Daily Archives: March 30, 2010

Fallen by Lauren Kate

Posted on March 30, 2010
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Fallen (Fallen, #1) Fallen by Lauren Kate

Buy on Amazon: Fallen by Lauren Kate

I’m kind of in the middle on this book. I can’t really decide if I just didn’t like it or if the fact that I read it through in pretty much an afternoon actually means something.

Here is what I did like about Fallen.

1. I liked Luce. I think, while she’s not quite as helpless as other will-not-name girl-characters-stuck-in-a-love-triangle have been in other books I’ve read in the past, she still has a bit of a way to go before I really get the kick-butt out of her that I really enjoy reading.

2. I liked Daniel. I did not like his name so much. I think I would have preferred not knowing who the good guy was and the bad guy was right off the bat as a result of the naming. Because there were a few moments in there that I thought.. “hm.. really?”.

3. I liked the setting. Creepy old reform school, very gothic and emo. I enjoyed it. I liked the character back-up to the school and really enjoyed a few of the secondary characters. But.. man, these kids sure broke a lot of rules for supposedly being constantly watched.

Here’s what I didn’t like:

1. I felt like Luce’s history was stuck on repeat. I kept being told the same information over and over about WHY she was in the school, but I still didn’t really get what actually happened. Maybe I missed it? My eyes started glazing over when the fire was mentioned for the 3rd or 4th time.

2. I didn’t get why Luce’s “old” best friend had to be in the picture. The book would have done just fine I think without throwing an extra character into the mix and she’s just not mentioned enough to be any character worth anything.

3. I wasn’t spellbound by the story. Sure, it was interesting but there were parts that I had to make myself read through because I wanted to see how it all ended. I don’t know if that’s so much a product of the actual book or just the fact that I’m kind of getting tired of these drama-filled, teenage angsty-love, paranormal books. I’m fully ready to admit it might be the latter.

Still, I have to admit, I enjoyed Fallen much more than Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick. They are remarkably similar, but Luce didn’t grate on me nearly as much as Nora did.

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Two-Sided Tuesday: March 30, 2010

Posted on March 30, 2010
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It’s Two-Sided Tuesday time!  I actually flip-flopped between the pairs of books I wanted to talk about this week about.. hm.. five or six times, but yesterday I went to see a friend of mine and she mentioned the Stieg Larsson books to me and it pushed me over the edge.

You might have been hiding in some remote place (or just not visiting book stores) if you haven’t seen Stieg Larsson’s books.  The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl who Played with Fire and The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest which will be released on May 25, 2010.  I’ve only read one of these books (the other two are on my TBR list) so that’s the one I’ll talk about here first.

I still have mixed emotions about this book.  I alternate between recalling the intense boredom I had for the first, oh, 2/3rds of the book and the “frantic need to read” feeling I had for the last 1/3rd of the book.  There was so much patient, careful set-up that it almost put me off finishing and in chatting with my friends in the area here, that feeling is mutual.  That said, the last 1/3rd of the book is what really makes The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.. that and the actual girl, Lisbeth Salander.  Salander ranks high on one of my favorite characters in modern literature today.  I loved how complex she was and, frankly, she’ll be the only reason I pick up the next two books to read.  I can’t imagine putting myself through the torture that was the first part of this book again.  With that said, if you are aching for a good mystery and just can’t make yourself read through pages of set-up… why don’t you check out this book?

This is actually the second book written by Tara French.  The first, In the Woods, was good as well, but left me unsatisfied.  The Likeness blew it out of the water, in my opinion.  Cassie Maddox is a fantastic character and one I could easily connect to.  Not quite as complex as Larsson’s Salander, but I loved how strong she was and how determined to do the right thing.  And, let’s face it, in this book she puts herself in 10x the amount of danger that Salander put herself in.  From the first chapter I was sucked into this mystery and I found myself believing the words on the page, despite the premise being a completely unbelievable one.  I don’t read a lot of mysteries and thriller’s these days, but this book earned a spot on my actual bookshelf.  It’s fantastic and I highly recommend it.

My actual review of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo can be found here.

My actual review of The Likeness can be found here.

If you’d like to participate in Two-Sided Tuesday, leave your link here so we can visit!

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