REVIEW: Angel's Fury by Bryony Pearce

Angel's Fury by Bryony Pearce

My rating: 

 I've started to have dreams while I'm awake. I remember music I've never heard. . . .

 I've got all this extra stuff in my head, but I'm forgetting things from my own life. 

I feel like I'm being taken over. 

One fallen angel walks the earth to bring mankind to its destruction, turning love into hate, forgiveness into blame, and hope into despair. Through the fires of hell he will come to torment one girl's dreams. 

Every time Cassie Farrier tries to sleep, she is plagued by visions of a death: A little girl called Zillah. A victim of the holocaust. In desperation Cassie is sent for treatment in an old manor house. There she meets other children just like her. Including Seth, who looks so familiar. Her dream becomes a nightmare—and then reality. 

This stunning debut from a talented young author contains controversial and thoughtful themes that teenagers can relate to, including bullying and victimization in a contemporary and historical context. With its mix of mythology, fantasy, and real-life terror, this is a book unlike any other. 

What's the point in gaining the world if we lose our souls?

This book confused me. In a very good way. I don't like slow books... if you've been reading my reviews in the past, you would know that I freakin' hate slow paced books... but this... was worth the struggle.

I loved the conclusion.

I loved the character development.

I loved the slow burn of this book.

Also, I just have to comment on that blurb.. In the tradition of The Book Thief and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, a tale of sleepless nights and present day haunting, giving voice to the horrors of the Holocaust and the nature of persecution???????

I don't think so!

HOW IT BEGINS

Before my back hit the headboard I slammed on the sidelight. The bulb illuminated every corner of the room. There were no riflemen at the doorway.

THE GIST

People say you can't die in your dreams... they're wrong.

Cassie have had bad dreams every since she could remember. But the bad dream seems to always be the same one. It was like a scene from a movie. It was always about a Jewish girl named Zillah, and an unknown Nazi who killed her.

She wanted the dreams to stop. But so far, nothing she does make the dream go away. So when her class was had a field trip to Germany, she signed up immediately to see if she could find a place where the little girl was killed, and hopefully... get some answers on why she has been dreaming of her.

If they've found the grave why hadn't my nightmares gone?

She told the German authorities about the graves, the graves of the numerous Jews who were killed that day. The day that has been replaying in her head every time she sleeps. Her hunch was wrong. Her nightmare were not just about unrested souls seeking for peace. Her dreams were because of something far more complex that that.

And if she wants to find out, she must isolate herself in a mansion, where people just like her for being treated for these nightmares. They might not share the same dreams, but they were all experiencing recurring nightmares. Some more severe than the others.

But what were those dreams?

And why were they having these dreams?

THE CHARACTERS

Cassie Farrier: She started out pretty weak for me. I was so ready to hate her. She was a pushover and a loner. But I guess growing up with having nightmares every night is not healthy for anyone.

The good thing about her was her persistence, her will. She knew she has to get better, and when the opportunity opened for her to try and cure the nightmares, she took it, even if it meant being away from her parents.

I loved how Cassie's character developed throughout the book. Her development was not instant, which I think is what most YA protagonist nowadays have, the instant ability to be special. But Cassie was different. She wasn't born special. She wasn't the sole person who could save the world. No. She was just one of them, but the only difference was, she uses her head and she's determined to know the truth about them.

Seth: He's sort of a pseudo-love interest, and fellow nightmare-dreamer. To be honest, I didn't like Seth. He was good-looking, yes, but he was just not lead male material to me. Between him and Cassie, I felt that he was the girl. I felt that he could have had more role to the entire thing, but no, Cassie was the mastermind of it all. And he even had this moment of weakness, which I felt was totally uncalled for. what a fucking pussy. oh well..

Pandra: Crazy mo-fo! Honestly, she's a psycho. ENOUGH SAID.

Doctor Green: She's the queen mo-fo! Seriously, she scared me. I won't spoil anything on here, but really, she's a scary character.

ROMANCE

Oh hell I'm happy. I like romance, but with books like this, romance need to be lessened, which is exactly what happened. The sort-of romance didn't overpower the main plot of the book. And honestly, Cassie deserve someone better than Seth.

THUMBS UP

* The plot twist was definitely a surprise. I didn't read any of the reviews for this book so I was basically going through this book blind... I had to idea what I was to be expecting, but it really worked for me. I loved it.

* The ending was satisfying, but it will undoubtedly leave you asking for more.

* The mythology that it came with was just good. I loved it.

* Oh my god!! It mindfucked me... and I loved it.

* Cassie's character development was a highlight for me because I liked seeing her grow and come out of her shell. She overcame her fear and insecurity moderately. It didn't happen in a snap, it was a process, a process that was well done in my opinion.

THUMBS DOWN

* The blurb!!! As I stated earlier on my review, it does not work. I don't think it clearly represented what this book was about. This book was not in anyway similar to The Book Thief, although I haven't read The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, but really... This is a freakin' paranormal book that has people dreaming about the Holocaust, but that doesn't mean that it was anyway related to the books mentioned above. This book holds its own without the mention of those two other famous literary work.

* Slow start. I was putting this book off a couple of times because of the slow start, but I'm happy I didn't stop reading.

* I feel that there could be more... I think the beginning dragged on more than it should, that the second part of the book seem to be struggling to pick up its pace.

FINAL RAMBLINGS

I liked this book.

I really do.

And it could have been even better. I felt it was just wrapped up too easily for me. I think there was like 15 more pages on the book, and the antagonist was still there so I was like "How the fuck is this going to end?" Surprisingly, I liked how it ended with an Epilogue. And epilogue, that was sort of a cliffhanger.

If you want to see angels and demons kicking butts, then I suggest to steer away from this book. This isn't some action-packed book, it's more of a book that will make you think and guess on what will happen next.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a good angel book, without all the fighting, killing, with romance on the side.

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