Angelfire Book Review

Title: Angelfire
Author: Courtney Allison Moulton
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Publication Date: February 15, 2011
ISBN-13: 978-0062002327
464 pp.

ARC provided by publisher through NetGalley

I was comic book nerd when I was growing up. I read DC Comics (sorry, Marvel) and my favorite was Wonder Woman. She was one of the few strong female role models when I was growing up, which was before Buffy Summers slayed her first vamp.

I bring this up for my review of Angelfire because Charles Moulton created Wonder Woman. Charles Moulton was the pen name of William Moulton Marston and I doubt he's related to Courtney, but I think he would have appreciated that another Moulton created Ellie, the heroine of Angelfire.

Courtney Allison Moulton does a lot to keep the girl power tradition alive with Angelfire. Ellie is the girl-hero in the book, and yes, she does owe at least a passing nod to Buffy. Ellie has good friends and typical high school problems when she finds out that she's the Preliator, the warrior who is reincarnated to slay demon reapers intent on murdering innocent humans and taking their souls to Hell.

But Ellie doesn't fight them alone. She has Will, her Guardian, who helps her battle the demon horde. Will is also smoking hot, but not allowed to have any emotional (and especially not physical) feelings for Ellie. Except that he does, which makes for some big complications.

Angelfire is the first in a series, and the book sets up Ellie's transformation from high school student to kick-ass warrior brilliantly. The fight scenes are fast and furious. The only thing that dragged for me was the repetition of Will and Ellie's conversation of how Will promises to always look after her and never leave her. This conversation pops up in one form or another in almost every chapter. He will sacrifice everything for Ellie. I get it.

I would recommend Angelfire to readers who like Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight comics or Tithe by Holly Black.

And here's a bonus video of Courtney Allison Moulton talking about Angelfire (I particularly like the line about "off with the head, out with heart").