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Fallen Angel #1
Fallen Angel
Ellie was never particularly good at talking to boys—or anyone other than her best friend and fellow outcast, Ruth. Then she met Michael.
Michael is handsome, charming, sweet. And totally into Ellie. It’s no wonder she is instantly drawn to him. But Michael has a secret. And he knows Ellie is hiding something, too. They’ve both discovered they have powers beyond their imagining. Powers that are otherworldly.
Ellie and Michael are determined to uncover what they are, and how they got this way... together. But the truth has repercussions neither could have imagined. Soon they find themselves center stage in an ancient conflict that threatens to destroy everything they love. And it is no longer clear whether Ellie and Michael will choose the same side.
Michael is handsome, charming, sweet. And totally into Ellie. It’s no wonder she is instantly drawn to him. But Michael has a secret. And he knows Ellie is hiding something, too. They’ve both discovered they have powers beyond their imagining. Powers that are otherworldly.
Ellie and Michael are determined to uncover what they are, and how they got this way... together. But the truth has repercussions neither could have imagined. Soon they find themselves center stage in an ancient conflict that threatens to destroy everything they love. And it is no longer clear whether Ellie and Michael will choose the same side.
310 pages, Paperback
First published December 28, 2010
89 people are currently reading
9059 people want to read
About the author
Heather Terrell
16 books420 followersHeather Terrell is a lawyer with more than ten years' experience as a litigator at two of the country's premier law firms and for Fortune 500 companies. She is a magna cum laude graduate of Boston College with a focus in History and Art History, and a cum laude graduate of the Boston University School of Law. She lives in Pittsburgh with her family.
Heather is the author of The Chrysalis and The Map Thief, which will appear in more than ten countries, as well as Brigid of Kildare. She turned her hand to young adult fiction with the Fallen Angel series, and continues it with the upcoming series The Books of Eva. The first book in the series -- Relic -- releases in October 2013.
Heather is the author of The Chrysalis and The Map Thief, which will appear in more than ten countries, as well as Brigid of Kildare. She turned her hand to young adult fiction with the Fallen Angel series, and continues it with the upcoming series The Books of Eva. The first book in the series -- Relic -- releases in October 2013.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 309 reviews
February 18, 2011
Good god, this book drove me crazy. And not in a good way. Next time, when you see me putting a book like this on my tbr-list, please do something. Tackle me, gag me, hit me, I don't care. I cannot face another one of these things. My Kindle's life depends on it.
They know each other for a week and when they start kissing after their first date, after 6.3 seconds, things are starting to get hot and heavy, blood gets exchanged during said kiss and Michael (bonus points for the original name), who is trying to be responsible, I guess, tells Ellie: "Ellie, please believe me when I say that I’m stopping only because we are meant to be together. And this is just the beginning". Ellie, of course, feels rejected because he's not trying to get into her pants after one date. I mean woah.
You know that thing you can do, when you see two people talking, but you can't hear what they are saying so you and somebody else make up their dialogue? You say the most ridiculous crap and you try to make it as funny as possible. I think this is what the author was trying to do. Minus the funny. The dialogue between the two main characters was badly written and felt forced. It was bad. Cheap-porn-movie-bad. I will illustrate with an example, because I don't think I can explain it any better than by showing you.
Cue the candlelight setting, the dramatic soap opera music, close-ups, the whole nine yards.
“Please, Ellie. Just listen to me for a second.” I couldn’t pretend any longer. Turning around, I stared into Michael’s pale green eyes. Keeping hold of my arm, he whispered to me in a rush, as if he was scared I’d run off. “Ellie, I’ve never been more certain about anything than my feelings for you. In fact, they’re so strong that they shock me sometimes. I pushed you away the other night because I wanted you too much. And I was afraid I’d scare you if I gave in to my feelings.” Michael stared into my eyes as he spoke, never wavering in his gaze or his words. His confidence made me feel doubly mortified. How could I have refused to give him a chance to explain over the past few days? I broke our connection and looked down at my feet. I wasn’t sure I deserved his persistence. He put his finger under my chin and lifted my face so he could look into my eyes. But I kept them averted. “Ellie, you did nothing to be ashamed of on Saturday night. I wanted you, too. I slowed us down only because I wanted things to be perfect between us.” My cheeks turned bright pink, and I continued staring down at the ground. “Me too, Michael. I was just so embarrassed. I’ve never behaved like that—felt like that—in my life, and then to have you—” He placed his finger over my lips and whispered. “Shh. Ellie, I’ve never behaved or felt like that either. And I’m sorry I pushed you away.” “Really?” I asked without shifting my gaze, too scared that if I looked at him he might just disappear like a character from one of my dreams or suddenly rebuff me again. Once again, Michael seemed just too good to be true.
I'm so tired of seeing how often the concept of soul mates gets abused. Apparently, you don't need to build relationships any more because, oh! soul mates! I'm getting tired of this crap.
I noticed the ratings for this book look like somebody is giving this book the finger. *insert meaningful silence*
They know each other for a week and when they start kissing after their first date, after 6.3 seconds, things are starting to get hot and heavy, blood gets exchanged during said kiss and Michael (bonus points for the original name), who is trying to be responsible, I guess, tells Ellie: "Ellie, please believe me when I say that I’m stopping only because we are meant to be together. And this is just the beginning". Ellie, of course, feels rejected because he's not trying to get into her pants after one date. I mean woah.
You know that thing you can do, when you see two people talking, but you can't hear what they are saying so you and somebody else make up their dialogue? You say the most ridiculous crap and you try to make it as funny as possible. I think this is what the author was trying to do. Minus the funny. The dialogue between the two main characters was badly written and felt forced. It was bad. Cheap-porn-movie-bad. I will illustrate with an example, because I don't think I can explain it any better than by showing you.
Cue the candlelight setting, the dramatic soap opera music, close-ups, the whole nine yards.
“Please, Ellie. Just listen to me for a second.” I couldn’t pretend any longer. Turning around, I stared into Michael’s pale green eyes. Keeping hold of my arm, he whispered to me in a rush, as if he was scared I’d run off. “Ellie, I’ve never been more certain about anything than my feelings for you. In fact, they’re so strong that they shock me sometimes. I pushed you away the other night because I wanted you too much. And I was afraid I’d scare you if I gave in to my feelings.” Michael stared into my eyes as he spoke, never wavering in his gaze or his words. His confidence made me feel doubly mortified. How could I have refused to give him a chance to explain over the past few days? I broke our connection and looked down at my feet. I wasn’t sure I deserved his persistence. He put his finger under my chin and lifted my face so he could look into my eyes. But I kept them averted. “Ellie, you did nothing to be ashamed of on Saturday night. I wanted you, too. I slowed us down only because I wanted things to be perfect between us.” My cheeks turned bright pink, and I continued staring down at the ground. “Me too, Michael. I was just so embarrassed. I’ve never behaved like that—felt like that—in my life, and then to have you—” He placed his finger over my lips and whispered. “Shh. Ellie, I’ve never behaved or felt like that either. And I’m sorry I pushed you away.” “Really?” I asked without shifting my gaze, too scared that if I looked at him he might just disappear like a character from one of my dreams or suddenly rebuff me again. Once again, Michael seemed just too good to be true.
I'm so tired of seeing how often the concept of soul mates gets abused. Apparently, you don't need to build relationships any more because, oh! soul mates! I'm getting tired of this crap.
I noticed the ratings for this book look like somebody is giving this book the finger. *insert meaningful silence*
June 19, 2011
Not going to lie, I got around 30 pages through this book and GAVE UP! Yes, I know I'm a horribly picky reader and all but this just..ugh. Part of its my fault; it looked tacky to begin with I shouldn't have picked it up.
This probably sounds really stupid but the fact that they always used each others names when talking to each other really irked me. I dunno, do people actually do that? xD If someone did that to me I'd probably tell them to stop wearing my effing name out!
And the main guy was like..a stalker! He just comes in and hes all "I saw you 3 years ago and I've wanted you ever since" well not really but you get the point. I knoooow I only got 30ish pages through but come on the guy had a cleft chin. I think..*scratches head*
I don't know, maybe this would appeal to 12 or 13 year old's. I probably would have liked it at that age. But why would I want old clefty when I can have Barron's?
This probably sounds really stupid but the fact that they always used each others names when talking to each other really irked me. I dunno, do people actually do that? xD If someone did that to me I'd probably tell them to stop wearing my effing name out!
And the main guy was like..a stalker! He just comes in and hes all "I saw you 3 years ago and I've wanted you ever since" well not really but you get the point. I knoooow I only got 30ish pages through but come on the guy had a cleft chin. I think..*scratches head*
I don't know, maybe this would appeal to 12 or 13 year old's. I probably would have liked it at that age. But why would I want old clefty when I can have Barron's?
