Review: Fallen by Lauren Kate

Fallen (Fallen, #1) by Lauren Kate
452 pages, paperback
Finished on 8/7/2012
Genres: Young Adult, Coming of Age, Romance, Some Action, Fantasy
Synopsis via Goodreads:

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.

Motivation to Read It: I started reading this last year, and gave up on it near the beginning. I figured it was high time for me to try again.

Review: I really liked this book! I was just really getting into it last year when I stopped in the middle of it, and I hate that I did because I could be reading Rapture right now!

Luce sees shadows, and these shadows come around during the weirdest times -- when she's in dark, creepy places by herself, for example. The last school experience she had ended very badly, so she really wants to fit in at Sword & Cross and forget her past.

The characters were spectacular. I honestly couldn't tell where Arrianne's motives were headed in the beginning, but I'm glad with where they led; her character is very bouncy and happy and carefree. Cam started off as a great charrie. Honestly, even after you learn of his motives you must admit that he was played out nicely. Luce was a good one as well; she was really curious as to what Daniel's problem was. Daniel was very mysterious and, at times, a serious butthole. He honestly was starting to tick me off after a while. His constantly pushing Luce away made me want to know every last thing about him, simply to explain his actions.

The plot was absolutely spectacular. It's really easy to get caught up in it; I was so into it, and I didn't want to have to put the book down. It was like it was one thing after another at Sword & Cross (at least for Luce it was anyway), and those periods of time where Lauren Kate gave her characters a little break, were politely skipped over and summarized in a couple of sentences. I love fast-paced books, and this one definitely hit the spot.

To conclude, I really enjoyed reading Kate's debut novel, and I can't wait to get my hadns on a copy of Torment!

Shelf-Worthy

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