Review: Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

Review: Angelfire
Author: Courney Allison Moulton
Genre: YA, Supernatural, Romance, Action
Perfect for: readers who look for spitfire female leads and quicky, buffy-esc dialogue
Star Rating: 4/5 stars

Taken from Goodreads, "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."


What a good read! I truly enjoyed 'Angelfire' by Courtney Allison Moulton! This book is a good example of how to write great YA fiction. You read the description and think, "well, that sounds like every other book on the market". But the thing is-- this is a step above most YA supernatural romance! What makes 'Angelfire' so good? So many things!


Let's start with the characters, shall we? If I had to compare main character Ellie to another fictional character, it would be Buffy Summers from Buffy: The Vampire Slayer. Ellie's witty disposition and overall girl power are a big reason that this book is a step above the rest. Ellie has the power to take care of herself and while it takes her time to figure that out, once she does, she is not someone you'd want to mess with! Ellie isn't an infallible character-- she makes some mistakes and has to learn from them, all while dealing with an unstable family and changing feelings towards her guardian, Will.


Speaking of Will, I really adore him. There is a fine line between male characters that come off as, well, a bit girly, for lack of a better term, and male characters that hold their own. Will holds his own in this novel much like Archer does in the 'Hex Hall' series. And even more important to his character, I think, is that there are clearly different angles to his characterization. He is fleshed out really well.


Something all great YA novels have are really good secondary characters and I think 'Angelfire' delivers this really well. Nathaniel and Caden, for example, are some interesting characters. I'm looking forward to seeing more of them! And Ellie's best friend, Kate? She's not as annoying as most YA novels 'best friend' characters.


When it comes to action, this story has it. It's packed full of fighting. Actually, this book reads a lot like an episode of Buffy or Supernatural. Courtney Allison Moulton mixes the different elements of 'Angelfire' very well. There isn't too much of anything. Just as in the story of 'The Three Bears', everything from the action, to the romance, to the quirky dialogue, to the revelations are done just right.


The only thing that I wonder about? Why, oh, why did it take so long to introduce Caden? He seems like he'll be an important player in the series, but he's not introduced until the last third of the novel and even then you really don't know who he is. I'm hoping he's a key player in the next book!


Quite honestly, I think you should read this book. It's such a fun good vs. evil supernatural adventure. It gets 4 out of 5 stars!  'Angelfire' is due out on bookstore shelves March 2011. Pre-order it now online or at your local bookshop now!