Review: Fallen in Love by Lauren Kate (Fallen #3.5)

Publisher - Doubleday Children's Books
Publication Date - 2nd February 2012
Paperback - 256 pages
Genre - Young Adult/Paranromal Romance

Source - Received from publisher for review

Rating - 4 out of 5: I really liked it

Book Info - Unexpected. Unrequited. Forbidden. Eternal. Everyone has their own love story.

And in a twist of fate, four extraordinary love stories intersect over the course of a romantic Valentine's Day in medieval England.

Miles and Shelby find love where they least expect it. Roland learns a painful lesson about finding and losing love. Arriane pays the price for a love so fierce it burns. And for the first - and last - time, Daniel and Luce spend a night together like none other.

Fallen in Love is filled with love stories... the ones everyone has been waiting for.

My Thoughts - The first thing I want to say about this book is that I absolutely love the setting. Medieval England just makes everything feel so much more romantic! There's knights, damsels in distress and a Valentine's Day Fair *sigh*. It all worked so well and made me wish I could be there with the characters.

I really enjoyed each of the short stories included in the book, but they all bring something different to the table. Love Where You Least Expect It (Miles and Shelby's story) is possibly my favourite. It is a very sweet story of two friends who are trying to work out their feelings as they realise their friendship is turning into something else and it is filled with touching moments between the pair.

Love Lessons (Roland's Story) is a bittersweet look into Roland's past and helps to give a better understanding of his serious nature.

Burning Love (Arriane's story) was the most interesting, but also the most frustrating for me. It gives some insight into her relationship with a female demon and the feelings of heartbreak as they realise they can't be together just jump off the page at you. However, because the story was so intriguing, I found myself wanting to know more about them than it was possible to learn in such a short story.

Endless Love (Luce and Daniel's story) was, of course, a happy and romantic story of the only Valentine's day the pair ever spend together. I loved reading about how their friends meddle in events to make this happen and about the love that Luce and Daniel share despite everything that is against them.

Summary - These are a set of short stories that cover all aspects of love - friends-to-lovers, destined love and heartbreak. Fans of the Fallen series will love this book, although people who haven't read the other books in the series might get confused as there just isn't enough time to include any back story. My only complaint would be that I wanted to read Cam's story but I can still hope that I'll get to read it one day! A great set of romantic short stories that all fans of the series must read!

Other books in the series:
1. Fallen
2. Torment
3. Passion
3.5. Fallen in Love
4. Rapture

Other reviews of this book:
Bewitched Bookworms / Books With Bite / Imaginary Reads

This book counts towards the following challenges:
Book #17 for 2012 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge

Review: Passion by Lauren Kate (Fallen #3)

Publisher - Doubleday Children's Books
Publication Date - 23rd June 2011
Paperback - 432 pages
Genre - Young Adult/Paranromal Romance

Source - Received from publisher for review

Rating - 4 out of 5: I really liked it

Book Info - Before Luce and Daniel met at Sword & Cross, before they fought the Immortals, they had already lived many lives. And so Luce, desperate to unlock the curse that condemns their love, must revisit her past incarnations in order to understand her fate. Each century, each life, holds a different clue.

But Daniel is chasing her throughout the centuries before she has a chance to rewrite history.

How many deaths can one true love endure?

And can Luce and Daniel unlock their past in order to change their future?

My Thoughts - This book carries straight on from the events of Torment so please do read this series in order as you will have trouble trying to work out what is happening.

I enjoyed reading about Luce and Daniel's past lives and I liked the historical details of the different times and places. There are some very romantic moments between the pair that really melted my heart.

The storytelling alternates between Luce and Daniel, which I thought was great! One of the problems I had with Torment was that I wanted to know more from Daniel's point of view and we definitely get that in this book, although there is still an air of mystery surrounding him.

The parts that are set during Luce's past lives are well written. With there being past and present versions of Luce, Daniel, Cam etc there is the potential for confusion, but the author manages to make it clear who is who.

*SPOILER ALERT* The part of the story I wasn't very happy with is when Luce goes 3D - enters the body of a past Luce. I have only just started to get used to the idea of travelling around in time through shadows and then the author throws in another completely mind-blowing concept. It just felt a little too unreal for me. However, I found Luce does become slightly more likeable when she is in the body of her former selves. When she is in her own body she tends to act very spoilt and spends a lot of time stamping her feet and saying 'That's not fair!'. This behaviour doesn't sit right with someone who is trying to break a millenia old curse so that she can be with the man she is destined to love forever.

Summary - Overall I enjoyed Passion a lot more than Torment and there is a great cliffhanger that has got me eagerly awaiting the final book in the series. It is a series that has got everything from mystery, danger, suspense and eternal love. What more could you ask for? Passion is well worth reading.

