and Falling, Fly

Harrowing #1

by Skyler White

“Intriguing from page one…White asks hard questions about desire, damnation, love and sacrifice in a beautiful, poetic way that will keep you utterly spellbound.”—Anya Bast In a dark and seedy underground of burned-out rock stars and angels-turned-vampires, a revolutionary neuroscientist and a fallen angel must pit medicine against mythology in an attempt to erase their tortured pasts... Olivia, vampire and fallen angel of desire, is hopeless...and damned. Since the fall from Eden, she has hungered for love, but fed only on desire. Dominic O'Shaughnessy is a neuroscientist plagued by impossible visions. When his research and her despair collide at L'OtelMathillide—a subterranean hell of beauty, demons, and dreams—rationalist and angel unite in a clash of desire and damnation that threatens to destroy them both.

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Vampires, Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Paranormal, Romance, Angels

350 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 11, 2010

About the author

Skyler White writes angels and scientists, demons and revolutionaries, secret societies and sacred sex to play in the places where myth and modernity tangle.

OFFERINGS :: Lands of Sex & Magic (October 2013):
An episodic erotica set in the mythical Arcai and modern America

THE INCREMENTALISTS (Tor, September 2013, with Steven Brust): A secret society with an epic history and an almost magical memory must gather in Las Vegas to save itself ... and maybe the world

IN DREAMS BEGIN (Berkley, November 2010): A dark time-travel horror/romance set among luminaries of the late Victorian 'Golden Dawn' occult movement

AND FALLING, FLY (Berkley, March 2010): A dark fable of desire between a fallen angel and a self-medicating neuroscientist in a steampunk hell

Reviews

[Tiffany Danner · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book. I really really did. I love the cover (tho there is no sword that I can remember in the story) and I love the idea behind it, unfortunately I found the plot to be a hot mess of confusion.

Olivia is a vampire and in the world of and FALLING, fly vampires are also fallen angels. They feed on blood, but only when a person fears or desires them. I am at a loss at how to truly describe her because I never felt like I knew who her character was, but maybe she didn’t either. She has spent her whole life searching for love, hoping for a loophole that will release her from her fate.

Dominic is a doctor, or rather a researcher. He suffers from memories of his past lives, tho he attributes them to a mental disorder and has worked continuously to find a solution. He goes to Ireland on a paid research trip, looking for a cure. He has spent this life alone, avoiding love and the painful memories it brings up within him. Somehow Olivia makes him question all that he has believed and all that is a part of him.

Let’s start with the good stuff, shall we? Skyler White writes beautiful prose. Her sentences flow on the tongue and make you feel like you are reading something truly beautiful. Additionally, the ideas behind the book are good ones! Are these supernatural abilities real or are they caused by some biophysical problem? Is it love that set’s us free?

Unfortunately the beautifully written words were not enough to keep me interested in this story. I wanted to set this book down and give up several times over, even as far as 100 pages away from the end. The paragraphs may be beautiful, but they were also wordy and often lacking in clarity. Many times I felt like I was shoved into a scene, given only an vague outline and expected to make up what actually happened on my own. Far too often I read a paragraph or section two to three times only to still have no idea what just happened. The lack of clarity and wordiness provided me with no imagery and kept the characters and their story from becoming something I could connect to.

I had hope that the plot line would be able to pull me in if the characters could not….and at around 100 pages thought maybe I had finally found something to grab ahold of. Yet I was thrown off the bus with seemingly unnecessary sexual activity between the vampire “sisters” and memories involving stone dildos. I am certainly no prude, but the scenes didn’t make sense to the story and only caused to push me further away. I was further disappointed by the ending, but will leave the details of why and how out as to not spoil anyone… just to say that I predicted it around page 75 but hoped I was wrong.

and FALLING, fly was a difficult and disappointing read. I am a big fan of dark fantasy, but this just didn’t connect with me, tho many other book bloggers have really enjoyed it. You can always try downloading a free sample from Amazon.com and decide for yourself!

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

(4.5 stars) When I finished and Falling, Fly, the first words out of my mouth were, "Wow, what a mindf*ck." The cover art, while a beautiful example of its kind, seems to imply a fairly standard urban fantasy. and Falling, Fly is anything but.

Skyler White unfolds this story through the eyes of two main characters, Olivia and Dominic. Olivia lives in a world of sensual depravity; she believes she is a fallen angel and a vampire, doomed to spend eternity as a lonely predator unless she finds a loophole in her damnation. Her chapters are narrated in the first person, present tense. Dominic is a neuroscientist who has visions of past lives but believes they are hallucinations or seizures. He seeks a cure for his condition, and later for Olivia's plight; he believes they both suffer from mental illness, not ancient curses. His chapters are written in third person, past tense. Olivia and Dominic show us two sides of White's bizarre world, two ways of looking at things. Who's right, the true believer or the rational scientist? and Falling, Fly raises plenty of questions about these characters and their troubles, and leaves many of them unanswered.

The early chapters remind me of a cross between Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire and Elizabeth Hand's Black Light. Like Interview, the book explores the loneliness of eternal beings, and the question of what makes one "saved" or "damned." Like Black Light, and Falling, Fly takes us on a trippy tour through a debauched setting peopled with jaded celebrants. And like Black Light, it sometimes drags a bit; even when you realize that the "meanderingness" of it is intentional — creating a hellish atmosphere and expressing the characters' ennui — it still gets a little draggy. This happens in both points of view. Olivia's vampiric bacchanalia and Dominic's departmental politics feel equally empty.

