Book Traveling Thursdays: An Amazing Gift!

Hello, welcome back to another Book Traveling Thursdays, which a weekly meme created by Cátia @The Girl Who Read Too Much and Danielle @Danielle’s Book Blog. The goal is to share the covers of a book related to that week’s theme, which you can see at the Goodreads group, indicating the original cover, the one of your country, your favorite and least favorite.

This week’s theme is “December is the month of giving. Choose a book in which a character gives an amazing gift to a loved one!!“. This is a hard one! I was in between several books, but those that had physical gifts, didn’t have enough covers, so I settled for an emotional one. I almost didn’t use this one, because it doesn’t have that many covers, but ultimately, what Raffe gives for Penryn in End of Days (Susan Ee) is so much more than any other one I could mention… if you’ve read the book, you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!

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Original COver:

This is the original one, is pretty cool, following the theme of the first couple of ones. While in book 1 we had perfect angel wings, and in book 2 we had the demon wings, here we have not so perfect angel ones… wonder what that means…

COVER FROM MY COUNTRY (PORTUGAL) & COVER FROM THE COUNTRY I LIVE IN (SPAIN):

No cover for Portugal of course, but the Spanish one is very similar to the original one but a little bit darker and less sparkly.

Favorite COVER(s):

Like I said a few weeks ago about Angelfall, this version, with this lettering, is my favorite.

LEAST FAVORITE COVER(s):

                                            

There aren’t that many diverse covers for this book, still, I don’t really like the Polish and Dutch covers.

End of Days (Penryn & the End of Days #3) (Susan Ee)

End of Days is the explosive conclusion to Susan Ee’s bestselling Penryn & the End of Days trilogy. 

After a daring escape from the angels, Penryn and Raffe are on the run. They’re both desperate to find a doctor who can reverse the twisted changes inflicted by the angels on Raffe and Penryn’s sister. As they set off in search of answers, a startling revelation about Raffe’s past unleashes dark forces that threaten them all. 

When the angels release an apocalyptic nightmare onto humans, both sides are set on a path toward war. As unlikely alliances form and strategies shift, who will emerge victorious? Forced to pick sides in the fight for control of the earthly realm, Raffe and Penryn must choose: Their own kind, or each other?

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I can’t believe that this trilogy has ended… why oh why?! I needed at least 3 more books… heck, right now, I would be super happy if we could get a short novella about Penryn and Raffe and how they’re adjusting to everything. And maybe another novella about his Watchers… maybe even a novella per Watcher, huh? Wouldn’t that be something?

Do you guys have any idea what I’m talking about here? If no, it’s probably because you haven’t read this trilogy, and maybe you should leave, because I will probably throw in some SPOILERS about the first two books, and one or two about this one.

All things considering I loved this book, the plot was great and the action was out of this world. Penryn keeps on getting more and more badass, becoming truly Raffe’s equal in this book. Raffe finally opens up a bit, and the appearance of his Watchers sheds some lights into what he has endured during his time on Earth. They also help him see some things more clearly.

The romance was freaking amazing!!! While in book 1 there was all about denial and book 2 was mostly about distance, this one is about them admitting their feelings, even though Raffe thinks he won’t ever act on them. Penryn becomes bolder, and teases him relentlessly, and Raffe ends up giving in quite a few times… OMFG, I had to read chapter 5 a few times before it totally sunk in. And God, Raffe says the most romantic things, I was there swooning for the guy the whole time.

*swoon* YES, he truly went there and told her she should find a pig farmer… oh Raffe…

And then… oh yeah, he would be the best freaking pig farmer EVER, for her!

The only part of the book that felt a bit slower was when the humans were organizing to fight the Angels, maybe because I didn’t like that Penryn was doubting Raffe so much, although I totally understood why she did, but this guy had refused to kill humans before… I don’t know, it made my heart hurt that she was doubting him. And then, when the Angels get to the battle and the Humans win, I would have liked to see more detailed what happened next… the last chapters were a bit rushed, and I wish we had not only more details, but also more closure. But OMG, that battle was epic! And the sacrifice?! OMG!!! I couldn’t believe it, after 3 books trying to be whole, he did what he did… oh my…

I have a few unanswered questions, and I can’t believe this was the last book! I mean, how the hell did Penryn’s mom knew about the rotten eggs? What happened to all the locusts? Will Paige command them all? What about the Watchers? How are they settling in? Are they staying with Raffe? Is Raffe living with Penryn? See?! I need one more book!!!!

