"Fallen" by Lauren Kate

This is going to be a very simple blog...a place for me to post about books that I have read that I think might interest my students at CHS.

I spent the past week reading the entire "Fallen" series (four books) written by Lauren Kate. They pulled me in so deep that I couldn't stop reading them anywhere I went. Thank goodness I had them on my iPad in Kindle format! The main characters are Daniel and Luce, although most of the story is told through the eyes of Luce. Luce is sent off to a horrible reform school after an "accident" which caught her almost-boyfriend on fire and killed him. Unable to figure out what the shadows she is seeing means, she thinks she is going insane but knows those shadows are responsible for much more than just lurking. In reform school, torn from all that is familiar to her, she meets "friends" that take her under their wing and help her adjust to reform school. While there she meets Daniel and Cam and is drawn to both of these young men, but isn't sure why she feels such a deep pull to both of them nor why she knows that she knows Daniel from somewhere else. The story twists and turns and brings angels and demons to the mix, along with some pretty insane mortals. Just as you think are figuring out what is about to happen, Lauren Kate twists the novel into a new way that is totally unexpected. One reason I kept reading is because I couldn't figure out Luce's role in this world that she had discovered. There was always a hint that she was a major player in this world rather than a minor player that she thought she was, but I couldn't figure out what that role would be. Lauren did an excellent job in keeping that completely obscure until towards the end of the fourth book. That doesn't mean that the other books were just biding time until you got to that point! No way! The plot twists, new characters, and even the humor & romance between Luce and her leading men kept me reading and trying to figure everything out.

This isn't your typical paranormal romance. Even some historical fiction is thrown into the mix and she made sure it was all accurate. I highly recommend this series!