Review: World After

World After by Susan Ee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

[Disclaimer: I received a free e-copy of this book from NetGalley.]

I'm always a bit hesitant to write a full review for a middle book in a series, mostly because if you haven't read the first book I'll either spoil you or you won't know what I'm talking about. But since I received this from NetGalley, the least I can do is at least form an opinion.

I am giving this book four stars because I enjoyed the continuation of the story, even though it was very lacking in Raffe. He mostly showed up in Penryn's brain, and a few scenes here and there, until the end of the book (which made the rest of it worth it). Why on earth am I hopelessly drooling over an angel with an attitude problem?! I usually hate books like this! Chalk it up to good writing, mostly, I guess.

Yet again with the saving of Penryn, though, which still bothered me. She rarely gets out of scrapes herself, and instead throws herself headlong into the fighting or danger and then wonders later how she's going to get herself out of it. Still, she is pretty tough.

One other thing that bothered me - the constant reference to the book's title.  "World After" showed up all over the place in describing the time in which the characters find themselves.  One or two references would not have been amiss, and I understand that's what people are calling it, but the number of times it was said was overkill for me.

For a second book, not bad. It doesn't suffer from middle book syndrome, although now I'm curious how the end will pan out.

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Review: Angelfall

Angelfall by Susan Ee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

[Disclaimer: I received a free e-copy of this book from NetGalley.]

The description on Goodreads is woefully understated, not nearly enough to get a person interested in what this book is all about. To be honest, I think I only requested it because it was a YA post-apocalyptic and I could get the first two books for free. And while it had its issues (the whole "feelings" thing between Penryn and Raffe seemed too close to insta-love for me), and some of the storytelling was a bit overdone, overall I really enjoyed the read.

Penryn, while completely clueless sometimes, is also a pretty strong character. She doesn't wait around for someone to save her or her family, she does it herself. It's only coincidence that someone usually comes along who's stronger and more able to help (which is a little character-defeating, since the only scrape she gets herself out of is when she beats the crap out of a guy who is threatening her). I would have liked to see her a bit more self-sufficient or at least have the opportunity to do some actual saving, instead of rushing into something without much thought, getting stuck, and someone else doing the rescuing. But overall she had a very strong personality and she was loyal to a fault despite her loyalty being divided at times.

Raffe I couldn't quite get a grip on. He's an angel, and we learn more about him in the last 1/4 of the book, but other than that he just seems like a moody pain in the ass who falls in love with a human, all the while denying that he even feels anything but still acting like he's her boyfriend. His character by the end seems more fully fleshed out, and I appreciated his actions more after hearing what he and other characters revealed about his past.

The whole first-person thing is overdone and boring, but since the vast majority of YA is written that way now, I guess I can't fault the author for capitalizing on something that people seem to eat up.

There were some pretty gruesome parts in here, stuff I don't normally like to read - it veered into horror/thriller territory at times and I'm not a big fan of that, but I got through it. It sort of made the book a bit more adult to me.

Overall, this was a quick and easy read, interesting and fast-paced. I didn't have a hard time getting through it, or wanting to get through it, and I'm giving it 4 stars because I enjoyed the ride even if it wasn't perfect.

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Review: Uprooted

Uprooted by Naomi Novik
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

[Disclaimer: I received a free e-copy of this book from NetGalley.]

I've only ever read one other Naomi Novik book, and that was her first Temeraire book. I loved it. Which is why I jumped at the chance to read this one. She did not let me down. I can't gush over Uprooted enough, it was just so seriously great.

Agnieszka is taken from her home unexpectedly at the choosing, when the Dragon, the territory's wizard, chooses a girl from one of the villages to spend 10 years with him locked up in his tower. No one knows what goes on there, but they all suspect that he has his way with them for ten years, so they all come out "ruined" and end up leaving town for good. Kasia, her best friend, was supposed to be chosen, she was the prettiest, and the smartest, and the most talented. But he looks at Agnieszka and takes her instead. She spends her first few weeks confused, resentful, and scared, and the Dragon doesn't make things any better with his miserable attitude towards everything she does.

But Agnieszka has magic in her, and while it's not the same kind of magic the Dragon has, she is able to learn and grow. She does things he never thought possible, and puts the entire kingdom in an uproar when she goes into the evil Wood to rescue Kasia.

At times the book read almost as YA, but you could tell that it was a genuinely adult fantasy, not one of those frou frou YA "fantasies" that are more love and kissing and hand-holding than real magic. There are fearsome battles, awful creatures, an interesting wild kind of magic, and seemingly hopeless odds. A tiny dash of romance was just enough to make it perfectly tingly.

I was hoping for something awesome and I was not disappointed. Highly recommended to anyone who loves great fantasy. This is one I plan on buying so that I have a hard copy of it!

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