17 January, 2017

REVIEW: FALLEN by Lauren Kate

Title: Fallen 
Author: Lauren Kate
Series: Fallen #1 
Genres: YA, Supernatural, Angels, Paranormal
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Release: December 8th 2009
Source: Audiobook
Pages: 452

// Goodreads //

BLURB:
What if the person you were meant to be with could never be yours?

17-year-old Lucinda falls in love with a gorgeous, intelligent boy, Daniel, at her new school, the grim, foreboding Sword & Cross . . . only to find out that Daniel is a fallen angel, and that they have spent lifetimes finding and losing one another as good & evil forces plot to keep them apart.

Get ready to fall . . .


EXPECTATIONS: I found a movie trailer for this book and actually though that the movie looked rather watchable so not long after that I found the audiobook and got right into business. The only thing I knew about this book was that it had something to do with Angels.

THE WORLD: It's actually our normal world, nothing too special about it accept that half of students of Sword & Cross Academy, where our plot takes place, are Angels. We also get this mystical, supernatural vibe in the book.

CHARACTERS: In all honesty I could name like four character in this book, because they were the biggest cliches you would ever find in a book. The main character is Lucinda Price or Luce, I'll stop you right here and just express how I hated the nickname Luce. Lucinda is such a beautiful name and why they butchered the name by calling the girl Luce I have no idea (maybe because Isabella - Bella?). So she is a troubled teenager, she caused some trouble back at her old school, that left one student dead and instead of sending her to trial she gets sent to a correctional high school where their punishment is gardening and swimming in the pool. She was so super annoying that I wanted to scream. She is the biggest Mary Sue character of all time, Bella from Twilight, is at least funny at times, but Lucinda over hear I believe does not even know what sense of humor is. I am serious, Luce was an awful character, no development and she had really poor judgment of other people.

Then we have Daniel Girgori. Ok fine, I admit it Daniel was one of the two characters in this book, that I liked, if I had to choose I guess. He was mysterious, but also very stupid at times, but he kind of had a little bit common sense in him. But do not be fooled he was in deed the typical protector boyfriend. Also we have Cam the Jacob of this story, and to me he was just there to create non existing drama and tension.

Also we have Pen, Luce's best friend in school. She was witty and smart and the other character I liked. She had common sense and actually logic in her thinking. There few other as well but they are there just to talk to Luce about Daniel or something like that.


ROMANCE:  When Luce comes to this new Academy she is constantly attracted to Daniel and cannot think of anything else. It is actually revealed in the book why she feels so attracted to him and I liked this part but you still get this forced love triangle between her and the two boys. I mean you do understand that Luce and Daniel are the only true couple in this book but to me they had zero chemistry.

GOOD: (Spoilers)  The idea in general. This was my first book about Angels and I have to admit I enjoyed the idea of falling angels and the two main characters being cursed to fall in love over and over again but never be able to be together. This was interesting to me and I am sad that such a good idea was not developed at all and that it become this what we have here. I also enjoyed the explanation why Luce needs to be protected in this life, because usually she dies every 17 years and is born into a new family, but this time is different because the family she lives in now aren't religious and she is not baptized, so that means she wouldn't come back anyone. These bits I really enjoyed.

BAD: (SoilersAs always I am numerating things I didn't like. 1. Childish behavior - When Luce sees Daniel for the first time, he gives her the middle finger, he pushes her away, he literally tells her, stay away from me, we won't be friends, I don't like you, and I kid you not, she STILL stocks him, is obsessed with him. I mean I understand that she is cursed to love him forever but this makes no sense, I mean we all had that crush that just shot us down harshly, and we still liked them but come on girl, have some respect! Do what you got to do to get over him. And Daniel as well, at first he's like 'No stay away from me' and then seconds later invites her to go swimming. He knows that if she gets too close to him she will die and he still is like 'Let's go hang out'. I mean come one!!! And the best part where I was just done with it was when he finally told her the truth she literally called him crazy and ignored him :D WHAT???!!!   2. The concept of falling angels - so its said that when God banished Lucifer some angels had to decide and those who didn't choose a side became fallen. Okay this made no sense to me because in the book they were all in the same school. Those who chose God, those who chose Devil and Daniel who chose love, so shouldn't he be the only one that fell? The whole premise of this I don't understand. 3. The ending - the book was really slow and then the end happened :D I swear guys I started laughing and my co-workers were like, what's happening. People die and they do not even stop to like mourn them or anything. Literally the ending made no sense, absolutely nothing happened and then it was over.

OVERALL:  Overall I would say that this is a weak book. I am really really angry about it because the story and the idea of an angel who fell because he chose love and is cursed to see the girl he fell for die over and over again is really really good, but the book did nothing for this story. Honestly, I think the movie will be much better, not good, but better then the book, because I think they will need to change a lot of the actual plot for it to be at least a little bit interesting.


What do you think about FALLEN?