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Fallen (Fallen #1)

by Lauren Kate (Goodreads Author)

3.77 · rating details · 57,239 ratings · 7,011 reviews

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 eve...more

Hardcover, First, 452 pages

Published December 8th 2009 by Delacorte Press (first published January 1st 2009)

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Jun 27, 2011

Penny rated it

Recommends it for: Anyone who's a glutton for punishment

Shelves: worst-book-ever, should-never-have-been-published, reviewed-books, paranormal-romance, ya-fiction, angels-demons, wish-i-could-unread

UPDATE (06/27/11): Over 300 people like this review. Yay. I WIN THE INTERNET! Or at least I win a medal in the Crazy Rant About A Horrible Book category. I'd like to thank everyone who made this possible: Goodreads friends, followers of my reviews and everyone else who read and voted for my review--I couldn't have done this without any of you. Also, special thanks go out to Al Gore, the creators of Goodreads, Delacorte Press, whoever green-lighted this book, all the trees that selflessly la...more

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Nov 21, 2011

Kat Kennedy rated it

Recommends it for: No one. Ever. For any reason other than to teach them how NOT to write.

Shelves: kat-s-book-reviews, just-plain-bad, books-that-deserve-painful-death, kat-s-rants, ya-pnr-maddness

"In this lifetime you're nothing more than you appear to be: a stupid, selfish, ignorant, spoiled little girl who thinks the world lives or dies on whether she gets to go out with some good-looking boy at school. Even if your death wouldn't accomplish something so long-awaited, glorious, and grand, I'd still relish this moment, killing you."

I'm sorry, was I supposed to agree with absolutely everything the evil villain said and wait, with baited breath, for her to kill Luci...more

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Mar 19, 2010

Annalisa rated it

Recommends it for: Girls who want sexual tension without substance and don't mind being kept in the dark

Recommended to Annalisa by: Annie

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy, romance, cover

Reading this book was like walking through fog, or to pull description from the book, with black shadows blocking my view of everything, only it's not the black shadows that got in my way but the MC, Luce, and the author, Kate. I have no idea what the school looked like (no more that a glimpse of this and that) or what the characters were like (same thing, just glimpses that don't add up to anything) or even what was going on in any of the action scenes because a) Luce doesn't notice anything ex...moreReading this book was like walking through fog, or to pull description from the book, with black shadows blocking my view of everything, only it's not the black shadows that got in my way but the MC, Luce, and the author, Kate. I have no idea what the school looked like (no more that a glimpse of this and that) or what the characters were like (same thing, just glimpses that don't add up to anything) or even what was going on in any of the action scenes because a) Luce doesn't notice anything except for the guys she's obsessed with and b) Kate wants to keep her readers in suspense so she makes sure not to tell you anything worth telling. I know sexual tension is the driving force in paranormal romances, but the plots have to at least make sense, as do the settings. This reform school with cameras everywhere was lacking in adult supervision even for a normal boarding school level. I wasn't ever satisfied with an explanation why Luce, present at the scene of a tragic accident, needed to be at reform school in the first place.

Luce makes sure to tell us she's a 4.0 student, brilliant at everything, and then proceeds to be the most dim-witted narrator I have ever read. As annoying as she was, the comment that bugged me the most was actually that as a swimmer she knew butterfly as the fastest stroke. Anyone who's been in a pool knows it's freestyle. That's why it's called freestyle: you can swim any stroke, but that's the fastest. Luce was obviously not a swimmer, despite her telling us she was, she was obviously not smart enough for calculus, despite her telling us she was, and she was obviously not worth notice from all these guys, despite her telling us she was. By the middle of the book, I was so frustrated with all her cobwebs of thought I wanted to swipe them away so I could see anything in this story. She spends the book describing her eternal lust for Daniel, except when Cam is around and she's distracted by her lust for him, but she's too dense to realize that either of them like her. This book is almost five hundred pages of Luce's internal dialogue of self-deprecation and confusion with the story sometimes happening in the background.

Every time anything remotely interesting starts to happen, Kate falls back on two tactics to keep her readers from learning anything: a) her vacuous heroine who doesn't understand any of the blatant clues and therefore doesn't ask the right questions, or b) scene interrupters with a passive heroine who lets every other character in the book control what she does. Luce zips from half-scene to half-scene without any of it being developed, as much a spectator to her own life as we are. We never get to understand the other characters, the undertones of their relationships, or what they're doing at the school in the first place. Kate stifles any progression in character, plot, everything, so she doesn't ruin those spoilers she's saving for the next book. But we, like Luce, aren't supposed to notice that we aren't getting any answers. We're supposed to be consumed by the hot, mysterious guys, gripping the pages in suspense.

The only reason I finished this book is because I wanted to prove my suspicion that Kate did not intend to give her readers any answers. Don't expect to find out what the black shadows are. Don't expect to learn what's behind this relationship that is the whole point of the book (all Kate gave us was a bunch of empty sexual tension that was as clipped and unsatisfying as the rest of the book). Don't expect to find out who all is after Luce and why. Don't expect to learn anything about any of the characters or find out anything that you can't already figure from the title, which Kate waits until the end to drop that revelation like it's an enlightening bombshell when she gives us nothing else.

