Cassie Farrier has always suffered from terrifying nightmares. On a trip to Germany she recognises scenes from her dreams and finds evidence of a sixty year-old massacre. Fearing for her sanity, her family sends Cassie to a retreat where she meets others with symptoms like her own and finds out that she has lived a number of past lives. However, the Doctor at the retreat is not what she seems. Cassie and the boy she comes to love must escape the Doctor’s influence but can they also escape the misery of their shared past?
Firstly, I'd like to point out the blurb above (taken from Goodreads) is very different to the blurb that is on the back of my copy of the book. I chose to take this blurb as I did not feel that the one on my copy of the book really described the story. You may get the idea, like I did, from the blurb that this story is about a girl falling in love with a fallen angel. That is so not what you're getting.
This book may have you fooled, you might expect Angel's Fury to be about angels, specifically furious angels. Yes, there is one furious angel and yes there is some content about angels, but let me clear this up; that part doesn't come into play until quite late in the book, which really did confuse me for a while.
So warnings about false advertising aside, I actually really did enjoy this book!
What I totally loved about Angel's Fury was how amazing the plotting was. Bryony Pearce obviously had a clear plot planned out for this book, as she establishes the story and the circumstances on page one and executes it fantastically to it's conclusion right at the end, adding an epilogue at the end which ties up some loose ends but also leaves this book open for further development. As far as I know this book is a stand alone, but there is totally space for a sequel!
I also loved the characters. I really liked Cassie from page one, she really is a great character, a little reckless, a little clumsy and very strong. We really see her grow as well, which I loved to see. I quite liked the other characters too. I found the romantic interest, Seth, nice enough. While he is described as gorgeous (I quite like guys with long hair!) and he has his really hot, swoon worthy moments he doesn't quite make my 'I wish he was my boyfriend' list. I liked the relationship between Cassie and Seth, there is chemistry from the first time they see each other, and the relationship doesn't take over the whole book but instead takes a backseat, coming out at the right times but not detracting from the actual plot.
I really enjoyed this author's writing. She seemed so convincing as a teenage girl and the emotion and description was fantastic. While her writing doesn't stand out in the way of some YA authors that I read just for their writing style, there is definitely something unique about Bryony Pearce's voice that I really enjoyed reading.
There are religious themes in this book, but they are very minor and I don't think they would offend anybody. While the religion is lesser, I would compare the themes to The Devil's Kiss by Sarwat Chadda, which, stangely is an author that is mentioned in the acknowledgements!
There are a few little bits that bothered me; I didn't like Cassie's name (Cassiopeia), I don't like when authors give a character a fancy or outrageous name without it meaning something, I like the name Cassie, but hate the name Cassiopeia. Also, I was a bit confused when on page 53 a video showing Cassie at two years old is stated to have been filmed in 1984, but on page 246, Cassie says that she was born in 1992, I suppose the 1984 was a typo, but it confused me for a little while before I figured it out.
Overall, Angel's Fury was not what I was expecting, but I still totally enjoyed it. I would recommend this to all YA fans. This book is gripping and powerful, with an unpredictable plot, a thrilling climax and a strong heroine.
Overall rating: B+
Stand alone/series: Stand Alone
UK Release: July 4th 2011
Publisher: Egmont
Book obtained via: Received from the publisher for review purposes
