Review: Angelfire, Wings of the Wicked, Shadows in the Silence (Angelfire series) by Courtney Allison Moulton

Title: Angelfire (#1), Wings of the Wicked (#2), Shadows in the Silence (#3)

Author: Courtney Allison Moulton
Published: February 15, 2011 / January 31, 2012 / January 29, 2013
Pages: 453 / 516 / 469
Series: Angelfire Trilogy
Source: purchased

Goodreads Summary:
Angelfire (#1)

First there are nightmares.
Every night Ellie is haunted by terrifying dreams of monstrous creatures that are hunting her, killing her.

Then come the memories.
When Ellie meets Will, she feels on the verge of remembering something just beyond her grasp. His attention is intense and romantic, and Ellie feels like her soul has known him for centuries. On her seventeenth birthday, on a dark street at midnight, Will awakens Ellie's power, and she knows that she can fight the creatures that stalk her in the grim darkness. Only Will holds the key to Ellie's memories, whole lifetimes of them, and when she looks at him, she can no longer pretend anything was just a dream.

Now she must hunt.

Ellie has power that no one can match, and her role is to hunt and kill the reapers that prey on human souls. But in order to survive the dangerous and ancient battle of the angels and the Fallen, she must also hunt for the secrets of her past lives and truths that may be too frightening to remember.

**REVIEW**

I just need a minute..

Holy crap.

I picked this book up, started reading it, and never put it down. I ended up reading all three books, back-to-back, in three days - engrossed in every page and every word.

Moulton's way of continuously and confidently raising the stakes and taking the story to the next level was exceptionally natural and believable. I will never know how she managed to execute the transition of Ellie, a pretty teenage girl with a regular life turning into the achingly fierce warrior that was always within her, so flawlessly.

There was something so impressively balanced about Ellie, how despite her power she remained vulnerable, and how despite determination there was an acceptance of doubt.

Ellie was so real, so solid, graceful, and had a great sense of humor. You trusted her, the path she chose and the choices she made. Possibly my favorite thing about her; she was never the damsel-in-distress, which doesn't mean she could take care of herself in every situation but she would always keep her head high, even when all odds were against her.

The Angelfire books were never short of action, and that is even an understatement. Demonic and angelic reapers and winged creatures, swarmed the story. The swords were always pulled and the anticipation of a fight hung in the air like mist. There's quite the bloodbath and I found myself countless of times sitting on edge.

Moulton found an interesting way to make 'Angelfire' an angel-story that hadn't been told before and it all came down to Ellie. Ellie is special in more ways than one; her backstory is intriguing and you'll be baffled, even shocked, by the secrets of her past.

There was a nice parallel to Ellie's teenage life (attending school, going to parties) and the life she was adapting to that puts the weight of human race on her shoulders. I liked that there wasn't ever a division between the two, it was all a part of the other and it kept the story stable - real. I loved that Ellie was capable of wielding her swords and fighting for her life, but that she held on to the other part of her as well.

There were so many well-developed characters. I loved Kate (the best friend), appreciated the realistic relationship Ellie had with her mother, and astonishingly, grew to care for characters that had less impact on Ellie but were a part of the story, like Nathaniel and Marcus.

And let's talk about Will. Stoic, fearless, flawed.

Despite being by Ellie, more or less, the entirety of over a thousand pages.. I couldn't get enough of him. My heart still leaped by the mention of him; his presence, his exterior, his words. I loved that he wasn't perfect, that he was complicated and unpredictable. He wasn't the knight in shining armor or the soul mate.

Oddly enough, I loved that despite their closeness, there was always a certain distance that needed to be closed. You got to fight with the love between Ellie and Will and I freaking loved it.

I don't know how many times Will turned my heart to glass, how many times my heart ached and warmed for them. In the end, I found that the 'Angelfire' books were an epic love story more than anything.

[Spoiler alert!] I had a soft spot for Cadan, he was great. Part of me so badly wanted the story to explore the possibility of Cadan and Ellie, just to storm the seas for a bit. Had the Angelfire series been four books, I think there would've been enough time for a little walk off course. However tempting a love triangle was, I found that Moulton was extremely wise in avoiding it. But I'm just saying! [Spoilers ended!]

Action, story, romance - you got it. Mythology fans should check these books out. Romance fans have to. 

(5/5)