Review: Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

Courtney Allison Moulton's website here // $10.31 from {amazon}

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (February 15, 2011)

Hardcover: 464 pages

Source: Publisher

Summary: 

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.

Rating: View my rating system.

There have been tons of reviews for this one already, so here's just my (repetitive) two cents in a mini-acrostic poem. 'Cause those are all the vogue these days, no? *dons beret*

Accurate teen-speak. This is legit right here; Courtney Moulton writes like a native. (The key to teen-speak is not cussing, it’s cussing at the right places. Stay 133T, darlings.)

Never-ending action. For a squeamish person like me, I can honestly say Courtney Moulton has got the art of “intense, bone-breaking action without excessive gore” down pat. Everyone is kick ass to the trillionth degree.

Gripping characters. Quite a few of the secondary characters I would have liked to see fleshed out a more (namely her friends), though I know I few are being saved for future books in the series – and I CAN’T WAIT. As for Ellie herself, she’s brave but vulnerable. She doesn’t often breakdown, but when she does, it’s completely understandable. I love how she didn’t feel the need to spend eons experiencing “NOWAY.YESWAY... MAYBE? NOWAY.YESWAY...” that often accompanies the – surprise – astounding revelation of the paranormal. And can I say Ellie has excellent taste in clothes and cars (I can only guess at how rich she is...)?

Enigma-after-enigma. Courtney Moulton has created a rich history to the Preliator that we only get a tempting taste of in Angelfire. It does get a bit didactic at times, though only a few rare times in the 453 pages, and I’m not really bothered by it considering how much needed to be explained – which is A LOT. One of the two major reasons I’m continuing the series is the extremely intriguing plot, which almost never happens to me when reading a paranormal series – so that’s saying something.

LOVE WILLLL. Will of the green eyes and the tousled dark hair. Will of the sensitive heart and protective arms. Will of the awesomeness. <333

Overall, a very fast-paced, enjoyable read that’s one of the top paranormal romances I’ve read in a while. And did I mention it has a gorgeous cover? That never hurts. ;)

Great debut, Courtney, and for you, my little Preliator-to-be, pick Will Angelfire up now!

Taken from Courtney's website. They're commissioned some gorgeous CG art that I absolute LOVE. *o*