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Thursday, February 2, 2012

Review ~ Angelfire (Angelfire, #1) by Courtney Allison Moulton

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. ~From GoodReads


Hmmm...I'm not quite sure where to start with this review. That can't be reassuring, right? I went into Angelfire with what I felt were reasonable hopes. I had heard it was an amazing book, but I hear that (and say that) about books every single day. So, I don't think I had unrealistic expectations. To be perfectly honest, I was...disappointed. Initially, I thought the story would be fun. And occasionally, it was. But mostly I was left thinking "Are you freaking kidding me?" Here's why.

At four hundred fifty pages, Angelfire is a fairly long book. To my surprise, though, I was flying through it, even if it wasn't snagging my attention. Then I realized, I was actually skimming a good bit. The writing felt a bit choppy, and lacked a sense of depth or emotion. Sure, I knew Ellie was frightened or angry, but only because the sentence told me she was. I tend to prefer a flowing, melodic style of writing, one that will sweep me away and capture my attention. That could be just be my preference and I'm being nit-picky. In regards to the dialogue, however, I do not think is just me. Some of the exchanges between Ellie and her friends made me cringe. I'm sure I said stupid crap all the time as a teen, I still do, but this just felt awkward.

Ellie was a fairly likable protagonist. She was a little snarky and sarcastic without being over the top. But, really, what was with all the name dropping? BMWs, Jimmy Choo, her best friend eyeing something at Valentino; I guess that's in there to remind you that Ellie is a normal girl who likes to shop. Maybe I have some deep seeded resentment, because all it did was make me roll my eyes. If you're going to write a realistic character, maybe shop at The Gap or even J. Crew (fancy, in my opinion!).

As for the secondary characters, what can I say? I don't think any of them served much of a purpose other than Will, who I did like. He was apparently hot, because Ellie said so, and very kind. He has a special connection to Ellie, one that he values immensely. Will is intense, and quiet and is probably the only character who didn't annoy me at some point. Maybe that's because he has a Westley (from The Princess Bride) vibe, even replying "As you wish" to many of Ellie's requests.

Now on to the rest of the characters. Ellie's parents. Her mom, who was an extremely kind and understanding character, has no backbone. She loves her husband, a huge jerk, so much that she willing puts up with the verbal and emotional abuse he dishes to Ellie and her. I had a hard time holding any respect for her because of that. Her dad is a ginormous jackwad. A mean, mean man who shows no emotion, other than disdain, towards Ellie. BUT, I suspect there is something up with daddy, because Ellie repeatedly states that he is nothing like the father she once knew. Oh, and Will tells her that he (meaning dad) smells like blood. I get it. Daddy has something big brewing. Something that will most likely be revealed in book two. But just come on and tell me so I can stop hating her mom for putting up with him.

Landon and Kate, Ellie's oldest friends, did nothing for me. Kate was funny sometimes, but sort of skanky, too. Landon wants to be with Ellie. But she doesn't reciprocate the feeling, so he possibly moves on with Kate. That whole little subplot almost felt like a filler or an afterthought, and fell flat.

And lastly, the bad guys. I didn't find them scary in the slightest. The were laughable, almost cartoonish. The lines they aimed at Ellie were just comical and accompanied by lots of drooling.
 "We meet again, Preliator!" and "And now you are mine."
Not exactly terrifying.

The ending of Angelfire reveals exactly what Ellie is. I don't want to spoil it for those who haven't read Angelfire, so my hands are tied as to exactly why I didn't like it. I will give credit to the author, I didn't see it coming. But I also didn't buy it. I just didn't get it at all.

Having said all of that, I didn't outright hate Angelfire. I just feel that it could have been so much better. I am going to read book two Wings of the Wicked in a few days. I plan on going into it with as open of a mind as I can. But I certainly hope it's an improvement on Angelfire.


Favorite Quote:

"For the longest two seconds of my life I couldn't breathe or move. My back hurt like hell, and I groaned painfully as I picked myself up, brushing the glass off me. My gashes healed almost instantly and left a few bloody streaks behind on my face and arms.

And my party dress was ruined. I was so pissed."

For an alternate point of view, here is a very positive review I found on GoodReads.




Hardcover, 453 pages
Published February 15th 2011 by HarperCollins / Katherine Tegen Books
You can purchase Angelfire at:

25 comments:

  1. I know it is super disappointing when people love a book and then you just don't dig it but it happens. I have certain things that bug me or make me roll my eyes so if the book includes those I just don't end up liking it much. I have heard this is an amazing angel book but haven't felt like fitting it into my over packed reading schedule. I kind of just want to know what Ellie is now that you mentioned it was a surprise.

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    1. The surprise? It was a doozie. And not even a good surprise. I just don't understand...

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  2. Great review Andrea :) ! I totally see what you mean with the writing and the ending !! The ending and the revelation of what Ellie is was part of why I didn't love this book!! I liked it though mainly because of Will and the fighting scenes :) !!
    I'll read book 2, will you ?
    thanks for the honest review :)!

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    1. As you can see, I had a lot of issues w/Angelfire. The revelation of what Ellie is was the biggest problem, for me. Will was great, though. I have an ARC of Wings of the Wicked, so I'm going to read it this weekend. I have my fingers crossed.

