Fallen (Lauren Kate's Fallen Series #1)

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More About This Book

Overview

There's something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price's attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He's the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.

Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce—and goes out of his way to make that very clear—she can't let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her.

Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, Fallen is a page turning thriller and the ultimate love story.

Editorial Reviews

Children's Literature
Luce notices Daniel right away. She sees him on her first day at Sword and Cross, a boarding school for troubled teens that she is sent to after her boyfriend dies in a strange accident. She finds him mysterious and familiar at the same time. Daniel, however, wants nothing to do with Luce. In fact, he goes out of his way to make sure Luce wants nothing to do with him. The more he pushes Luce away, the more she wants to know about him. As the year continues, she makes other friends, all of whom have their own mysteries and all who seem connected to everyone but her. When Luce starts to research Daniel's background, she uncovers something that seems impossible but is completely undeniable; she starts to see how she is in the center of everything. And the more she learns, the more the world around her turns violent and frightening. Although slow starting, once this novel gets going, it hooks readers. There are love scenes and action scenes. The supernatural elements are just believable enough to keep you reading. In a year where everything is vampire, Kate's take on the supernatural is innovative and imaginative. The stock themes are there (thwarted love, rebellion against authority, loyalty to friends), but they take on a new twist with fallen angels. However, while this book has an end, it leaves many questions unanswered, leaving readers waiting for the next in the series. Reviewer: Heather Robertson Mason
Publishers Weekly
Beautiful Lucinda (Luce) Price is banished from everything she knows after a mysterious fire leaves her friend Trevor dead and Luce shouldering the blame. She is forced to board at a decrepit reform school where students are under the constant watch of cameras and must go without cellphones or Internet access. Grief-stricken by Trevor's death and horrified by her new surroundings, Luce is also plagued by sinister, terrifying shadows that appear wherever she goes. The remote gothic setting provides the standard backdrop for the crux of the story, first in a planned series—the romantic feelings Luce develops for the elusive, unpredictable, and rather unlikable Daniel. Aside from the evil shadows, the plot can be summed up with a single word: pining. Luce longs for Daniel in various ways—dreaming of him, digging up information, trying to talk to him, experiencing rejection, then trying again. Some readers will pine right alongside Luce, but others may feel that Kate spends too much time on unrequited love and too little on forward movement in Luce's relationship with Daniel and the mystery of what, exactly, Daniel is. Ages 12–up. (Dec.)
More Reviews (4) Fewer Reviews
VOYA
On her first day at Sword and Cross boarding school, Lucinda (Luce) meets Daniel, for whom she has an immediate and overwhelming attraction. Luce has no interest in pursuing her feelings. Her last attempt at love ended in tragedy, and she is certain that the menacing shadows that have followed her for her entire life will wreak havoc if she tries to get close to anyone. When a fire breaks out in the school's library causing the death of a student, Luce knows she is right. But she and Daniel are drawn together by a force they cannot resist. Luce is also pursued by Cam, and soon Daniel and Cam are fighting over Luce. Luce realizes that she, Daniel, Cam, and many of the Sword and Cross students and teachers are players in an epic battle between the forces of heaven and hell. The premise of the Fallen series is unique, and the writing is solid. Unfortunately the first installment is overwhelmed by the need to set up the series and introduce a seemingly never-ending parade of characters. Little time is devoted to character development. Many characters come and go, and it is difficult to remember who is who and what their motivations might be for their behavior. The story drags at first and builds little believable tension or attraction between Daniel and Luce; however, the last quarter of the book finally introduces action, passion, and several surprising plot twists. If the next book continues the action-oriented trend of the final section of this book, the series has potential to be popular with younger high school students interested in supernatural fiction and stories of star-crossed lovers. Reviewer: Paula Brehm-Heeger
School Library Journal
Gr 8 Up—Luce must spend her senior year at reform school after her boyfriend dies in a mysterious fire. She suspects that the dark shadows that have tormented her all her life had something to do with it. When she meets supernaturally gorgeous Daniel, she feels a familiar longing, making her believe they have met before. Although Cam is clearly interested in her, Luce only wants Daniel, who runs both hot and cold. He tries to keep Luce at a distance, telling her that the truth would kill her as it has many times before. The first chapter is gripping and foreshadows the supernatural elements to come. The plot revolves around lovers who find one another, only to lose one another over and over again in a story that spans centuries. Instead of vampires, though, these are fallen angels. Many elements are not resolved, such as the cause of the fire and why angels are at this school. Still, fans of supernatural romance will be lining up for this book despite its flaws, and begging for a sequel.—Kris Hickey, Columbus Metropolitan Library, OH
Kirkus Reviews
There's no better place to encounter your centuries-old true love than reform school, right? Luce, newly enrolled at Sword & Cross School after a fire kills her sort-of boyfriend, is instantly attracted to two majorly gorgeous bad boys, elusive Daniel and popular Cam. She can also see clouds of dark shadows, but she doesn't know why or where they come from. With the help of a friend, Luce discovers that Daniel has a storied supernatural history. The Southern Gothic atmosphere, the best part of the book, is so well crafted that readers can easily picture Luce walking among the marshes and crumbling buildings. Daniel's angelic identity is one that will be obvious to any reader with knowledge of the Bible. By the time Luce figures it out, however, the evil school librarian has Luce in her clutches, threatening to end Luce and Daniel's One True Love. This would be no great loss, as Luce lacks personality, and it is never clear to readers why the two hottest guys in school would compete for her attention. This angel story fails to rise above. (Supernatural. YA)
School Library Journal
Gr 8 Up—An ominous prologue involving a man and woman in another place and time (England, 1854) begins this darkly captivating fantasy (Delacorte, 2009) by Lauren Kate. In the first chapter, set in present day Savannah, Georgia, 17-year-old Lucinda (Luce) has just arrived at the reform school to which she has been sent following the death of her friend, Trevor, in a suspicious fire. The story begins at a slow pace as the author sets the scene and mood while introducing the characters, including the mysterious and beautiful Daniel, to whom Luce is immediately attracted. She feels as though she has met him before, somewhere. Listeners also meet Cam, to whom Luce is also attracted, albeit, to a lesser degree. As the story unfolds, the pace and intensity build, keeping listeners enthralled as the true nature of several characters are revealed, as well as the significance of the menacing, shifting shadows that have haunted Luce since childhood. Justine Eyre's smooth narration is delivered in a typical teen girl's voice—sometimes understated and verging on tremulous, and dramatic at other times. Obvious similarities to Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series exist, but instead of vampires and wolves, the tale is populated with angels and demons. Many questions remain unanswered by story's end. Fans will eagerly await the sequel, Torment, which will be released in audio format in October 2010.—Mary Oluonye, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780385738934
  • Publisher: Random House Children's Books
  • Publication date: 12/8/2009
  • Pages: 464
  • Sales rank: 33,527
  • Age range: 12 - 17 Years
  • Lexile: 830L (what's this?)
  • Series: Lauren Kate's Fallen Series , #1
  • Product dimensions: 6.46 (w) x 8.66 (h) x 1.46 (d)