 I already miss this series so much!!!

The Ben ‘n’ Jerry’s Book Tag

Hello guys! Today I bring you a new book tag, the Ben ‘n’ Jerry’s Book Tag, created by Aimal @Bookshelves & Paperbacks, and she was kind enough to nominate me to do this – thank you so much Aimal. So, here we go…

1. Vanilla Caramel Fudge: pick a light, fluffy contemporary 

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han is the definition of light, fluffy contemporary. And it’s so good!!!

2. Mint Chocolate Cookie: a new release that you wish everybody would read

I feel like I’ve been saying this a lot lately, but the answer has to be The One Thing (Marci Lyn Curtis). If you haven’t read this book, I ask you: what the hell are you waiting for?

3. Karamel Sutra Core: a last book in a series that you were completely satisfied with

I was super satisfied with the ending of The Infernal Devices. Clockwork Princess was an amazing book, and even though I wouldn’t have minded to have another 10 books about Jem, Tessa and Will, I was happy with the resolution and about knowing that it wasn’t the last time I would be reading about any of them.

4. Cherry Garcia: an ending that was bittersweet

So many books have bittersweet endings… but today, I’ll go with Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. I loved the ending, but I’ll admit that I would like to know if they ever find their way to one another again.

5. Strawberry Shortcake: a book containing your OTP of OTPs

I have too many OTPs to count (actually, I’m thinking about making a list of them, what do you guys think?). Either way, like I was saying, too many to count, but I’ll drop my most recent favorite obsession, and that is Penryn and Raffe from the Penryn & the End of Days trilogy. Guys, the last book is killing me!!!

6. Milk and Cookies: two authors that if they collaborated, they would go perfectly together

I’ll redirect you to a recent Top Ten Tuesday post, because I think that any pairing I put in there would be pretty perfect! – Go HERE!!!

7. Boston Cream Pie: a book that had you turning your pages late into the night

Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi. I went to sleep when the sun was coming up, it was a wild ride and totally worth it, because this book… wow… wow!!!! Not only did it keep me up all night, it also gave me the biggest book hangover I ever had! It was days before I could stop myself going through its pages re-reading certain chapters… To be honest, it only stopped because the book went to Portugal.

8. Chocolate Therapy: a book that makes you feel better after a long day of life

I’ll go with You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost), Felicia Day’s memoir, because this book made me laugh and smile and cry, but it also made me feel less alone. She’s brilliant and I highly recommend this book.

9. Coffee, Coffee, Buzzbuzzbuzz!: a book not yet released that you can’t wait to get your hands on

There are MANY books coming out that I need right now, but most of all I need The Rose and the Dagger the sequel to The Wrath and the Dawn, by Renee Ahdieh, because of that ending. That ending tore me apart!!! I need to know that Khalid is Ok, that Shazi is OK, that Shazi is going back, what she’ll do with her magic, how they’re going to break the curse, …, and I need to see Despina and Jalal actually talking. So yeah… I need it!

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I Tag:

• Kat @My Life and Other Disasters
• Cátia @The Girl Who Read Too Much
• Becca @Shih Tzu Book Reviews
• Anette @Anette Reads  
• Ariana @THE QUIRKY BOOK NERD

World After (Penryn & the End of Days #2) (Susan Ee)

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?

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How do I even begin to talk about this book? I don’t want to spoil anything for you guys, but by now, after what I said about Angelfall, you should have read it!

So, this book starts right where the first one left of, it’s super fast paced and Penryn becomes even more badass than she already was. Not only do her fighting skills kick in, but she learns sword-fight, and get this: it’s the sword itself that teaches her how to fight. Yeah, Pooky Bear is awesome! And Penryn is awesome! She fights ANGELS!!! She kicks Angels in the face and makes them lose important parts of themselves… PENRYN IS FREAKING AMAZING!

Paige… I don’t even know where to begin with Paige. She creeps the hell out of me, but not as much as their mom, oh no, she takes the prize on that one. But hey, she gets some kind of award, because in her mind Penryn and Raffe are engaged, even if she thinks that he’s the Devil.

