Review: Fallen (ARC) by Lauren Kate

Title: Fallen
Author: Lauren Kate
Publish Date: December 8, 2009 by Random House
Pages: 464 pgs, Hardcover
Reason for reading: Received an ARC through Shelf Awareness for review.

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

Isalys's Review:
So I have to be honest, I was initially drawn to this book by it's incredible cover art. Let's face it, we all judge a book by it's cover - even if it's just a little bit and I'm glad my book cover whoring paid off because this was a great story and exactly what I hoped for!!

Luce was almost a normal teenage girl. She went to a nice uppity school, had a BFF but then something went wrong and now she's a reform kid. All she knows is that there was a fire and a boy that she liked was killed, but she can't remember any of the details. Oh and the shadows were there too, like always. Now she's a freak among freaks!

She meets a very interesting cast of characters, to say the least. She starts to make friends, captures the attention of one boy, but her own attention is captured by someone else entirely. What's worse is that he's the one person she can't seem to get through to. Daniel is rude, mean and way too mysterious. She can't get him out of her head and with the help of her new friend Penn (who has a backstage pass to the school's records), she's resolved to learn as much as she can about Daniel Grigori. The kicker is that she learns a lot more than she bargained for, not just about Daniel, but about herself AND her new friends!

It seems that as "in" as vamps still are, we're slowly entering into the world of angels and demons. While I think there is room for a smidgen of improvement with the novel's pacing, overall Lauren Kate did a great job of creating a mysterious world where you don't know whom to trust or whom to fear. I also think she did a great job of describing the school's grounds and (and my personal fave) the cemetery without overdoing it. It was enough to where you can close your eyes and see what Luce is seeing.

I loved that there were a few unexpected (and really cool) twists towards the end and some of the characters became even more interesting and likable...even the "bad guy" that I hate to love! The book ended too quickly for me which is to say that I enjoyed it so much that I didn't want it to end. The good news is that Torment, part 2 is on the horizon. The bad news is that it won't be released until Dec. 2010 :(

For you urban fantasy & YA fans out there, you'll want to grab yourself a copy of this book when it hits shelves on Dec. 8th.

I give it ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