asteriskpearl's book blog: Review: World After (Penryn & the End of Days #2) by Susan Ee

Publish Date: November 19th, 2013

Publisher: Skyscape

Rating: 4 /5

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Blurb:

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?

*I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review*

First Thoughts

I sat here for quite a while thinking of how I should rate this book. I absolutely loved Penryn and Raffe's relationship in Angelfall and Raffe's absence in World After made all the difference in how I felt about the book. If I'm being honest, the majority of my rating is based on how hard I swooned when Penryn and Raffe were reunited.

I can't wait to see where Susan Ee takes the series in the next book, End of Days!

What I Enjoyed

World After picks up right where Angelfall left off. This doesn't seem like it'd be a big deal, but it is! I'm growing a little tired of having to read novellas to find out what happened between books. With World After, it was nice not having to wonder.

The setting. As I mentioned in my review for Angelfall, I love love love how this series takes place in the Bay Area! When Susan Ee mentioned Lawrence Expressway in Sunnyvale, I squealed! I know the area so well, having worked nearby for so many years! Ee did an amazing job in describing the devastation and destruction of her world. While reading Angelfall and World After I couldn't help but to imagine my city in those ruins as I'd drive through the freeways and city streets.

The small tidbits about Penryn's father. I am dying to know more about him! I'm hoping he makes an appearance in some crazy plot twist in End of Days! It nearly killed me when Penryn mentioned he lost his engineering job and had to work night shifts cashiering at 7/11 because her mom stole his work prototype device. After reading that passage, I found it hard to keep faulting him for leaving his wife instead of helping her with her mental illness.

I can't wrap my head around evil angels!

"The only way to keep a society of killers together for eons is to have a strict chain of command and zero tolerance for breach of rules. Otherwise, we all would have slaughtered each other a long time ago."

Like, what? Slaughtering each other? A society of killers? You think Raffe would have been talking about demons, but he was talking about angels!

Penryn and Raffe's forbidden relationship.

"She missed you," I say in a whisper.
"Did she?" His voice is a soft caress. His gaze into my eyes is so intense that I swear he sees straight into my soul.
"Yes." Warmth flushes my cheeks. I... "She thought about you all the time."
The candlelight flickers a soft glow along his jawline, along his lips. "I hated losing her." His voice is a low growl. "I hadn't realized just how attached I'd gotten." He reaches and moves a strand of wet hair out of my face. "How dangerously addictive she could be."
His gaze pins me to my spot and I can't move, can't breathe.
"Maybe a girl needs to hear that. Maybe she wants to be with you, too." The words come out in a rushed whisper.
He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He shakes his head. "It can't be."