But when Olivia and Dominic meet, and Falling, Fly really takes off, pardon the bad pun. The two have opposite worldviews but in a few significant ways are more alike than different, and there is an instant "click" between them. Perhaps their feelings develop into love a little more quickly than is realistic, but it's not a problem here; their connection brings a much-welcome splash of color into the previously bleak atmosphere. Nothing will be easy for this couple; they face persecution from other damned souls as well as the conflict that comes from their competing worldviews. He thinks she's crazy, she thinks he's in denial, people are trying to kill them both, and the worst danger of all is that their lifelong goals, if achieved, would separate them forever.

and Falling, Fly reaches an ending that satisfies and yet leaves the reader's brain buzzing. What it reminds me most of, finally, is Caitlin R. Kiernan's The Red Tree. The two novels have completely different plots, but both keep you wondering which events were "real" and which took place solely within the characters' minds, and both probably have to be read twice if you want to catch everything. I always appreciate a novel that makes me think.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the beautiful writing. Here's an example:

In my midnight midtown apartment, the demon of despair regards me in the red wink of my answering machine. Adam called again while I was out. I watch the diabolical electric blinking. Modernity is keen to alert us to what we've missed: calls, turns, TV programs. The city is ablaze with missed connections. I pull the blackout drapes closed against mine: Maria, Evie, Adam...

The names are also fun; I couldn't help but notice that the mortals have religious names and the angels have names from literature. I can't claim to have figured out why yet, but it's yet another thing my brain is buzzing about...

[Jacob Proffitt]

This book is beautifully written, with well-realized characters and interesting world-building. Unfortunately, there are a couple of elements that added up to a DNF, for me.

First, the story is slow, slow, slow. After around the half-way point, we're still getting dribbles of setup and the two viewpoint characters have only just met. The events to that point have largely served to illuminate Olivia and Dominic's complex psychoses and include a number of otherwise irrelevant events that don't seem to connect with the broader story at all. If you are interested in their inner worlds, then this would probably be just fine. Unfortunately...

The bigger problem is that neither main character is sympathetic and the world surrounding them is actively grim. Sex and desire are center stage (though actual sex is remarkably absent) and often presented in the basest, darkest manner possible--all appetite and stripped of finer feeling. This is evocative, but weighty and becomes overbearing pretty quickly. None of the characters we'd met in that first half have any definable virtue, let alone hope for climbing out of the inner cesspit that dominates their lives.

I struggled with whether to keep going, but finally decided that as talented a writer as Skyler White obviously is, I'm just not interested in this story, this world, or its characters.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

AND FALLING, FLY is not an easy read. Its a twisted, layered plot that has you continually questioning the sanity of its characters. Are they really fallen angels turned vampires? Does the hero truly recall dozens of lost lifetimes and lost loves? Or are they all as delusional as they claim to be? Am I delusional for believing them? Am I being tricked? All these are questions I asked myself repeatedly from page one to the very last sentence. And one question still lingers: Was any of it even real?

Also, this book takes commitment with a capital C. On numerous occasions I dropped the book, willing to give up and walk away from this supposed "novel". I couldn't connect to the characters. I couldn't even figure out what the hell was going on! But I stuck with it, determined to figure out the confusing mystery laid out in this complex pattern of words and phrases. The author wanted to convey something to me. And while I don't claim to be smart enough to know for a fact that I took away from AND FALLING, FLY exactly what the Ms. White intended, I do believe that I took at least one thing from her incredible imagination and that is that love can, and does set us free.

Olivia Wright is a vampire, cast from heaven to be the angel of desire - desire in corporeal form for others to covet but never desire for herself. Molded and shaped into a being to satisfy other's appetites, Olivia is sickened by their lust-fulled gaze that forever keeps her from seeing her true native face. All she sees it what they want and while their cravings allow her to momentarily fill the void of her everlasting numbness with their blood, it does not provide for her the love that she seeks and that of which would ultimately set her free. Now, filled with self-loathing and damned for eternity, Olivia has given up on her one and only hope: The loophole that would return her wings so that she may be able to once again fly. That dream is now lost and all that remains is Hell. But Hell is home - an inverted hotel deep beneath the mystery-seeped soil of Ireland. There her sisters reside. There she can wallow in her numbness and escape the cloying eyes of the surface and the mortals that inhabit it.

However, Hell is the last place Dominic O'Shaughnessy ever hoped to see again. A neuroscientist searching for for the means to block memories from the remembrance capabilities of the human mind, Dominic's struggle has him checking back into the dreaded L'Otel Matillide - Hell and the hotel of the damned. There he hopes to acquire research subjects that are consumed by delusion for that's what he believes the guests of Hell to be - delusional. With combined brain scans and an experimental drug, Dominic hopes to cure them of their illnesses while simultaneously curing his own.

Dominic, a man of strict science-based logic, is plagued by memories - memories that he's rationally convinced himself to believe as simply being an illness that needs a cure. Since he turned eighteen he's had these strange memories that weren't made in his lifetime. He's loved, lost, had children, been white and black, has died and been reborn time and again. Nine years ago he came to Hell to understand his infliction and was told by the owner that he's cursed - cursed as the Reborn: a mortal forever to be reincarnated. But Dominic cannot - will not - believe that he's cursed. He doesn't believe in curses, he believes in science and science is telling him that he has a disease, one that needs to be cured so that he can finally be sane. Hopefully the inhabitants of Hell can give him the data he needs to find his desperately needed cure.

Within minutes of Dominic's arrival in Hell, his entire being lights up when one particularly beautiful woman arrives soon after. Ushered immediately from the lobby by the irritatingly enlightened owner, the beauty first makes eye contact with Dominic and little does he know that this moment starts him on a irreversible path towards a surprising outcome. One that the present Dominic would never believe.