(view spoiler)[I have major issues with Kate's twisting of biblical angels. Fallen angels are angels who have broken off from God, as she so eludes in her story. There are no "good" fallen angels, only those who follow Satan. And the disturbing behavior of the "good" fallen angels fall right in line with those who break away from God. I didn't care for any of them. Daniel is way too inconsistent to make him likable or believable, and the revelation we already know doesn't clear him of any of his actions. If Luce is in danger from shadows, Satan, religious zealots with higher power, a whole lot more than Daniel, he should have been more concerned for her welfare, even if he can only supervise her protection from a distance, instead of basing their entire relationship on sexual tension and confessions of unrequited love.

There is no way I will be reading the next book because I suspect that while this book frustrated me (making me not even want to finish it much less the series), the next one will infuriate me. From the clues Kate plants, it is my impression that Cam is supposed to be some version of Lucifer and Luce some version of Eve, which makes Daniel some version of Adam. Not only are her vacant characters unworthy of these Biblical characters, but I'm supposed to believe that Eve has been reincarnating since the dawn of time? That the good and evil of the entire world centers on the twisted, shallow, teenage love affair of fallen angels? Blasphemy. Adam is not a fallen angel, nor would he be so rude and crude. Satan did not love Eve; Satan loves nobody but himself. The fact that he only wants to harm us kind of lies at the basis of Christianity. Resurrection is found in the Bible, not reincarnation, and to make it the reincarnation of mother Eve somehow makes it worse. Adam and Eve are sacred in my book, and to see their story so mutilated like this is nothing more than disrespectful. I cringe to think all that Kate is intending to hide from us in her next book. (hide spoiler)]

The only part of this book I agreed with was this diabolical monologue from what is supposed to be the climax, while the real climax is happening elsewhere: "You're nothing more than you appear to be: a stupid, selfish, ignorant, spoiled little girl who thinks the world lives or dies on whether she gets to go out with some good-looking boy at school. Even if your death wouldn't accomplish something long-awaited, glorious, and grand, I'd still relish this moment, killing you." That's sad when you're rooting for the villain to take out the heroine. Sad because the cover had such promise.(less)

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Jul 19, 2011

Kira rated it

Recommends it for: Twilight fantards

Recommended to Kira by: A Twilight fantard

Shelves: ya, books-to-use-as-weapons, angels-and-demons, made-no-sense, train-wreck-romance, tstl-heroine, lost-the-will-to-live, go-choke-on-your-sexism

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Along with literally HUNDREDS of other people who read this book, I was completely brainwashed by the stunning cover. I literally walked into WHSmith, looked at it, had a massive aneurysm, and by the time I'd come round the book was inexplicably in my hand and my wallet was thirty dollars lighter.

Who knew?

Okay, so, I really wanted to like this book, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't force myself to bite. Firstly, the writing is so ninth-grade that it makes you wo...more

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Nov 17, 2009

Meghan rated it

*This review has some spoilers for plot!*

Just as vampires are becoming old hat in YA literature, angels have swooped in to take their place in the pantheon of paranormal romance heroes--who knew? I was rather dubious of the whole trend (and still am), but boy, do I love me some Old Testament crazy, so I thought, "Let's see what they do with this." Even with my low expectations, I found this disappointing!

We begin with Daniel Grigori (whose last name gives the ...more

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Mar 04, 2010

Arlene rated it

Shelves: read-2010, paranormal, fallen-angel, ya-paranormal

There's nothing I dislike more than a book that's just downright boring with less than intriguing characters. Oh wait, silly me, yes there is! I can't stand this new trend of shoving shallow storylines into needless series and trying to hook the reader with an annoying cliffhanger. Not right IMHO. This book came across as an incomplete story, where there were many questions left unanswered, and done so in such a sloppy manner that they came across as plot holes. For me, this book was a mental ...moreThere's nothing I dislike more than a book that's just downright boring with less than intriguing characters. Oh wait, silly me, yes there is! I can't stand this new trend of shoving shallow storylines into needless series and trying to hook the reader with an annoying cliffhanger. Not right IMHO. This book came across as an incomplete story, where there were many questions left unanswered, and done so in such a sloppy manner that they came across as plot holes. For me, this book was a mental equivalent of a migraine, sound familiar? Sorry, but that's how I felt.

The mysterious, supposedly good looking Daniel wasn't squee-worthy or engaging enough to hook me for another few books. Can't quite pinpoint it, maybe it was his hostile behavior for more than half the book that I just couldn't get over. He flipped off Luce when he first saw her? Did I read that right? Why? So contrived. He ran brrrrrr.... too cold for my taste.