Meet the Author

Lauren Kate
Lauren Kate

Lauren Kate recently finished her M.A. in Creative Writing at UC Davis, where she also teaches. She lives and writes in an old farm house in Winters, California. Her first novel, The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove goes on sale one month before Fallen.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4
( 4875 )

Rating Distribution

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(1227)

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(235)

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See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 4918 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted December 17, 2010

    A Bit Of A Let Down.... :(

    After I saw the great reviews, alluringly dark book cover and promising summary of the book, it seemed like it was worth the money. Then came the reading.. there were parts throughout the story where I had to drag myself to continue reading and it seemed that the book's direction was at a constant stand-still. If anything, the plot sounded REALLY cool at first but if not for the out-of-motion sequence of events and bland characters, I would have given the book a solid 4 stars.

    In general, I recommend this book to anyone who has the patience to read through this one.

    47 out of 66 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted June 23, 2011

    I Also Recommend:

    9780316007443 2940011300509

    Excellent

    I loved reading this wonderful book! The cover is so beautiful. Love it.

    39 out of 54 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted November 12, 2009

    Supernatural Romance

    Before reading this young adult fantasy novel, Fallen, I knew it involved a human falling in love with a fallen angel. While I am extremely not a Goddess-rejecting monotheist, I reminded myself that I love Neil Gaiman's novel Neverwhere and it involves a fallen angel, and the idea of a mortal falling in love with a supernatural piqued my curiosity.

    It didn't take me long to figure out that Fallen caters to fans of Twilight. The main character, Luce, is a teen who has recently been a witness to or perpetrayer of a horrific death, and as a result this top student has been enrolled into a school for problem teens. Like Bella in Twilight, she is in a strange place and starting at a strange school, where she feels vulnerable because she doesn't know the other students. Furthermore, Luce is drawn to a supernatural being, a beautiful young man, even though he treats her badly.

