Fallen by Lauren Kate
December 2009 by Delacorte Press 
Hardcover, 452 pages
Purchased

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.

Review

The scenario: a bunch of crazies at reformed school living among fallen angels turn out to be pawns of a game started many years ago. A seemingly original plot slowly turned into the same clichés and told over story that lead to complete disappointment.

The prologue- sucked me in; I was almost giddy about a dark, gothic doomed romance but mid-way through after all the main characters searching for answers about her and Daniel we wait.... and wait, and wait and wait and wait….and still no answers, and when the end hits…NOTHING….NADA!!!! We get some vague information about  who is who but the mystery we so long to hear will be continued in a future installment.

As far as the angelic and spiritual aspects, Ms. Kate’s Biblical perspective is pretty hilarious. Like I've said before, especially concerning the one about the Nephilm (from a gnostic-The Book of Enoch, which every author and their brother is using right now....) that just because you know of a story from the Bible doesn't mean you know what it’s about.

Most of the time as we -the desperate readers- are trying to find out ANYTHING besides the fact that Daniel and Cam are angels, are stuck inside Luce’s annoying brain searching, searching, searching but never figuring out the big picture. After chapter one the reader is so far ahead of Luce, disconnection takes place and while we know who all the weirdo’s are, poor Luce is still trying to figure out how she got to the school in the first place. Way too many unresolved issues were left by the end of the book and we never find out what exactly happened to the doomed boys with fatal ends, we never fully understand why Luce can see the shadows, we never really know the whole story of why she is destined for the same fate over and over. 

On a positive note, Luce had some redeeming qualities. For instance she genuinely cares for people including her friends and parents (who have sent her to reformed school so they can be conveniently out of the picture) she’s brave in a sense of sacrificial behavior, rescuing others, compassion, and stands up against the murky shadows that have haunted her for years. Not bad for a gal who’s clueless to the supernatural around her.

Lauren Kate’s writing was ok in showcasing visual and imagery effects and the quality of character dialog especially the romantic plot was believable and held strength to the book, the little it had anyways. Fallen is a tricky one, for those of you who love silly romance and cryptic body language I’d say go for it. For those of you who can’t stand an unsolved mystery with immature characters, skip it.

2/5 YA Angels, Romance