Title: Angelfire (Angelfire #1)
Author: Courtney Allison Moulton
Genre: YA Fantasy/Paranormal
Format: Paperback
Length: 463 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publish Date: February 15, 2011
Rating:  ★  ★  ★  ★ 
Recommend: Yes!

So I immediately wanted to like this book because someone described it as having action scenes that would put Buffy to shame. And Buffy The Vampire Slayer is my absolute favorite TV show, and Buffy herself is my favorite Slayer and heroine. So I already had huge expectations of this book from that. If you’re going to tell me that the action scenes in this book are better than Buffy herself, well then it better live up to that kind of hype.

I kind of wish that this was an actual show or movie because the fight scenes were pretty epic. I wouldn’t say better than Buffy because hey, they had different aspects that I loved in both, but still worth seeing on some type of screen. The way that Moulton translated it to the page though, that was amazing. I could just see Ellie coming into her powers, totally forgetting that she is a human girl and just kicking major reaper ass. Of course, when you get towards the end, you find out just how bad ass she really is, or at least can be, and it immediately made me want to finish the trilogy.

Can I also mention that I’m completely bummed that it’s only a trilogy?

I think the reason why this was compared to Buffy as well was because of the whole reincarnation thing. While in BTVS, the Slayer line continues with each death of the previous Slayer (Kendra, Faith, etc.), Ellie’s soul keeps coming back into another body. She has to grow up over and over again, and when she turns 18, her Guardian Will has the power to “wake her up” in a sense, and remind her of what she’s supposed to do. She may not always look the same, or have the same name, but it is always her soul. She’s been around for thousands of years, chipping away at the reapers to make sure that the Apocalypse doesn’t come to pass, but it’s really only her fighting. Kind of like the Slayer as well. The world hangs in the balance, and it’s up to her to save it. At least Ellie has her Guardian to help her, and thank goodness he can live for a long time.

Ellie may have not been my absolute favorite heroine ever, but I mean she’s a high school senior. She isn’t going to be perfect by any means, and there were points where I just wanted to shake her and tell her to get with the program already, but I doubt I would be able to do much better in her shoes. I think she has so much potential for growth in the rest of the trilogy, and that’s what I can’t wait to see from her.

Will on the other hand, is a total babe. I just am so happy that he is her Guardian. He seems like he’s the type to really make sure that she is prepared to handle whatever comes her way, and cares about her enough to protect her for a long time. There may have been some forbidden romance between them, but at least that didn’t take up the entire storyline. I also think that in this case, the love that Will has for Ellie will actually be beneficial because he would do anything to protect her, and doesn’t allow his love for her to distract him from doing his job. Usually, it would get in the way.

I seriously can’t wait to get my hands on the second book! If I like it enough, I may just buy the entire series so I can always go back to it when I need an Ellie fix.