Review Detail

I was really excited to read ANGELFIRE. I must admit some bias toward liking this: not only is this book with my imprint, but we share an editor, so I was eager to see what drew her toward this story.

Here are my theories:

1. Worldbuilding. Ellie's world is dark and dangerous. While it's set on Earth as we know it, there's another layer -- the Grim -- and that's where Ellie finds unimaginably horrible monsters called Reapers, which maul people to death, then drag their souls to hell. It's scary and never safe.

2. Angels. This book has angels in it. (If you couldn't tell from the title.) One of the thing that always gets me about angel books...their angels are fluffy. In the Bible, though, angels introduce themselves by saying, "Fear not!" They have swords. They are sent to destroy cities. They are freaking scary and people fell over in the street when they appeared.

ANGELFIRE is cool with scary angels.

3. Ellie. There were a lot of reasons to like Ellie, but what really worked for me was her unwavering loyalty for her friends, and her fierce instinct to protect them. Ellie is someone I want on my side. I also really, really appreciated that she has to take the time to train, in spite of her natural gifts. And Ellie's friendships remain constant, in spite of a hot supernatural romance budding...

4. Romance. To me, this wasn't a book that focused on the romance, but there certainly is one. I really like how Courtney didn't go easy on the characters, the complications of a romance, and the choices they must make to do what's right.

5. ANGELFIRE is a book with a lot of action, awesome curvy and flaming swords, and things you probably wouldn't expect in a book that features a girl who calls her car "Marshmallow."

Oh yes, this is an exciting book.

I'd suggest this book to fans of YA urban fantasy and paranormal romance, who're looking for something solid and mature.