Olivia is just as intrigued by the man in the lobby as he is with her. She's even more intrigued when he visibly restrains his desire for her. No human, male of female, has been desirous of Olivia and not acted upon it in some way. Even more intriguing is that his desire does not change her body to conform to his appetites. He finds her natural form beautiful and that in and of itself deserves her attention. But there's a distinctly different situation in Dominic's case that impacts his reaction to Olivia and that is that he knows she's a vampire, an angel of desire, and he's not afraid of a woman that to him is clearly delusional. He simply can't fear what he doesn't believe for his scientific mind will rationalize the anomalies as just that, anomalies. But Dominic can't rationalize his feelings for Olivia.

Woman have always been a mystery to Dominic and one better left unsolved. But a part of Dominic also fears falling in love because his disease, his delusions, have shown him the pain of heartache and he does not wish to live it again in this reality. Olivia, however, is not easily avoided and while Dominic has distinctly told her that he can't use her in his research because of her emotional affect on him, she's quite persistent. And really, Dominic can't stay away from her either. She fascinates him on a level beyond even his beloved research and against his better judgement, Dominic falls in love with Olivia.

In the moment that Olivia is given up all hope that she'll find salvation, Dominic gifts her with his. For the first time Olivia feels sensation, emotionally and especially physically. Dominic's kiss, his touch is felt by her and Olivia finds herself consumed by her own desire. She desires Dominic. But this desire eclipses the physical and while that is surely a part of it, beyond that they each desire the hearts of the other, their passion, their souls. But it all comes at a price and that price is sacrifice. Will it be too much? Now that they've each finally unburdened themselves with their delusions and embraced each other in love, can they let go?

This is a difficult review and I just know I'm not doing the book justice. There is so much going on, so many concepts tested and destroyed that its almost impossible to describe it sufficiently. Instead, I've focused on the romance which is what I loved most the about the novel. The romance is passionate and while its not one's typical romance by any means, in fact its the most different of any I've previously read, its still the romance that's the pulsing heart of the novel.

Again, AND FALLING, FLY is not an easy read but if you can commit yourself to the novel and push through the initial confusion, the end is worth it. The novel makes you question who we are, what we're capable of and that delusional or not, we're all deserving of love and the strength to fall with the hope of flying.

[Misty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Olivia is Damned; a vampiric fallen angel of desire, she feeds off the living seeing herself only as they see her in their lust, longing to know what she really looks like and who she really is. Dominic is Cursed, a brilliant neuroscientist working to discover a way to erase memories so that he can rid himself of his deep, dark secret: memories of centuries of past lives and loves that he shouldn't have, shouldn't be able to remember.
When both find themselves drawn to Ireland, to the underground L'Otel Matthilide, the Hotel of the Damned, their worlds collide. Will these two desperately lonely, searching beings complete each others worlds, or tear them apart?

I know what you're thinking: there is a glut of vampire books out there, and fallen angels are closing in fast. And you're right. There certainly are. But and Falling, Fly is a different take; it really is its own thing. With a touch of the eroticism that marks the adult vamp books, a basis in mythology and religion, a whiff of steampunk, and a heavy smattering of literary allusions, AFF stands apart as a bit of a thinking-persons vampire book. But let's be honest: you'd still read it even if it weren't. We as a culture are obsessed with the vampire mythos. And with the angel mythos, for that matter (and we especially like our angels fallen).
So let's just get to it, shall we?

There were things I loved and things I didn't, but the good outweighed the bad.
Characters: Dominic and Olivia are fascinating, completely able to carry the story. They both live on the fringes of their worlds. Unlike her sisters, Olivia is tired of being what she is. She wants more from life* and she's taking steps to get it. But it's one of those situations where you can't force it, but you can't help but force it, and that is interesting and relatable to read. She's so strong, but so desperately lonely, and even though she feeds off people and is sort of dark, you can't help but feel for her. It is lovely watching her come awake to the world and begin shedding her hard shell. All she wants is a new beginning. Dominic is brilliant and haunted, and capable of such amazing love, but he's terrified to let it in because he has memories of lifetimes worth of love dying and dying and dying. His position is heartbreaking, and all he wants is an end. When these two come together, it's lovely to see, and Skyler White wisely doesn't make it easy. I don't want to give anything away, but she uses cosmic irony to great effect in this story, of which I am a fan.

The side characters are interesting, too, and flesh out the story nicely. As a reader, you can see things that the characters don't, and you can watch the pieces fall into place, for good or ill, while the characters blithely play their parts. It adds a nice layer of tension, and the characters don't seem obtuse to not see what's coming.**

World: Another thing I really liked was the world building. White did extensive research, and it shows. The world is believable even when unbelievable, if that makes sense. Even within L'Otel Matthilide, where all the things that shouldn't exist but do come for a holiday, everything is grounded in reality enough that it rings true. The hotel itself is a fascinating mix of old-world Europe and new-world punkishness, trimmed in steampunk and steeped in all Ireland has to offer. I could visualize it just enough that it was present and fascinating but still enough of a mystery that I wanted to see it for myself.

Romance: It's there. Olivia is a fallen angel of desire, after all, and Dominic is a brainy beefcake. There's a good balance of chemistry and passion, and reluctance and leeriness. The two are combustible in a very nice way. There's a nice edgy eroticism to the story, too, that adds a nice element.