I think the main issue I had with this book were the outstanding questions I have. For example, can someone please tell me what the heck these shadows, errrr wait, announcers, whatevs... What are those? What purpose do they serve? Were they there to protect or harm Luce? What's the difference between the dark and silver/grey shadows? What is up with Roland? The fires?? What caused them? How come no one cared that Todd died in the fire? What really went down the night Trevor died? What was the purpose of introducing over a dozen characters in the first three chapters when a majority didn't even play a part in the rest of the story? What are the angels/demons fighting for and why do they fight when they know neither side will ever be victorious, according to Daniel? How could finding out the truth physically kill Luce? WT?? My list can go on.

This is the second book I've read on fallen angels and maybe it's just not my cup of tea, but I didn't find the concept engaging enough to carry me through for another couple of books. But most importantly, I think regardless of this book being set up as a series, it should still be able to stand on its own and provide the reader a conclusive ending, with just enough intrigue to whet your appetite for more, not have you looking in the back cover for missing pages. Not interested in continuing with this series and I'm surprised I finished this book.(less)

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Jun 12, 2011

Lina rated it

Shelves: paranormal-fiction, paranormal-romance, teen-fiction-fantasy, ya, why-did-i-do-this-to-myself, over-hyped, did-not-research

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Long ago there was an angel. The most sublime of his kind. So much so that he was sometimes called Morning Star. Despite his standing, he was still, of course, considered inferior to the one that created him. This angel decided that it was "better to reign in hell, than serve in heaven" and managed to turn fellow angels against the very being they owed their existence to. With his group of angels he waged a war against Heaven and while he lost and was banished become the first of the ...more

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Sep 22, 2011

Book Chick City rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: arc, books-i-own, fiction, young-adult, fantasy, book-list-2009, 2009-december, reviews, signed-arc, books-for-review-full-list

I was really excited about reading Fallen, the cover is absolutely gorgeous and I just had to have it! Luckily I received an ARC, thanks to Random House Children's Books. This is another book that has had a lot of hype recently and, as with Hush Hush, it had a lot to live up to. I have read negative as well as positive reviews, so I went in with a completely open mind, and I wasn't disappointed.

The story starts out a little slow at the beginning and not a lot really happens in the w...moreI was really excited about reading Fallen, the cover is absolutely gorgeous and I just had to have it! Luckily I received an ARC, thanks to Random House Children's Books. This is another book that has had a lot of hype recently and, as with Hush Hush, it had a lot to live up to. I have read negative as well as positive reviews, so I went in with a completely open mind, and I wasn't disappointed.

The story starts out a little slow at the beginning and not a lot really happens in the way of action until half way through the book. The days Luce spends at Sword and Cross reform school, where she has been sent after an incident with a fire, which killed her ex-boyfriend, does become a little repetitive and drawn out and all I really wanted was the story to get going. But I think the author was trying to set the scene, give us some really well developed characters and lots of suspense before revealing all. In retrospect, I liked this approach as sometimes a story can move along quickly but then have no depth at all.

There are many characters in Fallen, all of which I think are really well rounded. Even those that are not the main focus still have their own story and you feel they are all central to Luce's life. Although none of the characters are particularly 'dangerous', there is a darkness about Daniel and Cam that is subtle but definitely there. As each character grows and a little more is revealed about them, you realise that there is more to each of them which is not necessarily what you first thought. Nice twists and turns kept my interest and I was very intrigued as to how this book would pan out. The atmosphere is dark and edgy too and each detail of Luce's surroundings is described well and at times I really felt as though I was there.

Luce herself is a nice character. She is interesting and I think she will develop into quite an intriguing female protagonist. Sometimes she is quite witty and feisty, but at other times she can be a little slow on the uptake. But overall, I'm looking forward to seeing how she develops and deals with the revelations which occur at the end of Fallen.

Cam and Daniel, who are the two main love interests for Luce, are both delicious. They are very different from each other and at first I wasn't quite sure who was the good guy and who was the bad guy. As I got to know Daniel, I began to like him more and more and could completely understand why Luce is so captivated, and almost hypnotised, by him. He is gorgeous, and a very sexy fallen angel, *move over Patch!*

Verdict:

The story does take time to get going and is definitely a slow burner, but I think it is well worth the wait, so be patient. The ending is exciting, albeit a bit rushed; maybe a few pages from the beginning would have been better used at the end. I was left with a few questions, but that's okay, as I know there's another book coming, and I can't wait! Fallen is a brilliant read and has set the scene for what I hope will be a very exciting series.

I gave this 9/10 on my blog, but Goodreads doesn't offer half stars.

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Dec 20, 2010

Thomas rated it

Fallen is one of those books that should not be judged by its cover. Despite the alluring, ambiguous plot promised by the book jacket, this book fell flat in way too many areas.

The story is about Lucinda Price, who is sent to Sword and Cross boarding school after being suspected of arson. She also claims to have seen shadows stalking her, which only adds to the paranoia people presume of her. There, she meets some nice friends - but no one compares to the attractive and mysterious Da...more

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Jun 30, 2011

Elle rated it

Shelves: meh, made-of-fail, first-of-series, 2010-read, good-covers, elles-reviews, fantasy-and-paranormal

UPDATE: In celebration of my good friend Saha joining GoodReads I am re-posting my review of Fallen.

**********************************

So...