    However, the writing quality is, while poor, much better than that of the Twilight series; it is lively where Twilight is dull and flat. On one hand, Fallen is a page-turner and I was genuinely interested in the characters; on the other hand, the book is full of "sentences" that are in fact fragments, and "paragraphs" often consist of one or two sentences.

    My favorite parts of the book involved Luce and a friend researching Xian mythology in the school library.

    It was a relief to me that Luce is a vegetarian who was brought up agnostic, especially given that the Twilight series is written by a conservative Xian. The book didn't seem to be from a conservative Xian perspective.until the reader learns something very significant toward the end, after getting sucked into the plot. I was deeply disappointed and disgusted when I found out why the author chose to make Luce an agnostic and absurdly makes it out to be a most unfortunate situation. Being brought up to think for herself is infinitely better than growing up brainwashed. For that matter, it seemed odd that the school taught a class called "religion," and it doesn't seem as if any religion other than Xianity is covered by that class.

    The last thing teen girls need is to read novels that lure them in with suspense and romance.only to give them dogma from an essentially patriarchal religion. Luce is a stronger and more interesting character than Bella, although like Bella her obsession with the jerk gets rather trying and I eventually began to wish she had some hobbies. But at least she doesn't cook and clean for her dad, and at least Daniel, the fallen angel, isn't stalking her.

    34 out of 64 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted June 23, 2011

    I Also Recommend:

    2940011300509

    Excellent

    I loved reading this wonderful book!

    26 out of 36 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted December 30, 2009

    I Also Recommend:

    9780545123266

    Fallen

    I was ready to abandon reading this book about one hundred pages in because NOTHING WAS HAPPENING, and I have never not finished a book before. However, after the first half of the book, the pace picked up and I found myself staying up late to finish it. I agree, the ending is rushed (preparing us for the next book, no doubt) and several things are left unexplained, which is annoying. However, Lauren Kate writes beautifully and makes you feel like Luce feels. It's also different than all the Twilight re-creations going around out there--no vampires here! I would give it a B overall. It's worth the read but you have to push yourself through the first half for sure!

    25 out of 26 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted June 24, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    Beautiful Cover...Lame Story

    Yeah, so I get it, Angels are the new Vampire trend. I saw this cover and probably like many of you just fell prey. I have a policy with myself to give every book a chance and so I did--Wrong! This book was just a bunch of nonsense. The characters were boring, yes even Sebastian. And I realize that the setting is supposed to create some sense of edgyness, but it just felt forced, I mean "watch out for the reds" come on! Plus Luce's constant desire to "fold herself" into Sebastians arms, there are so many other ways this could have been phrased but it seems the author lost her thesaurus when she was writing this book, because that's all she kept saying, "Luce was drawn to Sebastian" and Luce "wanted to fold herself", I mean come on, put a little more effort in your work. The dialogue was dull, the "romance" was boring, and most appauling of all--this is supposed to be a series??? Please, learn from my mistakes and don't judge a book by it's cover because in this case you will be duped!

    24 out of 46 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted November 27, 2009

    A great start to a new series

    My thoughts...This is another one of those highly anticipated novels with an incredible cover. I have been reading mixed reviews, so I started with a bit of apprehension. There was no need, I really enjoyed reading this story.



    Let me start with the pros. First, I love a story with a strong heroine and Fallen delivered. Luce is a girl with a really hard history, she watched her date burn in front of her eyes, she is haunted by eerie shadows, and the court has ordered her to go to reform school for troubled kids. The story starts her first day when she is introduced to some mysterious characters, Cam and Daniel. She is drawn to Daniel, but he rejects her and Cam...Cam makes her feel safe and secure. There are so other interesting people including her new BFF and of course, school would not be school without the mean girl. I got a great sense of Luce and I could feel through her. Daniel and Cam remained mysterious, but intriguing.

    I enjoyed the author's writing style, it kept a nice rhythm and it kept me guessing until the end. This story was not jam packed with action scenes but there was a lot of world building and character building that left the door wide open for the next book Torment, due out in September 2010. The overall theme, which I believe to be the struggle between good and evil was not new, but the presentation and twists the story provided were very original.

    The big cons for me were the questions that were left unanswered. I really felt like I read half of the book because there were so many loose ends and so much yet to be told. Parts in the middle seemed like filler that moved a bit slow, where I would have rather leaned more about the characters' pasts. I could feel her attraction and her draw to the boys, but not her attachment to them. I am hoping the next book addresses my questions.

