World After

World After is the sequel to Angelfall by Susan Ee and the second book in the Penryn & the End of Days trilogy. The first book was a breath of fresh air and I really loved how dark it was for a book about angels. The first book leaves off with Penryn being stung by a scorpion hybrid - everybody thought she was dead but her body was just temporarily paralyzed and she was still completely alert. Raffe gave Penryn's supposedly dead body back to her family and left.

One of the best parts about this book was how strong and independent Penryn was becoming. I mean, she was before but this was just a whole other ballgame. Her mom is still crazy, she is in turmoil over if her sister really is a monster or not, and she lost the only person she trusted even a little bit.  

"Did I think for a second that I could have my own agenda among them? That I could beat any of them? I'm a little nobody, a nothing. By all the laws of nature, I should be crawling under the table and crying for mommy. Only, relying on mommy is what other people do."

There were a lot more emotional scenes in this book, and they were really beautifully written. I like the fact that Susan can go from writing these disturbing scenes about the apocalypse to these extremely moving scenes that you just would never see coming. My favorite chapter was chapter 16, where Penryn sees her and Raffe's first encounter through his perspective.

"Rules. Custom. Danger. It's dangerous to be with me. 

It's dangerous to be without you." 

One of the things I disliked most about the book was how little Raffe was in the book. I don't need romance or anything in a book to keep me interested, but he was probably my favorite character in the first book besides Penryn. He was introduced in a major way in the first book, I think he was probably the second main character. I don't think he was forgotten about in the second book - because he certainly wasn't. I just think he should have been in there more, especially since the description of the book says: "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?" With this being part of the description, I assumed it would be a big part of the book, not just the last 30%. 

"You're the devil's bride and these are his creatures. He carried you out of the fire and is letting you visit us from the dead." 

Overall, I think this book was pretty good but not as good as the first one. I really missed Raffe and his sarcastic attitude, him and Penryn just make a better story together - even if they aren't dating. The emotional flashbacks in the book made up a little bit for Raffe's absence, but not enough. World After definitely answered a lot of questions that Angelfall left open, so I think that was great. I am really interested in how this series will pan out especially since Raffe is immortal and Penryn is mortal. Also, the description for the third book looks amazing. End of Days comes out on May 12th.