Wings of the Wicked

April 1, 2012

Gr 10 Up-Moulton takes readers into an engrossing world of biblical fantasy and epic romance, and gives them insight into the bewildering effects of superpowers and leadership thrust upon the shoulders of a teenage girl. In this sequel to Angelfire (HarperCollins, 2011), 17-year-old Ellie Monroe of Detroit's suburbs is still growing into her destiny as the vessel of Gabriel, archangel and the left hand of God. While struggling with her unrequited love for Will, her heaven-appointed Guardian, she is training for the Second War: the Apocalypse. The demonic reapers have acquired a soul-sucking ancient relic that could eliminate the Preliator's soul and its reincarnation cycle. But all Ellie wants is a normal senior year and her studly, stoic, angelic reaper boyfriend. The writing is saturated with descriptors and smatterings of jargon, though the action-driven plot propels readers through the sometimes-ambiguous prose. Moulton weaves multiple climaxes and unexpected love triangles to engage readers, but the dragged-out cliff-hanger with a twist is unfortunately too reminiscent of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight. Dripping with drama and gruesome battle imagery, this sequel will satisfy paranormal devotees more than its precursor.-Jamie-Lee Schombs, Library Journal

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2012
After many reincarnations, the Archangel Gabriel has emerged as a spoiled, wealthy, 17-year-old fashion-addicted girl who fights demons. The combination does not convince. Nevertheless, the story of Ellie and her guardian, Will, continues in this second installment of the Angelfire saga. Beginning in near–chick-lit mode, most of the story focuses on various romantic entanglements with occasional action sequences until the climactic scenes finally emerge. Ellie knows she loves Will completely and forever, yet she's still extremely attracted to several others, including Cadan, a demon (but she trusts him). Will, besotted with Ellie for over five centuries, constantly turns up to save her from danger. Once the narrative takes a dramatic turn, suspense struggles to take precedence over the romance, with Moulton pausing two major fights for kissing scenes. Much of the story frankly seems thrown together. Drenched in emo, everything is extreme, with frequent use of italics. Extreme fights, extreme romance, extreme clichés ("I couldn't lose them both tonight. I couldn't lose Will. I couldn't lose him") combine with such silly dialogue as "This is not right! Annihilating the human and angel races is not right" to lend the book a distinctly pulp-fiction flavor. Depictions of some of the demons are rather imaginative, however. Even demons can fall in love, it seems. For dedicated fans only, and with more coming. (Paranormal romance. 12 & up)

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