YA book review: Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 464 pages
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (February 15, 2011)

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.

My review: Angel stories have been the rage lately and Angelfire, a stirring and engrossing debut novel, is a welcome entry into a packed celestial arena. I am so glad the author created something new concerning angels. The main character, Ellie, does not know she is a Preliator--a human who battles demons by wielding the twin blades that burn with angelfire, flames which easily destroy reapers. When she is killed she is reborn a time later to begin the fight all over again. Her Guardian, protector and teacher, Will, begins to show up in unusual places as her nightmares turn real. When one battle spills over into the real world, he has to reveal to Ellie what she is. Kind of. Will reveals snippets of her/their history over weeks, not wanting to impact her with the total story in one day. As they work together to jar her memories, an evil force is conspiring, searching for something no one wants found. Can Ellie and Will work together to locate the item before the others do?

Ellie was believable through her words and actions. The more she battles demons, the more she remembers of her long past as Preliator. The secondary characters were realistic and fun to read. One part I wasn't thrilled by was the label dropping and the amount of money her parents spent on a car for her. I also kept expecting her mean father to turn into a demon. But the main focus of Angelfire belongs to Ellie and Will. How she struggles with what she has to become and how he deals with his conflicting feelings for her were the compelling plot points. The author convinced me of the love these two felt for each other and their determination to do what was right. Ellie's voice was humorous, honest and strong. She sounded realistic and the way she expressed her doubts and feelings grabbed me. Will, the older, serious one, was admirable and as he spent more time in Ellie's world, I grew fonder of him. There were a lot of action scenes and watching Ellie become more comfortable in her angelic warrior role was intriguing. I will definitely pick up the next book in this fun and exciting new trilogy.

Rating: +++1/2

Favorite excerpt: ""So why are you out for a walk this late at night?" he asked, distracting me from my thoughts. "Even if you live here, it's pretty late to be wandering around at night."

"Well, you're out here too. I like being outside at night. It's relaxing."

That smile widened. It was like he thought this was funny. "Most people would feel nervous."

My hands rested on my hips. "Why? Should I be?"

"What?"

"Nervous?"

"Probably."

"You don't seem like you're nervous?"

"I can take care of myself." His smile turned dark, knowing."

Cover comment: In one word: sweet. Ellie looks like a normal girl, except for that sinister looking blade in her hand.

Book source: ebook from Netgalley and HarperTeen.