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

Title: Angelfall
Series:  Penryn and the End of Days #1
Author: Susan Ee
Publisher: Feral Dream
Release Date: May 21, 2011
Pages: 283 pages, Paperback
Rating: 5 Stars

Summary 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.

"There's no denying that this is the real deal, though. Men with wings. Angels of the Apocalypse. Supernatural beings who've pulverized the modern world and killed millions, maybe even billions, of people."

Angelfall was 283 pages of GREATNESS! From page 1 the entire book was go go go, full of action.  Penryn, her sister, and mother need to leave and move to safety away, which is not an easy task with dangerous gangs and killer angels around every corner.  The modern world has been destroyed by the angels of the apocalypse, people fear the angels and each other; there is no real safe place to be anymore.  On their quest to safety, Penryn and her family come across a group of angels fighting. While hiding  behind a car they witness an angel, Raffe, have his wings cut off by dark angels, unfortunately those dark angels see them and kidnap Penryn's wheelchair-bound little sister.

Penryn's unstable and mentally ill mother runs off so Penryn is left with no family, only a broken angel.  Penryn decides this angel and his broken wings could be of use to her and help her get her sister back so she forms a partnership with Raffe.  Raffe and Penryn must make it to the arie,  rescue her sister and  have his wings reattached.  Simple....Right? Only some tiny problems: Raffe is on the outs with the angels, humans want to kill angels, and other creatures are on the loose eating humans.

When I started this book I had no idea what I was getting into.  The destroyed world is described so vividly, it was not hard to imagine the destruction and overall despair of the human race.  Susan Ee does not waste a second building the dark world, intense and action-filled plot.

Penryn: I LOVED Penryn.  Every time she got in a fight, I liked her more! Her fighting skills and the way she takes on guys is pure awesome! She is so tough and stubborn yet has a huge soft spot for her family. 

Raffe: He is an angel without wings, just plain broken.  As much as he wants to hate and not care for Penryn he slowly grows to truly care.

Paige and Penryn's mother: Paige is disabled and in a wheelchair while Penryn's mother is insane, she has violent tendencies and paranoia. The uniqueness of the family makes Penryn a stronger person and forces her to run the family, this atypical dynamic enhances the plot. 

Every detail about the character's had significance and played a part in the story. The angel aspects are done wonderfully; the angels are powerful, strong, and dangerous creatures who abide by their own sets of rules and standards.  Raffe and Penryn's dynamic was perfect and their relationship did not take over the story, it was instead a nice addition.  For being on the shorter end of stories there was no lack of detail or action. I LOVED IT!!

Overall, this was easily a 5 star read.  If I had to describe the whole story in one word, it would be intense.  Angellfall has angels (duh!), dystopian/apocalyptic world, war, and a subtle love story.