Fallen - Lauren Kate

Fallen is the first in a series of books by Lauren Kate. It was released on 8th December 2009 by Delacorte Press (RHCB) and it is 452 pages long.

Plot
After a terrible accident, Luce is sent to the Sword and Cross, a corrective school in an attempt to make her better. No one really knows what happened that day including Luce but she does know she wasn't responsible. Since she was younger, Luce has been followed by shadows and she has no idea why or if she is even sane. On her first day at Sword and Cross, she realises that the school is more like a prison than a school and the other students are either extremely strange or have been dangerous before. Arriane takes her under her wing and shows her the ropes but there is one girl, Molly, that takes instantly takes a dislike to her. Another thing that Molly notices is that most of the boys are extremely good looking, especially Daniel and Cam.

All Luce wants to do is keep to herself and get on with her time at the school but Molly doesn't make things easier for her. Luce is fascinated by Daniel and cant keep her eyes off him, having the feeling that she's met him somewhere before. While she is strongly attracted to Daniel, it is Cam that gives her attention and she cannot help but feel something for him as well. When Luce starts spending more time with Cam, Daniel always seems to be around to take her away and the two boys begin to fight over Luce and it turns into a war bigger than she ever could have imagined. Daniel has a huge secret and Cam isn't very pleased about it.

My Thoughts
I originally bought Fallen because Amazon recommended it to me. I loved the idea of a fallen angel being in love with someone over and over again no matter what happens. While the idea for the story seems original, there is also a Romeo and Juliet feel to it once you know what is going on.

The first chapter of the book is a prologue about Daniel and Luce. I really enjoyed this part of the book as it made it clear what Daniel goes through each time and how he does everything in his power to try to save Luce. Daniel is the sexy and mysterious hero of the story and everything about him and his actions makes you want to know more. The hero and the villain are very obvious but the reasons why aren't and I was quite shocked by the end of the book when everything was made clear.

I'm still not sure whether I liked Luce or not. Although right at the start we learn that she was part of some terrible accident which resulted in a boys death that is pretty much all we know about her. I didn't feel like there was enough character development and because of this I didn't feel the connection with her like I would other main characters. There are also flaws with her character. At one point it is stated that Luce had a 4.0 GPA (good grades in America) at her old school but she really doesn't show a lot of intelligence throughout the book and there isn't enough substantial evidence to back this up. Luce has a secret of her own but she doesn't realise how connected everything is. Although her characters isn't explained enough, all of the basics characteristics were there. She has her own problems and flaws which is what made her more interesting.

The build up towards the end of the story is extremely slow and drawn out but now that I know there is going to be a sequel, I can understand why. We don't get to learn much about anyone's past or what the outcome is for Daniel and Luce but I'm hoping that both of these will be explained in more detail in the next book. I did like the book but it wasn't the best I have ever read. I think I will grow to like it more after the sequel comes out and I read it again. My advice is to buy both Fallen and the sequel, Torment together so that everything will make a lot more sense.