Series Review: The Fallen Novels by Lauren Kate

Titles: Fallen, Torment, Passion, Rapture
Author: Lauren Kate
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Fiction
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased from Amazon.com

Synopsis (compiled from each of the books)

FALLEN: 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.

TORMENT: Lucinda is sure that she and Daniel are meant to be together forever. Now 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?

PASSION: Luce would die for Daniel.

And she has. Over and over again. Throughout time, Luce and Daniel have found each other, only to be painfully torn apart: Luce dead, Daniel left broken and alone. But perhaps it doesn’t need to be that way…

Luce is certain that something—or someone—in a past life can help her in her present one. So she begins the most important journey of this lifetime… going back eternities to witness firsthand her romances with Daniel . . . and finally unlock the key to making their love last.

Cam and the legions of angels and Outcasts are desperate to catch Luce, but none are as frantic as Daniel. He chases Luce through their shared pasts, terrified of what might happen if she rewrites history.

Because their romance for the ages could go up in flames… forever.

RAPTURE: The sky is dark with wings...

Like sand in an hourglass, time is running out for Luce and Daniel. To stop Lucifer from erasing the past they must find the place where the angels fell to earth. Dark forces are after them, and Daniel doesn’t know if he can do this—live only to lose Luce again and again.

Yet together they will face an epic battle that will end with lifeless bodies . . . and angel dust. Great sacrifices are made. Hearts are destroyed. And suddenly Luce knows what must happen.

For she was meant to be with someone other than Daniel. The curse they’ve borne has always and only been about her—and the love she cast aside. The choice she makes now will be the only one that truly matters.

In the fight for Luce, who will win?

My Thoughts (a little spoiler-y, sorry!)

Lauren Kate's Fallen novels are a refreshing change from most of the paranormal books that are filling bookshelves across the world these days, given that the stories focus on angels, fallen angels, Nephilim, etc., as opposed to vampires, werewolves, faeries, and the like.  That said, I ultimately thought this series would have been better suited as a trilogy. The third book was probably my least favorite of the group -- I would rather have seen the stories of Luce's past lives incorporated across the other three books.  This one book that focused on her trip through time to view her past lives with Daniel just got tedious for me.

Overall, I enjoyed the characters.  Luce's self-discovery over the course of the four books is really laid out quite well and we see her grow quite a bit.  I really enjoyed her as a heroine throughout every book.  Daniel, on the other hand, seems sort of pathetic and one-dimensional to me at this point.  But in all fairness, I suppose if I had to go through thousands of years of losing the person I loved over and over again, I might be pretty pathetic towards the end, myself.  Of course, there are several other angels, Archangels, and Nephilim who are presented as everyday people and it is amusing to read about them in that light and consider the possibility of angels among us.  And who can forget Lucifer's alter-ego, Bill the Gargoyle?

Ultimately, I enjoyed the ending, but uh, that synopsis for the fourth book?  Not really accurate, in my opinion.  I was prepping myself for a major plot twist and was a little disappointed that I got caught up in anticipation over what proved to be nothing.  In fact, the ending was basically exactly what I thought would happen from the beginning of the books.  Not that that's a bad thing, but I have grown so accustomed to plot twists that I wouldn't have minded one or two more throughout these stories.  But I'm a sucker for "happily ever after"and that is essentially what we got -- I really enjoyed reading Luce's and Daniel's relationship fall into place after everything they had been through.  It was a bit poignant, really.

Bottom line, if you are into YA paranormal these days, I think you'll enjoy these books. There's nothing particularly ground-breaking about them, but they are an easy read and a bit of a departure from "the norm" out there.

My rating:



Broken out individually, I would probably rate them as follows:
Fallen - 4, Torment - 4, Passion - 3.5, Rapture - 4

And you know the drill -- if you have reviewed any of these books, feel free to leave links in the comments section!