S. L. Naeole

MELODRAMATIC! SAPPY! MELODRAMATIC AGAIN!!! OMG, SUPER SAPPY!!!

Seriously people, I can’t decide what this book has more of: gut-wrenching, end-of-the-world, oh my god melodramatic scenes or syrupy-sweet, stifle-an-eye roll/giggle sappy scenes. It is intensely both of these things. Sometimes even simultaneously! Not that melodrama and sap are necessarily bad things… just be warned.

I think it is pretty obvious from these reviews that there is not much middle ground on this book. You are show more either going to become addicted or allergic to its digital pages fairly quickly. I’m an addict, yay! (My mother is so proud.) Now, I must admit there are many glaring flaws about this book. But somehow, instead of finding them annoying and distracting, I found them endearing. I think it has to do with the characters; the main character Grace in particular. The characters of a book are perhaps the most important part for me. If the characters limp off of the page with as much personality as a potato, I’m out. I really don’t even care how good the plot is at that point. I want to read about people, not potatoes. I could tell Grace was a wonderful character from the first page. She is overflowing with personality, she is offbeat and quirky – clearly not your average heroine these days.

Now for the negative: I can see the possibility of abandoning this series. Perhaps the “new” will wear off somewhere in the middle of book 2. The book definitely has problems. Right now it is hanging on to such a high rating mainly by charm. This book reminds me of a great local band with quirky, endearing lyrics but the music is just not that tight yet. Forgivable for a while, but if we don’t see some improvement soon the apathy will set in. show less

What an ending to this series! I truly thought that Grace had died for real, and that it ended up being all for nothing. The fight was amazing, and when Grace finally got into all of her powers, it was breathtaking! She is Life, so wonderful, and now, she and Robert can live on, raising their angel-baby and continue answering their call.
The only sad note at the very end of the book is that Grace's dad and family moved away, it makes me want to know more, just like I always do when I love a show more series. I want to see Grace and Robert again later, know that life is better now. And hopefully, they have stopped thinking they don't deserve each other's love now. show less

3.5/5 stars

17 yr. old Sophia Jane Blithe is a survivor. From escaping her mentally-ill, homicidal mother to becoming a ward of the state and enduring foster home after foster home, she has learned to keep people at an arms length; to shut down her emotions and desires because people and places are transient and conflict is something best avoided. When she was eleven, she was taken in by the Ackerman family and has seemingly found a safe haven. Just before she’s about to start her senior show more year of high school, her family finds out that the school districts have been rezoned and Sophia is now to attend Gossamer (a.k.a. Perfect) High. Things are not perfect at “Perfect” High, however, and Sophia finds herself isolated in school where the students treat her as an outcast and her teachers are somewhat indifferent. The only bright spot is meeting Dex, a boy who treats her with kindness and strangely seems to know everything about her.

Props to Naeole for Sophia’s character. Sophia is an incredibly damaged, complex girl. She has carried the weight of her mother’s actions and the stigma of being “The Blithe Baby” her whole life. She believes that somehow that all that’s happened to her is her fault and that she deserves the cards she’s been dealt. She’s of the opinion that she doesn’t deserve love, she doesn’t think she can even feel love for anyone else; she’s just kind of dead inside. So…she’s got some serious self-esteem issues going on. That being said, she’s not a complete doormat, and the introduction of Dex into her life provides her with an avenue of self discovery. Her dependence on Dex worries me a bit though, and I wish she had come out more self-reliant at the end. However, Sophia and Dex’s story is not over yet, so who knows where her character will go in the next few books.

There are some serious issues going on in this book and situations that, if your teens are reading this book, should be discussed with them. The events and circumstances that Sophia already has endured before the story starts and then does endure through the book are enough to land someone in some serious therapy if not a straight-jacket. The affects of mental illness upon loved ones, willing self-destructiveness, low self-esteem, abusive partners, manipulative authority figures, and situations of sexual violation are just a few. These are characters with serious problems.
The paranormal aspect of this story was surprisingly not as prevalent. In fact, in my opinion, this story could have easily been reworked without it. But as I said, the story isn’t over yet, this is just the first act and Naeole has set it up well for the paranormal part to become the larger issue in the subsequent novels.

This story is very different from Naeole’s Grace series and that in itself impresses me. Even though I think I prefer the Grace series better, she’s created something with Gossamer that’s entirely different and personalities that are unique to this story, not just slightly reworked versions of previous characters.

Verdict: A dark, heavy story and I’m curious to see how Naeole resolves it. show less

It seems like lately Angels are the IT in books right now. For a while I wanted to read Falling From Grace and I was fortunate enough to get a copy from the author herself. I was really excited to start reading this book after reading all the great reviews on it. Well, I can tell you right now that I was not let down. I REALLY enjoyed Falling from Grace.From the very beginning Grace's life starts on a crazy roller coaster ride. It was so easy to put myself in her shoes and feel her pain. I show more felt so bad for Grace. It was almost like everything in her life was meant to go sour. Then when she meets Robert, everything changes. Nothing really matters to her anymore. Being called a freak, no one really talking to her, She just stopped caring. Even losing her best friend since childhood didn't really matter. Robert became a really good friend to her and immediately took her into his world. He tells her all of his secrets and would constantly make her feel special. Of course they fall in love with each other and their relationship is constantly challenged, but in the end the way they feel for each other over came everything else. I thought this was a great story and that the author did a good job at explaining everything. One minute I was confused and the next it all made sense. Everything was also described really well and was so easy to picture in my head. Now I definitely have to buy the second book in the series because I am dying to know where Robert and Grace took their relationship. I recommend this book and give it Five Stars. show less