Review: Fallen in Love by Lauren Kate

Title: Fallen in Love

Author: Lauren Kate
Series: Fallen Book 3.5

Release Date: Febuary 2012

Publisher: Random House

Genre: YA

Rating: 4 Hoots

Reviewer: Angela

Unexpected. Unrequited. Forbidden. Eternal. Everyone has their own love story.

And in a twist of fate, four extraordinary love stories combine over the course of a romantic Valentine's Day in Medieval England. Miles and Shelby find love where they least expect it. Roland learns a painful lesson about finding-and losing love. Arianne pays the price for a love so fierce it burns. And for the first -and last- time, Daniel and Luce will spend a night together like none other.

Lauren Kate's FALLEN IN LOVE is filled with love stories . . . the ones everyone has been waiting for.

True love never says goodbye. . .  (Goodreads)

Fallen in Love by Lauren Kate is a fabulous extension of characters from her series Fallen. I love the way she personalized each of her characters while continuing to stay within the storyline. The first story is told of Miles and Shelby. At the end of Passion, Miles and Shelby left Daniel and Luce, jumping through the announcer and thinking they were home. However, they soon realize that they’ve stepped back in time, once again… and on the eve of Valentine’s Day. Odd feelings surface between these two and by the end; Shelby and Miles learn to appreciate the other for who they are.

The next story is of Roland, the fallen angel who has turned his alliance with Lucifer. After finding Shelby and Miles, Roland reluctantly agrees to help them give Luce and Daniel one night they will remember forever. While agreeing to this task, Roland’s heartache of that particular time surfaces once again. He had fallen in love with a beautiful woman, Rosaline, but left her alone knowing she would never agree to love him if she truly learned what he was… As those memories begin to unravel in his mind, he finds himself standing in front of his love’s bedroom. 

Her beauty defies him and without thinking of his actions, Roland makes his way to her just as he had all those centuries ago, until…  Now married, nursing a child and one on the way, Roland watches his lost loves husband saying goodbye. Anger, disappointment and resentment begin to boil in his heart until he catches a glimpse of Rosaline’s love for her husband the despair of him leaving her to join the war.  Roland has a choice, allow the man who married the love of his life to leave or convince him to stay…

Arianne is beautiful with the exception of an awful scar, a scar that reminds her daily of the love she lost on Saint Valentine’s Day. Arianne loved only one, an angel, or rather a demon, Tess. Two hearts beating as one, these two suffered an agonizing end of love. Tess revealed to Arianne that siding with Lucifer was the only option to being together but even being a fallen angel, Arianne could never side with him. Both shouted words they could never take back and each fled in opposite directions. Arianne’s heart was broken but a screeching sound echoed in the air stopped her flight. Frantically searching for Tess, Arianne finds her covered in blood. Angels, even fallen, can die. With regret, Arianne covers the wounds but they are too great and each drop of blood mars her skin though she continues to contain the bleeding. At last, Arianne understands that she must leave and find another who can help Tess. With a heavy heart, Arianne says her final goodbye, promising to send help but knowing she will never see her again.

The final section of this story is Luce and Daniels. Luce finds her way through the announcer with the help of her gargoyle.  It’s Valentine’s Day, a day for love… The suspicious gargoyle admits to Luce that this night is the only night in Daniel and Luce’s history that allowed them to be together without catastrophe.  Luce is shocked and without thought, connects herself with her past self.  

Just as every other life, Luce can sense her past self’s agony and love for Daniel. And as the Luce enters the night, her heart beats frantically as she watches every masked man hoping one will be him…

The ending is brilliant giving the readers a warm heart as we wait for the final installment of the Fallen series, Rapture, to be released in June 2012.