Who else was sucked in to this one by the cover?

Actually, Fallen was recommended to me by a friend who had almost had a conniption whilst telling me how 'spectacular' it was. And because I value this particular friend to the highest possible degree I assumed she would never subject me to anything th...more(less)

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Jan 02, 2011

Misty rated it

Shelves: juvenile-ya, own, supernatural-paranormal, won, cover-appeal, dorsch-book-club, read-in-2010, sci_fi-fantasy, angels-and-demons, 2010-debuts__tenners

I'd been hesitant to read this one. On the one hand, it has a beautiful cover and I'd heard a lot of omging raves about it. On the other, I have yet to read an angel book I liked, and I never really trust the OMGers of the world...
(sorry. sort of.)

When I first started it, I thought maybe this was the angel book that was going to break the mold and live up to what it promised. Yes, I found the circumstances of Luce ending up at Sword and Cross a little iffy and forced, but I...more

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Jan 07, 2010

Angela rated it

I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the other books to follow in the series. It was slightly Twilightish (sans vampires) with a stronger female character. The plot was vividly portrayed and the characters were easy to relate to. The ending may be bothersome to some. It doesn't just leave you waiting to figure out what happens next; it also has you wondering what just happened? Not quite the same pace as the rest of the book. A lot was covered in the last 50 pages, leaving you with a ...more

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May 27, 2011

Vicki rated it

Shelves: audio, fantasy, young-adult-books

I curse the day I ever set eyes on this book. I'll tell you why: it's just a confirmation of how horrible crap with hollow characters just gets churned out like crazy in this country. It's like these dreadfully boring, insipid or just flat out awful characaters exist just to have the personality of the reader transposed into them. To me, this is dangerous.

But, back to this book, specifically: The plot is confusing, irritating, and ridiculous. There are angels, somehow trapped in ...more

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Jan 11, 2011

SKB rated it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Oh my holy crap, this book was a piece of work. And by "work," I mean "steaming turd." I would have given this book one star, but I added another one because it was so shittastic that it was fucking hilarious.

Several things. One, OHAI reworked Twilight fanfic, or sad homage, or search/replace copy. Second: I can't believe it was possible to find a stupider protagonist than Nora in Hush, Hush. Well, congratulations, Lauren Kate, you have made the most unlikable, br...more

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Dec 16, 2009

Shannon rated it

Shelves: ya, 2009, romance, paranormal, horror

This is a tricky book to review, for a very simple reason: I did not know what this book was about, or what kind of book it was, when I started reading it, and the slow reveal made for a pleasurable, interactive reading experience. So, I'm torn. On the one hand, I want others to have the same experience, which would mean I would have to keep mum about the plot etc. On the other hand, I really really want to talk about what actually happens. See? Torn.

I admit, unashamedly, that I boug...more

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Dec 11, 2011

fαuzαn | wιld нearт rated it

Shelves: disappointing, covergasm, dickhead-love-interests, love-triangles, unlikable-heroines, kill-it-with-fire, angels, pretty-dress-on-the-cover, coverlove-booksuck, insta-love, owned-physical-copies, dont-understand-why-its-hyped

Updated: December 11th, 2011.

Luce.

Lucinda. Fucking. Price.

You'd still stalk a guy even after he gave you the finger when you first locked eyes with him? Even if he told you STRAIGHT IN THE FACE that he didn't want ANYTHING to do with you.

Why? Just...why?

I mean, he's hot. I get it. But what the fuck about Daniel Grigori is even close to sweet? You know who was sweet and available and not that bad looking?

But of course, Lauren Kate decid...more

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Aug 01, 2011

Haleema rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: people who read next to a wall so they can throw this book against it numerous times while reading

Recommended to Haleema by: no one, but I'm a masochistic reader

Shelves: yawned-more-than-i-blinked, cheesy-cheeseful-cheese, disgrace-to-books, full-of-mary-sues, written-by-a-donkey, meh-books, oh-not-again, pyramid-of-pure-stupidity, i-knew-that-would-happen, troll-books, made-me-bulimic, what-a-joke, brain-cells-went-bye-bye, lame-rip-offs-of-other-works

!!!!!!!!!!LMAO!!!!!!!!!!

What the hell was that?!

I felt like I read Toilet all over again. My God...

Tsk...tsk...tsk...

Anyway, okay, I'm going to start all the way from the beginning just like how I did with M...m...m...m...m...Marked. *shudders while typing it*

*looks at the cover*

description

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!GGGGGGAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

description

It's her AGAIN!!! It's that dreadful witch!

P.C. C...more

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Feb 23, 2010

Sherry Soule rated it

I was really eager to read “FALLEN” by author Lauren Kate, and I think the book cover is absolutely dazzling! Love, love, love it!

The one thing I won’t do in this review (like so many others) is to compare it with Twilight. Ugh. Almost every freaking review I’ve read lately (on any YA book!) has a comparison to the Twilight saga. It’s so dang annoying! Look, I know, Meyer wrote a GREAT book, but does all supernatural YA have to be compared to her novels? Geesh!