Language: White's writing is often very lyrical and poetic, and sprinkled with allusions, as I said. Here is where the bad(ish) comes in. Though I did like this for the most part, there is some trouble in having a very poetical style in a prose piece. Some things just don't work outside of stanzas, and that was occasionally the case here. Sometimes the poetic style was lovely and visual and striking. But there were times, too, when the poetic phrasing just felt off or confusing or clunky. Sometimes, when trying to turn a beautiful phrase, the meaning was lost and I had to read a few passages over a few times before I got the heart of it. I think some of this might just be the result of this being White's debut. But for the most part, this wasn't much of an issue, and it became less so as the story went on, but I anticipate some readers have trouble with it, especially as some struggle with poetry and poetic phrasing in general. Same goes with the allusions. Though I caught a ton of them and didn't have much trouble, I am sure there are going to be people (those who hate with a fiery passion the game Trivial Pursuit) who just don't get the references and perhaps get a little lost. This isn't necessarily an issue; if you're not the type to like poetry and/or allusions, you probably wouldn't read this one. I just thought it bore mentioning, as people want to know these things going in. (<-- and I suppose while I'm on the topic of advanced warning, if you don't like sexually charged stories***, you may want to skip this one.)


* I use the term loosely, of course.
** Not that all readers will, either. White does make you work for some things, and I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing.
*** Quick test: how do you feel about the word 'cock'? If you just cringed, skip this. If you sat up straighter and said 'where?' go out and grab a copy.

[Jess · Rating 1 out of 5]

WTH was this book really about??? I went in to reading this with moderate expectations and found I was wrong. It was really bad. The plot was confusing and it was made worse by the narration. Often there were no indicators when the narration would switch to a different character which made things very confusing. I felt like I was in a constant state of playing catch-up. I had to re-read paragraphs a few times because I lost track of who was telling the story.

The best part of the book was the beginning, and then it just declined at a rapid pace. I think because the beginning was the only part that made any sense to me.

This was definitely NOT the book for me. Whew.

[Dark Faerie Tales · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick & Dirty: A complex, intriguing and atmospheric read that will have you thinking.

Opening Sentence: The angel of desire is damned.

The Review:

Olivia is a vampire and fallen angel of desire. She goes through the motions, but in reality she’s dead inside. Olivia feeds off the fears and desires of others while she herself derives no pleasure. Trapped in hopelessness, despair, and unable to feel pleasure or pain, Olivia is on the hunt for love. She wants to get her wings back so that she can return to Heaven. Dominic O’Shaughnessy is a neuroscientist battling his own demons. He’s haunted by memories of suffering and loss and struggles to separate reality from delusion. They both end up at the Hotel of the Damned in search for answers.

“and Falling, Fly” is a philosophical journey that delves into desire, life and death. Ms. White certainly did an excellent job of setting the mood of the novel, making it very atmospheric. In addition, The Hotel of the Damned especially is a fascinating concept/place. Olivia has pretty unique abilities that intrigued me, but I don’t want to give too much away.

I had a hard time writing this review. This dark tale of despair, desire, damnation left me a little frustrated as a reader. Ms. White switches between narrative POVs, which at times pulled me out of the story. I was never able to really establish a connection with Olivia, and as a result I didn’t like her character. She never felt sympathetic to me. I also found the pace of the novel to be a bit off at times, and certain elements of the story confusing. I did enjoy many elements of the worldbuilding, but sometimes I thought that the mythology was a bit dense.

Overall, lovers of dark fantasy should read this book. I love dark fantasy but found this debut novel to be a tough and complex read. The book has a great premise, but falls a little short in the execution. Ms. White does skillfully blend some creepy and chilling elements in this twisted world to give the book a unique appeal.

Notable Scene:

In the moon’s naked light, all the places where his face wears rage are stripped to an ancient, bare pain. His eyes pierce me. “Thank you,” he says again. “I needed to get away.” His beautiful lips curl into a soft smile before he presses them against the knuckle of my thumb. A hard, motionless shiver radiates from that point through the deep bones in me. My nails quill against my crushed fingers, but he’s looking right into me, warmth and memory in his night-blue eyes.

FTC Advisory: Berkley provided me with a copy of and Falling, Fly. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. In addition, I don’t receive affiliate fees for anything purchased via links from my site.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Today, I shall write for you a simple review consisting entirely of bullet points. Kind of.

Good:
~A vampire dogma I haven't encountered before. I've read entirely too many vampire books, so I would know.
~A vision of Hell that isn't typical/fire and brimstone. Not my favorite version of Hell, but at least it wasn't a stereotype.
~Dominic's viewpoint. He didn't believe in the crazy stuff, but he eventually worked with it anyway to achieve the goal.
~Hell's ball-bearing energy-harvesting system. Imagine: sitting down doesn't just put your butt on a cushion; it helps charge the battery that lights your bedroom. It wouldn't be effective as the only energy source, but it's one of those every-little-bit-helps situations. And suddenly, your dad wouldn't yell at you for slamming the door anymore, because it'd be powering the air conditioner.
~The resolution/ending.

Bad:
~Olivia's viewpoint. Helloooooooo, melodrama!
~The word "cock." There are synonyms, you know.
~Olivia's aunt is the Wright woman. Saw that coming. (Please excuse my Firefly reference.) As soon as she said "New York," I began to suspect; and when Olivia got on a flight from New York to Ireland, I knew. Way to surprise me.
~The goal. (See Good number 3.) You might be able to argue that it's finding sanity and saving the girl and blah blah, but really? The goal was screwing the girl.
~The resolution/ending.

I know I put the resolution under both Good and Bad. I can't decide what I think of it. I like ambiguity, and this is definitely ambiguous; but it might be too ambiguous. I mean, by the end of the book, we still don't know which reality is really real and which reality is crazy hallucinations. Since this was the first book of a series, perhaps this was the intention. I'm not sure. Which is kind of the point of ambiguity.

