Fallen by Lauren Kate

I don't read 1 star books.  I pride myself on being able to give it up if it's just not happening for me.  I have generously gifted this review with two stars when in reality it was probably more of a 1.5 star read.  I don't know what it was that propelled me through this snoozer?  Maybe it was the promising tag-lines on the cover: "sexy" "ultimate romance" "New York Times best seller?"  I started to realize around page 250 that I was not really reading but mostly skimming for good stuff.  I was on page 250 for goodness sake, the good stuff had to show up eventually, right...RIGHT?!  Spoiler Alert, it did not show up...ever :(  And now I am left feeling cheated out of good book-reading time.
Problems I had with this book:
1.  It was boring.  There was no real action until the last 100 pages.
2.  There was no exposition.  It's the 1st book in a series.  I at least expect some sort of explanation for the set-up of this fantasy world.  Like what's the deal with angels, how do fallen angels work, why does Luce see shadows, WHAT THE HECK ARE THE SHADOWS?  I like the explainy parts of books.  It helps me feel more involved and invested in the story world.
3. Many tings are left unexplained.  Not just limited to the lack of world building, major plot points are left unexplained (I won't spoil them for you in the event that you actually DO want to read this book, I mean each book has it's audience, needless to say, for this book that is not me).  Perhaps (and I sincerely hope)they will be discussed in more detail in future books, but I guess I will never know since I don't expect to continue on in this series.
4.  The romance, which was supposed to be awesome and ultimate, felt dull and boring.  Daniel's a jerk, which I totally get and am not faulting him for.  I actually often enjoy the "hot, elusive jerk turns sexy romantic partner" story line in many books, but this one seemed forced.  We were supposed to assume that Luce & Daniel new each other in previous timelines but were not given enough background pieces to really understand their bond.

I don't know.  I am sure there are kids out there who will love this.  I just didn't.

To sum up, you might like this book if you enjoy: sappy, unrealistic romance, paranormal/fantasy themes, teenage drama.