It’s NOTHIN...more

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Jan 27, 2011

Maja rated it

Recommends it for: No one

Shelves: books-i-couldn-t-finish-no-matter-w, ya, wake-me-up-next-year, reviewed-in-2011

Horrible. Just horrible and unreadable. That is all.

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Oct 25, 2010

Joyzi rated it

Recommends it for: Peeps who don't mind worthless books

Recommended to Joyzi by: Youtube

Shelves: ya-books, e-book, fiction, disappointing-books, reviewed, don-t-judge-me, author-was-possessed, book-series, author-american, paranormal-romance

Don't Judge Me.

I really wanted to like the book. I really do. However I was really disappointed. Maybe it was due to:

a)awful writing
b)cheesy dialogues
c)annoying characters
d)unbelievable mix of plots from Twilight, Hush Hush and Evermore

or

e) all of the above

*sigh*

It was just OKAY for me so I gave it 2 stars. It's just that the whole book is pretty damn boring and I really don't get it (the whole shadow thing and the war ...more

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Feb 14, 2011

Jen rated it

Shelves: read-in-2010, received-as-gift, books-i-own

I'm going to admit that despite the negative reviews, I bought this book based on the amazing cover. I read low-rated books with the hope that I'll discover something wonderful that everyone else missed. Such wasn't the case with Fallen.

Let me start out with the positives, because even though I gave this book two stars, there were some good things about it. The cover is absolutely gorgeous. Not to mention it's got this weird suede-like feeling that made me smile whenever I held it. I ...more

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Jan 01, 2010

Joe Mo rated it

Shelves: angels, fantasy, urban-fantasy, 2009, graveyard-of-bad-books, series, belief, school-life, reviews

The main character was incredibly boring, annoying and flat. (The others too, actually, but let's stick with the main character to get to the point)

Every few pages Lucinda had to tell us how strong and mighty Daniel was, how fascinating his hair was and how hurt and excited she felt, if Daniel didn't even deign to look at her. Let me quote from the book's only likeable character, Penn (- yes, it was that bad):

“My point is,” Luce said finally, “I’m not so superficia...more

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Jan 06, 2011

Stephie rated it

Shelves: fallen, young-adult

*May contain spoilers*

“She thought it might just be the most romantic thing that had ever happened in the history of the world’

This is a line from Fallen. No joke.

Need I say anymore?

Probably not. But I’m gonna.

So here’s the deal. Luce, possibly the dullest, most pathetic female to EVER grace the pages of a paranormal romance, is reincarnated for reasons I cannot begin to fathom and spends the whole 452 pages that Fallen drags on for ...more

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Jun 02, 2010

kari rated it

Shelves: ya, 2010

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. SEQUEL ALERT! SEQUEL ALERT! SEQUEL ALERT!
I'm going to do everyone a big favor. Here it is:
This is the first book of a series!
Yep, the last page of this book is a big full page ad for the next book which is called rightly enough "Torment" and if you got to the end of the book thinking you'd get any clarity to the story, that is probably a good word for what you're feeling.
I truly do NOT appreciate this. If you can't write one coherent story with a decent ending...moreSEQUEL ALERT! SEQUEL ALERT! SEQUEL ALERT!
I'm going to do everyone a big favor. Here it is:
This is the first book of a series!
Yep, the last page of this book is a big full page ad for the next book which is called rightly enough "Torment" and if you got to the end of the book thinking you'd get any clarity to the story, that is probably a good word for what you're feeling.
I truly do NOT appreciate this. If you can't write one coherent story with a decent ending or even a poor ending or any ending at all, why would I want to invest more of my time with the series?
The only answer you're going to get from this book, and I'll give it to you right now, is that some of the students at the school are fallen angels. That's it.
Sorry for the spoiler, but there is so much other junk in this book that knowing they're angels won't ruin it for you; the idea that you'll actually have to wait for the sequel to understand any of it might.
Why Luce can see the shadow things, what actually happened to the boys who died, exactly what is between Daniel and Cam, who is Luce and why does she matter? None of this will be illuminated in this book.
Luce is one of those characters whom almost everyone likes and while she is drawn to the gorgeous mysterious Daniel, the equally gorgeous Cam seems to be attracted to her. Why? What has she done to make anyone like her? She is a non-character who spends most of her time obsessing over herself and these two boys. At one point she yells that she is so smart, but her actions, or perhaps lack of actions, speak otherwise.
Daniel seems to be intesting mostly because he wears a red scarf and a leather jacket. There is no relationship developed between them; it just is. I didn't know Daniel, Luce or Cam by the end of the story. The most interesting and developed character, although we never get to know her mysteries either, is gone by the end of the book.
What is the point of Luce being at reform school at all? It played no part in the story, none. They could have been there because they were all mathletes or bookish nerds; would have not added or subtracted from anything. Suposedly they are monitored 24/7, but the students manage to party, bring in items from the outside which aren't allowed and leave campus when they want to, with little or no problem. Silly.
One thing, she says the fastest way to swim is the butterfly, but it isn't; it's the freestyle. As a swimmer, this bugged me and a quick search would have fixed that. Also, when her parents come to visit, Luce tries to hide how awful the school is from them and yet she wanted to go home, so why wouldn't she show them how bad the place is? At the end of the day, she decides that she wants to stay so she can figure out what's up with Daniel, but at the start of the day, that isn't her motivation and it made no sense. Made me stop and say, WT?
You might want to know that the story doesn't even really begin until about 350 pages in and from then on, it's mostly one eye rolling incident after another.

