Author: Courtney Allison Moulton (her website)
Release Date: February 1, 2012
Synopsis:
Life as the Preliator is harder than Ellie ever imagined.
Balancing real life with the responsibility of being Heaven’s warrior is a challenge for Ellie. Her relationship with Will has become all business, though they both long for each other. And now that the secret of who she really is has come out, so have Hell’s strongest reapers. Grown bold and more vicious, the demonic threaten her in the light of day and stalk her in the night.
She’s been warned.
Cadan, a demonic reaper, comes to her with information about Bastian’s new plan to destroy Ellie’s soul and use an ancient relic to wake all the souls of the damned and unleash them upon humanity. As she fights to stay ahead of Bastian’s schemes , the revelations about those closest to her awaken a dark power within Ellie that threatens to destroy everything—including herself.
She’ll be betrayed.
Treachery comes even from those whom she loves, and Ellie is broken by the deaths of those who stood beside her in this Heavenly war. Still, she must find a way to save the world, herself, and her love for Will. If she fails, there will be hell to pay.
Review:
This series has rapidly made it's way to one of my top favorites (even though I have a bazillion other "top favorites", but aside from that I'm serious). Wings of the Wicked was an extraordinary, action-packed sequel to Anglefire which , as you may know from my review of the book, was superb. But, honestly, I think I've grown to like the sequel more than the original.
To me, Wings of the Wicked had more room to grow then Angelfire. In the sequel, the reader didn't have to wait till the end of the book to discover that Ellie was an angel in human form because we've already discovered that in the first book. The author was able to build the book in that different way that most sequels seem to obtain. This book introduced more reapers, good or bad, you can find out. There was probably twice as much action, and a million times more Will (okay, maybe not a million time more, he just dominated every page he was on.)
Speaking of characters.
Ellie is as kicka## as usuall (excuse my hash tags ;). There isn't much more to say about Ellie than what I've already covered in my Angelfire review and I also don't want to reveal too much. I will say, though, that she has some seriously strong and slightly scary (depending on which one) powers that start to show themselves. Oh, also, Ellie's character has grown a lot in this books. She has a firmer grasp on herself (even if that hold is still kind of loose), who she is, and what she has to do to keep the world safe. Her only issue is the fact that she till wants the semblance of a normal life.
Will....*insert enamored smile*... does anyone else notice that a lot of the amazing demon hunters are nameds Will? (Will Herondale, this Will, and I'm positive that there is another that I forgot...). Anyway, Will isn't as tense with Ellie now that she remembers who she is, but he's still just as protective and amazing (translate: hot) as he has always been. Oh! I just remembered another Will... Will from Firelight by Sophie Jordan (he's a dragon hunter). Anyway, Ellie's Will hasn't changed too much from the last book but he has become acustomed to hiding particular parts of his past from Ellie (and her name is Ava).
It took me a while to actually like Ava, she seemed so I-art-better-than-thou or however you wanna say it. But I have to admit that her claws are pretty cool when they enlongate...you know, I bet she started the record for longest nails... Back on topic, she has her flaws and her stone face (pun intended) she uses to hide her feelings. And honestly, she grows on me throughout the book and she seems like the kind of person you don't want on the other team, she's better on your side.
For some reason, I see Marcus as the best friend/ big brother of Ellie. They clash at points and bicker but a lot of times they seem to be fine. Also, of what Ellie remembers and briefed the reader about, they seemed to have a lot of fun in her past lives. Marcus can be cocky at times and seemingly reckless and like the I-do-what-I-want kind of person (reaper?) but that's what makes Marcus himself. And despite all of the traits from the list I just named, he is also very loyal and a good asset to have when fighting.
After his betrayal of Bastian in Angelfire, Cadan seemed to really turn around for the better. He defies Will's claim that the demonic reapers can turn good. Cadan is also very confusing at times, especially where Ellie is concerned. anyway, like Ava, he has grown on me.
Speaking of demonic reapers, there is a whole bunch of new ones introduced and they are far worse than the ones who appeared in Angelfire. Most are nightmare worthy and I can honestly say no one in their right minds would want to go face to face with any of them.
In my review of Angelfire, I claimed that the defeat of the Enshi was a little "too easy" and the answer was "too obvious" and I still sort of think that because, how hard is it, really, to drag something out of the ocean? Give someone (a demonic reaper) the motivation (the urge to destroy the Prelator) to get it back, they will find the means to do so. And who's to say there aren't any fish-like reapers out there? It's thoughts like that that make me a wary to go to the pacific again...
Anyway, while we are on the topic or endings... this book had a horrible ending. And that's not the "this book was horribly written so i hate it" kind of horrible. Nope, it's the "Oh my gosh! What the heck! (and a whole bunch of other IM letters) That's horrible for that character because they are so awesome and don't deserve that" horrible. So basically, it's the cliff hanger that has you throwing the book in the air and getting glared at in the middle of class for not doing your math homework because your reading instead...
Luckily for me I was in my room and not in class.
