My TBR List Review *March* ~ End of Days ~ Susan Ee #MyTBRL #TakeControl #TravelingtotheTerminus

My To-Be Read List is a meme hosted by Michelle @Because Reading. 

Gah! I'm late posting my review. I'm so sorry! I didn't start reading earlier enough and I was traveling this past week with my two younger kids doing college tours...which meant I was exhausted by the time we made it to our hotel every night so I never got much more than a paragraph read. *sigh* Anyway, here is my review served up with my apologies for my tardiness. :)


End of Days by Susan Ee
Penryn and the End of Days #3
Release Date: March 12, 2015
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Dystopia
Source: Purchased Paperback
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Challenges: #MyTBRL, #ShelfLove, #TakeControl, #TravelingtotheTerminus
Goodreads

Synopsis
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?

This final installment was fantastic! Ee managed to end Penryn's and Raffe's story in a pulse-pounding, gritty, and riveting manner. 

Highlights

• Setting
  Ee expertly portrayed not only post-apocalyptic San Francisco but also the desolate, scorching landscape of Hell (the Pit)
• Characters
  Of course, Penryn and Raffe are well developed but Ee managed to instill such life into each of her characters. I felt emotion for or towards each of them - good or bad, positive or negative. She even managed to make me feel empathy for Beliel.
• Action
  There was never a dull moment with action, battles, important decisions being made. I was flipping through the pages quickly in anticipation of what came next.
• Romance
  Even though this is YA Romance-lite, it was enough of an element to count and I enjoyed how the process of falling in love changed both Penryn's and Raffe's perspectives on each other's "people".
• Message
  I'm sure it's always been present but it was more prevalent in this final installment and I so appreciate what Ee had to impart about topics like racism and bigotry and humanity in general. Using what humans survived "the Attack" as well as the hellions and Angels, Ee spoke to how our differences and our flaws are what make us what we are...what make us beautiful and decent. Perfection is over-rated and being perfect - looking perfect - doesn't equate to superiority. And I most appreciated her ability to renew my faith in humanity by bringing a group of humans together with a common purpose and being witness to what is possible when that happens.

I still felt that the actions of the characters were realistic and I liked how members on all sides - human, hellion, and angelic - were able to have open-minds and change their views in regards to some things. Overall, this was an incredibly satisfying ending to Penryn and Raffe's story. I'm only sorry it took me so long to finish it!