Title: Fallen
Author: Lauren Kate
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Release: December 8, 2009
Rating: 4/5
Pages: 452
Series: Fallen #1
Synopsis:
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.

Review:
Hey, before I get started, I would just like to point something out. Right around this time of the year, I've noticed that some book bloggers tend to lean towards reading Christmas-y books as it is the holidays after all. Now I know not everyone does this, but I would just like to point out that even though I'm not reading traditional holiday books, Fallen could count as a holiday-ish book. I mean it's got angels in it, right? And that's the only Christmas-y factor in the whole book, but I stand by my point. Just because it doesn't look like I'm reading Christmas books, I kind of am.

Now that I've defended myself, let's start the review. The cover of Fallen was gorgeous. And when I say gorgeous, I mean: it's a dark cover that draws readers attentions and interests immediately at first sight. When I saw this book it was in early October, just after the sequel, Torment, had come out. I saw both the covers, picked them up and checked out immediately. They are the perfect eye candy for readers, a beautiful back drop with an intriguing model pose and an eerie glow to boot. The text is also good for the cover as well. It's a little feminine but it's also spooky looking as this book's contents are. And my absolute favorite part about this cover is how in the book there's a link to the cover that most books don't have. It's pretty unique and you'll know what I'm talking about once you've read the book.

The characters in this book were very interesting. Interesting in a good way, not a bad way. Though my favorite was definitely Arrianne. She was such a total BA but she took Luce under her wing and showed her the ropes of Sword & Cross. Another character that was intriguing to me was Daniel. He was constantly changing and even when he turned her down you knew how hard it was for him. And I just loved the progression that you experience in the relationship between Luce and Daniel. It was so romantic. The one character that I never liked in the least was Cam. He was just too pushy and too easily aggravated by others.

The writing in this book is very descriptive. Reading Fallen was like being in the world of the story. It was very easy to make mental pictures of what the setting would have been like. The story is where I hit a bit of a speed bump. I didn't particularly like how long the story took to get where it was going. It felt a little drawn out, in my opinion. Though the story did end with a killer ending that made me cry a little bit and it also was a tad bit of a cliff hanger.

After reading Fallen, I can't wait to sink my teeth into Torment. But until then, Fallen gets a deserved 4/5.