Review Detail

3.5 21

Fallen

Young Adult Fiction 223

They're meant to be together... and cursed.

March 16, 2011

Overall rating

4.0

Plot

N/A

Characters

N/A

Writing Style

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Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

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Reader reviewed by iLive, iLaugh, iLove Books

Read the original post at iLive, iLaugh, iLove Books

This is one of the few books that I actually liked more for the plot and writing rather than characters. The entire plot was dark, dangerous, mysterious. Kate's writing was obviously skillful, and very beautiful. I'd heard so many great things about this one, and I had to try it. Plus, that cover just really pulled me towards it.

The beginning instantly yanked me in. Luce's shady background intrigued me and made me want to know more about her story. What bothered me about her was her obsession with Daniel Grigori. Really, even she called herself "crazy stalker girl" a couple of times. He's beautiful and perfect, but also cold, rude, and distant. What happened to not looking at the outside, but the inside? She wasn't a very relatable character. Of course, even though Luce did seem shallow this way, the prologue does actually explain a bit. I loved the prologue. It drew me in, and kept me fascinated with Luce and Daniel's tragic love story.

This story is about fallen angels, a topic that is definitely one of my favorites (first introduced through Becca Fitzpatrick's Hush, Hush). Luce is a girl accused of murdering a boy and being crazy. She knows she isn't, but how is she supposed to explain those shadows that have followed her her entire life? She's sent to Sword & Cross Boarding School after a terrible fire incident that changes her life. Really, I don't know what kind of parent would send their one child to this hell. Obviously, a bad one.

After my disgust with the school passed, I got more into the book. Even though Luce's fetish kind of made me mad at first, Daniel turned out to be pretty sweet. He totally changed my feelings later on. Can't give too much away, so I'll leave it at that.

Daniel is not the only love interest of Luce's. There's also Cam. I didn't really like Cam from the beginning. He seemed kind of... untrustworthy. But that's just my opinion. I'll let you read the book for yourself and decide.

The main characters weren't so great, but I totally loved Penn and Arriane. Penn was just a likable person from the start. Of course, mean person that I am, I was a little suspicious of her at first, because don't the girls that are super nice to the new kids always the ones that back-stab them later? I guess that's at regular schools, not prison camp ones. Arriane's story was very interesting. She had scars on her neck, wore a wristband that tracked her, was put on probation, and had about a million other terrible things related to her. And yet, she was friendly to Luce, probably because of her own lonliness.

While some of this book's characters did need more development, the Gothic elements were really fascinating and can pull the reader right into their grasp. The mystery shrouding the fallen angels in this novel is truly compelling. Suspenseful twists filled the ending that left you with many unanswered questions, and I can't wait to get a copy ofTorment to have them answered.