Title: Fallen {Fallen #1}
Author: Lauren Kate
Publisher: Delacourte Nov 19th 2009
Sypnosis: 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.
Status: Read from November 23 to 24, 2010
My Thoughts:
Unfortunately Fallen just didn’t work for me. I found the premise appealing and creative but the execution of the story was disappointing.
To me it seeemed Kate relied heavily on a concept to carry the story without providing motivation and action to propel it. I felt that Kate failed to complete a single thought for almost the entire book. She picks up an event like Trevor’s death, or the inexplicable fire, and then drops it like a stone. These plot threads don’t go anywhere, and never seem to find a place in the storyline where they contribute to either the characters or the climax.
The characters start with the potential of interesting back stories and quirky traits, but I felt they were never realised. Nearing the end of the book, I barely knew anything more about the characters than I learnt in the first few chapters. I found Luce irritatingly passive and any glimmer of personality was eclipsed by her obsession with Daniel . I didn’t find Daniel appealing at all, and I don’t think Kate established a foundation for their attraction outside of her main premise. I needed them to establish a relationship within the frame of this book in order to be invested in their love story.
For the secondary figures, Kate seemed to be relying heavily on the climax to excuse a lack of character development and action. Only Penn was given enough personal history and purpose to be of interest. Arrianna, and even Roland, Gabbe and Molly started out interesting but then inexplicably fades out of the story until the end. It’s blindingly obvious Cam is not what he seems and since Luce is never convinced of her attraction to him I dismissed him as a significant rival for Daniel.
I feel I need to qualify my opinion of Fallen by saying I am a decade (or two) older than the book’s target YA audience and so that affects my connection to the characters and plot.
A more accurate rating would be 1 and half stars for me. An interesting idea that is never fully realised, this one is a miss for me.
To me it seeemed Kate relied heavily on a concept to carry the story without providing motivation and action to propel it. I felt that Kate failed to complete a single thought for almost the entire book. She picks up an event like Trevor’s death, or the inexplicable fire, and then drops it like a stone. These plot threads don’t go anywhere, and never seem to find a place in the storyline where they contribute to either the characters or the climax.
The characters start with the potential of interesting back stories and quirky traits, but I felt they were never realised. Nearing the end of the book, I barely knew anything more about the characters than I learnt in the first few chapters. I found Luce irritatingly passive and any glimmer of personality was eclipsed by her obsession with Daniel . I didn’t find Daniel appealing at all, and I don’t think Kate established a foundation for their attraction outside of her main premise. I needed them to establish a relationship within the frame of this book in order to be invested in their love story.
For the secondary figures, Kate seemed to be relying heavily on the climax to excuse a lack of character development and action. Only Penn was given enough personal history and purpose to be of interest. Arrianna, and even Roland, Gabbe and Molly started out interesting but then inexplicably fades out of the story until the end. It’s blindingly obvious Cam is not what he seems and since Luce is never convinced of her attraction to him I dismissed him as a significant rival for Daniel.
I feel I need to qualify my opinion of Fallen by saying I am a decade (or two) older than the book’s target YA audience and so that affects my connection to the characters and plot.
A more accurate rating would be 1 and half stars for me. An interesting idea that is never fully realised, this one is a miss for me.
Book’d Out 
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