The ending, such as it is, is very unsatisfying.

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Dec 03, 2009

Steph Su rated it

Shelves: debs09

If FALLEN is the future of YA supernatural fiction, then I fear for this genre. FALLEN is painfully dull and slow, with very little besides the concept of fallen angels and the suggestion of an impossible romance to recommend it to readers.

If the plot of FALLEN were to race a glacier, the glacier would win. From the moment Luce arrives at Sword & Cross, the plot feels like it’s always tripping over its own feet in order to explain itself, and to no avail. I don’t mind a gradually bui...moreIf FALLEN is the future of YA supernatural fiction, then I fear for this genre. FALLEN is painfully dull and slow, with very little besides the concept of fallen angels and the suggestion of an impossible romance to recommend it to readers.

If the plot of FALLEN were to race a glacier, the glacier would win. From the moment Luce arrives at Sword & Cross, the plot feels like it’s always tripping over its own feet in order to explain itself, and to no avail. I don’t mind a gradually building plot if it contains atmosphere and sets up the exposition well, but the setting of Sword & Cross was never fully realized for me, and the events in Luce’s past that landed her at reform school never attained credibility. Luce floats through boarding school life in a series of disconnected and awkwardly written encounters with her schoolmates, none of which helped me understand Luce or any of the other characters. All of the action and scenes required to get the gist of the story occurred within the last 60 pages, and what happened was not worth plodding through 400 pages of irrelevance to get to that point.

All of the characters in FALLEN were static and artificial, something that less discerning Twilight-fangirling tweens won’t mind but that more well-read readers will definitely take issue with. Luce is about as passive as a bowl of rice pudding. You think Bella didn’t do anything for three-and-a-half 400-plus-page-long books? Luce just might make Bella look like head of the school spirit squad. She flits from scene to scene, never being fully integrated into the immediacy of the story and never coalescing into a comprehensive character. The thing I most remember about her was that she had short hair from when it got burnt off in a fire. If the way I describe a character is by the length of her hair and not any, I dunno, actual personality traits, you better believe that is a serious problem.

Along those same lines, Cam and Daniel were similarly bland male love interests whose only identifiable characteristic was their inexplicable—and inevitable, in this sort of book—attraction to Luce. I constantly got the two mixed up and couldn’t pick them out from a handful of YA male love interests if I had to. I am hardly questioning the appeal of stalker-y, unequal-power-dynamics love—there is a reason why so many of us love bad boys so much—but to have Cam and Daniel be so one-dimensional and predictable, while the story practically insists that we’re supposed to find them heart-stoppingly attractive…sorry, but I really don’t need that.

We’ve all heard the quiet rumblings that fallen angels might be the Next Big Thing in YA lit, but only if they’re done right. FALLEN read like a boarding school story with smatterings of the supernatural dashed throughout, the angels-and-demons element only manifesting itself in the final few chapters. It was a discomforting read because it was so detached from those elements of humanity that make even the most fantastical novel relatable: the Southern setting was never fully realized, and the characters were difficult to empathize with.

That being said, FALLEN gets two stars from me because I can totally see its appeal to middle school girls who have devoured the entire Twilight series and now desperately need something to read in between the next House of Night book and the Eclipse movie coming out in Summer 2010. It contains all the elements of a trendy YA bestseller: a paranormal element, a love triangle, two powerful love interests who compete for the same girl. Unfortunately, the great idea was poorly executed, and I won’t be following the rest of this series. However, consider asking your thirteen-year-old sister or cousin for her opinion on FALLEN, and you might get a totally different point of view, one that justifies why Random House believes that FALLEN will be huge in YA.(less)

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Jun 07, 2011

Lisa rated it

I can say exactly two slightly positive things about Fallen.

1) It's written in third person. It's not well-written in third person but at least it provides some variation to the YA genre which is now heavily dominated by first person narration. Don't get me wrong, I like first person too but I believe in variety and I appreciated the change.

2) It's better than Hush Hush. Hush Hush has set the bar so low that this novel looked slightly better in comparison. I'd probab...more

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Nov 29, 2010

Aik Chien 입윤첸 rated it

Fallen has a promising start - it's dark, mysterious and has a Gothic charm. But somehow, the author fails to present the story well enough to hold my attention. Luce was a teenager who seems normal but actually not. She was sent to Sword & Cross because of an accident that took her (boy)friend's life. I was expecting some explanation about how the fire happened, but the author never satisfy my curiousity. There was no explanation about the other fire accident that happened when Luce was at the ...moreFallen has a promising start - it's dark, mysterious and has a Gothic charm. But somehow, the author fails to present the story well enough to hold my attention. Luce was a teenager who seems normal but actually not. She was sent to Sword & Cross because of an accident that took her (boy)friend's life. I was expecting some explanation about how the fire happened, but the author never satisfy my curiousity. There was no explanation about the other fire accident that happened when Luce was at the library of Sword & Cross that left a classmate dead either.