Conclusion:
~Neh. (Something between a "Nah," which is better than a "No," and a "Meh," which is indifferently neutral.) Yes, the Good and the Bad categories both have 5 items, and the Good category has more words in it. But the Bad items are more directed toward writing and plot, which are important book factors, and the Good items are more about details that are interesting, but that only effect the story peripherally. See there? I used "effect" as a verb, because that's the one that brings about change indirectly, which is how stuff like the way Hell is written changes the story. (I should just bookmark this review so I can always refer back to the comment that explains that. Thanks, Jennie.)

This concludes my bullet-point review. Adieu.

[Beleth · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all i want to say that this is not the typical vampire novel. Forget everything you had read about these creatures so far and prepare to be surprised.

Olivia is a fallen angel, that is, a vampire. These angels have a feature: each person sees them differently according to their wishes. If you want Olivia to be tall, small, fat, skinny, with blue or green eyes ... you'll see her like that. She is a fallen angel of desire, she's designed exclusively to produce pleasure, but she's destined not to ever feel it.

After a long life full of disappointments, hate for herself and for the others, Olivia has lost all hope of finding his loophole: the person who will be able to help her regain her wings, set her free and release her of the curse.

Fully convinced that she will never be happy, she decides to retire to a hotel called the Hell located in Ireland which is underground. There, with her sisters, she spends her time away from the lascivious gaze of mortals.

At the same time we have Dominic. Nueroscientist working on a system to locate and erase memories based on specific neurons. Since he turned eighteen hes constantly haunted by memories that he thinks are not his: he has lived several lives, had children, whe was white, black and has died and reborn countless times.

To advance his research on neurons he must go to a place with sick people he can study. And is there a better place than the Hell Hotel to do this? But this place is not new to him. He spent some time there 9 years ago because of his memories. The owner told him that he was not sick, he was cursed. And that he is a Reborn: a being who is destined to be reincarnated forever.

Both coincide in the hotel and will gradually heal each other. At first he will try to convince Olivia to participate in his research, but when he begins to feel something for her, he dismisses the idea and try to avoid her. But that isnt going to be a very easy task. Will they be able to have a happy ending?

At first the book is pretty complicated and until both characters are in the hotel things are not very clear. Little by little can be deciphered the history and the truth is that the reading is very grateful. The story alternates between Olivia and Dominic and sometimes you don't know who's talking, but i loved the book.

As for the plot, its unbelievable. Very complex, deep, almost mystical, with twists everywhere and some truly amazing scenes. Reading it might get pretty uphill at some times, but the ending makes it worth. The love story is very beautiful and the ending is absolutely unforgettable.

If you seek a simple reading of boy-meets-girl don't bother to look at this book, but if you are tired of the typical vampire books with a very simple plot, you are going to love it.

[Terra · Rating 4 out of 5]

and Falling, fly by Skyler White is quite the unusual story of what true love can be if you can determine weather or not you are living in a world of reality or ill insanity. A world of perceptions that will actually drive you as mad as the Mad Hatter if you ponder on them too long.

Olivia is a vampire or so she thinks she is. She is also a fallen angel cast out by God for what she is. She claims she is one of the damned. She is a lethal beauty who has no hope and finds her way back to Hell to at least find peace. A peace that cannot be found in the mortal world.

Dominic is a neuroscientiest. He is also one of the reincarnated. He lives his mortal life only to die and be reborn. He remembers all previous lives upon the age of maturity. But how does one really deal with such a prospect? To be born, live, love, experience life for all it's good and bad then die only to be reborn again with the knowledge of love and loss time and again would be enough to drive anyone mad. He makes his journey to Hell out of duty. A duty to help an innocent in the mortal world and possibly help the poor souls of a damned cursed world.

This story takes science into the realm of impossibility. A realm of questioning, pondering, longing, love, anger and betrayal. You say, "But these are all the things of the real world". Yes they are, but these are the things being felt by those who are supposedly cursed, damned and reincarnated.

The author has given us a really intriguing look into a world of paranormal subjects pondering the reality of their situations and lives. We take a trek into Hell which is not at all what we might perceive it to be and to find that a step through a doorway takes us into the Garden of Eden is even more fantastic.

The story runs at an even pace but will have you questioning your own reality. I've had to stop here and there just to let my mind encompass the and's, if's and what if's that could quite possibly have some reality to them. It's been an interesting trek that I have enjoyed. My only problem was encompassing the difference between the first person and third person dialogue. It was a wee bit rough going in the beginning but does sort itself out some after that. Overall the storyline was a wonderful read and one well worth checking out.

[Krystle]

Meh. I do not like vampires. No thanks. Not to mention the first few pages has her in a tattoo parlor getting a tattoo of damned by her crotch. Umm, no thanks. Doesn't pique my interest.

[Tynga · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dominic is a Reborn. A being resurrecting life after life, with their memory of past lives crushing into them at teenage-hood. Down to earth and brilliant neuroscientist, Dominic convinced himself all these memory are hallucinations and is trying to find a cure.
Olivia, Fallen Angel, feeds on desire and fear through her victims blood. She's been trying to find a way to get back to heaven for millennia but is ready to give up.

and Falling, Fly is a dark story of Despair, Damnation and Curses and could have easily been depressing, but Skyler also made it a brilliant story of Love, Hope and Faith. In a world where none of the rules you know applies, modern science and old beliefs will collide to try discover the ultimate Truth.

You live this story through both Dominic and Olivia alternatively, which could have been confusing, but was greatly handled by White. I think this narration adds an additional depth to the story, allowing the reader to connect with both main characters.

I have to admit I had a hard time reading the book at some point because of language barrier. Being French and all, the level of English was much higher than what I am used to and I felt like I was missing information from time to time, which proved frustrating, but the story was so great I had to keep reading anyway.

