The world is a very diverse place; we have different cultural beliefs, mythologies, and religions.
But there’s one thing that is common across different regions and religions; angels. They come in different forms but have similar characteristics.
They’re non-human, they have powers, and they are usually either evil or good. All these characteristics make good ingredients for a good fantasy tale. The writers of the best books about angels take all these features and use excellent writing skills to turn them into timeless reads, such as the first on the list, Angelfall.
So, I worked my behind off to find the best books in the angel category and came up with the best 10.
Let’s get started.
11 Best Books About Angels (Fiction)
1. Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days #1) by Susan Ee
This apocalyptic romance is the most unputdownable fiction book about angels. Both the writing and the story are good! (Trust me on this one).
Angels have descended on earth to avenge the killing of the archangel Gabriel by humans. There’s chaos, and thugs and superstition have taken a grip on Silicon Valley.
Penryn, a Seventeen-year-old girl tries to get her family (her disabled little sister and schizophrenic mother) to safety. But when Paige, who is wheelchair bound, is abducted by angels, Penryn teams up with a de-winged enemy called Raffe.
Together, they embark on a journey to San Francisco, the angel’s stronghold, to save Paige.
You’ll fall in love with Penryn and Raffe.
2. Unearthly (Unearthly #1) by Cynthia Hand
Clara Gardner has discovered that she is not 100% human; she is part angel. This discovery also means she’s naturally stronger, smarter, and quicker than human beings.
It also means that she has to figure out what her purpose on this earth is—and that’s the hard part.
She gets hints of her purpose in her daydreams. The quest to serve her purpose takes Clara and her family to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where she meets two lovely boys: Christian and Tucker. Can you smell the love triangle?
Not only do we get to enjoy bits of mythology but also a love triangle that dragged till the end of the story.
3. The Antithesis: Inception (The Antithesis #1) By Terra Whiteman
Forget what you already know about heaven and hell and enjoy a whole new narrative of these places.
Note to everyone: this is pure fiction (all of the books on this list are), so let’s not get into weird blasphemy conspiracies.
Heaven and hell aren’t as black and white as we know them to be, and being evil doesn’t necessarily depend on whether one is an angel or a demon.
In this book, heaven and hell are real places, and there’s a jury established to rule and arbitrate disputes in the two places.
So, throw away your stereotypes and enjoy this amazing read.
4. Hallowed (Unearthly#2) by Cynthia Hand
The first three books on this list have been the first installments in their series. Maybe because the first has to win the readers over for the series to be a good one.
But, for a change, Hallowed is the second book in the Unearthly trilogy. But… it’s been beaten to the top 2 by its prequel, Unearthly.
I had to have another book from the trilogy because it is so good.
Clara is still torn between her love for Tucker and her destiny, which is with Christian. She also has dreams of herself in a cemetery, which she interprets to mean the death of someone close to her.
She then finds out that the visions were about the death of her mother. There are so many revelations and so much heartbreak in this book; apart from Clara’s mother’s funeral, her brother runs away, and Tucker is heartbroken when he breaks up with Clara after Christian kisses her.
5. Hush, Hush (Hush, Hush #1) by Becca Fitzpatrick
The first book in the Hush, Hush trilogy is about Nora, a smart and clean-living 16-year-old high school girl who falls in love with a fallen angel.
The only problem I had with it is the clichéd plot: a high school student finds her first love in a newcomer. She futilely tries her best to stifle her feelings for Patch (yes, Patch’s the scarred fallen angel).
She can’t deny that she’s in love with him, but is she ready for the path he’s about to take her on?
Having said that, the writing and story are nothing like any cliché. Fitzpatrick did a good job of making the characters well-rounded by—among other things—giving them depth and background.
She was also successful at getting me invested in the story because she gave the characters’ feelings.
She also threw in a couple of surprises (wait till you find out the identity of the masked stranger who follows Nora and attacks her friend).
6. Mercy (Mercy #1) by Rebecca Lim
Mercy is the first book in a 5-book paranormal series with the same title. The series combines romance, mystery, and angels to produce a couple of page-turners but this book is the best.
