Thursday, November 15, 2012

Americans in Paris?

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Humph!

My reading habits are such that I enjoy just about anything.  I have my favourites, of course;  Murder Mysteries, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and the occasional Biographical novel such as The Agony and the Ecstasy-a Michelangelo  Masterpiece- but rarely am I actually angry that I bothered reading something.

Fallen by Lauren Kate was infuriating.  On her behalf, the premise is intriguing.  This is a star-crossed lovers fantasy.  I adore this story-line.  The mortal and the fallen angel.  I love the past-lives theme and the reincarnation and the meeting again and again only to never be able to be together.  I was totally excited by this idea.  The problem is that Kate NEVER gets to any explanation.  The main character, Luce, is shipped off to a reform school after having an acquaintance die. She's been haunted by shadows all of her life and been sent to every shrink known to man-kind.  She's been subjected to mind altering drugs and evaluation-all of which I abhor.  One feels sorry for this girl and is looking forward to discovering the truth behind her visions.

But we never get the truth.  The story is going on and on and never unfolding.  We get pieces of details instead of details.  I kept reading thinking that on the next page I might get a clue.  I am told Luce is damned.  It is never revealed why she is damned.  Her love interest hates her then loves her.  We get some insight to the good and evil, but there are people killed who don't deserve to die.  The story is that people around her are getting killed.  But she is the one who is supposed to die when she falls in love with her angel for the millionth time.  We are never told why two innocent boys who happen to be standing around doing nothing are killed.  What did they have to do with this fallen angel plot?  

And there is too much mushy talk. The characters are suspiciously similar to the Twilight's Cullens.  The writing is amateur at best.  I loathe to speak of another author this way.  I love books and admire authors, being one myself I know how difficult it is to write a story.  But this book is lacking in sooooo many ways.  she's taken an excellent premise and gone no where with it.  I should get to find out why Luce is damned by the end of the book!  I should know who Cam really is, not just that he's a "Bad Guy." I should know what the "eighteen day truce" is that is made between two fallen angels at the close.  I should have some desire to find out what the next book will bring!  Instead, What is meant to be a cliff-hanger just leaves the reader completely disgruntled and thinking, "Why bother to read the next one?  She'll never get to the point anyway!" 

I am so sorry to report this, but I am terribly disappointed in what appeared by the cover and reviews to be an excellent read.  I simply am too annoyed to buy the next one.