January 7, 2011
This review was first posted on http://rubysreads.com.[return][return]I am very excited to present my first review as part of a Dark Faerie Tales ARC Tour. I was the first up for reading Fallen Angel and I admit that my squeeing was probably pretty loud when it was delivered. I felt so official, being part of a tour. It s like being able to sit at the grown-ups table. Or something. Okay, on with the review.[return][return]The last angel book I read was one I loved. Remember Unearthly? Great book, lovely story. Terrell is another author having a go at the newest act in town. The first issue I d like to address is the title. It s basically a spoiler in itself. Ellie, the heroine, and Michael, her hero, spend a great deal of the novel thinking they might be vampires. More on why later. But from the title, we know they re not. Therefore, the suspense isn t there for the readers. We know before we get to the first page what kind of supernatural being Ellie is going to be. So, all the time devoted to question of are they vampires or aren t they? seems unnecessary. I have read novels where the reader knows more than the characters in the story and this has made the story even juicier, but this was not the case in Fallen Angel. I ve been contemplating why this is so, and I thinks it s because the novels that pull off the readers know more trick are often holding back something even more delicious. Not so Fallen Angel. The ultimate reveal in the book isn t particularly exciting or enthralling. In fact, I was kind of disappointed because it fell so much in line with what I d predicted.[return][return]I mentioned Ellie and Michael, the hero and heroine, and they are the center of the book. It opens with Ellie starting a new year of school and on that fateful day, she meets Michael. Their relationship does not start well, as Michael claims to know Ellie from a summer both of them spent in Guatemala. Ellie doesn t remember meeting Michael before and suspects that he is playing a joke on her. Soon, though, Ellie and Michael can t deny their attraction to each other and they re spending all their time together. Ellie and Michael s connection comes from the fact that they share supernatural abilities: both can fly and both get flashes of memory from people through touch. They can also get memories from the sharing of blood, which they do every time they kiss. Ellie and Michael s relationship wavers all over the proverbial street. Sometimes it s regular high school stuff, like going to a school dance. At other times, it s gross kissing with the exchange of blood. Oh, and lots of flying. By and large, unfortunately, it wasn t a relationship that really did much for me. I found myself hoping that Michael would have competition in the bad guy, but he turned out to be just as uninteresting.[return][return]I also have to admit I was pretty squigged out by all the blood exchanging. Especially when Ellie licks someone s blood from a tissue. I understand why she did it: for the information. But, still, gross. I get the heebie-jeebies just thinking about it. At any rate, however, you can see why Ellie and Michael begin to think they might be vampires. The truth, of course, is far more complicated. Ellie and Michael are something far different from vampires. They re& well, I can t give everything away, now can I?[return][return]Fallen Angel is the first book in a series. And like all first books, it has unanswered questions. That s part of what draws people back for the next book. Unfortunately, a lot of my questions were like these:[return]Things I Wondered About That Distracted Me From the Story:[return][return] 1. Why did Ellie not wonder how she was going to get to London without having a passport or the fact that she was underage?[return] 2. Why don t Ellie and Michael ever consider the possibility of contracting blood-born diseases when they contemplate tasting other peoples blood?[return] 3. Why did Ellie never reflect/comment on the fact that she shared the same last name of Fanueil Hall, even when she was near it while she was in Boston?[return] 4. Why does Ellie never ask Michael about their first meeting in Guatemala?[return] 5. Why is Ruth friends with Ellie?[return][return]Ellie does stuff that is meant to illustrate her goodness. The most outlandish example of this is too spoilery for me to write about here. But it baffled me. I can t help but think it was the worst way possible for her to handle the situation. It didn t really accomplish anything, except to make Ellie more isolated. It didn t fix the problem or make things right. It was meant to be selfless, but I thought it was kind of stupid.[return][return]When I closed the last page on this book, I was dissatisfied. I was so frustrated by endless nitpicky questions that I was unable to enjoy reading the book. Also, I felt like too few questions were answered for me to make sense of the story. Writers of series books walk a fine line with each installment in a series. They have to leave readers suitably satisfied with each installment, but still craving the next. It was like Terrell was trying so hard to keep her readers guessing that she ended up leaving them completely in the dark. If I read the next book in the series, I hope Terrell will provide some illumination. Also, I think she could benefit from joining a writers group, one that can pose questions like the ones I listed above. That kind of support is invaluable.
April 21, 2012
Plot: 4.5 Stars
I really enjoy a good fallen angel book, and this one didn't disappoint. The only real negative I have plot-wise is that I hate when a book is named or described in a way that tells the reader without a doubt what supernatural creature is involved, but then it takes the main character at least half of the book to figure it out. It was amusing that Ellie and Michael thought they were vampires, but a bit annoying that I was sitting there with it already figured out due to the title. Other than that, this was a very interesting take on fallen angels. You could tell the author did her research when shaping her fallen angels, while still making them fresh and fun.
Pace: 4.5 Stars
This novel read like a breeze. There was a large number of short chapters, which somehow always tends to read quicker for me. There was a great flow throughout the novel. Time goes by, events happen in a realistic timespan. There was never a time when the story slowed down to that dreaded point where the action lags and the mind wanders. There was a moment in which Ellie and Michael went off to fly one too many times, but crazy things often happened during those adventures, so it evened out.
Characters: 3.5 Stars
I enjoyed reading about all of the characters in this novel. Ellie was a likeable main character, and I really enjoyed her best friend, Ruth. I didn't have a problem with Michael either. But there were times in which the interactions between Ellie and Michael seemed a little off. I didn't always believe that their feelings for each other were so strong and real. A bit of the relationship seemed forced. But in the end, it didn't ruin the novel for me and I look forward to future novels. Hopefully they're relationship will progress in a more believable fashion. I also enjoyed how frustrating and cryptic Ellie's parents were about the whole situation.
Cover: 3.5 Stars
My favorite part of this cover is the shockingly white title. It really stands out against the darkness of the rest of the cover, and therefore grabs your attention. The feather added to the title is a nice touch that will hopefully tie future covers to this one. Other than that, the cover seems a bit drab. The cover model doesn't really stand out, and her expression is a bit confusing. I can't tell if the look in her eye is a depressed look, a I-know-something-you-don't-know look, or just a spaced-out look. The tree bark takes up the majority of the background, which could've used something with more detail that would add a dimension to the cover that possibly describes the setting better.
Overall: 4 Stars
Disclosure: I bought this book for my own enjoyment.
I really enjoy a good fallen angel book, and this one didn't disappoint. The only real negative I have plot-wise is that I hate when a book is named or described in a way that tells the reader without a doubt what supernatural creature is involved, but then it takes the main character at least half of the book to figure it out. It was amusing that Ellie and Michael thought they were vampires, but a bit annoying that I was sitting there with it already figured out due to the title. Other than that, this was a very interesting take on fallen angels. You could tell the author did her research when shaping her fallen angels, while still making them fresh and fun.
Pace: 4.5 Stars
This novel read like a breeze. There was a large number of short chapters, which somehow always tends to read quicker for me. There was a great flow throughout the novel. Time goes by, events happen in a realistic timespan. There was never a time when the story slowed down to that dreaded point where the action lags and the mind wanders. There was a moment in which Ellie and Michael went off to fly one too many times, but crazy things often happened during those adventures, so it evened out.
Characters: 3.5 Stars
I enjoyed reading about all of the characters in this novel. Ellie was a likeable main character, and I really enjoyed her best friend, Ruth. I didn't have a problem with Michael either. But there were times in which the interactions between Ellie and Michael seemed a little off. I didn't always believe that their feelings for each other were so strong and real. A bit of the relationship seemed forced. But in the end, it didn't ruin the novel for me and I look forward to future novels. Hopefully they're relationship will progress in a more believable fashion. I also enjoyed how frustrating and cryptic Ellie's parents were about the whole situation.
Cover: 3.5 Stars
My favorite part of this cover is the shockingly white title. It really stands out against the darkness of the rest of the cover, and therefore grabs your attention. The feather added to the title is a nice touch that will hopefully tie future covers to this one. Other than that, the cover seems a bit drab. The cover model doesn't really stand out, and her expression is a bit confusing. I can't tell if the look in her eye is a depressed look, a I-know-something-you-don't-know look, or just a spaced-out look. The tree bark takes up the majority of the background, which could've used something with more detail that would add a dimension to the cover that possibly describes the setting better.
Overall: 4 Stars
Disclosure: I bought this book for my own enjoyment.
January 27, 2011
In a Sentence: To me, Fallen Angel was composed of flat characters and an overdone plot wrapped up in pretty packaging.
My Thoughts
Fallen Angel was Halo all over again for me. Maybe it's just me, but I feel like the YA paranormal romance genre is becoming over-saturated with the same storyline over and over again. Girl has some sort of "mysterious" power. Girl meets "mysterious" boy. They fall passionately in love with each other by page 100 and then go off on some sort of quest to discover the "mysterious" meaning behind some sort of giant question that the reader can guess the answer to in a few pages. Or worse, the title itself gives it away!
Maybe it's unfair to unload all of my frustration with the genre on Fallen Angel, but it was kind of the straw that broke the camel's back...if you know what I mean. The author's writing style did show potential, and here and there I got a glimpse of her creativity, but I felt like most of that potential was tossed aside in favor of creating a formulaic book that would appeal to the masses.
I think I could have handled the overdone and easily predictable plot if the characters were better developed. However, I felt like both Ellie and Michael, the two main characters, were completely flat. To me, they seemed to be representations of a type of person instead of actual persons themselves. Ellie was the insecure but intelligent teenager whose paranormal attributes made her "special," and Michael was the mysterious and ridiculously attractive guy who randomly shows up in the main character's life and ignores everyone else but her. Cue 100 pages of teenagers mooning over each other, bring in a "Big Bad," have the good guys kick some butt, and then throw in some sort of complication near the end to set things up for a sequel.
I do think that the author had a good start with the idea behind Fallen Angel. Yes, several similar stories have been done before, but the way she was taking the mythology of angels and the Nephilim intrigued me. The parts of the book that explained Ellie's origins were the ones that I actually enjoyed reading. However, in my opinion, an interesting mythology was not enough to hold the rest of the book together.
My Thoughts
Fallen Angel was Halo all over again for me. Maybe it's just me, but I feel like the YA paranormal romance genre is becoming over-saturated with the same storyline over and over again. Girl has some sort of "mysterious" power. Girl meets "mysterious" boy. They fall passionately in love with each other by page 100 and then go off on some sort of quest to discover the "mysterious" meaning behind some sort of giant question that the reader can guess the answer to in a few pages. Or worse, the title itself gives it away!
Maybe it's unfair to unload all of my frustration with the genre on Fallen Angel, but it was kind of the straw that broke the camel's back...if you know what I mean. The author's writing style did show potential, and here and there I got a glimpse of her creativity, but I felt like most of that potential was tossed aside in favor of creating a formulaic book that would appeal to the masses.
I think I could have handled the overdone and easily predictable plot if the characters were better developed. However, I felt like both Ellie and Michael, the two main characters, were completely flat. To me, they seemed to be representations of a type of person instead of actual persons themselves. Ellie was the insecure but intelligent teenager whose paranormal attributes made her "special," and Michael was the mysterious and ridiculously attractive guy who randomly shows up in the main character's life and ignores everyone else but her. Cue 100 pages of teenagers mooning over each other, bring in a "Big Bad," have the good guys kick some butt, and then throw in some sort of complication near the end to set things up for a sequel.
I do think that the author had a good start with the idea behind Fallen Angel. Yes, several similar stories have been done before, but the way she was taking the mythology of angels and the Nephilim intrigued me. The parts of the book that explained Ellie's origins were the ones that I actually enjoyed reading. However, in my opinion, an interesting mythology was not enough to hold the rest of the book together.
September 6, 2016
This really wasn't any good for me.
The story gave off too much of a bad fanfiction vibe, the characters ridiculous in the worst ways, and overall FALLEN ANGEL is not a novel I can ever recommend to any reader looking for a good angel book.
The story gave off too much of a bad fanfiction vibe, the characters ridiculous in the worst ways, and overall FALLEN ANGEL is not a novel I can ever recommend to any reader looking for a good angel book.
January 1, 2011
Note: I think the Goodreads description is a tad misleading.
Ellspeth Faneuil dreamt she could fly. At least she thought they were dreams until she met Michael Chase. In a town as small as Tillinghast it was rare for her not to know everybody, but Michael was definitely new. From the first moment that she noticed him at school she sensed he was different.
