What’s better than a book about angels? A book about fallen angels. So I think, anyway. Angels typically annoy me with their goody-two-shoes-ness. Fallen is about those fallen ones, but most of the book doesn’t actually involve them. Being the first of a series, this is the set-up book where you’re introduced to the heroine Luce, short for Lucinda. I was hoping for Lucifer, personally, but we can’t always get what we want. This book is really about her and the beginnings of what hopefully turns into an interesting series about warring angels and time-spanning love.
Luce starts the book on her first day of reform school, after accidentally setting her kind-of boyfriend on fire. Not the “fire in the loins” but the “fire that burns you to a crisp”, mind you. Homegirl has a deadly kiss. While the police can’t prove anything, Luce and her history of mental problems end up shipped off to the Sword & Cross (a bit heavy handed with the name, methinks) which is located in Georgia, not far from her parents home. It turns out all her life Luce has seen shadows that creep along walls and come after her in the dark. While not tangible and never causing her direct harm, it’s nonetheless quite unpleasant to have them creeping on her.
Here the book starts to unfold and we meet her supporting cast, including the two boys fighting over her. Daniel doesn’t immediately warm to her, but Luce can’t shake the feeling she knows him somehow. Cam, on the other hand, can’t get enough of her and pursues Luce at every turn. Turns out these two are both fallen angels on opposite sides of the law and Luce is the prize. There’s also a very good reason Luce thinks she knows Daniel as the two have quite a long history together.
I can’t say this book blew my mind. It was a decent read but started very slow moving. The action starts to build towards the end, the epic smackdown between the two sides starts—and then we cut away from the scene and miss the whole battle. I’m also not really a fan of the girl being something to “win”, like she’s some inanimate object to hoist over your head while you declare yourself Master of the Universe. The characters are interesting enough and I like the idea of the fallen angels, of reincarnation. Most paranormal YA books tend to deal with vampires or witches. I can’t say I’ve ever read one about angels before, so it was a refreshing change of pace. I’ll probably finish as much of the series as my library has e-books for, just because I’m curious to see where it goes. I hope the action picks up and we learn more about why there’s such an epic battle and what role Luce ultimately plays in it all. I give this book a rating of “cautious optimism”.
If you’re interested in more angel related stories, try Daughter of Smoke and Bone. The protagonist is on the demon side of a raging war, and the angels definitely aren’t like the church version.
Oh! I did read that, now that you bring it up. I found it weirdly hard to get in to. I finished it, I enjoyed it (I think?), but it was a bit of a struggle.
I liked the second novel even more because it explores more about the different worlds, and really introduces the angels’ community. I know most people are mixed on the second one, and it is a bit disappointing that Karou isn’t as fierce and more subdued given everything she learned, but I really liked the fact that they didn’t just decide that their love was more important than everything that happened. They don’t forgive each other or themselves easily for everything that happened.
I know the first one jumped around a bit so it did take a bit of time to get into it.