I SO WANT TO READ THIS: THE FALLEN: RAZIEL

WISHLIST:

Raziel by Kristina Douglas
Book 1 of the Fallen series

Publication Date: 25 January 2011

About Raziel:

She was just an ordinary mortal . . .

“You’re dead” is so not what Allie Watson wants to hear. Unfortunately, it explains a lot. Like the dark, angelically handsome man who ferried her to this strange, hidden land. The last thing she remembers is stepping off a curb in front of a crosstown bus. Now she’s surrounded by gorgeous fallen angels with an unsettling taste for blood—and they really don’t want her around. Not exactly how she pictured heaven.

. . . until death catapulted her into a seductive world she never imagined.

Raziel is unsure why he rescued Allie from hellfire against Uriel’s orders, but she stirs in him a longing he hasn't felt in centuries. Now the Fallen are bracing for the divine wrath brought by his disobedience, and they blame Allie for the ferocious Nephilim clawing at the kingdom’s shrouded gates. Facing impossible odds at every turn, the two must work together to survive. Raziel will do anything to defend his spirited lover against the forces of darkness—because Allie may be the Fallen’s only salvation.

Source: Info in the About Raziel was taken from the GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8379305-raziel on 28/12/2010.

Book Review: "Torment" by Lauren Kate

Author:		Lauren Kate
Series:		Fallen
Book #:		2 of 2
Published:		September 28th, 2010
Publisher:		Delacorte Books for Young Readers
ISBN:		0385739141
ISBN-13:		9780385739146
# pages:		464

From Goodreads: Hell on earth. That's what it's like for Luce to be apart from her fallen angel boyfriend, Daniel. It took them an eternity to find one another, but now he has told her he must go away. Just long enough to hunt down the Outcasts - immortals who want to kill Luce. Daniel hides Luce at Shoreline, a school on the rocky California coast with unusually gifted students -Nephilim, the offspring of fallen angels and humans. 

At Shoreline, Luce learns what the Shadows are, and how she can use them as windows to her previous lives. Yet the more Luce learns, the more she suspects that Daniel hasn't told her everything. He's hiding something - something dangerous. What if Daniel's version of the past isn't actually true? What if Luce is really meant to be with someone else? The second novel in the addictive FALLEN series . . . where love never dies.

Review:    First, can I just say... I LOVE the covers of this series!  Seriously... gorgeous.  I try very hard not to judge a book by it's cover, but I have to admit that the covers of Fallen andTorment were what attracted me to the books at first.

As I've said before, I tend to be a little leery of YA titles. It's a 50/50 chance on whether I will like the book, even if the synopsis sounds interesting.  I'm not sure why, but a lot of YA titles just drive me crazy. Not so with this series.  This series, I loved!  Lauren Kate tells a tale that is timeless.  The struggles of love, acceptance, and life choices are present throughout one's entire life, which makes this series great for anyone.

Very rarely, I come across a book that leaves me thinking about it after I put it down.  Torment is one of those books.   The characters are fabulously created, and the story kept me engaged throughout the entire experience.  It seemed that every time I had a few moments to spare, I would find myself wondering about what was going to happen next.  Torment will definitely suck you in and keep your attention.  

Any book that can raise emotions in the reader is special.  At different times in the book, I found myself wanting to reach out and smack Luce, hug Daniel, and warn Miles.  There were even occurrences where I would literally be smiling while reading and hubby would give me that "what the heck's going on" look from across the room. lol

Fallen and Torment are both great books that will keep you turning pages and wondering what will happen next.  They will suck you into Luce's world, where you can see what's going on and feel the emotions being raised.  

My Rating:  4.5/5!  Read this series!

Theresa

Book Review: "Fallen" by Lauren Kate

Author:		Lauren Kate
Series:		Fallen
Book #:		1 of 2
Publisher:		Delacorte Books for Young Readers
ISBN:		0385738935
ISBN-13:		9780385738934
# pages:		464

From Goodreads:  Seventeen-Year-Old Luce is a new student at Sword & Cross, an unwelcoming boarding/reform school in Savannah, Georgia. Luce’s boyfriend died under suspicious circumstances, and now she carries the guilt over his death with her as she navigates the unfriendly halls at Sword & Cross, where every student seems to have an unpleasant—even evil—history.

