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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.
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.
Anonymous
Posted December 17, 2010
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.
67 out of 97 people found this review helpful.
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Posted November 12, 2009
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.
53 out of 112 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.theReader278
Posted June 23, 2011
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I loved reading this wonderful book! The cover is so beautiful. Love it.
43 out of 69 people found this review helpful.
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Posted December 30, 2009
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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!
43 out of 44 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.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!
36 out of 68 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.EllzReadz
Posted November 27, 2009
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.
33 out of 35 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.theReader278
Posted June 23, 2011
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I loved reading this wonderful book!
28 out of 45 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.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!
21 out of 25 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.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.
16 out of 24 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.BookAddictions
Posted July 2, 2010
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.
16 out of 19 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.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.
14 out of 15 people found this review helpful.
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Posted July 17, 2010
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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.
12 out of 21 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I loved this book. I read it in two days and I could not put it down. I recommend this book:)
10 out of 11 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.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.
9 out of 11 people found this review helpful.
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Posted June 8, 2010
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.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted February 24, 2010
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!
6 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.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.
6 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.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.
5 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.haleyfaithh
Posted September 2, 2010
i have read alot of books and series such as vampire academy , house of night, night world and others like that. and this book was so amazing i will recommend this book to anyone i meet i don't care if its a rip off of another book because this book hooks you and you cant put it down i read it in one day it was so amazing ((:
5 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
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Posted August 10, 2010
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I usually go for the historical fantasy book and I usually absolutely had books that have a modern setting. However I was hooked on the first page and spent the whole night finishing it. The cover definately makes the book seen darker than it is and the ending I didnt see coming at all!!! Definately give this book a try no matter what your in to.
5 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
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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 ...