Fallen in Love (edition 2012)

Quick Review: Such a nice break from the craziness that is Luce and Daniel's romance. We see some of it in this, oh yes, but also see stories about the secondary characters.

After sitting through Daniel and Luce's game of 'tag' through time in the last book, this was such a welcome addition to the series!!!! I didn't find myself hating (or, to be fair, really disliking) any of the characters, even stubborn Daniel! And the length? Loved it. We got a complete story in just the right amount of pages.

My suggestion? Don't skip out on this novella!

Longer review:

I didn't know Lauren Kate was writing a novella for her 'Fallen' series and for that reason I devoured it as soon as I got my hands on. Again, the cover designer has crafted a beautiful cover, a theme in the 'Fallen' world. It has that same soft feel to the binding, a feeling I've come to always connect with the 'Fallen' series.

In past installments of the 'Fallen' series, I have had issues-- major issues-- with characters. For example, half my time spent reading 'Torment' was spent hating Daniel or in 'Passion's case, I got really tired of the game of hide and seek *very* quickly. 'Fallen in Love', I'm glad to say, didn't leave me with any pent up anger regarding the story or characters! Hallelujah!

I don't normally like short stories, but loved how the stories in 'Fallen in Love' had their own plot, but still lead to one big bang finish. The other thing I loved about the short stories? We weren't hit over the head with Daniel and Luce drama. And the best, best, best thing about 'Fallen in Love'? Short story 'Where You Least Expect It: The Valentine of Shelby and Miles'. I've been a fan of Miles and Shelby since they were introduced and LOVE that they got their own story in this novella. Thank you, Lauren Kate, for giving those two their due!

In a sentence, 'Fallen in Love' was such a nice break from the craziness that is Luce and Daniel's romance! Now, bring on 'Rapture'!
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This was a great short book that supplements the Fallen Series... To understand each of the characters motivations and experiences in love explains so much about each of them. It changes your view of each character in a new way. I really enjoyed this little extra piece of the Fallen series... I am excited to jump back into the action in Rapture! ( )

Once again, Lauren Kate had my attention from the very first page. Picking up where Passion left, Fallen in Love tells the background stories to some of the main characters that are in the series (Miles and Shelby, Roland, Arriane, and Daniel and Luce). A useful and well written insight to the series, I definitely recommend this book. ( )

Oh deary me. Billed as a romantic collection of love stories from Kate's Fallen universe (slotting in neatly between Passion and Rapture), for me this was the Valentine that didn't deliver. The date that brings you hazelnut chocolates even though you have allergies. The one who gives you a book of cuddly dog pictures even though you're a cat person. The one that tries, but somehow manages to completely and repeatedly miss the mark.

The lovely-as-ever cover pretty much sums up the premise with the tagline, 'A Fallen Novel in Stories'. The book is made up of four interlinking Valentine's Day tales, two of which were good, and two of which weren't so good (hence the 2.5 star rating - half good, half bad!). The first, that of Shelby and Miles, was pretty good. They're such loveable and amusing characters already, and the story takes the spark we saw in Passion and gently fans it into a sweetly romantic flame. The second, Roland's story, was a duff one for me. He's such a cool and confident character, it was a bit of a disappointment to see him turning into a fawning stalker over a girl from his past. Arriane's unexpected angel-demon lesbian love story was a pleasant surprise at first, until I realised that three pages in she, too, lost 90% of her humour and energy, and became some kind of melodramatic Wuthering Heights-esque wench instead. Finally we returned to Luce and Daniel, where the book picked up again with their familiar brand of true love, eternal longing, and grand romantic gestures (and the return of the deliciously acerbic gargoyle Bill). At least we started and ended on a high note, right?

Ultimately I think Kate made the same mistake here that she did in Passion - she tried to tell too many stories in one book, and it ended up falling flat. I also can't understand divesting her most brilliant characters - the ones who offer light relief to counterbalance the intense romance of Daniel and Luce - of so much of their strength, humour and charm. Instead they get dragged down into heartbreak and overly dramatic confrontation, their tales becoming a jumbled torrent of clunky philosophy and highly-strung emotions. Not exactly a happy book for Valentine's Day! Oh, and one more thing - this quote bothered me: "Why, I was younger than Lucinda when I was a mother made... Seek happy nights to happy days..." Is it just me, or is that Shakespeare's Lady Capulet, then the Nurse, quoted pretty much word for word? This Romeo and Juliet fan was not amused.

I guess in the end, this is probably one of those books that you're better off reading for yourself. Personally, I was very disappointed, and would have been even more so had I splashed out on a hardback copy for some romantic Valentine's Day reading. I think it's more of an add-on to the series than a vital part of it (though I haven't read Rapture yet, so please correct me if I'm wrong!) - perhaps it's one for die-hard fans only? Despite all this, I'm still really looking forward to Luce and Daniel's grand finale, where I've heard Kate is finally back on the top form she displayed in Fallen and Torment. Fingers (and wings) crossed! ( )

This series has been very hit or miss for me. I enjoyed the first two books in the series but was disappointed with "Passion" as I didn't like all the time travel. I was disappointed right away to discover that "Fallen In Love" all takes place as yet another trip into the past via announcer. I did like the fact that all four of these short stories are linked together...they take place during the same Valentine's day and one story feeds into the next. I thought that was pretty unique and enjoyed that aspect of the book. Miles and Shelby have a very cute story to kick things off and I think ultimately it remained the best of the four shorts. It sort of reminded me of O.Henry's story "The Gift of the Magi". Roland is one of my favorite characters and his story gave some new insight into his past. Arriane's story had the biggest twist and should have been the best of the bunch but it ended up being disappointing and forgettable. The last story is of Luce and Daniel and it also was a lot of nothing. I am a fan of these extra short stories and novellas authors write for fans. Most of the time these show up as free on the author's websites or are offered for free or cheap as a digital book. "Fallen In Love" is one of these little bonus stories wrapped up in a nice, expensive hardback and its just not worth it. Readers can easily skip this book and not lose a thing as far as reading the rest of the series goes. I look forward to reading "Rapture" and concluding this series. ( )