Even though she felt an instant connection to him, she never thought it was anything but one-sided. He was handsome, charming and athletic. She had always felt awkward and never fit in with the popular girls at school. Coming from a family who believed in giving back, living green and spending summers traveling to foreign countries to assist the poor made Ellie feel even more of an outsider.
When Michael claims to have met her three years before, Ellie has no memory of him. And when he tells her that her dreams are not dreams, but reality and that she can actually fly, she becomes even more distrusting of him. But when she finally comes to believe him it just raises more questions. Why doesn’t she remember him? Do their parents know? What are they?
When a stranger arrives in Tillinghast, someone who claims to have answers, will Ellie and Michael be willing to give him what he’s asking for in order to get them?
***
Fallen Angel by Heather Terrell is a slightly different and unconventional story about angels in the young adult market. While in keeping with the traditional theme of fallen angels left behind on earth – with those trying to return to heaven and those who choose to remain – the author has added the element of bloodlust to the mix.
In their search for answers, as Ellie and Michael try to figure out what they are, they discover that they have a strong pull toward each other’s blood. It is in the blood that they are able to truly see one another.
While the story does have this slightly different twist it lacks some of the depth that other books in this genre offer. There are no points at which the story grabs you and the connection between the two main characters is not strong enough. Michael’s expressions of affection for Ellie lack emotion and don’t feel believable. It is missing that magical element that makes a reader instantly fall in love with the characters and storyline.
The book is marketed toward an audience of ages twelve and up, but much of the writing doesn’t seem to relate to this age group. Using terms that seem old-fashioned or out-dated, such as “throng,” “nefarious tentacles” or “malingerers,” makes the story less relatable. When language geared toward an older audience is used in a way which flows beautifully it can elevate a readers’ vocabulary, but here many of the passages felt clunky and that they were trying too hard.
The book is written from the perspective of a sixteen-year-old main character from a small town, and even though she is to have spent summers in third world countries, her viewpoint would still be that of a teenager. It doesn’t feel realistic that a teenager would be referencing Hieronymus Bosch’s paintings or thinking in phrases such as: He looked at me a bit askance but answered cordially enough.
Further, while much of the story moves slowly, when the conflict finally does arrive it is so quick that it’s over just when you start to feel like you’ve found something to really enjoy. And some events that you would think would have more substance are simply glossed over.
The electronic version of the book includes a peek at the next book in the series, Eternity, which shows promise, and with the fact that the premise of this book was interesting, it may be worthwhile to read Eternity to see where this story leads.
On a personal note:
I wanted so much to love this book. I found the cover art beautiful and pre-ordered this book quite some time ago and couldn’t wait for its release. The description on Goodreads was captivating and I was excited to find and love another story about angels.
Sadly from the get-go I had problems with this story. I got a bit confused during the prologue – I didn’t realize it was a dream at first – and then ran into some continuity issues at the beginning, but was willing to look past all that. Sometimes books start off a bit awkward but once they get moving all is forgiven. Here, I just felt so disconnected with the story. There was a magic that just didn’t happen between the characters.
The vocabulary used throughout really felt unrealistic for someone of Ellie’s age. Even the name of Ellie’s friend, Ruth, had an old-fashioned feel and the parents constantly referring to her as “dearest” felt misplaced. Having read the author’s bio I see she had written historical fiction, so perhaps she just didn’t quite adjust her style toward YA paranormal novels, but there were many other things that just didn’t ring true in this book.
Also, when writing stories involving vampirism or the drinking of blood, it has to be approached carefully. It can either be written as something terrifying, something that’s an unfortunate necessity or something sensual. Here, for some reason it just came off creepy.
Although I never really developed any emotional connection with the characters, the story picked up at the end, so I do want to give this another chance. I wait to reserve final judgment until I read Eternity.
Ellspeth Faneuil dreamt she could fly. At least she thought they were dreams until she met Michael Chase. In a town as small as Tillinghast it was rare for her not to know everybody, but Michael was definitely new. From the first moment that she noticed him at school she sensed he was different.
Even though she felt an instant connection to him, she never thought it was anything but one-sided. He was handsome, charming and athletic. She had always felt awkward and never fit in with the popular girls at school. Coming from a family who believed in giving back, living green and spending summers traveling to foreign countries to assist the poor made Ellie feel even more of an outsider.
When Michael claims to have met her three years before, Ellie has no memory of him. And when he tells her that her dreams are not dreams, but reality and that she can actually fly, she becomes even more distrusting of him. But when she finally comes to believe him it just raises more questions. Why doesn’t she remember him? Do their parents know? What are they?
When a stranger arrives in Tillinghast, someone who claims to have answers, will Ellie and Michael be willing to give him what he’s asking for in order to get them?
***
Fallen Angel by Heather Terrell is a slightly different and unconventional story about angels in the young adult market. While in keeping with the traditional theme of fallen angels left behind on earth – with those trying to return to heaven and those who choose to remain – the author has added the element of bloodlust to the mix.
In their search for answers, as Ellie and Michael try to figure out what they are, they discover that they have a strong pull toward each other’s blood. It is in the blood that they are able to truly see one another.
While the story does have this slightly different twist it lacks some of the depth that other books in this genre offer. There are no points at which the story grabs you and the connection between the two main characters is not strong enough. Michael’s expressions of affection for Ellie lack emotion and don’t feel believable. It is missing that magical element that makes a reader instantly fall in love with the characters and storyline.
The book is marketed toward an audience of ages twelve and up, but much of the writing doesn’t seem to relate to this age group. Using terms that seem old-fashioned or out-dated, such as “throng,” “nefarious tentacles” or “malingerers,” makes the story less relatable. When language geared toward an older audience is used in a way which flows beautifully it can elevate a readers’ vocabulary, but here many of the passages felt clunky and that they were trying too hard.
The book is written from the perspective of a sixteen-year-old main character from a small town, and even though she is to have spent summers in third world countries, her viewpoint would still be that of a teenager. It doesn’t feel realistic that a teenager would be referencing Hieronymus Bosch’s paintings or thinking in phrases such as: He looked at me a bit askance but answered cordially enough.
Further, while much of the story moves slowly, when the conflict finally does arrive it is so quick that it’s over just when you start to feel like you’ve found something to really enjoy. And some events that you would think would have more substance are simply glossed over.
The electronic version of the book includes a peek at the next book in the series, Eternity, which shows promise, and with the fact that the premise of this book was interesting, it may be worthwhile to read Eternity to see where this story leads.
On a personal note:
I wanted so much to love this book. I found the cover art beautiful and pre-ordered this book quite some time ago and couldn’t wait for its release. The description on Goodreads was captivating and I was excited to find and love another story about angels.
Sadly from the get-go I had problems with this story. I got a bit confused during the prologue – I didn’t realize it was a dream at first – and then ran into some continuity issues at the beginning, but was willing to look past all that. Sometimes books start off a bit awkward but once they get moving all is forgiven. Here, I just felt so disconnected with the story. There was a magic that just didn’t happen between the characters.
The vocabulary used throughout really felt unrealistic for someone of Ellie’s age. Even the name of Ellie’s friend, Ruth, had an old-fashioned feel and the parents constantly referring to her as “dearest” felt misplaced. Having read the author’s bio I see she had written historical fiction, so perhaps she just didn’t quite adjust her style toward YA paranormal novels, but there were many other things that just didn’t ring true in this book.
Also, when writing stories involving vampirism or the drinking of blood, it has to be approached carefully. It can either be written as something terrifying, something that’s an unfortunate necessity or something sensual. Here, for some reason it just came off creepy.
Although I never really developed any emotional connection with the characters, the story picked up at the end, so I do want to give this another chance. I wait to reserve final judgment until I read Eternity.
October 22, 2010
I have enjoyed Heather Terrell's other books, The Chrysalis and The Map Thief. She brings her same writing skills to this new young adult series. The book weaves romance and mystery together with a nice angelic twist. The angel theme seems to have really taken off lately. The writing in this one does elevate it above the crush of similar titles.
The story is definitely a set up for a series since you get lots of background on Ellie and a little bit on Michael, her romantic interest. Ellie is brought up to be completely clueless about her heredity and genealogy. Her guardians try to bring her up to be "good" and put great restrictions on her which she just accepts. I had the most difficulty accepting that one, that a teen would not try to rebel in the tiniest bit. She does start to rebel once she meets Michael. Michael is brought up the same way by his guardians and when he discovers he shares the same paranormal traits of flying and mind reading as Ellie, they connect and try to figure out what else they can do. Then all hell breaks loose. Ellie's father gives them several clues as to her purpose and with a little luck and research, she figures it out.
Of course, there has to be an evil element to foil all of the goodness. There are several "bad" angels who battle with Ellie and I am sure that their story will be even more intense in the next installment. One minor character that really stood out is Ruth, Ellie's mousy best friend. I can see her becoming a bigger part of the tale in the future. Overall, I really enjoyed this one. I would recommend it for even younger teens since there is not much more that kissing.
The story is definitely a set up for a series since you get lots of background on Ellie and a little bit on Michael, her romantic interest. Ellie is brought up to be completely clueless about her heredity and genealogy. Her guardians try to bring her up to be "good" and put great restrictions on her which she just accepts. I had the most difficulty accepting that one, that a teen would not try to rebel in the tiniest bit. She does start to rebel once she meets Michael. Michael is brought up the same way by his guardians and when he discovers he shares the same paranormal traits of flying and mind reading as Ellie, they connect and try to figure out what else they can do. Then all hell breaks loose. Ellie's father gives them several clues as to her purpose and with a little luck and research, she figures it out.
Of course, there has to be an evil element to foil all of the goodness. There are several "bad" angels who battle with Ellie and I am sure that their story will be even more intense in the next installment. One minor character that really stood out is Ruth, Ellie's mousy best friend. I can see her becoming a bigger part of the tale in the future. Overall, I really enjoyed this one. I would recommend it for even younger teens since there is not much more that kissing.
