Lauren Kate : FALLEN (1st book in The Fallen Series)

FALLEN is the first novel in the Fallen Series (FALLEN, TORMENT, PASSION, RAPTURE) written by Lauren Kate. It was published in 2009 and immediately become an international phenomenon. 

"Dark and romantic, an absolute blinder of a book. Every teenage fir (and her mum) is going to want to read it. "  SUN

"This is a gothic love story featuring fallen angels and forbidden love (a winning formula) that will thrill and delight in equal measure." FANTASY BOOK REVIEW

"A beautifully gripping love story." BLISS

"Seductive and more than a little scary… There are more twists and turns in the book than a dance sequence. " Carla, CHICKLISH

So great reviews promised an awesome read. Even my sister recommended me this book. 'You need to read it.' were her exact words. But then I had a look on Goodreads.com and most of people gave this book only one star. Disappointed was the most popular word used. 

So with mixed reviews I had started reading it. And I must say I fell under its spell immediately. The prologue did the trick. I was intrigued by it. So I read on and on and finished the book within two days. An absolute treat!

Finally a story without sparkling vampires and tattooed werewolves. Thank god! Don't get me wrong I loved The Mortal Instruments. But at the moment,  all the authors seem to write about, is just these two species.  But Fallen is different. It's about Fallen Angels. Damn right, you heard me! It's about Angels and forbidden love. A win - win combination for me. 

The heroine of our story is Lucinda (Luce), who just enrolled in school for problematic teenagers. All the students here have a history of violence and they attend the Sword & Cross School to help them to become better people. Now, don't jump ahead, Luce isn't a criminal or a crazy person. There was this accident before the summer and someone has died and Luce got blamed for it. But now she needs to attend this school of reformation as a punishment. Here she meets Daniel. A boy who she has an instant connection with. But what is strange, he seems familiar to her. Everything about him seems like they have met before. Except the fact that this is the first time, she has ever laid her eyes on him. 

Yes, this is a young adult fantasy love story about previous lives and angels and the one true love. And the heart of the story is about the fight to keep alive and spend your full life with the person you know you are destined to love. A person who you loved in your past lives, you love them now and you will love them forever, in your future lives.

And yes, I must have been living in a cave because I haven't come across this book before. Actually now I am lying, I heard about it, but successfully was avoiding it under the impression that it's some kind of cheesy boring young teenager novel. But instead I was left with a romantic love story which melted my heart. 

Of course, what a love story would be without a love triangle where one of the protagonist on the side of Good (Daniel) and the other one is on the side of Evil (Cam). It's time to pick a side. Team Daniel or Team Cam. I personally vote for Team Daniel. Although he seems to be a really complicated character and half of the time Luce doesn't know where she stands with him, he does really truly love her. And the little things which matters, he gets them right. Now Cam is the bad boy in this love triangle and every girl loves a little bit of bad boy attitude. He is funny and at the start you think that he likes Luce, but he is trying just too hard. Which seems a bit suspicious to me. A bit too trying. Like he has an agenda .

My favourite character which stands out for me the most is Arianne. She is the first friend Luce meets. She takes her under the wing (literally) and keeps being there for her. She is this crazy teenage girl with a sarcastic view of the world. Everything which comes out of her month makes you laugh. 

The whole story is dark, mythological, mysterious, captivating. I promise you, you will not be able to put it down. It's mesmerising. The story just gets under your skin. You will want to find out why the characters behave the way they do? Why is Daniel so strange? What is between them two? What is the big secret which somebody tries so hard to hide?

I have laughed. I have cried. I have really truly enjoyed this book and the story it told. It was nice to read about past and present lives, about angels and the fight between them and demons. It was different to other stories I have read and that's why I truly loved it. I have envied the way Daniel loved Luce and she loved him back unconditionally. And it was sad to read how many times he lost her and still every time she falls for and he falls for her it's worth it. 

This book was funny. The interactions and dynamic between characters were enjoyable, witty, entertaining. There were twists and turns all the way through I haven't seen coming. Everything was imaginative and easily to visualise.

I appreciated that the author didn't spill all the secrets right away which made it even more mysterious. You want to read the next book straight away. 

When I started this novel, I though it will be another young adult novel with vampires, werewolves and other mystical creatures. It will be cheesy like roquefort and there clearly will be a love triangle. But thank you Lauren for not writing Luce winey like Bella. Daniel is not as creepy and stalkerish like Edward (although he keeps a protective watch over her because he lost her so many times.). The love triangle isn't the centre of the story. We even know that there is a secret agenda behind Cam's interest in Luce. But this novel is dark and entertaining. It's wonderfully written, easy to follow and hard not to put down. 

So well done Lauren Kate. You have find yourself another fan and reader. I am looking forward to reading the next book. 

By the way, Lauren Kate sold the rights to the book to film studio and the film adaptation is the pre-production stage at the moment. Apparently we should expect in 2014. 

Here are some quotes from the book I loved: 

“The only way to survive eternity is to be able to appreciate each moment.”

“You know everyone loves to hate a happy pair of lovebirds.”

“We meet. We always meet, somehow we're always thrown together, no matter where I go, no matter how I try to distance myself from you. It never matters. You always find me.” 

“And the sweetest, spellbound feeling spilling from her heart.” 

“Some angels are destined to fall.” 

“People are here because they've got baggage. I'm talking curbside-check-in, pay-the-fine-'cause-it's-over-fifty-pounds kind of baggage. Get it?” 

“This train of thought was heading straight for Pity City, and she wanted to get off.”