    I will be reading the rest of the series. If you enjoy a good love story, you will like Fallen.

    20 out of 21 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted November 5, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    9780312532758 9780061214653

    Fall in love with Fallen

    Lucinda (Luce) is starting at Sword & Cross reform school in Georgia after a mysterious incident at her old school got her kicked out. She makes instant friends with Arriane and Penn, two of the friendlier girls at the school. She also catches the eyes of two different boys right away - one who genuinely seems to like her and another who makes it clear he wants nothing to do with her. It is the latter, named Daniel, whom she can't deny a connection to. But the deeper she digs into these curious feelings, the darker her life becomes.

    I must admit: I was nervous that all the hype for FALLEN was unwarranted. That it would not live up to the exciting things I heard about it. Boy was I proven wrong! Once I had read the first few chapters, I found it very hard to put this book down. I felt the school was both romantic and gothic. I loved the secondary characters of Arriane, Penn, and Miss Sophia. I did not fall for Daniel quite as hard as Luce did, but could absolutely see what made him so alluring. The only odd piece of the story was that for a reform school of crazy/wayward kids, they don't come across any different than any other high school.

    FALLEN was a fantastic start from Lauren Kate. I am looking forward to TORMENT, coming out fall 2010!

    17 out of 20 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted July 2, 2010

    Great... but a little flawed

    Fallen by Lauren Kate grips you from the first page and absolutely refuses to let go. When Lucinda Price gets shipped to Sword & Cross boarding school for troubled teens, she meets a boy who seems to hate her, Daniel Grigori. Their love story is interesting and for the most part unique. It's edgy and thrilling and you'll keep flipping the pages looking for answers to the mysteriousness of it all. The only problem is...you don't get answers. Why can Luce see the shadows? Why did the shadows kill trevor? Why will no one answer Luce's questions? However, the writing and the plot were both so good that the fact that Lauren Kate ignores those questions is almost forgivable (assuming they will be answered in Torment) Overall, it was a book I enjoyed a lot.

    14 out of 17 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted January 17, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    9781416972242 9781416914280 9781416914303

    An Atmospheric YA Drama that Seduces and Appeals...all in the same breath

    A war is quietly being waged in the heavens and on earth, a war that has been repeated over and over again always in stalemate. A war of the Fallen. And its balance hinges on the love between a Fallen and mortal. With its failure, hell will reign on earth and if it succeeds.well that outcome is unknown.


    But the unearthly battle hits perilously close to home or at least home for the time being for Lucinda. Shuffled off to a reform school, to the mysterious Swords and Cross, Lucinda finds the staff and even the students slightly unnerving. Even the school is not what it seems to be and that could very well be her undoing-because the knowledge that Luce needs might actually save her life.this time. Fate is shifting at Swords and Cross.with unknown enemies choosing sides, and insidious danger lurking in every corner.


    Lauren Kate paints a moody and atmospheric young adult drama that is tensely surreal. She divulges very little of the secret that holds fate in its balance, from the reader, as well as from her protagonist. It's as if you cannot quite figure out what is going on.barely grasping onto the ether of a very good dream, or a seductive nightmare. The burgeoning relationship between Lucinda and Daniel is strangely appealing, subdued, even when all the facts are obscured, and yet I couldn't find fault with Kate's technique. Her style, her choice of plot is extremely provocative. As Anne Rice has been quoted, "Angels are the new vampires." And this tempestuous drama kept me reading non-stop. I can only hope that Kate reveals more about the Fallen battle in Torment when it is released in September.

    12 out of 13 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted October 15, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    Great plot, but that's it :(

    I really expected more out of this book, and am really sad i didn't get it because the plot is fantastic. fallen angels, star-crossed lovers, a confusedly in love protagonist reborn even 17 years to fall in love with the same man. how could this not be an awesome book???

    well, i'll tell you:

    the first 3/4 of the book is basically nothing. You get to know Luce and follow her around her first week at her new reform school. Which is nothing like a reform school should be! you know, like, attempting to REFORM it's students. students cut class and sneak off the "high security" campus with not so much as a wrist slap. it felt very unbelievable and came across as laziness on the author's part. She seemed focused on daniel and luce's ghost of a relationship (which she did a good job on!) but kind of just let the rest of the pieces pick themselves up. This weakened the story a lot.

