World After Review

World After by Susan Ee
Narrator: Caitlin Davies
Series: Penryn and the End of Days #2
Published by Feral Dream on November 19th 2013
Length: 9 hours 9 minutes
Genres: Paranormal, Post-Apocalyptic
Format: Audiobook
Goodreads

In this sequel to the bestselling fantasy thriller, Angelfall, the survivors of the angel apocalypse begin to scrape back together what's left of the modern world.

When a group of people capture Penryn's sister Paige, thinking she's a monster, the situation ends in a massacre. Paige disappears. Humans are terrified. Mom is heartbroken.

Penryn drives through the streets of San Francisco looking for Paige. Why are the streets so empty? Where is everybody? Her search leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans where she catches a glimpse of their motivations, and learns the horrifying extent to which the angels are willing to go.

Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them, he can't rejoin the angels, can't take his rightful place as one of their leaders. When faced with recapturing his wings or helping Penryn survive, which will he choose?

 

   Julie’s Review    

I’m really struggling writing this review. I really enjoyed Angelfall, and have been looking forward to reading this book for some time. Ok, so I didn’t have to wait several years like the people who read Angelfall when it first released, so I guess my wait wasn’t that intense. But, the wait still gave me time to raise my expectations and desire for more Raffe. So I guess when I finally did read World After, it fell a bit short of my expectations.

When Penryn recovers from her paralysis, she is in possession of the angel sword. After she convinces everyone that no she wasn’t dead but just paralyzed from the scorpion sting, she realizes she has to keep the sword hidden so no one discovers her… er… affiliation… with an angel. She then goes and jokingly nicknames this sword Pooky Bear, which as it turns out, this archangel sword is not a fan of. However, this sword shows Penryn visions of Raffe and even gives her lessons on how to use it. I’m Not Kidding!! Ok so this was over the top for me, especially because it felt a bit like filler. In fact, this whole book felt like filler. There, I said it. Hate me if you must, since many of the reviews I’ve seen have been gushy, I guess this is an unpopular opinion.  There are also some really interesting developments with just how cruel and messed up these angels are. The experiments they perform on the humans are awful and creepy and really cool. Also, Paige is one creepy little girl. I did enjoy finding out what happened to her while Penryn was looking for her in the last book. But, guess what, Paige goes missing again and Penryn goes looking for her again. Yep, rinse and repeat book 1.

In all this, there is no Raffe. You see, they were separated when Raffe brought what he thought was Penryn’s dead body to her family at the end of book 1. Raffe is still on a mission to get his wings back and Penryn is still on a mission to rescue her sister. It takes about two-thirds or so of the book for Penryn and Raffe to cross paths again, and that was very frustrating to me. But, when they do meet again, sparks do fly. I mean, it is obvious they care about each other, and Raffe’s initial reaction at seeing her again was priceless. But Raffe is too stoic and keeps sticking to the angel rules, even though the angels have basically screwed him over. I love their banter and his protectiveness, but come on Raffe just stop lying to yourself and tell Penryn how you feel. Gah! I don’t know if this is meant to be a trilogy now or if there are still plans to make 5 books as I originally saw somewhere, but if they don’t end up together soon I might be done with this whole thing.

This is the closest Raffe comes telling Penryn how he feels (while talking about the sword):

“She wasn’t made to be alone.”
“I guess none of us are.”
Our eyes meet and an electric tingle runs through me.
“She missed you,” I say in a whisper.
“Did she?” His voice is a soft caress. His gaze into my eyes is so intense that I swear he sees straight into my soul.
“Yes.” Warmth flushes my cheeks. I… “She thought about you all the time.”
The candlelight flickers a soft glow along his jawline, along his lips. “I hated losing her.” His voice is a low growl. “I hadn’t realized just how attached I’d gotten.” He reaches and moves a strand of wet hair out of my face. “How dangerously addictive she could be.”

Here are some examples of their fun banter:

“It’s about time you showed some sense. You should be afraid.”
“I’m shivering because I’m freezing.”
“You’re cute when you’re afraid”
I give him a dirty look. “Yeah, you’re cute when you’re afraid too.”
“You mean I’m devastatingly handsome when I’m not afraid. Because you’ve never seen me afraid”

 

“I’m revoking your warrior status,” he says as he watches Clara and her family.
“I had warrior status?”
“For about thirty seconds.”
“What heinous crime did I commit to lose my exalted status?”
“A true warrior would have retrieved her sword first before doing personal business.”
“I’m all about personal business. Every battle I have is personal.”
“Hmm. Good answer. Maybe you’ll eventually regain your status.”
“I won’t hold my breath.”

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