Review: 2/5 for Fallen by Lauren Kate

Fallen by Lauren Kate
Hardcover, 464 pages
Published December 8, 2009 by Random House Children's Books
Source: eBook, Purchased
Buy the book: Amazon : B&N

From Amazon:

There's something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price's attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He's the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.

Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce--and goes out of his way to make that very clear--she can't let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her.

Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, Fallen is a page turning thriller and the ultimate love story

I think "book-hype" got to me on this book, very badly. I had such epic hopes for this series. While I was not totally let down, it just was not all it was cracked up to be for me. Loved the synopsis, but in many ways that's all I got with the book itself as well.

The characters kept me going through this book. They're easy to get along with and also have good personalities and interesting backgrounds. I also like the way in which the characters are intertwined with one another. As a group they flow so well. However, as individuals it is like they run in circles and never get anything done. This is because there is so much secrecy between the characters it's like no one knows what to do next.

The plot is fairly simple, but drags in many places. Some of my issues may stem from a good chunk of the book happening in a "juvenile detention" like setting. My career field gives me enough of this. Secrecy has a major effect on the plot line, everything is based around it. Most of the time this does not bother me. Unfortunately by the end of the book it felt like I did not know anymore about what was going on than what I did in the beginning.

I've seen other mixed reviews for this series, so maybe it just depends on who reads them. I like the book enough to carry on with the series. A lot of it is the characters and I genuinely want to know where they end up. Hopefully, it'll be a less twisted road to get there though.