Review: Angelfire

Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

Synopsis (From Goodreads): This debut, the first novel in a trilogy, is achingly romantic, terrifying, and filled with blistering action.

When seventeen-year-old Ellie starts seeing reapers - monstrous creatures who devour humans and send their souls to Hell - she finds herself on the front lines of a supernatural war between archangels and the Fallen and faced with the possible destruction of her soul.

A mysterious boy named Will reveals she is the reincarnation of an ancient warrior, the only one capable of wielding swords of angelfire to fight the reapers, and he is an immortal sworn to protect her in battle. Now that Ellie's powers have been awakened, a powerful reaper called Bastian has come forward to challenge her. He has employed a fierce assassin to eliminate her - an assassin who has already killed her once.

While balancing her dwindling social life and reaper-hunting duties, she and Will discover Bastian is searching for a dormant creature believed to be a true soul reaper. Bastian plans to use this weapon to ignite the End of Days and to destroy Ellie's soul, ending her rebirth cycle forever. Now, she must face an army of Bastian's most frightening reapers, prevent the soul reaper from consuming her soul, and uncover the secrets of her past lives - including truths that may be too frightening to remember.

Ellie has been plagued by nightmares for nearly all her life. She never thought they were anything until a mysterious boy, Will, shows up, claiming that she's the preliator, an ancient soul who is reborn each life with the mission of fighting the reapers. She's the only one who can wield the swords of angelfire.

When her powers awaken she must try to balance school and her friends with her reaper-hunting duties. When Will discovers that a powerful reaper, Bastian, is after a creature that once awakened could destroy Ellie's soul, she is forced to remember the secrets of her past lives and choose between her destiny and her heart.

Angelfire was an interesting twist on the angel genre and Moulton has created a vivid world with realistic characters. Ellie was a true but-kicking heroine who was still scared of disappointing her family and friends. Will, the oh-so-hot Guardian, would do anything to protect Ellie, while feeling guilty over his feelings for her. It wasn't just the two main characters that had personalities. Even the minor cast were all fleshed out and played a role in the bigger picture, even the creepy Reapers had their own personality.

The story was unique with enough twists and turns to keep me reading, with an even bigger twist at the end. It was fun watching the relationship grow between Ellie and Will while they were slicing through the Reapers. I look forward to when the next one comes out to see more of Ellie's story.

Recommend: Unearthly by Cynthia Hand
2011 Debut Author Challenge: #4 of 20
2011 YA Reading Challenge: #7 of 50