Fallen in Love: A Fallen Novel in Stories [Hardcover]

First Impressions: When I first found out that Fallen in Love was going to be available very, very soon, I turned on my computer, went to Amazon, and pre-ordered a copy for myself. Then I went to Netgalley and requested the e-arc. I was a happy girl when I was accepted to review this book. You have no idea how much I love this series! Fallen in Love was just what I needed to make it through the next few months before the final book, Rapture, hits the shelves. Can you tell that I am excited about this book? Because I am!

Characters & Plot: I'm not going to make this a long review since this isn't a very long book. Well, that and every time I've tried to write this review today it was spoiler, after spoiler, after spoiler. So here is what I am going to tell you: If you love the Fallen novels, you must proceed to your nearest bookstore and grab this on January 24th. If you haven't read the Fallen novels, you don't necessarily need to since I think you will be able to follow along regardless. BUT, I think they are worth reading so you might want to hold out.

All of the stories included in this book take place sometime during the Passion (I think?) novel, over one particular Valentine's Day. I love the Medieval England setting of each story and the way Lauren describes everything, makes me want to be there myself. Each of the stories somewhat flow together at first, but I think they are meant to be read separately. I finished this book off in a matter of a couple of hours, so it didn't take up much of my time, but it left me really, really wanting to read Rapture. So much for holding me over until the final books release!

There is a lot of insight to be gained in this book and some new character revelations make this book even more interesting and attractive for Lauren Kate fans. I got to know more about poor Cam and how he survived after his failed marriage to Lilith. I seriously feel bad for this dude, and I really hope we find out more about him in Rapture.

Roland's story nearly melted my heart! Boy, was he ever different when he was younger! In this book we get a whole different Roland then what we are used to seeing. He isn't the cool, calm, collected, and confident Roland. His first love story is ridiculously cute and so sweet! Arriane's story was also unexpected but very sad. I finally found out how she got the scars on her neck, which had been bugging the heck out of me.

Final Thoughts: I loved this book because it really gave me quite a few of the answers I had been dying to know. This is definitely a "filler" book, but unlike so many others, this one is worth having. One of the best parts? The exclusive look into Rapture at the back of the book! I highly recommend checking this one out!

Although I was really happy to find that Lauren Kate was finally shifting the character focus this go around (especially after the painfully long read of the last book); giving the reader a break from the Lucy and Daniel drama, I still wouldn't call this a riveting read.

There's no denying that FALLEN IN LOVE is less whiny then its predecessor with a much sweeter undertone. Covering several "Valentine" tales taking place in medieval England where Miles and Shelby find themselves after they last attempted to take an Announcer home to Shoreline at the end of the third book, PASSION. While I found Miles and Shelby's story sweet, albeit a bit campy it was Roland's Valentine tale of lost love that was the most enjoyable. And though FALLEN IN LOVE was a nice break for the series and the monotony of Daniel and Luce's whole "I love you more than anything, but we can't be together" drama; I was still put off a bit by the melodramatics of Arriane and Tess's story.

In the end I'd say it's an ok read, better then the last, but not necessary to the series. I really hope that in the final book, Kate is able to bring back the "it" factor that the first book FALLEN had in spades... Oh, and more CAM please!!!

This book, as fair warning to the reader, is not the book you want to start with in this particular set of books. It has snippets from the lives of many of the characters we meet in "Fallen", get to know a bit better in "Torment" and gives us the background of where they came from. For some, it details the journey of trying to find Daniel and Luce across time from a different perspective. Those who were frustrated with "Torment" where Luce goes through time seeking more information about the epic, star-crossed love she shares with Daniel, this will likely be even more frustrating as it does little to move the story arc along. If Torment tormented you, this might drive you nuts. It feels like a cross between a Valentine story and some of the author's character sketches- though the focus remains on Luce and Daniel.

If you want to get to know the supporting cast a litte better, you will enjoy this- it does answer some questions about what the other 'teams' were doing searching for Luce through time- for example Miles and Shelby. It also develops the characters of Cam, Roland and some of the others of their kind.

The best part of this brief(it is a short book of short stories) book is the bonus at the end- THE PROLOGUE AND FIRST CHAPTER OF "RAPTURE".
Of course, you can always wait until this summer to just read Rapture but for me, this book was well worth it.

There was also a story about Luce and Daniel and I enjoyed that. While it was frustrating for me to read Torment, in some ways, it really fleshed the characters out- and like in Torment, "Fallen in Love" does give some vital understanding to the characters we came to know in the past couple of books.. "Fallen in Love" fills in more of the pieces around the ending of Torment and I could see a number of wonderful spin-offs coming from the characters and their lives that surround Luce and Daniel.

Overall, it tides me over a bit as I wait for the next book but enough already! Let's get to it!

If you came across this book and have not read "Fallen" and "Torment", STOP!! Go read those first!! For other Fallen fans, beware that this is sort of a time out to tell a Valentines Day story about the main characters in Fallen and Torment. Honestly, aside from the slice at the end of "Rapture", some fans will be disappointed and frustrated but since it is short, not nearly so much as in Tormented. :)

Lauren Kate holds very true to her writing style and while this book might not be absolutely necessary to move the series along, I think it was well worth it and will make future installments only better. It did feel as if Lauren Kate wanted to take a time out and give, however brief, some relief to her characters who have suffered so much over the centuries for their everlasting love. The book is broken into sections, four chapters long on the characters of Miles & Shelby, Roland, Arriane and Daniel & Lucinda, followed by an epilogue- then there is the advanced, 'sneak-preview' at the end.

All-in-all, a fun, quick, up-all-night read- especially the gift at the end of a glimpse into "Rapture".