Title: Fallen (Fallen #1)
Author: Lauren Kate
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Angels, 
Publisher: Delacorte Press for Young Readers (an imprint of Random House)
Publication Date:December 2009
Pages: 452
Rating: 2.5 stars

Synopsis (from 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.

My Review:

I read this book because it had been recommended to me by a friend. And to be honest, I was a little disappointed. I wasn’t sure if that’s because I always have high expectations of book when they’ve been recommended to me or because for the majority of time that I was reading this novel I had the oddest sensation of deja vu.

This novel opens with Luce Price starting at a new school – a school for social misfits who are one step away from juvenile detention. But the students at this school aren’t just socially maladjustment – they’re harbouring a secret. When Luce finds herself inexplicably attracted to the mysterious Daniel, she goes out of her way to find out just what it is about him that calls out to her. Why does she feel like she’s known him her whole life when she’s only just laid eyes on him for the first time. And why does he see to have such an attitude towards her when they’ve never met before?

Ringing any bells for anyone else?

The particulars may be slightly different but a lot of this novel was almost straight out of the YA teenage paranormal romance hand book.

I feel like if I had read this book earlier and been slightly less jaded regarding the genre then I would have enjoyed the journey a lot more.

Luce was a fairly selfish main character – selfish in actions and in thoughts. She is at the Sword and Cross because she has an incident a few months ago when the boy she was dating ended up dying tragically. And whilst she still thinks about the fire that took his life, she’s very quick to dismiss it from her thoughts before moving on too much more important topics like Daniel. And why Daniel doesn’t like her. And why she really thinks she has some sort of connection with Daniel.

I’m not a Daniel fan.

The best part of this novel was the supporting cast – Molly, Arianne, Gabbe, Cam and Penn. I would have loved to have gotten to see more of them. They’re quirky characters who are more than just the boy they’re attracted to. I would have loved to have seen their back stories and learnt more about them.

Towards the end this story does pick up its pace and becomes a novel that was new and exciting to me. There is more to this story than meets the eye at first but there’s a lot to get though before you get to see the action and drama that exists beyond Luce’s little bubble.

This is one of those books that I recommend borrowing – either from a friend or the library – before buying it for yourself. I can see that it’s going to be one that people either love or hate with not so much middle ground. It is the first in the series and there is a lot of groundwork to be laid for the future novels. I’ve read the next two in the series (Torment and Passion) and I enjoyed them both a lot more than I liked this first instalment.

Whilst there was a lot I didn’t enjoy about this novel I understand that it was necessary in order to build up for the next books in the Fallen series.

Purchase the novel from:

Amazon / Book Depository