Daniel Grigori was aloof, cool and distant. Luce had a feeling that she had known him for a long time, and she tried everything to know more about him. But on the other hand, she had some feelings for Cam, a boy who openly showed his interest for Luce. She was treating Cam as if he was a substitute when Daniel is not present. I thought that was really a bad thing to do. And she was so obsessive about Daniel that she wanted to peek through his personal database, but only found a sheet of paper. She constantly whined about how she loved Daniel, how handsome and strikingly gorgeous he was, felt like they've met before and swooned over him. That made her a real shallow person.

Penn was the only character in Fallen that I've grown to like. She was the only one who treated Luce as a real friend. She was supportive and helpful. And yet, her fate was miserable. I wished the author didn't write it that way.

The story was good at first, then getting better and better, although it was really long and inconsequential sometimes. But the ending was really disappointing. It was like a bucket of cold water being doused over my head. It didn't make much sense, nor there is any explanation. I felt lost. And the lines just sounded strange. Read this and you'll know:

"Or this?" Cam asked, shrugging as the hideous, formless darkness settled around him. The insects each began to grow and unfold, becoming larger than an insect could ever be, dripping like glue and growing into black segmented bodies. Then, as if they were learning how to use their shadow limbs as they formed, they slowly hoisted themselves onto their numerous legs and came forward, like mantises grown to human height. Cam welcomed them as they swarmed around him. Soon they had formed a massive army of embodied night behind Cam.

Had Cam just turned into a Digimon Trainer? LOL.

To wrap things up, Fallen has a great premise, but it didn't turn out to be what I expected. It was quite disappointing because I had high hopes for it. I seriously wanted it to work, but sadly, it didn't. I love the cover, though. It's one of the best I've seen.(less)

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Jun 22, 2010

Brigid *Flying Kick-a-pow!* rated it

Shelves: books-of-summer-10

Ah, formulaic paranormal romance. I love it, and I'm not sure why. Although it has its faults, it's addicting in a strange way. YAY REVIEW TIME! As usual I might spoil some things but I'm too lazy to put a spoil alert on my review so BE WARNED.

Well anyway … this one involves this girl named Luce who is sent off to reform school because people think she killed her sort-of boyfriend––when really he was killed by the weird shadowy things that follow her around. Yeah, so, obviously she t...moreAh, formulaic paranormal romance. I love it, and I'm not sure why. Although it has its faults, it's addicting in a strange way. YAY REVIEW TIME! As usual I might spoil some things but I'm too lazy to put a spoil alert on my review so BE WARNED.

Well anyway … this one involves this girl named Luce who is sent off to reform school because people think she killed her sort-of boyfriend––when really he was killed by the weird shadowy things that follow her around. Yeah, so, obviously she thinks she's crazy and she's not so thrilled about being thrown into a school with a bunch of creepy criminal kids (unintentional alliteration). Fortunately, there are sexy guys there, including this nice dude named Cam and this mysterious asshole named Daniel. And who does she like? Yeah, she likes the asshole. That is how the formula goes, my friends! Of course, from the beginning I suspected that there was something "off" about Cam … He seems a little obviously too-nice and … well, I won't spoil it. Maybe I was right about him and maybe I wasn't. Anyway, so, Daniel. He is the typical mysterious Edward Cullen-esque character, who is a complete asshat to Luce at first, yet they both seem mysteriously drawn to each other––yeah, there is the formula again. It turns out that he is an immortal fallen angel, and has been chasing Luce around for like a billion years as she keeps dying and getting reincarnated and … yeah, I don't really get it either. But, what the heck.

As is typical with the formulaic paranormal romance, you just sort of go along with the whole thing. But at the end you're left feeling a little annoyed, like, "Okay, so why do these two kids claim to love each other so much? They haven't even known each other for that long, and they don't really know anything about each other, and neither of them seems like a particularly interesting person, so it's pretty much based on looks …" But nooooo obviously they love each other because they are soul mates and have known each other in their five billion past lives, so no other explanation is needed! *sigh*

The plot itself was pretty predictable too. Let's just say there were a couple of characters that were obviously villains (and pretending not to be). So, I was sort of angry at the ending. Then I was totally confused because like EVERYONE turned out to be a fallen angel at the end and it was like "WTF?" But I sorta understood it, I guess. The only one who wasn't a fallen angel was Luce's friend Penn … and she got her throat slit and no one really seemed to care about her. Sad.

Actually, I was sort of more interested about the backstory––like stuff that had happen with the fallen angel peoples like Daniel and Gabbe and Arianne and Roland, etc. Maybe we'll get more of that in later books? I guess we shall see.

Anyway, despite my criticisms, I did enjoy this book. While it was a bit predictable, I found that I couldn't put it down. It was addicting. Plus, the writing style was nice, which is always a plus.