It’s about Mercy, an angel who’s been exiled alongside Lucifer for taking the devil’s side. But Mercy wants to go back to heaven, so she has to help a human in a crisis while doing her best to prevent weak souls from falling prey to the devil’s cunning tricks.
In the end, she’s faced with a very hard choice: does she choose Lucifer, her immortal companion, or the boy who is ready to lose everything for her love?
7. Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices, #1) Cassandra Clare
Set in the Victorian era, the story is about 16-year-old Tessa Gray, who moves to London at the request of her older brother, Nathaniel.
She is soon kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters (who are part of the Pandemonium Club), and she discovers that she is a Downworlder. This means that she can transform into another person.
This further complicates her situation because the leader of the Pandemonium wants to possess Tessa’s power.
She has no choice but to get someone or something on her side. So, she seeks protection from the Shadowhunters of the London Institute. The Shadowhunters ask her to help them by using her powers and—in turn—they promise to help her find her brother.
Clare then introduces a love triangle between Tessa, James, and Will. But her choices will get harder if she needs to choose between her new friends and Nathaniel.
8. World After (Penryn & the End of Days #2) by Susan Ee
This is the sequel to Angelfall, a fantasy thriller that is also number one on this list.
In this sequel, people are picking up the remaining pieces of their livers after the angel apocalypse. Disaster strikes Penryn’s family again; Paige (Penryn’s sister) is captured by a group of people who think that she’s a monster (because of her grotesque physique).
In her search for Paige, Penryn will go through hell and won’t give up, fighting till the end.
One of the most exciting things in this story is Penryn’s reunion with Raffe. He thought she was dead, but they meet again further down the storyline, and it’s a beautiful reunion.
9. Angel’s Walking (Angel’s Walking #1) by Karen Kingsbury
Tyler Ames is a former national baseball star who has sustained a career-ending injury. He wants things to go back to the way they were, but, on his way to the big leagues, Tyler lost everyone he loved.
Sami Dawson, Tyler’s true love, seems to have moved on, and he hits rock bottom. Things start picking up for Tyler, and he lands a maintenance gig at a retirement home. Whilst there, he finds a friend in Virginia Hutcheson, an old lady diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
In her, Tyler finds hope; he finds a road to redemption.
Unlike the other books on the list, this is pure Christian fiction, and it’s a life-changing book if you believe in everyday miracles.
10. Crashing Down to Earth (Stars and Satellites #2) by Terry Reid
But to non-Christian fiction. Set in Glasgow, Scotland, the story introduces us to Hayley Foster, a human (female) who is living with her guardian angel.
And, no, it’s not figurative. He’s a real angel, and his name is Alex. Hayley and Alex have a relationship (not the usual angel-human type), and Hayley wants to live a quiet, happy life with Alex despite some terrifying events some years back.
But, how long will they be able to sustain the tranquility of their worldly relationship?
11. City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments #1) by Cassandra Clare
Another Cassandra Clare classic and this one is about Clary Fray, a fifteen-year-old girl who’s about to run into the Shadowhunters.
The Shadowhunters are a group of warriors who have dedicated their lives to freeing the earth from the chokehold of demons.
In her first encounter with the Shadowhunters at the Pandemonium Club in New York, she witnesses their strange killing of a “boy.” As she will soon find out, the boy who’s been killed and dissolved is a demon. Among the three youthful Shadowhunters is Jace, a teenager whose good looks don’t match the way he behaves.
Before long, Clary’s mother disappears, and Clary also gets attacked by a poisonous demon. Jace carries Clary (who has now passed out) to the institute and introduces her to other members of the institute.
Before passing out, Clary had killed the demon, and this leaves both the Shadowhunters and us (the readers) with many questions about the reasons behind the attack and how she could see the demon.
You’ve got to read it and find out for yourself.
Final Words on the Best Books About Angels
So, there you have it, the best books about angels. This post only had fiction because of the word count that I wanted to have.
I plan on doing another article on nonfiction books about angels because I feel like we need that too.
You might have read one or two books on this list, and I know that you know that they’re super good. Not only are the books expertly written, but they also challenge our knowledge and beliefs about angels.
If you’ve never read any angel fiction, pick one from this list such as Angelfall; there’s always a first time for everything.
