Fallen In Love by Lauren Kate

Fallen In Love by Lauren Kate
201 pages, Random House
ARC courtesy of Random Buzzers

"What makes your heart race a little faster? Just in time for Valentine's Day, it's Fallen In Love, four wholly original new stories collected in a new novel set in the Middle Ages by Lauren Kate. Fallen In Love gives fans the much-talked about but never-revealed stories of Fallen characters as they intertwine with the epic love story of Luce and Daniel. The stories include: Love Where You Least Expect It: The Valentine of Shelby and Miles, Love Lessons: The Valentine of Roland; Burning Love: The Valentine of Arriane; and Endless Love: The Valentine of Daniel and Lucinda."

Having read the first three books in the series, I had to read Fallen In Love. I am definitely one of those people who has to finish a series once they start it, regardless of how much they like it. I have to say this first before you read my review - I did not like Fallen, Torment was okay, and I liked Passion alright. I am not thrilled with this series, but Fallen In Love is definitely a gem, and I have high hopes for the last book Rapture.

There were two great things about this book. One, it was set in the Middle Ages, which is completely awesome. Two, you only have to listen to Luce whine for under fifty pages, even a little less than that because Daniel finally starts paying attention to her. I swear, it's like a flip is switched in her. Geesh. I guess I like the valentine of Luce and Daniel, but it didn't really reveal anything new about their characters, just kind of the same old same old.

So, if Luce and Daniel are the main characters for only fifty pages or so, that thankfully means that we get to center around some of the minor characters that I think truly make the books the success that they are. (As you can tell, I am not a Luce and Daniel fan. Sure, sure, I am all for their love and stuff, but I just don't find them as very relatable characters.)

The valentine of Shelby and Miles was sweet - a little corny, but cute nonetheless. I like the two as characters, and although they aren't my favorite, I still believe they are very important to the story as they add a bit of normalcy to all the immortal characters and such.

The valentine of Roland was very well done. I loved being able to see more into his character, and understand how he came to be the character he is. I felt like we never got a true taste of Roland in the previous Fallen books, and now I wish that we did! Cam also pops up in his story, and his background was very fascinating to read as well.

The valentine of Arrianne is tied as my favorite with Roland's. It was incredibly tragic and heartbreaking, but I loved it nonetheless. Again, it was very fascinating to see how much of a complicated character Arriane really is, and she may very well be my favorite character in the entire series.

Regardless of the short length of the book, I feel that Fallen In Love is a very important addition to the Fallen series as it gives us backgrounds and insights to other characters other than Luce and Daniel. I feel that when I come around to reading Rapture, I will enjoy it much more than I would have if I didn't read this book. So, thank you Lauren Kate for finally fleshing out some of your minor characters and giving them the attention they deserve! Bravo!

Rating: 4 stars - I really liked it. Worth buying.