    Then suddenly the last 1/4 of the book everything happens in a messy whirlwind. Nothing is explained properly, and what is explained is over-explained to an underestimated and slightly irritated reader who would just like to get on with it. She throws bible references at you that should have been slowly revealed throughout the course of the novel so that the reader could stay enticed with this ancient, biblical, fallen angel mystery. But instead you're left even more confused and frustrated when they're half-assedly thrown out there and then never explained. (Feels like improper research to me. Will it be explained in the next book? I'm not wasting money to find out. It should have been explained in this book, or not thrown at you until the second book. Weak attempt at keeping the reader.)

    The author also makes the mistake of making the protagonist Luce little more than a marionette, twisted this way and that by different characters and by the plot and having no real control over the events that transpire. She takes no initiative and has no real end goal except a weak attempt at figuring out why she's suddenly in love with this random guy named Daniel. None of this fallen angel stuff is actually even revealed until the end.

    For all the thoughts of Luce's that the reader is privy to, the book should have been written in first person. The reader stays with her from start to finish (minus the prologue which was probably the best part of the novel - and a very good part!) and hears all of her somewhat tedious and repetitive internal monologue. And because she's a marionette, her thoughts can get a little whiny and pitiable - which is not what any reader wants from their protagonist throughout the entire journey that you are stuck with her! It made me wish that Daniel was the protagonist instead because he was the character with the goal and the only character with real initiative.

    So, all in all, a great idea executed poorly.

    10 out of 14 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted July 17, 2010

    I Also Recommend:

    9780316015844 9781416989400

    COME ON PEOPLE...REALLY???

    Some of you are being way too generous with your stars. This book was terrible. The plot was so thin you could see right through it, but somehow someway, Kate still manages to be as vauge as possible answering none of the questions presented in the book. In fact if you read the synopsis you won't even have to read the book. The pace was painfully slow and the characters were unimaginitive and hollow. They had no substance and you never really got to know them. Honestly, tell me 3 things about Luce's personality. I gave it two stars only because I finished it and that's not saying much.

    10 out of 18 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted January 2, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    Could Not Put it Down:)

    I loved this book. I read it in two days and I could not put it down. I recommend this book:)

    9 out of 10 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted September 17, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    review taken from One Book At A Time http://onebooktime.blogspot.com

    I honestly haven't read many reviews for Fallen. I loved the cover and the description, so never realized that it gets quite a few negative reviews. I was glad for that, because I might have ended up disliking it a lot more than I did. I'm intrigued by were the story is going, but it took a long time to get me there.

    I don't think I got to know Luce very well, even though the book is from her point of view. I feel like the events that lead up to her arriving at Sword & Cross are skimmed over. I never fully understood them. Her whole background story is sort of vague. It's like her whole life story begins the moment she sees Daniel. Which is really annoying. Daniel makes it so painstakingly obvious that he wants nothing to do with her. Yet, she insists on following him around. We have enough stories like that. Plus, I don't understand what her role is in everything. I'm sure the author reveals so little to get you to the next book, but I dislike being dangled along.

    Oddly enough, I thought Daniel was fascinating. I liked his background story. He knows the stakes and is trying his best to play along. He's also trying hard to protect Luce from what he feels is the inevitable. I was really intrigued by the connection he has with Luce and what he does to avoid it. And I love the sidekick characters. For some reason, I found them all really amusing. I had a feeling whose side everyone was one, but I liked how it unfolds.

    So, I spent the first 200 pages reading about Luce chasing after a guy who ignores her. And then last 250 pages trying to figure out what is really going on. I think I would like it better from Daniel's point of view.

    6 out of 7 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted June 8, 2010

    Absolutely wonderful

    I loved this book so much, I felt like I can relate to alot of the events in the main charachters life and I will have no problem reading it again. It's thrilling, Edgy and Unforgettable, Lauren Kate is my favorite author of all times.

    6 out of 7 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted February 24, 2010

    Best book I have ever read.

    This book is 100% the best book i have ever read. I of course use to be into vampires and such but this book has brought me into a new place where instead of an Edward by my side there is a Daniel. This book keeps you reading until all hours of the night. Me and my friend have discussions on this book to. This book has a strong romance line and very realistic characters. inside all that fiction is actually non-fiction inside. This book i would recommend for strong readers, but 11 year old would enjoy it too. You can read this book anytime and love it! I'm 12 and my friend 13 and we can't stop talking about the book. So if you enjoy romance, reform schools, bad kids, good kids, and most importantly angels then this is your book!

    5 out of 7 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted January 17, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    9781616794927 9780061288876 9780061140983 9780545139700 9780312590444

    I thought the book was great and I will read it again,and will read the next one because there will be a next one.

