REVIEW: Fallen by Lauren Kate

I had a little peer pressure to read this one from a friend and in fact I own all four (the first couple have been on my shelves for a loooonngg time) from super cheap finds in discount book stores. I actually really enjoyed Twilight for what it was (read them twice!) and this series seems to be the forerunner of those that rode in on the paranormal romance wave.

Scanning Goodreads reviews it's actually difficult to find a review that has more than one star - aided by the fact that the one star reviews have an obscene amount of 'likes'. While I don't agree with most of the comments, most of which are nothing less than slanderous, I was being generous when I gave the book two stars.

Look, I finished it without ever thinking of giving up, so that's an initial few points. 

There were some great things about this book. The setting in the reform school and the small cast of juvenile delinquents were great ... some really interesting personalities and something a little different to the usual urban setting. There were a few chuckle out loud moments for me, particularly from Arianne. I felt it also started very promisingly ... it seemed nowhere near as fluffy as other similar books and had a little bit of dark grit. 

Major drawbacks were that nothing actually happens for the first 75% of the book and the suspense to find out what we actually already know becomes unbearable. It goes from a little less than normal 'girl at school with crushes on boys' to 'full blown supernatural magic with human sacrifices' time before you can say hootenanny, which was a little ... abrupt.

And yes we all liked to have a little whinge about how sickening Bella was with her fascination with Edward, but honey let me tell you she ain't got nothing on Luce (which, for reference I kept thinking of as 'loose' ... what a stupid choice for a nickname). Even I went all doe-eyed and weak-kneed at Meyer's portrayal of Edward, but Kate neglects to not only adequately describe Daniel, but in fact most of the characters. He's just some school kid with blonde hair and velvety white wings. Hence why when Loose Luce is drawn irresistibly to his ... rudeness? ... I have no sympathy or connection. I really felt absolutely nothing for Daniel or their plight against the Universe to be together for all time. Nada.

Still debating whether to continue with the series, maybe one day but not right now.