I’ve been reading a lot of teen Angel novels lately. I saved this one, because it got mixed reviews. So I guess it’s no surprise that I also have mixed reviews also.
After the mysterious death of her crush, Luce is sent to reform school in rural Georgia. She was the only witness to the death and the prime suspect, but she honestly has no memory of the incident at all. The reform school is way worse than she imagined. Many of the students are actual criminals with long wrap sheets. There is barbed wire lining the tops of the walls surrounding the campus. Video cameras record the students every movement. Worst of all…Luce is only allowed one fifteen minute phone call a week!
I loved the reform school setting. Not only have I not read a book in this setting before, but it also lends itself to some fun teen-angst drama and danger. Of course, why are a bunch of angels in reform school? That’s not really addressed, but I’ll go with it. The setting also had some really cool details which lent itself well to the paranormal genre. The school is located in an old Civil War fortress. The gym is in a converted church. Spanish moss drips from the trees while moss of the green, damp variety crawls up the sides of the structures. There is even a civil war graveyard on the property. Very cool!
Like many YA novels, there is a love triangle. Cam is dark and dangerous, yet is obviously into Luce. He goes out of his way to be nice to her. Unfortunately, Cam can’t seem to hold her interest. Luce is distracted by the blond bad boy, Daniel. As much as Cam goes out of his way to be nice, Daniel goes out of his way to be a jerk. The first time Luce sees him across the school lawn, he flips her off. Even though Daniel is outright rude to her every time they speak, Luce can’t stop thinking about him. She has a sense that she knows him from somewhere, but can’t place him. Because of this, she can’t help herself from stalking him around the campus and forcing herself on him over and over.
In case you haven’t noticed, I really don’t care for the love story between Luce & Daniel. He’s an ass and she’s obsessed with him. The whole thing comes across as creepy. When they do start to give in to their feelings for each other, it seems forced and implausible. I fail to see why these people care about each other. Okay, so they have a history. That’s cool and everything, but Kate doesn’t do enough to create chemistry or a complete back-story. I found myself more interested in Cam.
Aside from these three, there are some interesting supporting characters. I really liked Luce’s friends, Pen and Arien. Both girls are well developed and unique…not to mention, polar opposites of each other.
In the end, I enjoyed the story enough to read the next in the series, but if the love story part doesn't get better in the next, I will probably be done with the series.
Overall, I give Fallen…
Plot – 3 ½ bookmarks
Setting – 4 ½ bookmarks
Character Development – 3 ½ bookmarks
Love Story – 3 bookmarks
Paranormal Elements – 4 bookmarks
Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) – Vanessa Marano (Luce), Alex Pettyfer (Daniel), Escher Halloway (Cam), Portia Doubleday (Arien), Britt McKillip (Pen)
I really liked this book and Torment is also really good.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review, I've been considering whether or not to read Fallen so I think now I will give it a go. :)
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