It’s only when she sees Daniel, a gorgeous fellow student, that Luce feels there’s a reason to be here—though she doesn’t know what it is. And Daniel’s frosty cold demeanor toward her? It’s really a protective device that he’s used again . . . and again. For Daniel is a fallen angel, doomed to fall in love with the same girl every 17 years . . . and watch her die. And Luce is a fellow immortal, cursed to be reincarnated again and again as a mortal girl who has no idea of who she really is. 

OH.... MY... GOSH!  Mrs. Lauren Kate picked me up and swept me away with this one!  What a wonderful book!

At first glance, Fallen sounded intriguing, but I'm a tad skeptical when it comes to YA books.  Most of the time, I feel like I'm taking a gamble when I choose to read one.  Granted, I have found a few that I have really liked, but I have been disappointed by more of them.  I'm thrilled to say that this is one of the good ones!

Luce...  Such a true to life character that even I, at the age of 34, could relate to so easily.  Always wanting to just be accepted, never being quite understood, and in search of inner peace.  I felt that I actually knew this girl by the end of the story, and I just couldn't help but cheer her on.

The author's prose is absolutely fantastic, making this book such an easy read.  Mrs. Kate's words just flowed throughout the book, which was very refreshing.  It's so nice to sit down and read a book in which your eyes can float across the pages with ease, and this is absolutely one of those books.  The world building and descriptions in this book transplanted me right into the center of Luce and Daniel's world.. I could see in my mind exactly what the author was writing.  Fallen is a remarkable YA love story that is guaranteed to sweep you away and  have you rushing out to buy Torment, the next book in this phenomenal series.

My rating: 4.5/5!

FALLEN BY LAUREN KATE

Fallen by Lauren Kate
Book 1 of the Fallen series.

About This Book:

Seventeen year old Luce is sent to a reform school, Sword & Cross, following a terrible tragedy involving her ex-boyfriend Trevor. The details of what happened that night are hazy and Luce is struggling to come to terms with the idea that she might have been responsible.

On her first day at Sword & Cross Luce meets Cam, a good-looking, edgy guy with piercing green eyes and dark hair and she feels strangely attracted to him despite the fact he is not usually her type. However Cam is not the only guy to have attracted her attention. Daniel is captivatingly handsome, almost too perfect, Luce feels instantly drawn to him, as if she already knows him, but she would never forget someone who looked like that, would she?

An epic battle between Heaven and Hell, with echoes of Paradise Lost, Fallen is a story of a love doomed to fail over and over again.

Source: Info in the About This Book was taken from the publisher's promotional material template for Fallen which accompanied the ARC received.

Cherry's Rating: 3 out of 5 cherries





Genre: YA, urban fantasy, chicklit

My Take On This Book:

The story telling quality is good but not that compelling. I give it a 4 out of 5. The story itself is quite insubstantial in my opinion. A young girl running around in school with her guilt, insecurity and boys. And that's it! I think that earned a 2 out of 5. The book ends with a cliffhanger which is never good in my book. Though it kind of closes the story, it is also a beginning of the next book. I give it another 2 out of 5. However it made the second book in the series look like a very good read indeed. And I wouldn't presume to judge the entire series by this book alone. In my experience, the first book in a series is usually not the best one. Take the Black Dagger Brotherhood (BDB) and the Dark Hunter (DH) series(es) for example, both Dark Lover (BDB) and Fantasy Lover (DH) are mediocre books. The best aspect of both books is that they are the start of a very good series. So hopefully this series would be one of them good ones. I look forward to the next book, Torment. Overall, I rate this book a 3 out of 5.

A BIG thank you to Doubleday for providing this ARC copy.

Other reviews on this book:
Fantasy Book by Ecarodiaz (added: April 2010)
The Moonlight To Twilight Blog (added: 10/06/10)