4.5
❤️it. Yep

Sigh.. so disappointed. At first, I was like "YEAH, you go Susan! Finish things off with a bang!" and she tried, she really tried. Too hard. The end was such a smorgasmess. It was a mess. So much going on, nothing made sense, and I just. :(
I tried too.

Spoiler

CAN WE JUST HAVE A REALISTIC RELATIONSHIP BC HE IS IMMORTAL AND YOU WILL DIE PENRYN

can we please talk about the portals???? and paige?????? AND THAT BEDROOM SCENE YOU KNWO WHAT IM TALIJG ABOUT *NEEDS TO BE CLEANSED*

Meh. It got silly fast, which... well. Cue Michael Bluth I don't know what I expected reference.

I mean, the trilogy is everything it says on the tin. An angelic apocalypse story that does not, at any point, not even in a remote and forgotten subtextual corner, try to do anything more than keep the plot moving. And the plotting—from a technical standpoint—is aces. Everything else... refer to Michael Bluth, above.

Arguably Penryn herself shouldn't fall into the meh pile, but all that aggressive plotting stunted any layers she might have had.

I AM LIVID.
I started this book almost two weeks ago but then, I just put it on hold to read not one, but two other books... Was this divine intervention warning me to just drop End of Days altogether ? I do think so.
About ten hours ago I decided to just rip the bandage, not sleep and just get it over with. Now all I can think about is the more satisfying things I could have been doing instead of reading End of days :
- SLEEPING
- Binge watch OITNB/Outlander/Empire
- Pet my cats
- Do my nails
- Come up with a plan to eliminate hunger
...
But no.

I need to start by saying that Angelfall was truly amazing. Penryn was everything I wanted a character to be in a post-apocalyptic book. World After was... okay, I guess, nowhere near as good as the first book. But still fine. But End of Days is just a mess.
I can say without a doubt that I hated it.

Here's a list of things that made no sense, pissed me off, or are left painfully unresolved :

- The Penryn-makes-Raffe-caress-her-breast-while-he-is-asleep.
JUST NO. Can we take a moment to acknowledge the creepiness of that scene? Just... close your eyes and picture Raffe doing it to Penryn. Does this seem right? I did not think so either.

- The traveling back in time through Beliel's body.
(Need I say more?)

- Penryn quietly watching her little sister starve to death.
Wtf.

- Paige being the Chosen Queen of the locusts.
How? Why? Please explain.

- Penryn being a whiny teenager out of nowhere.
I firmly believe that Angelfall-Penryn would just slap some sense into End of Days-Penryn.

- Penryn's life decisions as a whole in this book.

- Why did the Angels come to earth in the first place?
How? Why? Please explain.

- Why are there no Son of Men mentioned ever?
We've established that there are female Angels so what's up with that? Don't they deserve love too?

- Why do they all act like NO ONE IS IN CHARGE ANYMORE?
In the first two books the notion of God was uncertain, yes, but in the last book it's straight up like the Angels can just roam the earth and do whatever the fuck they want because hey it's the false apocalypse so who cares?

- The contest/talent show bullshit.
.... I don't even know what to say.

AND THE CHERRY ON TOP OF THE CAKE
- Raffe choosing Penryn at the end.
I'm sorry but no.
For three damn books Raffe is pretty clear about the fact that in no way he can go against everything he has believed in for millennia. But then he's just like "sure I'll just get my wings cut off for the hundredth time and basically become a really hot human and stay on earth for you Penryn. Sure. I'll just stay here where everyone hates me and where I have no one but you, dear. That seems like a valid life-choice."

If I could go back in time (through Beliel's body) I would just beg myself to just stop after Angelfall and just make up a more coherent ending (aka not this).

I concede defeat, and i am annoyed at myself for it. I loved the first two books in this series and the first half of this book, but then i hit a reading slump hard. After a month of not wanting to finish this book i give up not because it wasn't good but because i have lost interest and don't remember where i was. I am sure i would have enjoyed this at a different point in time.

4.5 Stars

Even though its taken me forever to finish this series,I thoroughly enjoyed it. This book picked up right where the last one left off and was thrilling right until the very end!