December 14, 2012
1.5 / 5 --
Congratulations Fallen Angel. You have made it onto my list of Worst Books I've Read in 2012. -_-
Congratulations Fallen Angel. You have made it onto my list of Worst Books I've Read in 2012. -_-
January 31, 2011
As I’m sure a lot of you are, I’m sick of angel related books. It seems that is all that YA authors are churning out these days; if it’s not vampires or werewolves, that is. So with that mentality in mind, I really don’t know why I requested to be added onto Fallen Angel. I guess what intrigued me was that the MC and the love interest BOTH were undergoing changes. That right there peaked my interest enough to make me want to read it. I’m so sick of the one sided love affair with a supernatural being. “I’m immortal, you’re human, but I love you! Oh how tragic!” I swear if I read one more play off of Romeo and Juliet I’m going to forever move onto the M/M genre. Yes there is a point to my rant. What inspired this whole long winded rage, is because Fallen Angel didn’t have your cookie cutter plot love story. I enjoyed it so thoroughly and so much more than any other supernatural book, that I realized how horrible the vast majority of the genre truly is; in the romance department at least. I’m not denying that any of these books are not well written, the romance is just utter crap.
What really won me over with Fallen Angel was that Ellie and Michael were equal in their relationship. Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner! Ellie isn’t the poor human girl who falls for the hot immortal guy, and Michael isn’t the smuck who falls for an unearthly beauty that he can never have. They both have mysterious powers, and they have each other for support. I could probably praise the author to high heaven for this one small thing, but it made a world of difference.
Both Ellie and Michael were enjoyable characters. Because of their nature, they’re instantly attracted to each other, but it is NOT love at first sight! The two spend a lot of time together before they even go on a date. They learn each others likes and dislikes, they’re favorite candy, and they bond over the fact that they both love foreign films. Whoa…wait a second. What does this sound like? Omg! Reality?! Actual real life scenario?! What is this doing in a paranormal romance?! Okay, okay, I’ll tone down on the sarcasm. But seriously, do you understand why I get so frustrated?! Ellie and Michael’s relationship is truly relatable, and that just made it more endearing. Later on in the novel when Michael’s true intentions come into question (I can’t say anything! It would ruin it!) Ellie isn’t blinded for her love for him. She questions him and ultimately feels betrayed. I just liked Ellie. She’s incredibly smart, vulnerable, and has a generous heart. The one criticism I have of their relationship, is that while it wasn’t love at first sight, the length of the novel didn’t reflect their growing relationship. A week passes in a sentence, and yet the reader is left to interpret Ellie’s growing feelings. I just felt like I missed out on SO MUCH of their growing attraction. If the book was longer, I feel like I would have liked it a lot more. While reading it, it felt like more of a summarized story than an actual novel. Just wish it was longer.
Another thing that I thoroughly enjoyed about Fallen Angel was the ingenuity with the story. Ellie can read peoples thoughts with just a touch, and her powers are even more potent if she tastes a person’s blood. While I thought it was entertaining that she and Michael thought that they were vampires (which is dumb because the title clearly says Fallen Angel dur da dur) I don’t understand why that was even added. It’s pointless because clearly the reader knows that they’re angels! If the author wanted any mystery behind what they truly were then the title should have been The Elect One or perhaps Watchers. Anywho…there were other aspects that I really enjoyed as well. Ellie and Michael don’t have wings! They can fly, but there are no feathers to be seen. I enjoyed these small divergences from typical angel lore. While the author was innovative, I appreciated the somewhat classical take she took on Nephilim. I’m not religious, you all know that. I’ve never read the bible, but I loved the addition with the Book of Enoch! Partially because these stories that “didn’t make it into the bible” just support my beliefs, but it brings to light stories that aren’t common knowledge. Once again I don’t pretend to know what the hell I’m talking about, but as far as I know none of my friends who are Christian have read the book of Enoch. I could be wrong, but I don’t believe its common reading material amongst the church. I thought it was extremely cool, and I think it really added to the story.
Overall I really enjoyed Fallen Angel. It exceeded a lot of my expectations, but I wouldn’t say it’s something that you absolutely need to read because it’s so fantastic. Good story, well written, and an excellent romance. If you’re an angel fanatic then you’ll definitely enjoy this, and if you’re looking for a book with a decent romance then you’ve definitely found one.
What really won me over with Fallen Angel was that Ellie and Michael were equal in their relationship. Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner! Ellie isn’t the poor human girl who falls for the hot immortal guy, and Michael isn’t the smuck who falls for an unearthly beauty that he can never have. They both have mysterious powers, and they have each other for support. I could probably praise the author to high heaven for this one small thing, but it made a world of difference.
Both Ellie and Michael were enjoyable characters. Because of their nature, they’re instantly attracted to each other, but it is NOT love at first sight! The two spend a lot of time together before they even go on a date. They learn each others likes and dislikes, they’re favorite candy, and they bond over the fact that they both love foreign films. Whoa…wait a second. What does this sound like? Omg! Reality?! Actual real life scenario?! What is this doing in a paranormal romance?! Okay, okay, I’ll tone down on the sarcasm. But seriously, do you understand why I get so frustrated?! Ellie and Michael’s relationship is truly relatable, and that just made it more endearing. Later on in the novel when Michael’s true intentions come into question (I can’t say anything! It would ruin it!) Ellie isn’t blinded for her love for him. She questions him and ultimately feels betrayed. I just liked Ellie. She’s incredibly smart, vulnerable, and has a generous heart. The one criticism I have of their relationship, is that while it wasn’t love at first sight, the length of the novel didn’t reflect their growing relationship. A week passes in a sentence, and yet the reader is left to interpret Ellie’s growing feelings. I just felt like I missed out on SO MUCH of their growing attraction. If the book was longer, I feel like I would have liked it a lot more. While reading it, it felt like more of a summarized story than an actual novel. Just wish it was longer.
Another thing that I thoroughly enjoyed about Fallen Angel was the ingenuity with the story. Ellie can read peoples thoughts with just a touch, and her powers are even more potent if she tastes a person’s blood. While I thought it was entertaining that she and Michael thought that they were vampires (which is dumb because the title clearly says Fallen Angel dur da dur) I don’t understand why that was even added. It’s pointless because clearly the reader knows that they’re angels! If the author wanted any mystery behind what they truly were then the title should have been The Elect One or perhaps Watchers. Anywho…there were other aspects that I really enjoyed as well. Ellie and Michael don’t have wings! They can fly, but there are no feathers to be seen. I enjoyed these small divergences from typical angel lore. While the author was innovative, I appreciated the somewhat classical take she took on Nephilim. I’m not religious, you all know that. I’ve never read the bible, but I loved the addition with the Book of Enoch! Partially because these stories that “didn’t make it into the bible” just support my beliefs, but it brings to light stories that aren’t common knowledge. Once again I don’t pretend to know what the hell I’m talking about, but as far as I know none of my friends who are Christian have read the book of Enoch. I could be wrong, but I don’t believe its common reading material amongst the church. I thought it was extremely cool, and I think it really added to the story.
Overall I really enjoyed Fallen Angel. It exceeded a lot of my expectations, but I wouldn’t say it’s something that you absolutely need to read because it’s so fantastic. Good story, well written, and an excellent romance. If you’re an angel fanatic then you’ll definitely enjoy this, and if you’re looking for a book with a decent romance then you’ve definitely found one.
February 4, 2011
2.5 stars-
I have been looking forward to reading Fallen Angel ever since I read the intriguing synopsis and when I received it to read as a review I was extremely excited to enter the world Heather created. I ended up having a hard time with this story, despite the fact I desperately wanted to love it. It's not that the mythology wasn't unique, as it was. I was fascinated by Heather's angels as they are traditional fallen angels with a unique and intriguing history.
The two main characters, Ellie and Michael have a strong connection to each other and end up having a lot more in common with each other than Ellie first thinks. She has bizarre dreams and it's until Michael enters them, does she realize they're dreams at all. Through Michael, Ellie learns more about what they really are, as Michael teaches her how they're able to really see each other-through their blood. Their blood lust for one another really turned me off from the story, as I had a hard time with fallen angels thinking their were vampires. I also wanted to feel more connected with Ellie and Michael, but I felt liked they needed more depth to them. Don't get me wrong, I liked how together they discover their history and learn what their destiny is, but it wasn't enough make me feel I really got to know them.
The plot is a mix of action and at other times one I couldn't get into. I liked that there some of the story's action comes from the traditional "bad boy" which also uncovers more of the plot and Ellie and Michael's destiny together. During this time Ellie learns her history and that of her parents. I found some of old world or old fashioned language a little hard to follow. I understand why it was in the book, but I think it took a little bit away from the story, since Ellie and Michael's families want to blend in and not stand out. Ellie herself uses some phrases that seem a bit odd coming from a sixteen year old in the 21st century.
I like the history Heather included into the story, as those were the most intriguing parts for me. I liked finding out more about Ellie and where she came from and what she is. Despite being turned off from the blood lust these angels have, I was fascinated with Heather's angel mythology. Even though I spent much of the story wanting to like it more than I did, the action at the end of the story (no matter how quick it was) redeemed itself just enough that I will pick up it's sequel, Eternity when it's released.
I have been looking forward to reading Fallen Angel ever since I read the intriguing synopsis and when I received it to read as a review I was extremely excited to enter the world Heather created. I ended up having a hard time with this story, despite the fact I desperately wanted to love it. It's not that the mythology wasn't unique, as it was. I was fascinated by Heather's angels as they are traditional fallen angels with a unique and intriguing history.
The two main characters, Ellie and Michael have a strong connection to each other and end up having a lot more in common with each other than Ellie first thinks. She has bizarre dreams and it's until Michael enters them, does she realize they're dreams at all. Through Michael, Ellie learns more about what they really are, as Michael teaches her how they're able to really see each other-through their blood. Their blood lust for one another really turned me off from the story, as I had a hard time with fallen angels thinking their were vampires. I also wanted to feel more connected with Ellie and Michael, but I felt liked they needed more depth to them. Don't get me wrong, I liked how together they discover their history and learn what their destiny is, but it wasn't enough make me feel I really got to know them.
The plot is a mix of action and at other times one I couldn't get into. I liked that there some of the story's action comes from the traditional "bad boy" which also uncovers more of the plot and Ellie and Michael's destiny together. During this time Ellie learns her history and that of her parents. I found some of old world or old fashioned language a little hard to follow. I understand why it was in the book, but I think it took a little bit away from the story, since Ellie and Michael's families want to blend in and not stand out. Ellie herself uses some phrases that seem a bit odd coming from a sixteen year old in the 21st century.
I like the history Heather included into the story, as those were the most intriguing parts for me. I liked finding out more about Ellie and where she came from and what she is. Despite being turned off from the blood lust these angels have, I was fascinated with Heather's angel mythology. Even though I spent much of the story wanting to like it more than I did, the action at the end of the story (no matter how quick it was) redeemed itself just enough that I will pick up it's sequel, Eternity when it's released.