I loved the characters, and I'd like to throw in a special shout-out for Alyx. Fallen rock star, cursed some-how but I don't really know what his damnation is. He was corky and very unique, I really liked the guy!

I'd finish this review by saying this book is nothing like something else you've read before. It's unique, smart and provocative.


Here's a quote of my favorite moment:
"I take no pleasure in food, but I still eat," I tell him. "I have no joy in life, but I live. Does that sound like an ordinary woman? I am the Undead. The Hollow. I am numb. I am the sacred, stuffed into the profane. My body, made like yours of vile mud and ash, cannot contain all of who I am, and yet I am nothing at all. I am timeless, spaceless, crammed into time and space. I am the unspeakable made into a single word. I am a true violation of Truth." p.115

[Cynthia Armistead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sam Chupp has been after me to read this book for weeks, so as soon as I finished All Clear, I started it. This book is different from anything else I've read in years. I hesitate to say it's more literary than most fantasy, because I don't like "literary" books - they're usually stuffy, dry, and presumptuous.

After the first few chapters, there's no slowing down, because you're as caught up in what's happening as the characters are. I was transfixed by White's descriptions, which can make even ugliness fascinating.

We are traveling into time, burning two hours for every one I endure beside this babbling, cursed child of Greece. I see them all the time, these bastard half children of stories and mortals, trapped between worlds, the genetic lineage of myth reasserting itself across the inextricable ages. Helen of Troy is born the socialite child of a partial Zeus mated to half of a swan-loving Leda, the mythic DNA in each of them dormant until they breed and damn their offspring with its expression.

White's vampire mythos is like no other I've encountered. I found it far more believable than most of what's being printed over and over and over again. Another refreshing thing about the book is that there's no feeling of a set up for a series. Oddly, though, I'm now seeing the book identified as the first of a series called Harrowing, at least on GoodReads, but as far as I can tell, the second book has no characters in common with the first. Perhaps it's simply set in the same universe?

In any case, I've added In Dreams Begin to my to-read stack, and I'll be keeping an eye on Skyler White.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

and Falling, Fly is told from both Olivia and Dominic's perspective, and their story is a tragic one while at the same time inspiring feelings of hope. Olivia has searched since the fall of Eden for the loophole that would return her to the heights of heaven, out of the ranks of the damned, but she ends up returning to the Hotel of the Damn, hopeless. Hopeless in that for eternity she will be a fallen angel of desire, never experiencing emotions but through the blood of others. Dominic is a driven neuroscientist, who is trying to find a treatment to his painful memories of past lives that he believes are hallucinations, unwilling to believe in anything outside of science. He reluctantly goes to the Hotel of the Damned, where he meets Olivia and believes the remedy lies in helping her.

While reading and Falling, Fly I had an ambivalent relationship with this book. It required my full attention, and it wasn't one I could blaze through, that at times left me feeling frustrated. The lyrical writing demanded that I read every line thoroughly because the words weren't straightforward in their meaning; I had to find their meaning. But the mystery behind the release to Olivia and Dominic's eternal damnation kept making me want to blaze through the story to find its conclusion. Then I would find myself stopping and thinking about what I just read, then rethinking about what I had read in the previous the pages, reforming my ideas of what might lay ahead. Throughout reading I keep thinking which is the truth, science or myth, which one should I believe is the reality in this book?

and Falling, Fly is a dark and lush, uniquely told love story that isn't to be taken lightly. A definite reading requirement for those who like a book that makes them think and remain in their thoughts long after it's put down.

[Eunmi · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great surprise this book was! I began the book expecting it would be the usual paranormal UF. But this is another case of do not judge the book by its cover. Anyways as I read more of the book, I soon realized that this is definitely not a your standard UF with the usual butt-kicking demon-slaying heroines.( I appreciated the joke about those slayers in the book) Then I fell in love with the book. It is written so intelligently and so poetically you cannot "get it" in one reading. It is so complex and rich, needs time to savor it and to think about it, yet it is never dry nor boring.

I was often reminded of what I manage to remember of Foucault's writings on Desire, Knowledge and Power while reading certain parts of the book. I actually feel quite inadequate to express what this book is about...I'd say that this book is a treatise on all the heavy-hitting philosophical questions of Life- what is desire? what is morality in this postmodern society and culture? what is knowledge? What does immortality mean to us? what does Faith mean to us in this world? Is science only way of knowing left to us?-served up in gorgeous writing which is just right for the story.

[Lesley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun little trashy novel... can't give it more than 3 stars, though. It definitely had its moments, and there were some great little quips and turns of phrase, but overall, the characters were flat and the story ... well, I want to say it was too convenient, with its happy little ending. I think there was a lot of potential for a really dark psychological story that maintained elements of the supernatural -- I thought it was really going use vampires and self-medicating scientists to weave together questions of science and faith in a way that left you questioning both... But the questions it leaves you with were more like, "what just happened?" than metaphysical questions of mortality and mental illness.

Also, the details of the setting were written loosely, and I felt like it was missing pieces.

Finally -- really, I just get tired of the same adjectives used over and over again, and in obvious ways -- shouldn't she be "angelic" if she's an angel?

[♦Jennifer♦ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Need I stress how much I loved this book? It was everything that was promised and so much more. Fans of paranormal romance will certainly love this. If and Falling, Fly is any indication of the sort of writing that is to come from Skyler White, then I think that we can be expecting some great things from her. I know I am eagerly anticipating what she can come up with next.

