Review: Anglefire

Angelfire
by Courtney Allison Moulton
Published Feb. 2011 by HarperCollins

(Thanks to Megs for letting me borrow this one!)

Goodreads Summary:

This debut, the first novel in a trilogy, is achingly romantic, terrifying, and filled with blistering action.

When seventeen-year-old Ellie starts seeing reapers - monstrous creatures who devour humans and send their souls to Hell - she finds herself on the front lines of a supernatural war between archangels and the Fallen and faced with the possible destruction of her soul.

A mysterious boy named Will reveals she is the reincarnation of an ancient warrior, the only one capable of wielding swords of angelfire to fight the reapers, and he is an immortal sworn to protect her in battle. Now that Ellie's powers have been awakened, a powerful reaper called Bastian has come forward to challenge her. He has employed a fierce assassin to eliminate her - an assassin who has already killed her once.

While balancing her dwindling social life and reaper-hunting duties, she and Will discover Bastian is searching for a dormant creature believed to be a true soul reaper. Bastian plans to use this weapon to ignite the End of Days and to destroy Ellie's soul, ending her rebirth cycle forever. Now, she must face an army of Bastian's most frightening reapers, prevent the soul reaper from consuming her soul, and uncover the secrets of her past lives - including truths that may be too frightening to remember.


My Thoughts: 
Moulton's debut novel is an example of why I continue to pick up YA literature again and again. A mixture of fantastic mythology, unexpected twists and one seriously hot boy=one perfect story.


By the second chapter of Angelfire I knew I was going to love Moulton's characters. Ellie's relationships with her best friend Kate made me laugh and reminded me of my own best friend. And once Will, Ellie's protector, entered the picture I was sold. Aside from his good looks, Will's chemistry with Ellie was well-written. They play off one another nicely and help balance each other's personalities out. 


The mythology in the story was wonderful. I'm new to angel books (Unearthly and The Mortal Instruments are the only angel books I've read) but I love the hierarchy and history behind Elli and Will's lives. There is a twist at the end that made me do a reread and still was left wondering, What just happened?!?!


There is romance and paranormal aspects of this novel, but it might appeal to contemporary genre lovers as well. Ellie works hard staying grounded and showing Will how her life really is. Yes, she's fighting monsters and is centuries old, but she's also always up for a movie night with Kate and hitting the parties with her friends.


I loved this book and I can't wait to read the second book Wings of the Wicked, due out sometime 2012.