Book Review : Angelfire (ARC) by Courtney Allison Moulton

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Angelfire (Angelfire, #1)
by
Hardcover, 453 pages
Published February 15th 2011 by HarperCollins / Katherine Tegen Books
Available on Amazon / Barnes & Noble / The Book Depository
Synopsis
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.

Review
Ellie is a typical seventeen-year-old teenage girl. Well, that part is true until she meets Will, a handsome stranger whose face looks strangely familiar to her. Turns out, Will is her Guardian, and Ellie is the Preliator, a being destined to fight evil to prevent the Apocalypse and save humanity.

The concept of Angelfire isn't new to me, as angel-themed books, both fallen angels and vice versa, have been flooding the YA market since the birth of Hush, Hush (which I loved) and Fallen (which I despised). The novel, which spans a thickness of 453 pages, is actually a bit too long for me. I think some of the parts can be omitted as they are not really needed in the novel.

Something I want to comment is the romance between Ellie and Will. I don't really feel the chemistry between them. Sure, they have been partners for many times in the last 500 years, and Will has sworn to protect Ellie with his life, but I just don't feel their immense love for each other.

Angelfire has lots of kick-ass fighting scenes, in which Ellie and Will battle the evil reapers - monsters which consume human's flesh and soul. Ellie and Will, along with fellow angelic reaper Nathaniel, plan to throw the locked-up-in-a-sarcophagus Enshi, or the giver and taker of life, overboard into the depths of the deep blue sea so that Bastian and his thugs cannot get their hands on the ancient evil that is sealed within and trigger the Apocalypse.

Angelfire is action-packed, and I'm sure those who love a butt-kicking heroine would greatly appreciate this novel. The ending, though a little anti-climatic, will leave you in awe with The Preliator. That is, if she is in a movie with cool music playing in the background.

Notable Quotes
:

“I guess it's true that love makes you blind."
"No," my mom said. "It doesn't make you blind. You're very, very aware of everything about the one you truly love, whether you know it from what your eyes tell you or your heart. So no, love doesn't make you blind. It paralyzes you until you can't breathe or run away from it.”
Rating: 3

About The Author
Angelfire (Angelfire, #1)
Courtney Allison Moulton lives in Michigan, where she is a photographer and spends all her free time riding and showing horses. She has always loved reading about ancient mythologies, dead languages, and telling scary, romantic stories. ANGELFIRE is her debut novel. For more information about Courtney, visit her online at www.courtneyallisonmoulton.com.

Our Heroes:
Angelfire (Angelfire,  #1)Angelfire (Angelfire,  #1)

5 creative remarks:

Ashley Delgado said...

I really loved Angelfire! Your review did touch on some good points, though, such as Ellie and Will's love for each other. I'm a fan of their romance, but in retrospect, it didn't build enough to be considered a great romance. I guess that's because they're supposed to have known each other for centuries, so they don't need to build it, but still.

primrose said...

I've wanted Angelfire for the longest time! Oooh and the character art is so beautiful. Might be reading this anyway.

Karen Maldonado said...

In a way, I kind of liked Nathaniel more than Will, overall I enjoyed the book and I am excited for the next one.

Book Filled Blog said...

I loved Angelfire but I didn't love the second one.

"The novel, which spans a thickness of 453 pages, is actually a bit too long for me. I think some of the parts can be omitted as they are not really needed in the novel." - I'm glad someone noticed that too. I found it occurred in both of her books!

Patricia said...

I read this novel last year and certainly agree with many things you've said, though I didn't think that Ellie really was a kick-butt heroine. She was strong in a physical sense, but the rest of her felt sort of lacking to me. I loved the quote you included, though. Hopefully will get to read the sequel. I really want to know what's wrong with her dad.