November 7, 2011
I didn't really like this book much. First, I should probably know better than to keep reading angel books when so many of them annoy me. Yet, for some reason I do. Perhaps I am hoping for gems, which is entirely possible since I decided to read this immediately after Unearthly, which was deifinately a gem. Fallen Angel wasn't really one of them, though. It fell kinda flat and predictable. The story is the same as a lot: a girl finds out she has crazy powers and, over the book, discovers she's an angel with the help of her (also discovering) boyfriend. By the end of the book she also discovers she's (unfortunately) the Mary-Sue Angel who's born to bring about the apocalypse. Meanwhile her parents, who are also (suprise, suprise) angels, aren't telling her anything about who or what she is, so, other than the fact that they wouldn't be around to ground her, it really wouldn't harm the book at all if they weren't even there. Even if all of the Mary-Sue tendencies of the main character were forgiveable (she can fly! she can read minds! she has the popular new boyfriend! she's pretty and envied by the popular girls even though she doesn't see it!) the book has other problems. I dislike the boyfriend character, Michael, and his constant insistence that Ellie disobey her parents and other authorities without consequence (and, often, with reward) and his mysogonistic protection of Ellie. I dislike the stale, almost formulaic pace and direction of the plot: girl finds new boy, girl finds powers, boy shows her he has powers too, girl finds out a bit about powers, girl gets grounded, girl finds out a lot about powers, powers are confirmed by bad guy, girl runs away to protect boy, boy pops up at climax to protect girl, happy makeup denoument. Also, the book reads rather like an adult romance novel. The sex scenes are cheesy and over-descriptive, and, frankly, gross because they always include someone biting someone so the couple can drink eachothers' blood. In all, I'm not too pleased with this read, it seemed too much like an adult romance stuffed into a stale paranormal shell, and I'll probably pass on any more by this author.
January 21, 2011
Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy
It’s a rather bold claim when a book is described as HUSH HUSH meets EVERMORE. Story wise, that’s a pretty good description, but in terms of character and writing, FALLEN ANGEL falls short.
The premise of uniting vampire and angel mythology is a good one and Terrell does an admirable job of blending them together in a plausible and intriguing way. Another strength is the story itself. Unlike many Paranormal YAs, the guy Ellie meets is almost as clueless about what they are as she is. It was a welcome change to see the girl providing the answers.
Despite those high notes, I had some problems with Ellie herself, as she almost never acted in the way I would have expected, and I don’t just mean stupid teenager stuff either (which she also did). She always seemed to look past the elephant in the room in any given situation and focus on the one detail that no one else would care about. For example when Michael shows her he can fly for the first time by leaping off a cliff and then flies around to land behind her while she’s scanning the cliffs below for his body, she gets upset that he tricked her---nothing about how he was he flying.
And then the writing. It’s not terrible, but it’s not great either. I wouldn’t have been surprised to learn this book was written by another teenage debut author rather than a lawyer with several books under her belt. It did get better as the book progressed, particularly with the action scenes, but I was still let down by the overall quality.
The next book in the Fallen Angel series is called ETERNITY and will be published on July 1, 2011. I’m interested in seeing where this story goes, but I might wait for the reviews to roll out before deciding if I want to read it.
Sexual Content: Kissing
It’s a rather bold claim when a book is described as HUSH HUSH meets EVERMORE. Story wise, that’s a pretty good description, but in terms of character and writing, FALLEN ANGEL falls short.
The premise of uniting vampire and angel mythology is a good one and Terrell does an admirable job of blending them together in a plausible and intriguing way. Another strength is the story itself. Unlike many Paranormal YAs, the guy Ellie meets is almost as clueless about what they are as she is. It was a welcome change to see the girl providing the answers.
Despite those high notes, I had some problems with Ellie herself, as she almost never acted in the way I would have expected, and I don’t just mean stupid teenager stuff either (which she also did). She always seemed to look past the elephant in the room in any given situation and focus on the one detail that no one else would care about. For example when Michael shows her he can fly for the first time by leaping off a cliff and then flies around to land behind her while she’s scanning the cliffs below for his body, she gets upset that he tricked her---nothing about how he was he flying.
And then the writing. It’s not terrible, but it’s not great either. I wouldn’t have been surprised to learn this book was written by another teenage debut author rather than a lawyer with several books under her belt. It did get better as the book progressed, particularly with the action scenes, but I was still let down by the overall quality.
The next book in the Fallen Angel series is called ETERNITY and will be published on July 1, 2011. I’m interested in seeing where this story goes, but I might wait for the reviews to roll out before deciding if I want to read it.
Sexual Content: Kissing
February 18, 2011
To sum up my opinion on Fallen Angel: did not like; will not touch sequel; probably won’t read any paranormal books by Terrell.
Novels like Fallen Angel make me dislike the paranormal genre. What once was so original has become this washed-out cliché garbled mess. Try as I might, I can’t completely shy away from fantastical elements. They are what take me to a new place and yet I seem to be going to the same place over and over again with overly hyped “pretty cover” books.
The love connection between Michael and Ellie was strenuous at best with no backbone to the story. Or maybe it had a backbone like a jellyfish. Either way I didn’t buy the little melodramatic tête-à-tête.
A big detail that sets Fallen Angel apart from other “angel” books is that whenever they kiss Michael and Elli always have to suck on each other’s blood. It’s an addiction. A really sick, why!?, addiction. An addiction that I wasn’t too fond of because there’s nothing more fun then reading about two people tongue wrestling and slurping down each other’s blood. A little pain with pleasure please. Everyone’s a masochist. Or would it be a sadist?
Of course Michael and Ellie believe they’re vampires because they drink blood (and can see things when they do), have really sharp teeth, and can fly. When really the title is “Fallen Angels” so it’s sort of a WTF moment. The title is ONE BIG spoiler that readers can’t avoid. Oh and the idea of them being vampires goes on for about half the book. (Or a bit more, I don’t know since I no longer have the book.) Until the parents set them straight with a tale that’s decent. I believed it. I didn’t believe what Ellie does after it.
The rising climax was well done but the actual climax was lack luster.
Anyway I’m done. Ish.
Novels like Fallen Angel make me dislike the paranormal genre. What once was so original has become this washed-out cliché garbled mess. Try as I might, I can’t completely shy away from fantastical elements. They are what take me to a new place and yet I seem to be going to the same place over and over again with overly hyped “pretty cover” books.
The love connection between Michael and Ellie was strenuous at best with no backbone to the story. Or maybe it had a backbone like a jellyfish. Either way I didn’t buy the little melodramatic tête-à-tête.
A big detail that sets Fallen Angel apart from other “angel” books is that whenever they kiss Michael and Elli always have to suck on each other’s blood. It’s an addiction. A really sick, why!?, addiction. An addiction that I wasn’t too fond of because there’s nothing more fun then reading about two people tongue wrestling and slurping down each other’s blood. A little pain with pleasure please. Everyone’s a masochist. Or would it be a sadist?
Of course Michael and Ellie believe they’re vampires because they drink blood (and can see things when they do), have really sharp teeth, and can fly. When really the title is “Fallen Angels” so it’s sort of a WTF moment. The title is ONE BIG spoiler that readers can’t avoid. Oh and the idea of them being vampires goes on for about half the book. (Or a bit more, I don’t know since I no longer have the book.) Until the parents set them straight with a tale that’s decent. I believed it. I didn’t believe what Ellie does after it.
The rising climax was well done but the actual climax was lack luster.
Anyway I’m done. Ish.
December 17, 2010
On the outside Ellie Faneuil is an ordinary girl, but she knows she’s different. Ellie can see things, just by touching someone and lately she’s been having ‘dreams’ of herself flying out her window and exploring her small town of Tillinghast. Then she meets Michael Chase and she’s seriously attracted to him.
They grow closer and Michael tells Ellie that her dreams of flying are real and that they share that ability, but their powers have a twist: blood. Blood, like touch, also reveals a person’s current thoughts and emotions and soon Michael and Ellie are craving each others blood. They spend months trying to figure out what they are and why they have these supernatural powers, until one dangerous being comes along!
Ellie is s really easy-going girl. She’s calm and collected, that is until she meets Michael and she’s uncertain of what she is. She’s quiet and doesn’t want to stick out and she’s always drawn to helping people. Michael on the other hand is a carefree type of guy that’s friends with everyone. Ellie is unsure at first whether or not to trust him, but it all falls into place.
I really loved this book! Its a romantic read with a mixture of the supernatural. I enjoyed the romance between Ellie and Michael. It was easy and just felt right. I was immediately drawn into the story and there was never a dull moment along the way. This book was a really nice addition to my end-of-the-year books and I recommend it to all!
http://thebookworms.org/2010/12/fallen-angel-by-heather-terrell/
They grow closer and Michael tells Ellie that her dreams of flying are real and that they share that ability, but their powers have a twist: blood. Blood, like touch, also reveals a person’s current thoughts and emotions and soon Michael and Ellie are craving each others blood. They spend months trying to figure out what they are and why they have these supernatural powers, until one dangerous being comes along!
Ellie is s really easy-going girl. She’s calm and collected, that is until she meets Michael and she’s uncertain of what she is. She’s quiet and doesn’t want to stick out and she’s always drawn to helping people. Michael on the other hand is a carefree type of guy that’s friends with everyone. Ellie is unsure at first whether or not to trust him, but it all falls into place.
I really loved this book! Its a romantic read with a mixture of the supernatural. I enjoyed the romance between Ellie and Michael. It was easy and just felt right. I was immediately drawn into the story and there was never a dull moment along the way. This book was a really nice addition to my end-of-the-year books and I recommend it to all!
http://thebookworms.org/2010/12/fallen-angel-by-heather-terrell/
February 1, 2011
16 year old Ellspeth Faneuil dreams about flying when she sleeps. She is just starting at the upper high school and is secure in her niche away from the popular crowd when she locks eyes with a new senior, Michael Chase. She is surprised when Michael tracks her down and reminisces about their time in Guatemala when both sets of parents were spending the summer teaching the indigenous people better farming methods. Ellie is also beginning to explore some strange new power she terms "a flash" when she can see people's memories. As the story progresses, she becomes aware of Zeke who is super-snob Missy's new boyfriend who is influencing Missy and her cohort Piper to perpetrate a Facebook prank on one of Missy's enemies. Ellie bravely takes the blame for the prank and is suspended and ostracized. Meanwhile, Ellie's parents catch her in the act of sneaking out to fly with Michael and are forced to reveal to Ellie that she is a Nephilim, a human-angel hybrid. In the face of Zeke's manipulations and threats, Ellie flees to Boston to seek more information about her heritage. This is the first book in a series. The cover looked intriguing as did the information on the cover. However, the promise never delivered as I found the characters not believable. I guess best friend Ruth is hiding secrets as she is too forgiving and bland. I never understood why Ellie would take the blame for Missy's prank and I found Michael's submission to Zeke too contrived. I doubt that I will bother with the next installment.
