Deborah's Books: fallen series

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Review: Fallen in Love by Lauren Kate

From Goodreads:

Unexpected. Unrequited. Forbidden. Eternal. Everyone has their own love story.

And in a twist of fate, four extraordinary love stories combine over the course of a romantic Valentine's Day in Medieval England. Miles and Shelby find love where they
least expect it. Roland learns a painful lesson about finding-and losing love. Arianne pays the price for a love so fierce it burns. And for the first -and last- time, Daniel and Luce
will spend a night together like none other.

Lauren Kate's FALLEN IN LOVE is filled with love stories . . . the ones everyone has been waiting for.

True love never says goodbye. . .

***

As a fan of the Fallen series, I was pretty excited to read this book. It is a compliation of love stories from some of the main characters in the series. In falls in between books #3 and #4.

I don't know exactly what I expected from this book, but I was disappointed. I only rated it as two stars on my Goodreads profile. The writing was fine, but it lacked the good storytelling and mystery of the series. Most of the stories were a little weird because there hadn't been any mention of them before. You were just tossed into the middle of a relationship you didn't know existed. There wasn't much of a plot, either. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a horrible book, but it wasn't the great read I had been looking forward to.

Romance-wise, it was pretty clean. A few simple kisses but nothing over the top. Also, it may be helpful to know that one of the stories is about a homosexual couple. I don't have any qualms about it, but I thought readers might want a heads up in case you need to have a "talk" with a child who's reading it.

Reading Level: Ages 12 and up
Hardcover: 256 pages
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (January 24, 2012)
Amazon
Goodreads Pin It

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Review: Fallen by Lauren Kate

Luce has a tragic past. Her life was seemingly ideal, except for the dark shadows that haunt her. She could ignore those and pretend they weren't there, keeping up the facade of a happy life, until the night Trevor tried to kiss her...and died. Speculation swarmed, and Luce's future was suddenly nothing more than being booked into "reform" school, which really felt like a lax prison.

Who would have thought she'd find bright spots among the gloom? Her quirky companion Arianne. Her loyal friend Penn. But then there's Cam. Handsome, charismatic Cam who showers her with attention - even more than she's comfortable with. But at least he acknowledges her, and he's kind to her. Not like Daniel. Daniel is aloof, breathtakingly handsome, haunted, and makes it clear from day one that he wants nothing to do with her.

But when Daniel saves her life, brings her flowers, takes her to a romantic hidden spot by the lake and races her through the water...Luce isn't quite sure what to believe.

And the truth will turn out to be almost more than she can handle.

***

Love, passion, death, battles, secrets, intrigue, love-triangles, friendships, betrayals...all ingredients for a fantastic read, right?

Well, maybe.

I enjoyed this book. I loved the writing and the descriptions. I really enjoyed Luce. She's smart and caring. She's guilty, but she's not sure of what. She feels an inexorable pull toward Daniel, and can't stay away, even though he's a jerk. As the reader, we know that he's doing it to protect her. But Luce doesn't know that. And yet she continues to throw herself at him. OK, she doesn't necessarily throw herself at him, but she makes it clear she'd pick him over Cam if he wanted her to, regardless of Daniel's distasteful personality traits (like flipping her off or telling her that if she won't leave, he will).

Again, as the reader, we know that what he's doing is protecting her, and it's tragic and heartbreaking. But really Luce? She doesn't even attempt to hide her obsession with him. (In my opinion at least.)

In the end, I enjoyed the book, but I walked away confused. The entire novel (and it's a big one!) seems to lead up to the last 15 pages. But there's no resolution. Daniel is very vague on who/what he is and why he is the way he is. But Luce seems to be completely at ease with that fact and will follow him blindly because they're in love - though truth be told it feels more like lust than love to me.

I do recommend this book, but know that you'll probably end up with more questions than answers in the end. I know I did. I'll be looking forward to reading the 2nd novel in the series, and hopefully that will help.