I've read a lot of glowing reviews saying this book wasn't your average young adult angel book or dystopia. Boy, were they right. This book is something else. 
 What really sets this book apart for me is the premise and the mythology. 
 The premise is post-apocalyptic dystopia. The aplocalypse is led by angels. Nobody knows much about anything as regular sources of information like TV or the Internet are down. The angels aren't the cuddly cupid-like creatures, they are vicious warriors who believe people are so far beneath them that they treat people like mindless animals. 
 The feeling of the apocalypse and what people are capable of doing for survival are very raw and well portrayed. You really get the feeling that it's fresh and it's bad from this book. Things like cannibalism or possible rape of a seventeen-year-old are discussed quite openly which makes it a lot more realistic reading than any other angel/dystopia book I've ever read. 
 The heroine, Penryn, is not your typical YA protagonist either. We don't learn all that much about her appearance or romantic feelings (although there are those as well) but the main focus is her loyalty to those she loves. She is faced with some very difficult choices, all of which aren't resolved in this book, which makes me look forward to the next volume very much. 
 The only thing keeping from giving this book 5 stars was the pacing. At some points I thought it was moving too slowly but the ending pretty much blew me away. In the end, this is the kind of book that stays with for a quite some time. 
 Oh, how I wish I could read the next volume straight away!