End of Days Review: Penryn

Book: End of Days
Author: Susan Ee
Series: Penryn and the End of Days
Standing: Book 3 (final)
POV: 1st person by Penryn, present tense
Genre: YA post-apocaplytic, paranormal

Source: Physical Copy
Publisher: Skyscrape
Pages: 344
Release: May 12th, 2015

Goodreads  End of Days is the explosive conclusion to Susan Ee’s bestselling Penryn & the End of Days trilogy. After a daring escape from the angels, Penryn and Raffe are on the run. They’re both desperate to find a doctor who can reverse the twisted changes inflicted by the angels on Raffe and Penryn’s sister. As they set off in search of answers, a startling revelation about Raffe’s past unleashes dark forces that threaten them all. When the angels release an apocalyptic nightmare onto humans, both sides are set on a path toward war. As unlikely alliances form and strategies shift, who will emerge victorious? Forced to pick sides in the fight for control of the earthly realm, Raffe and Penryn must choose: Their own kind, or each other?

It's officially the end of days for me, now that I've finished this book. Allow me to weep.

End of Days picks up mere hours after the catastrophic events of World After. Paige has been found--along with her new uncanny leadership of the terrifying angel-scorpion hybrids, aka locusts--Beliel has been taken prisoner, Raffe has found his severed angel wings, and Uriel is campaigning to become the new Messenger of God in order to exterminate the surviving humans.

Penryn is every bit the fearless heroine as she was in the past books, if not more. She is fiercely independent, and at no point does she need Raffe or anyone for help. Raffe's absence was what drew the plot forward, not because Penryn was trying to find him, but because she was so much more free to do what needed to be done without him. All the best parts were of Penryn alone, finding solutions to her own situations. She's not anything special, not by a long shot: she's 100% normal human to the bone. The only difference is that she keeps a cool head and is able to logic her way out of any situation. Penryn's defining characteristic is her sheer determinism to do what's right, and it makes her one hell of a heroine!

"This is Penryn Young, Daughter of Man, Killer of Angels."

Raffe fights his own battle in this book. We see that he's torn between trying to regain his original angel status (and ultimately joining the angels in their apocalypse) and staying with Penryn. Raffe struggles to try to find a way to do what's right, and resorts to going through literally hell for it. His ending, though slightly devastating, was quite fitting, as he gets what's ultimately important. One other thing I absolutely loved was his belief in Penryn's independence. Yes, he worries about Penryn's safety, but he knows that she is more than capable of taking care of herself, both in the presence of humans and angels.

I was extremely pleased with Paige's character. Unlike the last book, where Penryn was struggling to find a human presence in Paige's new appearance, Paige's actions are significantly more human. She plays a bigger role in this novel, and proves to Penryn that she too is independent. Deep down, Paige is like Penryn: both have the determinism and grit needed to survive an apocalyptic world, and both have what it takes to emerge even stronger than before after facing strife. Let's hear it for the Young siblings!

We are introduced to yet another terrifying revelation/concept. In the first two books, the main cause of horror were the existence of angel-scorpion hybrids, followed by the stomch-churning creation of the hybrids. In this book, we get quite a few new monsters to add to the nightmare list. Things like the heads of the Consumed, sixers, and Pit Lords. I've mentioned it before, and I'll mention it again: this is not to be read at night, especially if you values your sleep. Just don't. It makes for a terrific yet horrifying read...

This book was every bit as satisfying as I wanted it to be, and more. There's the war I've been dreaming of, plus new revelations, new plot twists, new characters. The plot was gripping, absolutely unpredictable, and really got you cheering for Penryn and humanity as a whole. The ending was absolutely perfect, and I wouldn't have it changed in any way!

I highly recommend you all read this series. Through Penryn, you really get the sense that it's not what you're physically made of that makes you a hero; it's who you are on the inside, and how far you're willing to go to do what's right. If you're willing to go down fighting for what's right, then you're a true hero in all it's right!

"Being human isn't about whether you fit in or look like the rest of us. It's about who you are and what you're willing to do or not."