April 8, 2011
I got to know first hand why this book has such bad reviews. The MC in this book (Ellie)..only one word to describe her...Stupid with capital S. I just don't understand things she does. She takes blame for some prank that a popular queen bee girl (Missy) pulls on another ex-popular girl. Why did she take the blame for something someone else has done. Shouldn't they be accountable? It's not like she is protecting some innocent person either. And she calls it "helping" others. Don't know who she was helping by that. If you think she is an angel that's why she took the fall for someone even evil, then think again, b'coz when the actual villan guy takes control of another professor who was helping Ellie...if you think she helps the professor...you are wrong. This "angel" just leaves and runs (probably b'coz this professor guy is not as bad as Missy) and she almost gives up on Micheal too who was also under villan's influence. And she calls herself "helping" people by actually protecting someone who needs to be punished and drops people if they get under bad guy's magic influence?
And her relationship with Micheal is sooo confusing. After he snaps out of some bad trance, she sees herself that he is his old self and still every other page, she says she doesn't trust him and then in next line she feels safe and happy in his arms....and I am screaming at her "sheesh make up your mind already will ya?"
I am so not going to read the sequel.
And her relationship with Micheal is sooo confusing. After he snaps out of some bad trance, she sees herself that he is his old self and still every other page, she says she doesn't trust him and then in next line she feels safe and happy in his arms....and I am screaming at her "sheesh make up your mind already will ya?"
I am so not going to read the sequel.
August 25, 2011
Initial reaction after reading: hmm… not bad but I don’t like it that much.
I admit I really do love paranormal genre especially any story that involves angels/fallen angels. So when I see Fallen Angel in the bookstore, I picked it up even though I haven’t heard much about it. I am pretty much excited to read it too.
Now about the story plot, it’s just the basic and simple story about a girl (Ellie) who is an outcast but she has no idea that she is special. Then a new, hot student (Michael) got interested with her. Now she realizes that she has powers beyond her imagination. That both Ellie and Michael shares those powers. And then they found out that their parents are keeping secrets from them. And soon they will learn that someone “bad” wants something from them, that they will play a bigger role/part on doomsday. Sounds typical right?
Honestly, even though I’ve read so many books that generally have the same plot, I still love reading them. And I don’t have problem with Fallen Angel story. Actually the plot has a potential to be a good one. My main concern on this is how it was written. The characters are not well developed; the romance aspect seems so awkward and fell flat to me. And the writing has no sparks or life. The ending is just terrible. Actually it is not really that bad, but for me it is just lame. So all in all, this book is slightly an ok read.
I admit I really do love paranormal genre especially any story that involves angels/fallen angels. So when I see Fallen Angel in the bookstore, I picked it up even though I haven’t heard much about it. I am pretty much excited to read it too.
Now about the story plot, it’s just the basic and simple story about a girl (Ellie) who is an outcast but she has no idea that she is special. Then a new, hot student (Michael) got interested with her. Now she realizes that she has powers beyond her imagination. That both Ellie and Michael shares those powers. And then they found out that their parents are keeping secrets from them. And soon they will learn that someone “bad” wants something from them, that they will play a bigger role/part on doomsday. Sounds typical right?
Honestly, even though I’ve read so many books that generally have the same plot, I still love reading them. And I don’t have problem with Fallen Angel story. Actually the plot has a potential to be a good one. My main concern on this is how it was written. The characters are not well developed; the romance aspect seems so awkward and fell flat to me. And the writing has no sparks or life. The ending is just terrible. Actually it is not really that bad, but for me it is just lame. So all in all, this book is slightly an ok read.
June 29, 2011
Una storia che si presenta come l'introduzione a qualcosa di più consistente, di più meritevole.
Leggendo tutto il romanzo si ha davvero l'impressione che quello sia solo l'inizio e che il meglio - si spera - debba ancora venire.
Sì, perché l'inizio non è dei più particolari e potrebbe suonare come già visto. Ellie, la protagonista, sogna di avere delle ali, di librarsi sulla città, di incrociare lo sguardo di un ragazzo. Ma per quanto possa sembrare reale, si tratta solo di un sogno.
Quando poi a scuola incontra Micheal, che somiglia molto al ragazzo delsuo sogno, quando si rende conto di averlo già conosciuto anni prima ma di non ricordare assolutamente nulla, quando i sogni si intensificano... ecco che anche l'impossibile e l'irreale diventano realtà.
Ellie e Micheal cercano di capire chi sono, o meglio cosa sono, di sfruttare i loro poteri, di iniziare a controllare il volo.
Inutile aggiungere che si innamorano, senza che questa volta entri in scena anche il terzo incomodo (ma voci insistenti assicurano che ci sarà nel secondo volume!), e che il loro amore viene contrastato dalle famiglie, consapevoli di ciò che sta accadendo.
Un romanzo che si basa su una serie di interrogativi che non verranno risolti in questo primo capitolo, ma aprono le porte a mille possibilità per i seguiti.
continua qui:
http://cuoredinchiostro.blogspot.com/...
Leggendo tutto il romanzo si ha davvero l'impressione che quello sia solo l'inizio e che il meglio - si spera - debba ancora venire.
Sì, perché l'inizio non è dei più particolari e potrebbe suonare come già visto. Ellie, la protagonista, sogna di avere delle ali, di librarsi sulla città, di incrociare lo sguardo di un ragazzo. Ma per quanto possa sembrare reale, si tratta solo di un sogno.
Quando poi a scuola incontra Micheal, che somiglia molto al ragazzo delsuo sogno, quando si rende conto di averlo già conosciuto anni prima ma di non ricordare assolutamente nulla, quando i sogni si intensificano... ecco che anche l'impossibile e l'irreale diventano realtà.
Ellie e Micheal cercano di capire chi sono, o meglio cosa sono, di sfruttare i loro poteri, di iniziare a controllare il volo.
Inutile aggiungere che si innamorano, senza che questa volta entri in scena anche il terzo incomodo (ma voci insistenti assicurano che ci sarà nel secondo volume!), e che il loro amore viene contrastato dalle famiglie, consapevoli di ciò che sta accadendo.
Un romanzo che si basa su una serie di interrogativi che non verranno risolti in questo primo capitolo, ma aprono le porte a mille possibilità per i seguiti.
continua qui:
http://cuoredinchiostro.blogspot.com/...
September 14, 2016
Ellspeth Faneuil has always dreamed she could fly and she also sees glimpses of people’s lives when she touches them. At least she thought they were dreams and ‘hallucinations’ until she met Michael Chase. Ellie has always felt like an outsider, except with her best friend, but she feels an overwhelming sense of connection to Michael. When Michael tells her that her dreams are not dreams, but reality and that she can actually fly, she distrusts of him. She finally comes to believe him, but what are they? Then a stranger arrives, someone who claims to have answers, but is Ellie willing to pay the price for the answers she craves?
While I enjoyed the story and the mythology of the fallen angels, which this time includes a bloodlust, I felt like the characters fell a bit flat. Also, the book is YA (which I love),and if it’s being marketed to 12 and up, there is a bit of language barrier. I’m not sure if it’s to set Ellie and others like her apart from the ‘normal’ humans, but there is an old-fashioned feel to the dialogue. There’s not a lot of action, until the very last few chapters, so it can be slow-going for a lot of the book. However, the story is compelling enough to make me want to read the next book.
Fallen Angel Series: Fallen Angel (1), Eternity (2)
While I enjoyed the story and the mythology of the fallen angels, which this time includes a bloodlust, I felt like the characters fell a bit flat. Also, the book is YA (which I love),and if it’s being marketed to 12 and up, there is a bit of language barrier. I’m not sure if it’s to set Ellie and others like her apart from the ‘normal’ humans, but there is an old-fashioned feel to the dialogue. There’s not a lot of action, until the very last few chapters, so it can be slow-going for a lot of the book. However, the story is compelling enough to make me want to read the next book.
Fallen Angel Series: Fallen Angel (1), Eternity (2)
September 15, 2011
I absolutely love this book. The main character was really endearing and fun. I loved her boyfriend and protector. I loved the concept and the author's explanation of angels and the vampire theory in connection to Noah's Ark and Genesis. I finished this book in less than a day (that good). I am really looking forward to the next book in this series! I can't wait to read about the main character, her boyfriend, and her friend's antics.
July 17, 2012
I'm not a fan of Angel Books (my sister is) but i did like this books, it was cute and interesting. Everything that a book needs to be good.
January 7, 2017
It was just too ridiculous. I couldn't finish it. Here's to those who can, because it's a feat.
April 28, 2012
La sinopsis menciona lo necesario para saber lo suficiente sobre la historia, por lo que ya no hablaré de los sucesos.
Hace tiempo que le tenía ganas a este libro, ves la portada y por más simple que sea te gusta, y te gusta mucho. Al leer el título te das cuenta que la historia nos habla de ángeles o por lo menos sobre ángeles.
El libro tiene su originalidad y su "adaptación" de otros textos (no juveniles) que nos plantea otra historia, nueva hasta un punto, conocida hasta otro punto. El decir "este salió primero que todos sobre Nefilims" es asegurar algo que tal vez no es cierto. Pero bueno, la historia como ya dije nos habla sobre los Nefilims, uno seres mencionados en un texto bíblico. Y ahora la autora Terrell nos crea una nueva historia con relación a esos seres, pero con personajes que te gustan completamente y que te parecen reales.
Nos encontramos con la básica pelea entre el bien y el mal, entre la luz y la oscuridad. Con unos protagonistas completamente reales y un amor hasta un punto muy bueno. Nos despojamos de los típicos tríos amorosos y las protagonistas tontas para encontrarnos con dos personajes que se quieren sin mirar a otros y una protagonista lista, hermosa y con una actitud muy buena. Esa protagonista es Ellie, quien al descubrir una verdad o una parte de ella, descubre placeres que uno solo puede imaginar, pero sin darse cuenta cada vez va directo a la oscuridad y la dirección que tome puede definir el final de la humanidad.
Lo único que le falta a este libro a mi parecer es acción, al parecer es un libro más introductorio que cualquier cosa. La narración fácil, ligera y simple de la autora provoca que sigas leyendo sin pensar "¡necesito acción!" puesto que es tan fácil de seguir que aunque quieras acción sigues leyendo. Llega un punto en el que la autora por fin nos da más datos de donde se origina la historia y a qué están destinados nuestro protagonistas. Nos encontramos con crudas verdades que sobresaltan un poco y con diálogos en ocasiones graciosos (un poco).
