Fallen by Lauren Kate

Even though she had no memory of exactly how the fire started that killed her friend Trevor, Luce is nevertheless the one everyone immediately pointed fingers at. After all, they were alone, and while he died she escaped with nothing but singed hair.

And so that's how Luce ended up as one of the newest students at Sword & Cross, a reform school for teenagers. She immediately feels out of place, but it isn't long before she sees him: Daniel Grigori, that oh-so gorgeous guy... who made eye contact with her and promptly flipped her off. Great.

But for some reason Luce can't stop thinking about Daniel, nor can she help but feel like they've met before...

I liked Daniel, but I really think Luce is one of the worst-written characters I've read in a long time. I didn't like the contradictions, like how it was mentioned that she avoided mirrors these days, but then later she was wishing she had a mirror because she was afraid her hair was a disaster. There was very little depth to her as well, which was disappointing.

I also didn't care for the fact that hardly anything was explained. The book started off so slow, but by the time it caugh...more I liked Daniel, but I really think Luce is one of the worst-written characters I've read in a long time. I didn't like the contradictions, like how it was mentioned that she avoided mirrors these days, but then later she was wishing she had a mirror because she was afraid her hair was a disaster. There was very little depth to her as well, which was disappointing. It seemed her entire existence at Sword & Cross revolved around the "Does he like me? Does he hate me?" back-and-forth attitude with Daniel and another potential love interest, Cam. She has no backbone, makes stupid decisions, and is really just devoid of any personality.

I also didn't care for the fact that hardly anything was explained. The book started off so slow, but by the time it caught up to the meaty plot points, nothing was explained. Just done. I didn't care for that. I'm sure a lot of the mystery will be explained in the rest of the series, but that's the problem: Each book needs some closure, and this one just didn't have nearly as much as I'd like. For example, the catalyst that led Luce to Sword & Cross is barely even touched on. There are some mentions of it, but soon it is eclipsed by other plot points and entirely forgotten. I would have liked to have seen a few more answers. By all means, please leave me hanging, but just not that much. I at the very least want to at least think I know what's going on.

On the plus side though, the cover was gorgeous!

So overall, this was definitely not my favorite book for the year, which is disappointing because I was so excited about it! However, I will likely pick up the rest of the series because that's how I roll.