See the full review over at Literary Escapism

[David Schwan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parts of this book deserve 4 stars, parts maybe 1 star. The book starts out quite well, becomes miserably bogged down in the middle, and redeems itself in the last third. The first third does a great job of setting up for us who the two primary characters are; in the middle third the primary characters meet and the last third is the real story. While reading the middle section it seems to be aimless rambling, the author is really setting up the story here, it is essential to the book as a whole but seemed too wordy and slow.

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author bio for this book tells me that she "crafts challenging fiction for a changing world". I guess her fiction is a little too "challenging" for me. This book has some very interesting, creative ideas and concepts that really drew me in when I read the description, but the implementation of how they were delivered just did not work for me and I didn't end up finishing the book.

First off, the sheer amount and weight of the science descriptions in this were way too much for a book about angels and vampires. Maybe I'm just not smart enough, but I really didn't understand any of the lengthy, detailed explanations of the science one of the main characters is involved with. Truthfully, I didn't care, and I didn't need that amount of detail to understand the main "thing" that he was trying to work on.

Second, I didn't connect to either Olivia or Dominic on an emotional level the way a really great book draws me in by making me care about the characters. These people obviously had big, major emotional lives and challenges, but they didn't draw me in. I felt, meh, about their issues, even though the story and the drama was absolutely there and was well written. I'm not exactly sure why I didn't connect to them, but I didn't, and that's a problem for me.

Finally, and again, this is weird because normally it isn't an issue for me, the violence and the sex in this felt, for lack of a better description, too blatant and rough for my taste. I can't quite put my finger on it, but something about the way both were described in this book made me wince and feel uncomfortable and disturbed. Now, maybe that's exactly what the author intended readers to feel, but it isn't the feeling I'm looking for from a book. As I said, I read lots of paranormal fiction, and vampires are a favourite of mine, so I do not have any issue with either sex or violence in a book, as long as it feels appropriate to the world and the story. Somehow in this, both felt excessively graphic to me and I didn't like it.

I am willing to concede that this may have just been the wrong book for me. Other readers may love the dark, gritty and troubling world the author here has created. It didn't work for me.

[Jan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not really sure what to say about this book. It switches from first person present tense to 3rd person past tense, and it was strange for me. I get what the author was trying to do, but I'm not sure it worked.
It was just a strange book overall. It was pretty dark, which I don't mind at all. It was also incredibly confusing. Honestly, I'm not really sure that I understand what happened. It was just weird. Not bad, just weird.

[Lynnette · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a strange and cerebral take on the vampire story.

[Aiyesha · Rating 3 out of 5]

yeah, i honestly do not know what the fuck that was

[Kitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

and Falling, Fly was not even close to what I was expecting after seeing it featured, along with it's author, on another bloggers website. Skyler White, with her long dreads and funky wardrobe, writing about Rock Stars, vampires, angels, demons and desires, sounds suspiciously like the makings of a paranormal romance, but I was intrigued. After reading the first page, though I knew I was mistaken and this book would be so much more.

Olivia is a fallen angel. A vampire. She is desire. She feeds with quills on her victims and drinks their memories from their blood. She has no feeling, numb to all that is around her. She wants more, though. She's positive that the true love of mortal may save her from her long life as an undead, bringing her back into full grace. After her latest botched attempt at bringing this experiment to fruition she's accepts the fact that she has failed. Olivia's through with only being desired, shaping herself to mold into her latest victims idea of what she should be. She's done with the hoping and with it, its suffering. Done with searching for her way out through humanity. The wanting to be seen for who she really is. She wants to go home. To the one place she can be herself.

Dr. Dominic O'Shaughnessy is professor of neuroscience at Cambridge. He's a rational man, believing in only what he can see or prove. His study is in memories. He wants to isolate them and remove them. His search is not to only to help others, though but a vain attempt to cease his own burdens. Dominic is plagued with visions of past lives and people he once loved and lost. Feelings and images he should not possess, but seem no less real. He is apart of the Reborn. Forced to live his life over and over. Experience love to only loose it again. All he needs now is funding for his research and his departments prayers are answered by Madalene Wright, a well known power-house with generous pockets. However, her money comes with a price of it's own. Madalene is only interested in Dominic's research for what it could do for her goddaughter's delusional thoughts of vampirism and it must be done privately. To do this, he'll have to go back to the one place he knows that holds a secret population of the damned. He has to go back to Dublin, back to Hell.

L'Otel Matillide's is an underground sanctuary for all the tortured souls led by a innkeeper just as strange, Gaehod. It calls out to the Reborn and Undead, Damned, Cursed, and Misbegotten. Inviting them into the comfort of her understanding and freedom. Filled with inexplicably high ceilings, miles of rooms and secret gardens. Here is where are two characters meet. Each searching for their own answers and seeking escape from their own opposing realities. Only to be forced together by their own gravity of desire.

Skyler White writes a beautifully poetic tale of two people searching for themselves. A dark urban fantasy, matching myth and legend with desire, damnation and sacrifice that keep you spellbound to the very end. She asks hard questions of not only her characters, but of her readers. She says:

"Olivia is based on one of the darker sides of myself. She’s that dissatisfied, hungry, searching part of me that wants what she can’t have and is half irritated and half in love with that wanting. I wrote ‘and Falling, Fly’ as an opportunity to interrogate her, to poke around in my relationship to desire – with wanting and being wanted, with wanting and getting – or not getting. I wanted to try to understand why desire can be both motivating and crippling, where it can get twisted into craving or addiction, and where it can open up into liberation and love."


I have to say she has succeeded. Olivia and Dominic are forced to re-examine what they want and need. What's real and what's falsely presented as fact. To make choices based upon what they think they know. You're left constantly questioning what is real? Are there really undead fallen angels? Does Dominic really relive his past lives? Or is it all just an illusion?