Volviendo a la simplicidad de la narración y la historia, debe admitirse que la autora nos plantea el origen de los Nefilim, más en concreto de la historia, de una forma sencilla para no complicarnos el entenderlo. Solo hay una pequeña parte en la que se introduce un poco más pero es entendible y lo hace más creíble.
Nos muestra el talento de los Nefilim de una forma que al parecer creemos son vampiros, ya que nos plantea la idea de que los vampiros siempre han sido solo una leyenda, puesto que son confundidos con seres que si existen, los Nefilim (ángeles caídos) unos seres que pueden volar, tener visiones, entre otras cosas. Unos seres dignos de conocer puesto que atraen por su forma, pasado y presente.
Aparte de la historia entre el bien y el mal, en la primera mitad del libro, donde es algo más trivial la historia, nos habla del presente de Ellie, la situación de los jóvenes y la importancia de la "popularidad hoy en día", por eso es que parece un libro más introductorio que cualquier cosa. Nos da lo básico para entender a que nos dirigimos, pero nada más.
Los personajes a mi parecer son lo mejor de libro. Tal vez no ha todos les parezca pero me parecen completamente reales. Nuestra protagonista Ellie, sabe ser joven cuando debe ser, sabe ser madura en otras situaciones y sabe tomar las cosas de una forma en la que nos demuestra que es como cualquier joven y no toma las cosas como parecen, si le dicen "eres bruja" se ríe y no se queda sorprendida como otras protagonistas que o creen mucho en la fantasía o simplemente les falto algo más de realidad. Por otra parte tenemos al protagonista masculino, Michael. El chico con el que muchas chicas sueñan pero no por el que TODAS suspiran. Le da al igual que Ellie, un toque de más realidad y no el humano perfecto por todos los sentidos que nos encontramos en muchas historias. Es romántico, seductor y maduro. Aparte de atractivo, pero no al máximo de deslumbrar, como ya dije.
Hay personajes secundarios como Ruth, la mejor amiga de Ellie que te gusta por su forma de ser y lo comprensiva y solidaría que es como buena amiga. Los padres que aman a sus hijos y los populares de la escuela que solo quieren arruinar a los más jóvenes o "débiles".
La historia tiene una base, un nudo y esperemos un buen desenlace. El final no te deja con las ansías de conseguir el siguiente libro, pero si te deja con la curiosidad de qué pasará después. Aunque hay que mencionar (por otros comentarios) que no es un libro perfecto y no a todos les gustará, pero a mi parecer tiene una historia entretenida.
Hace tiempo que le tenía ganas a este libro, ves la portada y por más simple que sea te gusta, y te gusta mucho. Al leer el título te das cuenta que la historia nos habla de ángeles o por lo menos sobre ángeles.
El libro tiene su originalidad y su "adaptación" de otros textos (no juveniles) que nos plantea otra historia, nueva hasta un punto, conocida hasta otro punto. El decir "este salió primero que todos sobre Nefilims" es asegurar algo que tal vez no es cierto. Pero bueno, la historia como ya dije nos habla sobre los Nefilims, uno seres mencionados en un texto bíblico. Y ahora la autora Terrell nos crea una nueva historia con relación a esos seres, pero con personajes que te gustan completamente y que te parecen reales.
Nos encontramos con la básica pelea entre el bien y el mal, entre la luz y la oscuridad. Con unos protagonistas completamente reales y un amor hasta un punto muy bueno. Nos despojamos de los típicos tríos amorosos y las protagonistas tontas para encontrarnos con dos personajes que se quieren sin mirar a otros y una protagonista lista, hermosa y con una actitud muy buena. Esa protagonista es Ellie, quien al descubrir una verdad o una parte de ella, descubre placeres que uno solo puede imaginar, pero sin darse cuenta cada vez va directo a la oscuridad y la dirección que tome puede definir el final de la humanidad.
Lo único que le falta a este libro a mi parecer es acción, al parecer es un libro más introductorio que cualquier cosa. La narración fácil, ligera y simple de la autora provoca que sigas leyendo sin pensar "¡necesito acción!" puesto que es tan fácil de seguir que aunque quieras acción sigues leyendo. Llega un punto en el que la autora por fin nos da más datos de donde se origina la historia y a qué están destinados nuestro protagonistas. Nos encontramos con crudas verdades que sobresaltan un poco y con diálogos en ocasiones graciosos (un poco).
Volviendo a la simplicidad de la narración y la historia, debe admitirse que la autora nos plantea el origen de los Nefilim, más en concreto de la historia, de una forma sencilla para no complicarnos el entenderlo. Solo hay una pequeña parte en la que se introduce un poco más pero es entendible y lo hace más creíble.
Nos muestra el talento de los Nefilim de una forma que al parecer creemos son vampiros, ya que nos plantea la idea de que los vampiros siempre han sido solo una leyenda, puesto que son confundidos con seres que si existen, los Nefilim (ángeles caídos) unos seres que pueden volar, tener visiones, entre otras cosas. Unos seres dignos de conocer puesto que atraen por su forma, pasado y presente.
Aparte de la historia entre el bien y el mal, en la primera mitad del libro, donde es algo más trivial la historia, nos habla del presente de Ellie, la situación de los jóvenes y la importancia de la "popularidad hoy en día", por eso es que parece un libro más introductorio que cualquier cosa. Nos da lo básico para entender a que nos dirigimos, pero nada más.
Los personajes a mi parecer son lo mejor de libro. Tal vez no ha todos les parezca pero me parecen completamente reales. Nuestra protagonista Ellie, sabe ser joven cuando debe ser, sabe ser madura en otras situaciones y sabe tomar las cosas de una forma en la que nos demuestra que es como cualquier joven y no toma las cosas como parecen, si le dicen "eres bruja" se ríe y no se queda sorprendida como otras protagonistas que o creen mucho en la fantasía o simplemente les falto algo más de realidad. Por otra parte tenemos al protagonista masculino, Michael. El chico con el que muchas chicas sueñan pero no por el que TODAS suspiran. Le da al igual que Ellie, un toque de más realidad y no el humano perfecto por todos los sentidos que nos encontramos en muchas historias. Es romántico, seductor y maduro. Aparte de atractivo, pero no al máximo de deslumbrar, como ya dije.
Hay personajes secundarios como Ruth, la mejor amiga de Ellie que te gusta por su forma de ser y lo comprensiva y solidaría que es como buena amiga. Los padres que aman a sus hijos y los populares de la escuela que solo quieren arruinar a los más jóvenes o "débiles".
La historia tiene una base, un nudo y esperemos un buen desenlace. El final no te deja con las ansías de conseguir el siguiente libro, pero si te deja con la curiosidad de qué pasará después. Aunque hay que mencionar (por otros comentarios) que no es un libro perfecto y no a todos les gustará, pero a mi parecer tiene una historia entretenida.
Fallen Angel se disfrúta por la simple narración que contiene, los diálogos completos que nos dan la información necesaria y unos personajes completamente reales. Con muy poca acción, eso si, así que si buscas un libro con mucha acción este no es el indicado, puesto que es más introductorio. Una historia que tiene su base solida, con el bien y el mal completamente definidos, aparte de un toque de amor que a TODOS les gustará. Y unas buenas descripciones para imaginar las escenas, así como una portada interesante.
March 29, 2011
J'ai bien senti, dès le démarrage, que ce roman n'allait guère m'inspirer. Outre la ravissante couverture, l'histoire n'a pas su entretenir le moindre suspense (on m'expliquera pour le titre). S'il fallait encore douter du secret de l'héroïne, c'était juste pour faire semblant. Non ?
Ellie se sent observer par un beau gosse au lycée - il s'agit de Michael, il prétend qu'ils se connaissent déjà. Trois ans plus tôt, au Guatemala. Huh ? L'adolescente est confuse, elle ne se souvient de rien. Peut-être que ça va lui revenir. Et c'est vrai que ce garçon lui plaît, très vite ils sortent ensemble, échangent un premier baiser qui s'emballe, Michael est obligé de repousser les ardeurs de la demoiselle, calme-toi, chérie, nous avons tout notre temps, "we are meant to be together and this is just the beginning". Ha ! ha ! La pauvre Ellie est douchée. Elle s'autoflagelle et rase les murs du lycée, c'est sans compter sur l'insistance de Michael qui l'a vraiment dans la peau.
Moouuiii... Je n'ai pas encore lu 100 pages et déjà je sens que cet amour-coup-de-foudre m'ennuie profondément. Alors je fais mine de m'intéresser aux secrets de ce couple, Michael et Ellie se ressemblent, ils font les mêmes rêves dans lesquels ils volent, ils peuvent deviner les pensées des autres dès qu'ils les touchent, ou dès qu'ils boivent une goutte de leur sang. Bingo ! ce sont des vampires !? Et pourtant, le titre du roman m'indiquait une autre piste. (Tape sur le front.) Suis-je bête ?! J'ai pourtant déjà lu la série de Melissa de la Cruz, han-han, je vois très bien où l'auteur veut nous mener.
Gros, gros soupirs. Hélas, oui ce roman réunit tous les ingrédients qu'on peut déjà trouver à droite et à gauche dans les séries existantes. (A la rigueur, il y aura toujours des lecteurs curieux et benêts pour mordre à l'hameçon.) (Courbe l'échine.) Soyons fous, soyons honnêtes. Je n'ai pas détesté mais je n'ai pas beaucoup aimé non plus. L'histoire est, somme toute, basique. Et je ne parle même pas du couple d'amoureux - pfff. Quel ennui. De toute façon, c'est devenu une vilaine manie - désormais nos ados n'ont plus le temps de tomber amoureux, ils flashent instinctivement, ils se voient, ils se reconnaissent, ils s'aiment, ne cherchez pas la petite bête (ne vous embarrassez pas d'outsiders, pauvres de vous !). C'est écrit sur le cahier des charges : amour et évidence. Point à la ligne. (Et le reste, c'est accessoire.)
Je voudrais que ça change... j'ai le droit d'espérer ? Ceci dit, je suis blousée de mon plein gré. Cheers !
