Book review: Fallen by Lauren Kate

Warning: Spoilers!

We've had hobbits, wizards, vampires and werewolves. I think that the next thing to hit pop culture would be angels, haha. I heard there's talk of making this into a movie, so who knows? Maybe it's time for the never-ending battle between good and evil (angels vs angels) to restake their claim.

As for this book, I didn't have to force myself to finish it and I enjoyed it to a certain degree (I like books with angels), but frankly, I couldn't wait to finish it.. Sadly, the main character irritated the hell out of me. For me, the book was saved by the supporting characters (by such a small margin), Daniel's struggle and, well, that's it really.. As for Luce (short for Lucinda), she could die and I wouldn't shed a tear. I didn't like her, period. If I was in reform school with her, I would unhesitatingly punch her in the face.

This here is a line from one of the characters in the book and really sums up how I feel over Luce:

"In this lifetime you're nothing more than you appear to be: a stupid, selfish, ignorant, spoiled little girl who thinks the world lives or dies on whether she gets to go out with some good-looking boy at school. Even if your death wouldn't accomplish something so long-awaited, glorious, and grand, I'd still relish this moment, killing you."

I wish that happened. But, like I said, she's the main character so she lived. She should have just died. I can't remember a time where I was actually rooting for the villain to just kill the heroine already.

What I also disliked was how we're told page after page after page that Luce feels she's known Daniel from somewhere. I mean, c'mon! Every single time they're in contact with each other we're reminded over and over again by Luce (and by extension, the author) of how she feels a zap, a connection, a history with Daniel. Alright, already! As if the whole concept of reincarnation has not been presented on the very first page of the book! Does the author think her readers won't get the link between the prologue and the body of the book? Is that why she kept on writing about these 'familiar feelings' that Luce experiences every single time she's with Daniel? Really?

I know that that target reader of the book are tweens.. I read a lot of children's books and teen fiction so I don't think I have outgrown reading about teenage angst so it's definitely not the reason for my irritation with Luce. She's, I don't know, pitiful. Like I said, she always (always! I don't think I can stress that enough because the author kept pointing it out to me) feel that being with Daniel is familiar, that there's a feeling that they've shared something deep. And you know what happened when Daniel finally told her their sad story? She ran! Unbelievable! She said she ran because she got scared and that she ran because when she said she felt she's known Daniel from somewhere she meant like seeing him in a mall or something. What?! Seriously, what?!?

Daniel, the main love interest, barely passed as acceptable. I do understand how he had to act the way he did with Luce. I felt his sorrow, but I guess the author could have done a much better job describing why Daniel is being like that. Okay, I get it that he was trying to push Luce away for her own good but a bit of background information about the whole thing would have been nice. But I guess the author was saving all that for the sequels.

There was no world-building, there was no character development, and there was almost no plot. But I'm willing to give this series another chance. Yes, against my better judgement, I have reserved the next book, Torment, from the library. I hope the title of the next book would not reflect how I'd feel about the book or the series for that matter..

Til then!