Hah. More like Wangst of the Wicked! I kid, I kid. 
 I made a comment about the first book being Buffy Season One: Disney Channel Version. Well, the sequel jumped straight into Buffy Season Six territory. It's dark, sexy, and witty. Much more so than the first. 
 Admittedly, I wasn't too impressed with Angelfire, the first book in this series, but Wings of the Wicked is abundantly more fun than it's predecessor. 
 The characters are starting to get into a comfort zone with each other and the chemistry between them is coming alive. The straight forward no-frills prose carries you right into the action and drama. 
 The Rundown 
 With the help of her guardian Will, Ellie battles the forces of darkness. She is the Preliator, the only one in the world who wields awesome reaper-slaying, sickle-shaped swords that are infused with the heavenly flame of Angelfire, and she's getting even better in battle. Things have gotten complicated with angelic Will, and he and Ellie fight the feelings they have for each other. A demonic reaper named Cadan begins to make advances toward Ellie, but can she trust him? Now a strong force of darkness is rising up and it will take everything the Preliator and her friends have got to face this new evil. 
 Characterization and Romance 
 In the first book, even though it's written in first person, I never felt like I was getting to know Ellie because of her Mary Sue tendencies. Yet somehow, I've really grown to care about her in the sequel, as have many of the other characters. There is Love Triangle. I know what you're thinking: Noooooooooooooooo! Or maybe: Yes, yes, YES! But I actually really liked both of the boys. 
 First, there's Will. (Why does every book have a Will these days?) His mouth says, "I love you but I can't be with you." But his eyes say, "I can't stay away." 
 Then there's Cadan. His mouth says, "I love you whether or not want to be with me." But his eyes say, "I'm gonna lock you in my basement." 
 Guess which one she goes for? NOT the creepy stalker guy. Oh wait, they're both kind of stalkers. Well, they call themselves "guardians" or "protectors" but we all know what that means. (view spoiler)[PEDOSUPERNATURALS! (view spoiler)[Kidding .(view spoiler)[It's not at all weird that they are a thousand and she is seventeen. (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)] 
 One thing I appreciated: Ellie considers having sex before marriage. Gasp!! Blasphemy! As long as no one puts a fanged supernatural baby in her, I'm fine with it. And PHEW! There were some hot scenes. Ellie was much less chaste and she liked it! 
 Shockingly, this book took a turn for dark. Several important characters are lost. And man... The characters in this book truly know how to grieve. It's not at all like other similar YA books where close friends or family members die and no one seems to care. So many intense moments of pain and rage fill these pages. They scream, they cry, they bawl their eyes out. Their agony is so believable in those moments. 
 The characterization is infinitely better in this book. I looked forward to the exchanges between Ellie and almost everyone this time around. Whereas the first book was mainly Ellie being confused and asking questions and being all "Woe is me," our heroine really came into her own in Wings of the Wicked. 
 The World-Building 
 This book threw in even more aspects of Buffydom, namely patrolling, which was not an aspect of the first book due to the whole "getting to know you" phase that Ellie was going through with Will and the new world unfolding around her. Patrols were always a important part of the storylines in Buffy, but I had mixed feelings about them being brought into the Angelfire series. Don't the two share quite a bit of similarities as it is? It makes me wonder what's next: turning Ellie's bestie, Kate, into an evil black-eyed witch lesbian? 
 Still - I have to admit that I ended up enjoying seeing the patrols included. It brought a sense of familiarity to it, complemented by the fact that the characters began to vibe with each other so well in battle. 
 Despite the obvious similarities to other series, the world was intense and more evolved this time around. They delve a bit deeper into Ellie's past and the specifics around it, but still left a lot to be learned in the upcoming books. 
 The Verdict 
 The plotline revolves strongly around action and romance and seems to be setting up for tons of love triangle tension in the next book, which I am greatly looking forward to. Though the writing is "filled to the brim" with cliche, it didn't matter. I found myself reading compulsively with a stupid grin on my face the whole time. 
 If you're a fan of angel mythology and looking for that next thing, this series just might be it! If you read the first book and are unsure about continuing, let me assure you that I greatly enjoyed it and did not regret it for one second. 
 As much as I liked this one, I still can't give it five stars, mainly because of an excess of cheesy lines and cliche. However, I enjoyed this one exponentially more than the first book. In fact, I wouldn't have believed how much better it is if I hadn't read it with my own two eyes. 
 Much less Seventh Heaven (When I see their happy faces smiling back at me-eeee. Yep, now it's going to be stuck in your head. Bwuahahahaha!) and much more Buffy and Supernatural. Really. It was like watching some sort of bizarre crossover spin-off of the two shows and I LOVED it.