ETA: NOTE: this is not the book, "Fallen" by Lauren Kate

I need half stars... I liked this better than a 3 but not quite a 4... but definitely closer to 4. LOL. Call this 3.75 stars.

Okay, so this was a quick little read that surprised the bejeebus out of me. I went in thinking that I'd likely flounce by chapter 2, but I wound up reading the whole thing in one sitting and am very much looking forward to starting up book #2.

1) Writing needs some good editing (some repetition, some punctuation, some grammar, etc), but overall I'd say this was okay/good and better than a lot of the YA fiction I've read. It's not great literature, but it's not bad. Very readable. And like I said, quick. I'll give it a B.

2) The overall world gets an enthusiastic A. It's fresh and fascinating and I found myself very excited to learn about the past, what's going on in this epic battle of good and evil, etc. I love the entire concept of angels and guardians and messengers and Fallen Ones.

3) The execution fell a little flat toward the end. It felt rushed, and the ending was a bit abrupt. I wanted more detail in that battle at the end. I wanted more action, less filling me in after the fact. Also, I wanted more discussion between Eran and Maggie re: a resolution.

Too, some things, in general, felt a little glossed over and some things kind of came out of nowhere. See point 4) below. Overall I'll give execution a B+ through 3/4 of the way and B- for the last 1/4.

4) Background and set up needs some work. I found myself asking why or where did that come from a few times. I wish the author had gone into more detail in several spots. For instance, I'd have liked more than a two paragraph explanation for Gershom and his past. I wanted more detail on who those white lights were at the end. I wanted more on why Maggie and Abaddon were such mortal enemies. The background and info that was given was great... Just... need more of it. I'll give set up a B-.

5) The main characters get a solid B. I'd love to give them an A, because I really liked them, but I have a bit of a hard time doing that because of 4). I really loved what I saw of Eran. He's fantastic in terms of characterization. But again, I needed more background, and I wanted more on why he did certain things. Same for Maggie. For example, why did she choose to be reborn? I'm not certain of all the pertinent rules of the world to really get why she made that decision.

The villains get a C. Need more background. Why are they fighting? Why do they hate Maggie so much? What is it that she can do that they can't stand????

6) The romance. Ahhhh the UST. Now, that was just... lovely. When she saw her names and I recalled Eran's... holy wow. Had little shivers. That part was done very well, and despite wanting more details on why, the romantic conflict was lovely. As the reader, I got that what he was doing was for a reason, and never did I doubt their connection. I'm admittedly a sucker for eternal, fated love. So... big, fat A on that.

All in all, this was a fun read. I'm hoping that the next book(s) in the series provides the much needed background and information that I found lacking in the first book. Even still, this is fast and short, so IMO well worth a read.

*runs off to read the next book*