Anyway, I'm going to be honest with all of you and admit that I teared up, cried, and almost-cried at so many parts in this book, it's ridiculous. I've fallen in love with these characters though out the course of the series so it's horrible to see (read) all of this bad stuff happening to them.
To end this review, I'll say that Wings of the Wicked could not have been a better addition to Angelfire and for that alone it get's an A from this reviewer. The justification of my rating is endless so i'll start by saying, it's in the book and my review and, despite the emotional roller coaster the book throws us dedicated readers onto, this book was nothing less than magnificent. Severely recommended for anyone who read the first book, to paranormal lovers, anyone who's read a book with a demon slayer named Will, and for YA fiction/fantasy lovers of all ages.
To me, Wings of the Wicked had more room to grow then Angelfire. In the sequel, the reader didn't have to wait till the end of the book to discover that Ellie was an angel in human form because we've already discovered that in the first book. The author was able to build the book in that different way that most sequels seem to obtain. This book introduced more reapers, good or bad, you can find out. There was probably twice as much action, and a million times more Will (okay, maybe not a million time more, he just dominated every page he was on.)
Speaking of characters.
Ellie is as kicka## as usuall (excuse my hash tags ;). There isn't much more to say about Ellie than what I've already covered in my Angelfire review and I also don't want to reveal too much. I will say, though, that she has some seriously strong and slightly scary (depending on which one) powers that start to show themselves. Oh, also, Ellie's character has grown a lot in this books. She has a firmer grasp on herself (even if that hold is still kind of loose), who she is, and what she has to do to keep the world safe. Her only issue is the fact that she till wants the semblance of a normal life.
Will....*insert enamored smile*... does anyone else notice that a lot of the amazing demon hunters are nameds Will? (Will Herondale, this Will, and I'm positive that there is another that I forgot...). Anyway, Will isn't as tense with Ellie now that she remembers who she is, but he's still just as protective and amazing (translate: hot) as he has always been. Oh! I just remembered another Will... Will from Firelight by Sophie Jordan (he's a dragon hunter). Anyway, Ellie's Will hasn't changed too much from the last book but he has become acustomed to hiding particular parts of his past from Ellie (and her name is Ava).
It took me a while to actually like Ava, she seemed so I-art-better-than-thou or however you wanna say it. But I have to admit that her claws are pretty cool when they enlongate...you know, I bet she started the record for longest nails... Back on topic, she has her flaws and her stone face (pun intended) she uses to hide her feelings. And honestly, she grows on me throughout the book and she seems like the kind of person you don't want on the other team, she's better on your side.
For some reason, I see Marcus as the best friend/ big brother of Ellie. They clash at points and bicker but a lot of times they seem to be fine. Also, of what Ellie remembers and briefed the reader about, they seemed to have a lot of fun in her past lives. Marcus can be cocky at times and seemingly reckless and like the I-do-what-I-want kind of person (reaper?) but that's what makes Marcus himself. And despite all of the traits from the list I just named, he is also very loyal and a good asset to have when fighting.
After his betrayal of Bastian in Angelfire, Cadan seemed to really turn around for the better. He defies Will's claim that the demonic reapers can turn good. Cadan is also very confusing at times, especially where Ellie is concerned. anyway, like Ava, he has grown on me.
Speaking of demonic reapers, there is a whole bunch of new ones introduced and they are far worse than the ones who appeared in Angelfire. Most are nightmare worthy and I can honestly say no one in their right minds would want to go face to face with any of them.
In my review of Angelfire, I claimed that the defeat of the Enshi was a little "too easy" and the answer was "too obvious" and I still sort of think that because, how hard is it, really, to drag something out of the ocean? Give someone (a demonic reaper) the motivation (the urge to destroy the Prelator) to get it back, they will find the means to do so. And who's to say there aren't any fish-like reapers out there? It's thoughts like that that make me a wary to go to the pacific again...
Anyway, while we are on the topic or endings... this book had a horrible ending. And that's not the "this book was horribly written so i hate it" kind of horrible. Nope, it's the "Oh my gosh! What the heck! (and a whole bunch of other IM letters) That's horrible for that character because they are so awesome and don't deserve that" horrible. So basically, it's the cliff hanger that has you throwing the book in the air and getting glared at in the middle of class for not doing your math homework because your reading instead...
Luckily for me I was in my room and not in class.
Anyway, I'm going to be honest with all of you and admit that I teared up, cried, and almost-cried at so many parts in this book, it's ridiculous. I've fallen in love with these characters though out the course of the series so it's horrible to see (read) all of this bad stuff happening to them.
To end this review, I'll say that Wings of the Wicked could not have been a better addition to Angelfire and for that alone it get's an A from this reviewer. The justification of my rating is endless so i'll start by saying, it's in the book and my review and, despite the emotional roller coaster the book throws us dedicated readers onto, this book was nothing less than magnificent. Severely recommended for anyone who read the first book, to paranormal lovers, anyone who's read a book with a demon slayer named Will, and for YA fiction/fantasy lovers of all ages.