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  3. I was pretty mixed and mostly "meh" on this one, too. It had some nice moments, but overall the story and characters just didn't really grab me. Nicely reviewed!

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    1. Thanks, Wendy! I was really nervous about this review. I'm always afraid of sounding like a cranky shrew.

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    2. Andrea the shrew... has a nice ring to it. lol

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  4. I am so glad that I read your review. I have been hearing so much about Wings of the Wicked and Angelfire lately that I felt maybe I needed to read it. I think since I have so many other books that I am really looking forward to, I will skip this one for now. I love your honesty, and your review was very helpful in deciding whether to work this in or not.

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    1. This series has been seriously hyped since Wings of the Wicked came out in ARC form. You may like it. I glad my review could help.

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  5. It is always disappointing when you go to read a book that sounds really good, and it is not what you hope for. I hope that Wings of the Wicked is a better read for you! Great Honest Review, and I like how you added a link to a positive review for contrast!

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    1. Despite everything, I am hoping Wings of the Wicked is great. I never like to dislike a book. I'm really glad that I posted the positive review link. Makes me seem like less of a shrew maybe. :-)

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  6. Angels are in right now, apparently! I am also reading a book right now called Angel Fire, but it's by L.A. Weatherly. (It's awesome so far, BTW!)

    I think it's nice that you posted a positive Goodreads review of this book. I may check this book out anyway, or at least download a sample, since I'm on the angel bandwagon right now. Thanks for posting the review!

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    1. That is so funny that you mentioned Angel Fire by LA Weatherly. I am going to her signing in two weeks! I'm really excited to read that series. Please let me know what you think of it.
      Definitely try Angelfire out, or at least the sample. You may love it.
      Thanks for stopping by!

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    2. Eeek, I am so jealous that you get to go to a L.A. Weatherly signing! Have fun! Angel Burn is the first book in the series, so be sure to read that one first. The main character is a hippie chick who fixes cars as a hobby. What's not to love?

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  7. It's always tough when you find a book that was highly recommended and you don't feel it. It happens to all of us. It's one of the worst parts about being a book blogger to write a review that wasn't all glitter and happy thoughts. But you have to be honest and that is what makes you a better blogger. Nobody wants someone who sugar coats everything. There are many ways to be honest and I think you did an awesome job. Good blogger etiquette is to be honest but not brutally so. Nobody wants a mean blogger either. You did an awesome review. You're such a good reviewer!!
    Love ya chica!

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    1. Thanks, Jess! It is hard to toe the line between honest and just plain mean. This was hard to write, so your compliment means a lot.
      Love you too, doll!

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  8. I had similar feelings reading this book. It seemed like she was more concerned with her car and her fancy clothes a lot of the time and I skimmed a lot. You'll have to tell me what you think about the second. I have so many other books on my list, I'm not sure I'll get to it.

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    1. I'm so glad to know I'm not alone in my thoughts. I will let you know what I think of WotW.
      Thanks for stopping by!

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  9. This is a GREAT review, Andrea! I actually quit reading at 50 pages in and thought I was the only one in the WORLD who didn't love it. I'll be looking to back to see how you liked #2.

    Jen

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    1. You are SO not alone, Jen. If I didn't have an ARC of Wings of the Wicked, I don't know if I would have finished.
      Thanks for stopping by!

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  10. One of my friends told me that she couldn't stand to read this book because of all the reasons you listed. Her biggest pet peeve was she hated to be told how to feel for a character in a specific moment rather than actually be able to feel the emotion through the writing.

    Great review. I think i'm going to skip this book after reading your review. We pretty much have the same opinions and taste in books.

    Thanks!

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  11. I'd only seen positive reviews for this book, so I figured you'd like it, but, hey, you, like me, don't always like what everyone else does--so yay! I haven't read this one, but I'm a little leery of doing so now, since I get annoyed by all the same things you said annoyed you about this book. I'll still give it a try someday, though.

    The author did commission some beautiful artwork of her characters by one of my favorite artists, so that's at least something good!

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  12. I just want to quote what made me LOL in this review....

    "We meet again, Preliator!" and "And now you are mine."

    I have exactly 55 episodes of Sponge bob Square pants saved in my DVR. In that bunch, are a few that have Baracle Boy and Mermaid Man. Ahhh, the super heros of bikini bottom. This is so something they would say.. and have said. lol..

    The dad sounds just like my dad, except mine smells like B/O, not blood. For realz.. I know that's mean, but true. He doesn't believe in deodorant. My parents came to visit 2 weeks after Aubrey was born. It was July so he was wearing wife beaters. he would sit on my couch and the armpit juice would just drip onto the end of it.. The morning they left, I made Brian shampoo the couch.. It's that bad.. but yeah, my mom cant wipe her ass without my dads permission.. she's completely dependant on him.. he told my brother and I one night that her box smells.. yup.. he says this stuff to people, degrades her and she just sits back and giggles. I have not much respect for either of them.

    whew, got deep there. lmao. So glad they live in GA, far from me.

    Great honest review though.. :) I will probably never read this, b/c I'm so over angels, so feel free to fully vent via email or DM. lol. <3

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