enemies as the first one is an angel and the other a human. Even though it isn't directly said, Penryn does become attached to Raffe. Naturally this the last thing she needs, and Penryn feels conflicted. I love how their relationship isn't straightforward, but there are obstacles and controversies that need to be solved before they can become involved. 

What else, what else (to be honest I could write an endless post about Angelfall, but I think I'm going to write one last paragraph, but I'm having difficulties which perfection I should include). I loved Ee's writing style. She can be very descriptive and even gruesome at points which I just adored. I'm not a big fan of writers who like to embellish their writings, but I enjoy reading when things are presented as they are, even if they are something utterly terrifying. Susan Ee did this in her book, and I absolutely love her for that!

☆☆☆☆☆

Daughter of Smoke and Bone (Daughter of Smoke and Bone, #1) by Laini Taylor (2011)

Description from Goodreads:

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.

When one of the strangers—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

--

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from Daughter of Smoke and Bone. There had been so much hype about it, and even though the description is just oozing mystery, I had my guard on when I started reading it. And I'm glad I did. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed the book but it wasn't what I expected it to be. 

There is this fairytale-like quality to Daughter of Smoke and Bone. The feeling gets even stronger when we finally get a peek to Karou's unrevealed past. This is due to the fact that most of the characters are chimaeras. For me it took a little bit of time to get used to the fact that most of the characters were chimaeras (as the books I usually read have mostly humans), but once I got used to it, it didn't bother me that much. I didn't expect the supernatural to be so prominent in these books, but I think that is why the book is so liked - it differs quite a lot from the mainstream vampire books.  

Another thing contributing to the fairytale ambianca is the love story. It was pretty obvious that Karou and Akiva had known each other previously, but somehow neither of them recognises each other. Yet, there is this magical pull between them which makes them unable to forget another. In some way, their relationship reminded me of Romeo & Juliett, and even though I love epic love stories, I wish their relationship would have gotten more time to develop. 

Karou was a great heroine. She is pretty different from the usual woman protagonist with her dark blue hair, lethal combat skills, and her unusual foster family. Even though Karou leaned slightly to the emo side from time to time, I grew to like her. She is very capable when she wants to be, and I respect her for her guts. She doesn't take anyone's crap, but she also has the soft side to her which she is afraid to show to anyone. 

The book was basically split in two: "now" and "then". Personally I liked more "then" section as it was so epic in every way. I don't want to say anything else about it as the quite a lot of surprises come along with the part. With the "then" part, everything clicked together and it made me even sob. 

Those who love fairy-tales, supernatural and epic love stories, this is the book for you! I can't wait to read the other books as I have no idea in what direction Taylor is going to take the story. I'm very excited!

“Karou wished she could be the kind of girl who was complete unto herself, comfortable in solitude, serene. But she wasn't. She was lonely, and she feared the missingness within her as if it might expand and...cancel her. She craved a presence beside her, solid. Fingertips light at the nape of her neck and a voice meeting hers in the dark. Someone who would wait with an umbrella to walk her home in the rain, and smile like sunshine when he saw her coming. Who would dance with her on her balcony, keep his promises and know her secrets, and make a tiny world wherever he was, with just her and his arms and his whisper and her trust.” 

☆☆☆☆