Stacia in Progress

[insert punchline here]

[end result = win]

4.5 stars. Spoilers for book 1 only. I promise that there are no major spoilers here for World After, but I am placing a couple of quotes in this review with the assumption that most readers would figure Penryn and Raffe were going to cross paths again at some point. I just won't say when or how.

Not that I wasn't already in love with this series, but when the sword started interacting with Penryn, I did an internal happy dance. Who knows why I like swords with attitude, but I do.

I carefully pull out the bear and sword. I proudly flip the bridal veil skirt to show him the scabbard.

Raffe stares at the disguised sword for a second before commenting. "Do you know how many kills this sword has?"

"It's a perfect disguise, Raffe."

"This sword is not just an angel sword. She's an archangel sword. Better than an angel sword, in case that's not clear. She intimidates other angel swords."

"What, the other swords quake in their scabbards when they see her?"

"Yes, if you must know," he says following me. "She was made for ultimate respect. How is she supposed to get that disguised as a teddy bear in a bridal gown?"

I know a few people weren't fond of the pacing in this book, but I was pretty much happy with the entire thing. The dream sequences could have been pared back to one or two scenes, but since I liked the interaction between Penryn and Pooky Bear, I didn't mind the scenes either. It gave the reader some knowledge of what Raffe was thinking without having to add chapters in his PoV.

The banter between Raffe and Penryn was great. One of the things that I appreciate the most about Raffe is that he is very focused and serious, but still has these moments of hilarity which break through.

"You're not Fallen, are you?"

"From everything I've heard, that would just make me more sexy to you Daughters of Men. What is it that you all see in bad boys?"

.....

"Oh, don't worry. You're safe," he says in a reassuring voice. "I'd never tell you that you have a nice personality."

There are still an ample amount of action scenes, fight scenes, survival scenes, etc. for the people who crave all of that dark post-apocalyptic goodness. I thought the balance of action to sexual tension was perfect for what I like to read. Others might wish for less swooning, but I didn't mind having a few moments here and there to break up some of the science experiments and fight scenes.

The side characters are still around and contributing to this crazy story. Both Paige and her mom were back to add a few bizarre scenes to the mix. When you have a whack-job fanatic and a razor-toothed little girl demon on the scene, things are bound to go a little nutty.

Add in a creepy turn on Alcatraz and an epic angel battle, and we have a well-rounded story. The way things ended has me itching for book 3 and I know that I'll be re-reading World After in the meantime because it was that good. 

I have nothing else to say but read this series!