Angelfire

Title: Angelfire
Author: Courtney Allison Moulton
Release: February 15, 2011
Publisher: HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen Books
Age Group: YA
Pages: 453
Overall: 5/5
Source: NetGalley

From Goodreads:  This debut, the first novel in a trilogy, is achingly romantic, terrifying, and filled with blistering action.


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.

My Thoughts:  I loved this book!  I had trouble putting it down and was thoroughly disappointed when it ended.  Ellie's character is great.  She's smart and tough.  There are quite a few books out with strong female leads who fight monsters, but Ellie seemed to be the toughest (in my opinion).  When reading the action scenes, I could actually picture the fighting in my head.  Will is one of those hot male characters that can leave you drooling and wishing you had a guy just like him in your life.  I'm so eager to read the next book in the trilogy.  There seems to be so much more to come.  I'm not sure which is causing me the most suspense: what will happen with the reapers or what will happn between Ellie and Will.

Challenge Update (2)

What I Read:

Savannah Grey by Cliff McNish

Everything I Was by Corinne Demas

Challenges:
111 in '11 Total: 3/111
DAC 2011 Total: 1
Winter Book Challenge 2011 Total: 30
     Task: Read a book with a City, State, or Country in the Title (Savannah Grey) 5 points
     Task: Read a book by a new-to-you author (Everything I Was) 15 points

Challenge Update (1)

It's only the first week of January, but it's still a great time for an update on my reading challenges. 

Book read:

Here Lies Bridget by Paige Harbison

Challenges:

111 in '11 Total: 1/111

2011 Debut Author Challenge Total: 1

Winter Book Challenge Total: 15 points

     Task: Starting Over or Starting Something New (15 points)

2011 Debut Author Challenge

With grad school coming to an end this week, I've been thinking of ways to spice up my reading habits.  I haven't participated in many reading challenges.  The main one I usually take part in is the seasonal book challenge from my online book club.  When I found this challenge, though, I knew it would be perfect!

So, what is the 2011 Debut Author Challenge?

The Story Siren created this challenge asking participants to read at least 12 novels from Young Adult or Middle Grade authors who haven't released a YA or MG book before.  You can read more than 12 books, but 12 is the minimum. 

I've made a list of books that I plan on reading.  Warning: My list will probably grow.  :-)

Unearthly - Cynthia Hand (January)
Entangled - Cat Clarke (January)
Angelfire - Courtney Allison Moulton (February)
The Iron Witch - Karen Mahoney (February)
A Touch Mortal - Leah Clifford (February)
Falling Under - Gwen Hayes (March)
Wither - Lauren DeStefano (March)
Entwined - Heather Dixon (March)
Between Shades of Gray - Ruta Sepetys (March)
Blood Magic - Tessa Gratton (April)
Starcrossed - Josephine Angelini (May)
Lost Voices - Sarah Porter (July)