Other books in the series:
1. Fallen
2. Torment
3. Passion
3.5. Fallen in Love
4. Rapture

Other reviews of this book:
Chicklish / Daisy Chain Book Reviews / Dark Readers / Heaven, Hell and Purgatory

Review: Torment by Lauren Kate (Fallen #2)

Publisher - Doubleday Children's Books
Publication Date - 30th September 2010
Paperback - 464 pages
Genre - Young Adult/Paranormal Romance

Source - Received from publisher for review

Rating - 4 out of 5: I really liked it

Book Info - How many times must you live before you find someone to die for?

Lucinda is sure that she and Daniel are meant to be together forever. Now, in this sequel to the bestselling Fallen, they are forced apart in a desperate bid to save Luce from The Outcasts – immortals who want her dead. As she discovers more about her past lives Luce starts to suspect that Daniel is hiding something. What if he has lied to her about their shared past? What if Luce is really meant to be with someone else?

My Thoughts - Although I loved Fallen, I did feel like I had a lot of questions that needed to be answered in Torment. However, they were not answered and I finished this book feeling slightly frustrated. I actually felt as though there were even more unanswered question by the time I had finished this book. Whilst I was reading it I couldn’t help thinking that I would have enjoyed it more if some of it was written from Daniel’s point of view as he is the one with all the knowledge of the situation. But even though I found myself feeling a bit frustrated by the lack of answers, I will still definitely be reading the third book in the series to try and find out more about Daniel and Luce.

However, this was the only negative aspect of the book for me and I did enjoy it a lot overall. I love the chemistry between Luce and Daniel whenever they are together in this book. They often go quickly from overwhelming passion to bickering, and it was this bickering that made their relationship feel more realistic to me – almost as if they really had been together for many years (oh dear, maybe I’ve been married for too long - I’m starting to sound cynical!).

I also loved Luce’s character in Torment. Although Luce feels as though her and Daniel are supposed to be together she doesn’t just accept it and she actually has to ask herself a lot of questions about the way she really feels about him and what she wants from life. This made Luce seem very mature and realistic as I would have had trouble believing that a young girl would just accept at face value that she is supposed to be with a guy that she has only known (in this lifetime, at least) for five minutes. Luce is also very brave and likable.

The students and teachers at Shoreline also make for interesting reading, with two of my favourites being the teachers Steven and Francesca. They are a couple but they are also both fallen angels who have chosen different sides in the battle, with Steven becoming a demon. They help Luce to realise that the lines between good and evil can be very blurred, which does help her to understand Daniel and his situation a little better.

Summary - Torment is written in a way that instantly drags you into the story and keeps your attention throughout. There is a good balance between romance, friendship and action with lots of great characters. Anybody who enjoyed Fallen will love this one too, but I would advise that you don’t try reading Torment if you haven’t read the first book in the series as you could find yourself getting very confused.

Other books in the series:
1. Fallen
2. Torment
3. Passion
3.5. Fallen in Love
4. Rapture

Other reviews of this book:
Feeling Fictional
(If you would like your review of Torment included here, please leave a link in the comments and I will be sure to add it)

Review: Fallen by Lauren Kate (Fallen #1)

Publisher - Doubleday Children's Books
Publication Date - 10th December 2009
Paperback - 464 pages
Genre - Young Adult/Paranormal Romance

Source - Library

Rating - 3 out of 5: I liked it

Book Info - 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.

My Thoughts - I immediately fell in love with the cover of this novel – I just thought it was gorgeous. Once I opened the book and started reading, I couldn’t stop. It really gripped my attention and the mystery of Daniel and Luce’s past had me speeding through the pages longing for answers.

I really liked Luce’s character and felt she was well written and believable. However, I would have liked to have learnt a little bit more about Daniel as I felt there was a bit too much mystery surrounding him. I really liked the other characters too and was surprised by the twist at the end involving all the students and teachers of Sword & Cross.

I was slightly disappointed by the ending though as I felt there were just too many unanswered questions surrounding Luce and Daniel. I realise that this is in preparation for the sequel but I still think that a little bit more could have been revealed.

Summary - Despite these reservations about the book, I still really enjoyed Fallen and I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series!

Other books in the series:
1. Fallen
2. Torment
3. Passion
3.5. Fallen in Love
4. Rapture

Other reviews of this book:
Annette's Book Spot / Book Chick City / Feeling Fictional / Turn the Page / Willing to See Less / YA Reads
(If you would like your review of Fallen included here, please leave a link in the comments and I will be sure to add it)