    The book leaves you knowing there will be another.You don't want to put the book down because you what to know whats going to happen.Why is Danial mean to Luse?Why is Cam so nice that you think he's no good?and what are the shadows that keep haunting Luse?And then when you finally get to the end and get the goods,its short and sweet untill the next book explains the rest.About the book,Danial is a fallen angel.Luce has found him time and time again when she's seventeen even thow she doesn't know him when she see's him.There brought together somehow.And from what I tell ,Luce is this special human girl,she's special to the angals anyway,I don't know why untill the next book.

    5 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted January 4, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    Ahhh A Prologue That Sucks You In And Memorizes You Until The End...What A Nice Feel

    "Torment! Torment! Torment! Torment By Lauren Kate, where are you? Oh why does thee have to be so far away? Thy cannot bear to live without you!!!" Screams The Monster Of Books.
    You know you like a book when your itching for it's sequel. Sadly, and it's understandable, that's far away. September far away!! Just so everyone's clear. While everyone is excited for it to be there senior year (next year is my senior year in high school) I'll be wrapped up in Luce's & Daniel's story. Anyways, you also know when you like a book when your still daydreaming about it 2 weeks after you read it. And I'm not saying that this book took 2 weeks to read, this took 1 day to read, but it's still in my head. Anyhow onto the review, what to say. I've heard mix reviews about this book, so I was scared at first but the prologue immediately caught my attention and spun me into a addiction that lasted from beginning to end, to even now. The book has everything a reader wants. Such as perfect imagery, realistic character with life-like dialogue and two hot guys that any girls can drool over. Lauren Kate spins a tale like never before and her writing and story telling will have you memorized from the very first few pages. She does something that I really like in YA fiction but it seems very difficult to do as I've only seen few authors who have really shown it, and that is emotion. You have heard me in previous reviews bragging about the author not showing enough emotion and you may wonder why I think it's a big deal. I think it's important because you get more feel of the story, it's more life-like, and you can relate to it a lot more *even if it's supernatural romance*. Lauren has grasped the emotion almost perfectly, there's one part that wasn't right but read on and you'll find out what that is later. She sets her setting in Savannah, Georgia in a reform boarding school. Luce feels alone and when you read it you feel the place (Sword & Cross Boarding School) is creepy and dead. What Luce is feeling in the book, you feel. What she sees, you see. It was just a amazing experience, and I consider this book one of 2009 best books.
    What I didn't like in Fallen was in the beginning, the author eventually stops doing this, but she switches from first person to the author narrating her. Example of this is;
    "Which is why she was enrolling in her senior year at Sword & Cross a full month after the academic year had begun. Being a new student was bad enough, and Luce had been really nervous about having to jump into classes where everyone else was already settled." (Page.11)

    Do you see see she switches from first person point of view, to either the author talking about the character or talking about herself in third person. That was kind of annoying and eventually it went away, I think I agree with someone else (can't remember which book blogger) but the author was settling in and getting into Luce's mind. Another thing that bothered me was the part that lack emotion was the shadows and how Luce handled them. It just didn't seem realistic and it was hard to take her seriously at times. The third thing I didn't like was that Luce would explain something that already happen but there would never be a chapter or page on it. Like she would explain past events that had happen, but were never in the book. I would of like to see those things happen instead of being explained, I think it gives it a better affect, especially when we're talk

    5 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted September 13, 2010

    I Also Recommend:

    9781442408623 9780763635732 9781416914280 9780312360269

    Great start to a new series.

    From the moment I started this book I couldn't put it down. Upon completing the book you can see that this is just the jump start for a series, leaving the reader with so many questions and hopes what is to come. Not all of the characters are fleshed out but you get just enough from them to get a small sense of who they are and how they will become somewhat vital in the future of the story. It left me wanting more and in steep anticipation for further installments.

    4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted September 5, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    9780061720772 9780061140976 9781595142504 9780312590970 9781416975861

    Fallen in Love with this book :D (such a cliche of me)

    Dark, Suspenseful, and Romantic. How could you ask for anything more. This book had me on edge, frantically flipping pages to find out what would happen next. I absolutely fell in love with the characters (even the evil ones if I say so myself) and cannot wait to read Torment. The plot was mysterious and lovely at the same time. If you read this book, you'll have to bring it with you anywhere until you finish, so make sure you've got time. And after your done reading, you'll be disappointed, not of the book, but about being finished so suddenly. Any reader of any genre would fall in love with this book. So what the heck, give it a try! I promise you'll love it :D.

    4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

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