Over all, it was good, I recommend it, and I will definitely read the sequel. (less)

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May 28, 2011

Angela Orlowski-Peart rated it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Fallen by Lauren Kate – contains spoilers

I just finished reading Fallen by Lauren Kate. I must say, the subject sparked my interest since I like stories about Angels –- the good ones and those fallen as well. But… my interest quickly started diminishing until there was very little to keep my eyes on the pages of Fallen. I normally don’t finish reading a book that's not my cup of tea but, this time, I decided -- despite of all hurdles -- to keep reading.

Luce, the protago...moreFallen by Lauren Kate – contains spoilers

I just finished reading Fallen by Lauren Kate. I must say, the subject sparked my interest since I like stories about Angels –- the good ones and those fallen as well. But… my interest quickly started diminishing until there was very little to keep my eyes on the pages of Fallen. I normally don’t finish reading a book that's not my cup of tea but, this time, I decided -- despite of all hurdles -- to keep reading.

Luce, the protagonist, is a super weak character, disturbingly undeveloped. She is always afraid, scared, and whiny. She is indecisive and, simply speaking, “beats around the bushes” too much. She should be kicking ass instead of pulling her hair, while playing the never-ending mind battles (that would be HER mind, by the way) over her love interest, Daniel Grigori. This book could be easily cut in half and the story wouldn’t suffer. There is simply too much of Luce agonizing over the same issue.

Next problem: she can’t decide if she is attracted to Cam or what does she want with him. The necklace she receives from him seems to matter a lot. If it was somehow magically enhanced, maybe Luce could have been in danger of switching to the “dark side” while wearing it? But the necklace story is dropped as soon as she returns the item in question to Cam. It felt like the author forgot what she was trying to do here.

There are many inconsistencies in Fallen, like this one: Gabe told Daniel (Luce was ears dropping) that Luce is the only person from school on his side. But when the battle between good and evil starts, it turns out that Arriane is also on Daniel’s side. Confusing. There was nothing in the story about Arriane switching sides, or even being Fallen.

Molly’s character appears very strong and well developed at the beginning. I like the scene in the cafeteria where Molly proves to be a "bad girl". But later she keeps warning Luce about Daniel. Why such a change of heart? It doesn’t make sense. Well, at some point (only once) Molly actually “growls” angrily at Luce but this is not enough for the story to be consistent with the cafeteria scene.

If Daniel can’t stand going through the same tragedy over and over again, and even admits to Luce that he tries to stay away from her, then why in Heavens he attends a school swarming with seventeen-year-old kids, like Luce? By the way, does he really need this “human” education? After all he is centuries old so what could he possibly learn at any school, specifically at Cross and Sword?

Why does Gabe have a southern accent? Let’s think about that: Angels, fallen or not, were created at the Beginning, so there were no various accents of American-English. How then did Arriane start to speak with a Southern drawl?

Why do Fallen insist on Luce figuring everything out on her own? What’s a significance of her discovering who is who, and what’s going on? I can’t think of a single reason why the Fallen wouldn’t simply share with Luce at least a few significant details. She doesn’t strike me as someone who wouldn’t believe the Fallen after the battle has started and she witnessed it all with her own two eyes.

Overall the book has a lot of rough spots. It almost seems like there was more than one person writing it: the story flows nicely in many places but then it hits a rough spot. The author struggles with dialogs but does a pretty good job with some of the sensory descriptions. I like the clever idea of Luce not being baptized, which leaves her soul completely vulnerable and “up for grabs”.

The ending totally puzzled me. Why Daniel couldn’t get on the plane with Luce since the battle was over (or, at least, postponed for a few days). Instead, he stays to hang out with Cam! These guys hate each other so why make them shake hands and smile in unison over sleeping Luce? By the way, where did she end up after getting on that plane with her history teacher? Daniel and Cam see her sleeping in a military tent -– is this her next life? Is so, why? She didn’t die while kissing Daniel. They all agreed things changed since she is not baptized. Sadly, there are too many unanswered questions.

Congratulations to Fernanda Brussi Goncalves for a truly amazing work on Fallen’s jacket illustrations, and to Angela Carlino for the jacket design.
(less)

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Dec 06, 2009

Kristi (The Story Siren) added it

Shelves: own-arc, books-i-own

Three words; dangerous, dark & exciting!

Let me first start out by saying that I'm so perturbed by some of the summaries that I've found for this book! Why don't we just tell the whole frackin' story! No need to read the book.... just read this summary, let us ruin it for you! GRRR! I hate when they give away plot elements! I found this summary on Random House and I have to say, it's the best one! (I edited the one on Goodreads to this!) It's intriguing enough, but doesn't give away t...more

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About Lauren Kate

Lauren Kate grew up in Dallas, went to school in Atlanta, and started writing in New York.
She is the author of Fallen and The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove. She lives in Laurel Canyon with her husband and hopes to work in a restaurant kitchen, get a dog, and learn how to surf.
She is currently at work on the sequel to Fallen.

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