Probably another RTC

3.5 stars

A couple of years ago, Angelfall by Susan Ee, an indie-published, unknown book took the reading world by storm. And now, we're finally there: the end. End of Days was, for me, a very highly anticipated 2015 release and one I greatly enjoyed.

I should say up front that I reread Angelfall and World After before diving into End of Days. And I feel like that helped me so much. I was once again fully on board my ship, I remembered all the creepy creatures and horrific scenes, and I was cheering for Penryn and Raffe all the way. Had I not done this, End of Days could have easily felt clunky or anti-climactic. But I didn't experience it as such.

End of Days picks up right where World After left off. And I mean the next SECOND. No time is wasted - but I didn't mind, because Penryn and Raffe were together again. I don't want to make it sound like this series is all about the romance - because it absolutely is not. The freaking world is coming to an end, okay? And Penryn's not the type to whine and moan about a boy while it's all going to shit. BUT. Oh boy did I swoon for this book. The chemistry between these two characters is undeniable, and there were some scenes that just made me into a total flaily fangirl.

And I actually loved these scenes even though for those readers really expecting end of the world shenanigans it might have felt too dominant. It actually made me like Penryn more, because even in dire circumstances, she acknowledges the fact that she has urges - and, well, it's been a long ass time since a guy's been close enough to touch her (or that she let them close enough to touch her). I like it when my female MCs get a little horny, soooo, yeah. That happened. And it made me happy. As far as romance goes, this book was pretty ace. I was very much pleased with it - even though it sometimes approached the line of too much sap. (A bit too much "this romance is forbidden" drama for me.) But this is one of my favorite YA ships, make no mistake, for the simple fact that the banter never ends. AND THOSE KISSES WERE SO SEXY.

Following World After's dramatic conclusion, the war between the angels and the humans is definitely heating up. I loved getting to see the political scheming on the side of the angels - the entire lot of them are so excellently manipulated by Uriel that it's fascinating to dissect for the realism and plausibility. It's just so smart! And in this book, we finally get some more background about the Fallen, the horrifying torture of the pits, and Beliel even kind of manages to redeem himself. Seriously, that story arc did pack a punch of complicated feels.

But I was talking about the war. Yeah. There is actually a major action-packed battle, in which once again Penryn manages to impress us all with her strength and fighting techniques and one final terrifying creature is revealed: a sixer - a seven headed beast with 666 stamped on its forehead. Anyway, it's a last stand for humanity against the angels, who fervently belief that by killing all the humans, they will reach Judgment Day. How does that pan out? Well, obviously, you'll have to read it.

You'll notice, however, that I didn't give this book the highest rating ever. At the end of the day, I'm a bit let down by it. I think it's mostly because the last half of the book felt super duper rushed. (Probably because this was originally meant to be a 5-book series.) Whereas the previous books in the series really took the time to create a haunting atmosphere, creepy bad guys, and oodles of suspicion, I feel like End of Days had less depth and just focused on action. And maybe Penryn's romantic musings about Raffe came once too often, making her voice a little less fierce. I also felt like the very end was shoddily tied up, leaving more than one gaping plot hole.

Spoiler

The angel plague? That just... disappeared? Really?

Kind of a Deus Ex Machina ending, and I don't like it.

But overall, I definitely enjoyed this book, and this series remains one of my favorites. It's scary, it's thrilling, the main character is fierce, and the ship is ace. Susan Ee has created a fascinating mythology around the angels, one that really made me think - and I loved how she dissected human behavior in general. So though that very end maybe could have been better, I would not hesitate to highly recommend this series.

Summing Up:

Though the very end was (to me) a bit rushed and plot-holey, the Penryn & the End of Days series sure took me for a wild ride. End of Days finally and excellently brought the swoon factor, and the ship alone will keep me praising and promoting this series for years. But I also just love Ee's take on an apocalyptic world, where the angels are not as graceful and good as you might thing. She dives excellently into the psyche of both humans and angels, and creates a wholly unique and plenty creepy story that will give you chills. Not the absolute best ending, but that's neither here nor there. I enjoyed it all the same.

GIF it to me straight!



Recommended To:

Fans of darker fantasy and/or forbidden romance.