Fallen by Lauren Kate – Series Review (Reread)

Series Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Books in the Series:

• Fallen

• Torment

• Passion

• Fallen in Love (Novella)

• Rapture

• Angels in the Dark (Novella)

• Unforgiven

Best Book: Passion (Book 3)

Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Romance

Spice: Mild

Summary:

After Luce is blamed for starting a deadly fire at her old boarding school, she is sent to the reform school of Sword & Cross. Located on an old church compound in Savannah, Georgia, Sword & Cross is filled with medicated delinquents bent on breaking the rules. There are cameras watching their every move, a strict class schedule, and cell phones and other electronics are considered contraband. Luce is introduced to many new classmates, the charming Cam, the eccentric Arianne, and the studious Penn. But there’s one new classmate that catches Luce’s eye: Daniel Grigori. Luce can’t put her finger on why, but Daniel seems familiar in a way no one has before. She feels an instant attraction towards the blond-haired boy, but Daniel won’t give her the time of day.

Soon, Luce’s demons are catching up with her in the form of the shadows she’s seen all her life. Luce knows that when the shadows start to gather, she and those around her are in danger. And as reluctant as Daniel seems to get involved with Luce, he keeps conveniently saving her, sending Luce’s head spinning between Daniel and a very interested Cam. As Luce and her new friend Penn start to dig into Daniel’s past, they realize maybe Luce’s intuition that she’s known Daniel before isn’t so far off.

Reaction:

The Fallen Series by Lauren Kate is an epic story that explores the idea of true love and what one would sacrifice to experience it. It's another of those book series that I really enjoyed reading as a young teenager. I remember being swept away by the epic love story and I was a sucker for the emotionally distant, self-sacrificing MMC. Rereading the series as an adult, there were aspects of the love story that I still appreciated, but others that were missing compared to my more recent favorites.

What’s interesting about this series is that each of the books is rather different in terms of plot and setting. A lot of series I read have a bit of a predictable path; the plot and setting in book 1 flows rather seamlessly into book 2, and so on. In this series, there was a clear conceptual focus for each book, directly supported by a change in setting and newly introduced paranormal lore. I found that it kept me engaged, even when the romantic story was rather consistent. The downside of that is that there was a lot of paranormal world-building to get through, and at times it felt like too much for me.

The all-consuming romance between Luce and Daniel is rife with tension from the beginning, which I generally love. But as the series continued, I realized that tension stemmed from a huge whopping lack in communication. And notice I don't say miscommunication, they actually do not communicate effectively with each other; Luce asks questions and Daniel doesn't answer them. So, in some ways it’s very typical of a teenage romance, but the books are generally missing an element of banter and bonding I look for between the two love interests.

Overall, the series has a lot of paranormal lore, and an intense, epic love story that could sweep the right reader under its spell. I can see why a younger Melody was enchanted with this series, but there are a few things about it that keep it from being featured in my regular re-read rotation now.