BOOKREVIEW#60 Fallen by Lauren Kate

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Children nowadays have the luxury of book trailers; but if movies would have to work triple hard to even be at par of a great book, one should know that book trailers can only do so much. I'm glad I didn't watch Fallen's book trailer prior to reading the book. Sure it was a bit hard to get into the Fallen story, but it was nice to be on the edge--or to pretend to be a kid ever so often.

Want to know more about "him"? Read after the jump! For more book reviews, visit this page. 

My go-to online bookstore recently has been Blink.com.ph. If you haven't visited or heard of Blink yet, Blink is a new hub for book lovers to find, shop and even sell books--rare, new, intriguing... all sorts of books. They have titles ranging from references, fiction, children's and of course, my recent guilty pleasure, young adult.

For the month of September, I got Fallen* by Lauren Kate. Blink was quick to deliver it to my doorstep and the book arrived a day after I requested the title. The sheer convenience of having someone to talk to when in search of a book is I think the best thing about Blink's current interface. They have been gaining more and more titles as the weeks pass--and I won't be surprised if anything you expect of a physical bookstore, Blink's pages would have. If you need any help finding a book, connect with them on Facebook.

I can't put my finger on how much I liked or disliked Fallen so I figured, I'll let you decide which is which. Here my pros and cons for Fallen... enjoy my "yum" and "yuck" reasons! :) Angel wing vector used for my "yum" and "yuck" icons are from here.

YUM because I think it's safe to say that there are three top mythical creatures of phenomenon this time of age: zombies, vampires, werewolves; but what surprised me with Fallen is in how as gothic as the book cover was, it used creatures from the heavens to build a story on! It was such a refreshing "change of scenery". I really liked how it had a deviant storyline.

YUCK because considering it's a Young Adult series, the story development was toooooooooooo dragging. In fact, almost all the major events and exposition happen near the end of the book... afterwards the reader wouldn't even be treated to a spectacular view of seeing the pieces settle. It had a slow burn then a quick burn out. There was just too much beating around the bush for Fallen. I hope the succeeding books would be better.

because as much as I hated how slow the novel opened up to me, I really enjoyed what I experienced when it did! Call it a subconscious fixation to anything religious fiction, but I am so enamored with the concept of a love story between God's servant and a mortal who... is key to the love story's timelessness. Fallen also has an amazing opening, mind you. It was so picture-perfect, the "epilogue" the novel opened up with. Funny though, I think the epilogue worked much better in making the lead characters easy to relate to than the actual entirety of the novel. If it weren't for the epilogue, I wouldn't have sympathy over Luce and Daniel.

because the names used in Fallen are just so... OBVIOUS. I understand how difficult it is to name a character--anything for the matter--but to name one of your leads "Luce" just makes an overkill of your angel in love angle. And really, the boarding school must be named Sword and Cross? It was just too funny for me--like mediocre name choices. Names, especially in fiction, should always be essential in the development of a character's, well, character. For example, in my previous Book Review, Looking for Alaska, the name Alaska Young was so meaningful, the book would probably be a different book if Alaska Young was named something else. But for Fallen, oh my god, the characters were all so funnily named. Part of what made it really difficult for me to be in the zone was the character's names. I really don't get it... Luce for Lucifer? Is that it? Wow Lauren Kate, you're a genius!

because the book cover was so sexy and intriguing. I always judge a book by its cover and for Fallen series, book covers are on point! The cover depicted how the novel is a tragic love story; while also revealing a soft emotional sensitive side to what the pages keeps a secret. I think teens, its target audience, can really empathize with the cover alone and among many things, a cover than can talk from the racks is a cover made for bestseller success. 

because Fallen will be cut abruptly. I tell you, Fallen is a major cliff hanger. By the way I experienced it, I spent hours figuring out the answer to the "what's your dish" question that hung between my ears throughout 3/4 of the book; only to listen to a loud bang of a climax come the last few pages of Fallen.Naturally, by the time I already understood the character's cryptic and evasive "history". there were no pages left to read. Fallen's over. I should know that a huge climax deserves a gradual if not as flourished trickle down; but no. Fallen would torment the reader with the need to know more... because that's what it means to truly fall for something. You end up needing more of it. Love is part addiction, affliction, absolution and achievement. Anyone who's ever been hit by the love bug would know what I mean.

So even if I'm confused whether I liked Fallen or not, I need to read the next book which is Torment because Fallen made me care about the characters enough to want to know what would happen next. Is this their last lifetime for love. 

Or does love truly never dies? What do you think?

Don't miss out on Fallen series--and fall for the confusing world of a young troubled timeless love triangle. To get your those of Fallen, visit Blink.com.ph