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Monday, February 25, 2013

NICOLE'S REVIEW: Shadows in the Silence by Courtney Allison Moulton

Title: Shadows in the Silence
Author: Courtney Allison Moulton
Format Acquired: Hardcover
Publication Date: January 29 2013
Publishing House: Katherine Tegen Books
ISBN: 9780062002396
Source of Copy: Purchased from National Bookstore

Summary:

Your strength in heart and hand will fall...

Ellie knows that the darkest moments are still to come, and she has everything to fight for:

She must fight for Will.

The demonic have resorted to their cruelest weapons to put Will in mortal danger, and Ellie makes an unlikely alliance to save him and to stop Lilith and Sammael, who seek to drown the world in blood and tear a whole into Heaven.

She must fight for humanity.

As the armies of hell rise and gather for the looming End of Days, Ellie and her band of allies travel to the world's darkest and most ancient regions in her quest to come into her full glory as the archangel Gabriel.

And Ellie must save herself.

Her humanity withers beneath the weight of her cold archangel power, but Ellie must hold tight to who she is and who she loves as she prepares for the ultimate battle for Heaven and Earth.

In this final installment in the Angelfire trilogy Courtney Allison Moulton brings her dark world of epic battles and blistering romance to a blazing bright conclusion.


 (Image and information courtesy of Goodreads; Summary lifted from actual book)

Review:

Before reading Shadows in the Silence, I suggest you check out Wings of the Wicked first.

The last book in the Angelfire trilogy is undeniably the best book in the series. In Angelfire Ellie is a bratty, whiny, too spoiled teenager who has issues with her father and is vapid and frivolous to a fault. In Wings of the Wicked we watch as Ellie's character grows. She's matured a bit and despite still being a tad bit frivolous, she realizes how important her role is in regard to the safety and protection of humans and the world. Everything culminates in Shadows in the Silence, war is on the horizon and Ellie has to make a choice - to stay human and watch the world burn or to find a way to become the archangel Gabriel and relinquish her hold on her humanity and with it become the cold, merciless machine that is an archangel.

Shadows in the Silence starts off where the second book ends - with that nasty, nasty cliffhanger. While I liked how Ellie immediately stepped into action to save her beloved Will, I'm glad that this didn't take up a large amount of time. It wasn't exactly easy but really, Ellie is determined and nothing will stand in her way. With the threat of war looming overhead, Ellie races against the demonic reapers to find the artifacts she needs to revert back to her former glory because Ellie, and her band of misfits, are the only ones standing between the human's survival and certain death in the hands of reapers. It's not easy because there's a super powered fallen angel after her and then there's that fear that if she does revert back to archangel status she will lose her humanity and in the process lose her emotions and feelings and her connection with Will. But Ellie knows what she has to do and does it with her bravest face on - she'll go down fighting.

I liked how the characters developed in the final installment. Ellie is as brash and determined as ever, and in this book we see more of her archangel side peeking through her humanity. Moulton manages to blend both sides of Ellie perfectly and she just grows into her role as Preliator. Humanity has a fighting chance now that Ellie's matured and comprehends the gravity of her situation. Her romance with Will is as sweet as ever. Will, after finally succumbing to their passion is determined to never let her go because after 5 centuries of pining after her he finally has her in his arms. And while he's unwilling to let Ellie become an archangel, he begrudgingly does so because he loves her and there's really no other choice left. I think the boy's entitled to be a tad bit selfish when it comes to his beloved. Now Cadan, on the other hand, was never a viable love interest and while I love him to bits and pieces I still could not comprehend his attraction to Ellie. Sure, he sees her as his redemption and while he is an amazing friend and a powerful ally it's obvious that he was destined to have nothing more with Ellie but a strong and wonderful friendship. I suppose love is strange that way.

Shadows in the Silence marks the end of the series. One final battle that ends in a fury of clashing steel blades, death and angelfire and a love strong enough to transcend the barriers between Heaven and Earth, archangel glory and human frailty. 

Rating:

                          

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