Book Review: Fallen by Lauren Kate

Fallen by Lauren Kate was an interesting read. I devoured it from start to finish in a few hours. I have to admit that I was completely drawn in by the writing and the characters, particularly Cam, the “other” love interest. I did think that the whole big plot twist/angel discovery was revealed a little too late – it seemed to be building forever, but overall, I enjoyed the pacing and the story. At times, I found myself wondering at believability, but then I just let myself enjoy the book instead of over-analyzing it to death while reading it.

Brief synopsis: Luce is a girl who falls in love every seventeen years with an angel, Daniel. Problem is, every time she falls for him (and he her), she dies. Only to be reincarnated seventeen years later. Sent to a reform school (she’s a suspect in a murder case with a boy from her last school who burns to death in a fire), Luce meets Daniel again, and immediately feels a connection. He, of course, pushes her away, which only makes her fall harder for him. CamFallen_Lauren_Kate, another boy at the school tries to charm Luce because he wants her for a still unidentified reason – last page of the book, “I just want her. You know why.” Dammit, no, we don’t! And we want to know! Anyway, I digress. This time though, when Daniel kisses her and they fall in love, she doesn’t die (because she’s been born and raised agnostic, hence, loophole). If she dies, no reincarnation. With the help of a friend, Luce discovers the truth about Daniel – he is an angel, a fallen angel, and that they are in the middle of a cataclysmic war between “good” fallen angels and “bad” fallen angels.

I absolutely loved Lauren Kate’s writing – it was fluid and descriptive, and moved so synchronously with her dialogue that it kept me turning page after page. I loved her descriptions of the angels in the end. It was wonderful to read and very evocative. I also thought all of her characters were believable and real, from Cam and Molly to Penn and Gabbe. As the main protagonist, Luce was interesting, bright, and funny (though a little lovesick at times). I liked that she was hesitant sometimes but decisive at others. She’s a decent heroine that teens/tweens will be able to identify with. The “shadows” that followed Luce were cool. They reminded me of the shadows in the movie, Ghost, that took evil souls away. I wanted to know more about them other than they were called “Announcers” or “Gossips. The demonic version of a clique of high school girls.” Very cool and creepy.

Overall, Fallen was a good read, and I really enjoyed it. The writing was fabulous, and I think teens will love this book! I would rate Fallen 4 and a half out of 5 stars.

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