Ellie se sent observer par un beau gosse au lycée - il s'agit de Michael, il prétend qu'ils se connaissent déjà. Trois ans plus tôt, au Guatemala. Huh ? L'adolescente est confuse, elle ne se souvient de rien. Peut-être que ça va lui revenir. Et c'est vrai que ce garçon lui plaît, très vite ils sortent ensemble, échangent un premier baiser qui s'emballe, Michael est obligé de repousser les ardeurs de la demoiselle, calme-toi, chérie, nous avons tout notre temps, "we are meant to be together and this is just the beginning". Ha ! ha ! La pauvre Ellie est douchée. Elle s'autoflagelle et rase les murs du lycée, c'est sans compter sur l'insistance de Michael qui l'a vraiment dans la peau.
Moouuiii... Je n'ai pas encore lu 100 pages et déjà je sens que cet amour-coup-de-foudre m'ennuie profondément. Alors je fais mine de m'intéresser aux secrets de ce couple, Michael et Ellie se ressemblent, ils font les mêmes rêves dans lesquels ils volent, ils peuvent deviner les pensées des autres dès qu'ils les touchent, ou dès qu'ils boivent une goutte de leur sang. Bingo ! ce sont des vampires !? Et pourtant, le titre du roman m'indiquait une autre piste. (Tape sur le front.) Suis-je bête ?! J'ai pourtant déjà lu la série de Melissa de la Cruz, han-han, je vois très bien où l'auteur veut nous mener.
Gros, gros soupirs. Hélas, oui ce roman réunit tous les ingrédients qu'on peut déjà trouver à droite et à gauche dans les séries existantes. (A la rigueur, il y aura toujours des lecteurs curieux et benêts pour mordre à l'hameçon.) (Courbe l'échine.) Soyons fous, soyons honnêtes. Je n'ai pas détesté mais je n'ai pas beaucoup aimé non plus. L'histoire est, somme toute, basique. Et je ne parle même pas du couple d'amoureux - pfff. Quel ennui. De toute façon, c'est devenu une vilaine manie - désormais nos ados n'ont plus le temps de tomber amoureux, ils flashent instinctivement, ils se voient, ils se reconnaissent, ils s'aiment, ne cherchez pas la petite bête (ne vous embarrassez pas d'outsiders, pauvres de vous !). C'est écrit sur le cahier des charges : amour et évidence. Point à la ligne. (Et le reste, c'est accessoire.)
Je voudrais que ça change... j'ai le droit d'espérer ? Ceci dit, je suis blousée de mon plein gré. Cheers !
January 7, 2018
I honestly hate this book with a passion. It's just so flat and nothing exciting happens. It seems more like a filler book than a first book. Let me just explain why I feel like this. So the beginning is okay but not the best. She meets this guy and he says they have met before but she doesn't remember him. But she just shrugs it off and doesn't even think about it. They fall in love with each other in like 10 secs. Then when he try's to tell her that their different and even shows her he can fly, SHE SAYS HE WAS PLAYING A TRICK ON HER. Like oh okay he jumps off a cliff and then is right next to her and she says he playing a trick on her?!? Makes sense. Then she gets mad at him for trying to explain to her how's she different. And then the next day she forgives him -.- and then throughout the book they think their vampires but the title aready tells the readers what they are making the "mystery" of what they are not an actual mystery, and by that just leaving the book boring. It's also super fast pace and too many things are going on and it's just so stupid that I couldn't even bring myself to finish it. I was almost done but then I just skipped to the last chapter and it literally just summarized the whole fucking book. Pointless read don't recommend it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 12, 2017
This book was interesting to read. It had well developed characters. However, I found it a bit too romantic for an adventure story, which it only partially was. Also, sometimes when two characters were interacting, it felt a bit stilted, like the author was having trouble writing natural scenes. Still, it was an okay book.
June 15, 2020
When I first put this book on my to-read list, I was still a teenager in high school. The books that used to appeal to me back then don’t appeal to me in the same way anymore. And yet, I figured that I would give this book a try. After all, it has been on my to-read list for seven years!
Elspeth “Ellie” Faneuil has grown up accompanying her parents on trips to impoverished countries around the world. Their goal is to make a difference in the lives of others. Despite all of her travelling, Ellie remains very unpopular at school and only has one friend, Ruth. It is now the start of a new school year and there’s a cute guy, Michael, who has just moved to Ellie's town. Michael claims he knows Ellie from one of her summers in travelling in Guatemala, but Ellie cannot remember him at all. Also, there is something very strange about Michael that Ellie just can’t put her finger on.
Okay, so when I read the description and some reviews about this book, I knew I wasn't going to be reading a Pulitzer Prize winner. ' Fallen Angel is a typical young adult novel from the same era as the Twilight craze. It’s entertaining (to a degree), fast-paced and ultimately forgettable. The romance between Michael and Ellie was, as you could probably guess, instantaneous. I would’ve liked to see a bit more character development in Ellie or in her relationship with Michael as the book progressed.
My lowered expectations made me enjoy the book a lot more than I was expecting to. I would like to read the sequel just to know what happens to the characters. The book ends on a slight cliff-hanger (no spoiler alerts, I promise), so it would be nice to know if everything works out in the end.
My biggest problem with the book was actually the title. “Fallen Angel” gives way too much away.
All in all, Fallen Angel was entertaining, a bit annoying and forgettable.
Elspeth “Ellie” Faneuil has grown up accompanying her parents on trips to impoverished countries around the world. Their goal is to make a difference in the lives of others. Despite all of her travelling, Ellie remains very unpopular at school and only has one friend, Ruth. It is now the start of a new school year and there’s a cute guy, Michael, who has just moved to Ellie's town. Michael claims he knows Ellie from one of her summers in travelling in Guatemala, but Ellie cannot remember him at all. Also, there is something very strange about Michael that Ellie just can’t put her finger on.
Okay, so when I read the description and some reviews about this book, I knew I wasn't going to be reading a Pulitzer Prize winner. ' Fallen Angel is a typical young adult novel from the same era as the Twilight craze. It’s entertaining (to a degree), fast-paced and ultimately forgettable. The romance between Michael and Ellie was, as you could probably guess, instantaneous. I would’ve liked to see a bit more character development in Ellie or in her relationship with Michael as the book progressed.
My lowered expectations made me enjoy the book a lot more than I was expecting to. I would like to read the sequel just to know what happens to the characters. The book ends on a slight cliff-hanger (no spoiler alerts, I promise), so it would be nice to know if everything works out in the end.
My biggest problem with the book was actually the title. “Fallen Angel” gives way too much away.
All in all, Fallen Angel was entertaining, a bit annoying and forgettable.
December 6, 2020
Este libro quizá habría funcionado para mí hace unos diez años, pero ahora que soy una lectora adulta consumada, considero que es demasiado básico. No me malinterpreten, me encanta la literatura juvenil, sencillamente el libro no me gustó por qué:
-Ellie es la típica protagonista: De personalidad plana, bella (una tradicional Blanca nieves), no es popular pero atrae la atención de los populares, resulta que no es humana como ella creía y se enamora perdidamente de un muchacho muy guapo, en un lapso de tiempo considerablemente corto.
-En general, las personalidades de todos los personajes son bastante sosas y tópicas.
- El estilo narrativo es sumamente descriptivo, carente de emoción y al final se torna bastante reiterativo.
- Paraciera que esta historia se trataba sobre Michael (el galán en turno), pues la protagonista, que a la vez es la narradora, no paraba de repetir su nombre una y otra vez. No bromeo, desde que el muchacho hiciera su aparición, apenas y hubo párrafo en el cuál no se mencionara.
- Tengo la teoría de que Heather Terrel escribió este libro solamente para acoplarse a la moda literaria de los ángeles caídos, de esos días cuando la saga Hush Hush estaba en boca de todos.
- A pesar que los capítulos finales me mantuvieron pegada al libro, fácilmente el 90% de este lo leí por pura terquedad.
En resumen, esta lectura no tiene absolutamente nada nuevo, si no se hubiera publicado ya hace varios años podría jurar que obtuvo un contrato editorial solo por ser bastante popular en Wattpad y voy a leer su continuación solamente porque saqué el libro de una biblioteca y como ya se venció mi tarjeta de préstamos, no podré pedirlo de nuevo dadas las condiciones actuales.
-Ellie es la típica protagonista: De personalidad plana, bella (una tradicional Blanca nieves), no es popular pero atrae la atención de los populares, resulta que no es humana como ella creía y se enamora perdidamente de un muchacho muy guapo, en un lapso de tiempo considerablemente corto.
-En general, las personalidades de todos los personajes son bastante sosas y tópicas.
- El estilo narrativo es sumamente descriptivo, carente de emoción y al final se torna bastante reiterativo.
- Paraciera que esta historia se trataba sobre Michael (el galán en turno), pues la protagonista, que a la vez es la narradora, no paraba de repetir su nombre una y otra vez. No bromeo, desde que el muchacho hiciera su aparición, apenas y hubo párrafo en el cuál no se mencionara.
- Tengo la teoría de que Heather Terrel escribió este libro solamente para acoplarse a la moda literaria de los ángeles caídos, de esos días cuando la saga Hush Hush estaba en boca de todos.
- A pesar que los capítulos finales me mantuvieron pegada al libro, fácilmente el 90% de este lo leí por pura terquedad.
En resumen, esta lectura no tiene absolutamente nada nuevo, si no se hubiera publicado ya hace varios años podría jurar que obtuvo un contrato editorial solo por ser bastante popular en Wattpad y voy a leer su continuación solamente porque saqué el libro de una biblioteca y como ya se venció mi tarjeta de préstamos, no podré pedirlo de nuevo dadas las condiciones actuales.
January 18, 2025
16 year old Ellspeth Faneuil dreams about flying when she sleeps. She is just starting at the upper high school and is secure in her niche away from the popular crowd when she locks eyes with a new senior, Michael Chase. She is surprised when Michael tracks her down and reminisces about their time in Guatemala when both sets of parents were spending the summer teaching the indigenous people better farming methods. Ellie is also beginning to explore some strange new power she terms "a flash" when she can see people's memories. As the story progresses, she becomes aware of Zeke who is super-snob Missy's new boyfriend who is influencing Missy and her cohort Piper to perpetrate a Facebook prank on one of Missy's enemies. Ellie bravely takes the blame for the prank and is suspended and ostracized. Meanwhile, Ellie's parents catch her in the act of sneaking out to fly with Michael and are forced to reveal to Ellie that she is a Nephilim, a human-angel hybrid. In the face of Zeke's manipulations and threats, Ellie flees to Boston to seek more information about her heritage. This is the first book in a series. The cover looked intriguing as did the information on the cover. However, the promise never delivered as I found the characters not believable. I guess best friend Ruth is hiding secrets as she is too forgiving and bland. I never understood why Ellie would take the blame for Missy's prank and I found Michael's submission to Zeke too contrived. I doubt that I will bother with the next installment.
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