My only complaint about this book is that it took 72% of the book for Raffe to even learn that Penryn was alive, and for them to finally kick some ass together. Luckily they are never again apart after that, and she spend a great deal of time flying in his arms. And she saves his freaking live – POINT TO PENRYN! After he saved hers…

And then the banter is back, with a lot more meaning behind the words and I was swooning the whole time and kind of wishing that he HAD made her laugh before she ripped her dress… you know what I mean, right? Also, the PEANUT BUTTER SCENE!!! OMG! I wished this was a movie, because I want that scene to play before my eyes.

Also, Uriel is a freaking son of a b***h, right? he’s so freaking manipulative, and just wanted to slap all those Angels for them to see what was right in front of them… Judgment day… =/ And, I did not see that scene between Paige and Beliel coming, I thought for sure it would go another way entirely, but I was super glad about how it turned out.

So, to sum it up, I loved this one as much as Angelfall, the only thing I missed throughout this novel was Raffe and his banter with Penryn, but I think she was able to shine that much more without him having her back. We also got a look at Raffe’s past (have I said how amazing his sword is?!) and of his feelings towards Penryn and his fellow Angels. I can’t wait to start on book 3, End of Days, it will possible be today 😀 .

This was my comments during the reading progress, in case you had any doubts about how much I missed Raffe on this book. I do hope they don’t spend that much time apart in book 3.

Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days #1) (Susan Ee)

It’s been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back. 

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel. 

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl. 

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels’ stronghold in San Francisco where she’ll risk everything to rescue her sister and he’ll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

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Why oh why didn’t I read this before? I have no idea! I can only thank Josie for basically shoving the book in my face and ordering me to read it – I will never doubt you again Josie.

I knew nothing about this book… I had seen the cover and I had added it to my TBR without a second thought, because let’s face it, that cover is just gorgeous. But then the book receded to the back of my mind, until Josie mentioned how much she had loved it, at that time, kindle had a huge amazing deal and the book cost something like 1.99$, so I bought it. Added it to my month’s TBR and again, it went to the back of my mind. But then I confessed this to Josie and she (once again) “forced” me to read it… 😀 😀 😀 (have I thanked you yet?).

So, by now you’ve figured that I loved this book, right? I loved it a lot! The writing was fantastic, it was an easy read without being a simplistic writing style… the perfect combo.

I loved the World Building, it gave us enough details while at the same time not giving us enough information, leaving us as clueless as every character in this book. I’ve been to San Francisco, and I went through the highway that connects Silicon Valley to the city, and I could picture everything that Susan Ee was describing perfectly in my mind, and it broke my heart. Yes, I love San Francisco, it’s my 4th city to live in.

Now the characters. I love Penryn, she was a breath of fresh air. In a way she might feel just like a lot of other heroines, but not really… she kicks ass! She knows how to fight, she has her priorities in order, she’s not afraid to get physical, she’s sassy – and don’t even get me started to where her thoughts wander when she’s not very aware.

Now Raffe… wow… Raffe… I liked Raffe from the moment he was almost dying but still had enough in him to make fun of Penryn. That was it! Raffe was great from that moment on, and the banter that he and Penryn have going on is one of the best I’ve ever read.

I don’t really know what to think about Penryn’s family. Her mom is a complete mystery to me, and I think there’re a lot more to her than meets the eye. I really like the inclusion of mental illness and physical disabilities in this book, it’s not something you usually associate with a post-apocalyptic scenario, so I was all the more amazed by it. Paige… well… Paige… I can’t really say anything about her, you have to read it, but I’ll say that I’m super curious to see how this will turn out in the sequel.

This book is super fast paced, full of action sequences and not a dull moment. The plot is pretty straight forward from one point on: Penryn and Raffe team up to find her sister and to get him help, but the way they get there and what they have to get through to get those things was incredible and slightly unpredictable. I have to admit that those final chapters kind of broke my heart… poor Raffe (that’s all I’m going to say!).

So, to sum it up, this was a fantastic read. I want more. It made me pull out my amazon account and spend a lot more than I think I should on kindle books for the sequels. And I want these babies in my hands soon, because I’ll need the physical copies too.

Have you read Angelfall? If not, what are you waiting for?

Rating: 4.6 Stars