Fallen

by Lauren Kate
452 pages

As fantasy novels go Fallen falls short

After a mysterious accident Luce is sent from her prestigious northeastern boarding school. She ends up at a rough and tumble school for troubled teens back in her hometown of Savannah, Georgia. Here she is immediately an outsider and for more reasons than she knows. After her first day she is known as "Meatloaf", not the best of starts for poor Luce, but don't worry things will get better.

Even though Luce has been sent to a reform school there might be a glimmer of light, there are two super cute guys. The first one, Cam, buys her pretty things and can't get enough of her, the second, Daniel, flipped her off the first time he saw her, guess which one Luce goes for. Yep, it is Daniel she can't get enough of. For some reason Luce is drawn to him like moth to a flame. And he is just so darn familiar almost like she knew him in another life?

As Luce tries to get closer to Daniel she also has to deal with some issues of her own. Ever since Luce was a child she has seen these strange dark shadows, but now the shadows seem to be getting stronger. Luce will have to juggle new friends, two potential boyfriends and a whole bunch of mysteries.

This one was really really hard for me to get through. I am a pretty quick reader, but it took me almost 3 weeks to read Fallen. I kept picking up other books and then trying to come back to it. I can't say what exactly what it was that made this one so difficult for me, but I just felt that it was, for lack of a better word, stupid.

It wasn't the fallen angels that I disliked, although that also didn't live up to what I had expected, it was more that there was too much going on at once. Way too many supernatural aspect going on in one story. And Luce, oh gosh, no personality and frankly annoying. She was so needy and pathetic. I kept asking myself why do these guys like her and by the end I was finding myself siding with the bad guys. This one just didn't come together for me. I know I am being a little harsh, but I just can't stand when the lead female is the stereotypical weak helpless woman.

I thought the cover was cool and I always love books set in Savannah. The second book in the series is always in the works, so maybe Lauren Kate can redeem herself, but make your own opinion, for you fantasy/supernatural lovers I'm sure you will read this one regardless.

The verdict is: I wouldn't waste my time unless you just read everything.