I did have some issues with and Falling, Fly. The switching back and forth from Olivia's first person/past tense point of view to Dominic's third person point of view was a little troubling for me. It took me a lot longer than I would have wished to get in to the flow, though, after finding it, the pages turned quickly. This is not a read for the lazy reader and if you can get past the confusion, past the complexity of it, then it's worth every minute. I really enjoyed and Falling, Fly and can't wait to see more from Skyler White.

[Sally · Rating 2 out of 5]

Won a copy from First Reads: received June 11, 2010.

I found the concept of Olivia's kind of vampire interesting: all vampires are fallen angels whose parents were "expelled from Heaven for something horrendous". They have hollow 'quills' as fingernails as well which they can use to feed, and only Absinthe can get them drunk. xD I haven't read many vampire books but I also found this interesting:

Mortal blood retains deep loves and fears. When we feed, we catch the glimpses, like dreams. It's the danger of going back to the same source too often. You become one of their fears. [...] If you keep feeding when you can see yourself in their blood it [...] closes a loop or something. It stops their hearts.

Vampires can also only feed on blood that wants or fears them - an interesting conundrum when the above quote is considered! But I guess that depends on the morals of the vampire in question.

I thoroughly enjoyed the chorus of sisters: Ophelia, Sylvia, Vivian. (Hah, talk about a lack of morals!) They're almost like the witches from MacBeth or some other wonderfully evil trio! I can't help but like them. ;) And the saving of Ophelia was probably my favourite part of the book, it was done very descriptively and was quite beautiful in a dangerous, forbidden kind of way.

I liked the way the POV shifted between Olivia (first person) and Dominic (third person) - this was especially effective in chapter 10 (Death) with the short segments going back and forth. At the start, their 'sections' are so different: Dominic's are colder, clinical, scientific while Olivia's are thriving with life. It's interesting to see them suddenly come together in Ireland! Especially when it comes to toe 'motivated cows' discussion (p144 xD) not to mention their first meeting -

How art thou damned?
I am Undead.
I am Reborn.

The book is very heavy on dialogue which keeps it moving quite quickly, especially when it comes to the banter between Olivia and Dominic and their psychological discussions disguised as riddles.

The only thing I didn't like was that often I found the language a bit too crude for my taste, and there was also too much sex... which is pretty funny considering the main character can't have sex for most of the book! Vampires are described as sexually aggressive by Dominic, which is true, but they can't actually do it. They're "closed, made of stone, impenetrable". They are the angels of desire who have no desire of their own. I was really interested in the other aspect of that - the way Olivia's body conforms to desire, transforming her into what the other person would most like to see: she can get taller, have a fuller figure, etc. Not enough to make her unrecognisable but just enough to "mold" her to their tastes - enough to make someone really want her, so she can feed off that. (And of course she never transforms even the tiniest bit for Dominic!)

Naturally, they do end up having sex, which I could have done without, but at least it was described a little more tastefully than in the past. I do like how the vampire's desire and sexuality are so fluid though: men, women, it doesn't really matter.

The ending was unexpected and interesting. Dominic with amnesia, Olivia saving his life as he'd saved hers and thus turning her into an angel, and now she is redeemed - "but what good is redemption if I can no longer touch him?" Suddenly she has what she'd always wanted. Someone loved her enough to turn her back into an angel, but now she wants instead to remain material. Oops?

The last chapter starts the way the first did, with Olivia (who of course fell back to earth) getting a tattoo. Only this time it sticks (the previous one faded off within minutes) - two wings on her back, in place of the ones she lost when she fell. But the interesting thing is, this is not quite Olivia as we knew her for the first 300 pages because when she sees Dominic again she is drawn to him, but she doesn't recognise him at all. She has never met him before - though of course he knows who she is. Luckily it ends well for both of them, a little like a cosy, twisted version of While You Were Sleeping or something! And it's crazy but after all they've put me through while reading, I can't help but 'aww' at the happy ending that they do get!

[Leila Anani · Rating 4 out of 5]

A vampire romance involving Biblical mythology and ok I'm shallow but a really gorgeous cover! Recommended to me by no less than three different people. How could I resist?

There are loads of things I can say to recommend this debut novel.
The vampire mythology is wonderful and original - vampires are fallen angels of desire, desensitised, virginal and seeking redemption. Their fangs are quills that can be sharpened by kissing each other, and like the succubus they alter their shape in accordance with the desire of others. Tick. tick. tick.

The romance is nicely played out and the characters are super. Our heroine is a vampire/angel and our hero is a reborn cursed to remember all his past lives. Again gets a big thumbs up. It makes sense that Dominic would go into neuroscience to try and understand his affliction. I love love love the whole science vs. Belief theme going on here, I do think this is one of the best examples of a mythical being/scientist romance I have seen.

The gothic setting in hotel "hell" somewhere underground in the wilds or Ireland is very beautiful. The scenes in the ruined abbey are lovely!

There are scenes where our hero gets to have conversations with the snake in the Garden of Eden which are absolutely brilliant.
So with all these great things about it, why don't I love it as much as you'd think I ought to?
Hmmmmmm.

I found the prose itself somewhat dense. It felt at times as if I were reading a philosophy text, not necessarily a bad thing, but I tend to prefer rich descriptive prose for a gothic novel (a la Anne Rice, Tanith Lee, Nick Cave) . This novel is not badly written in any way don’t get me wrong it is very intelligent, but sometimes perhaps a little too intelligent! I found the whole novel humourless. Ok there are some fun scenes with Alyx the has-been rock star but over all its rather dark which seems to me to contradict the uplifting ending.
I wasn’t overly keen on the ending. I found it a little too contrived for my taste, particularly what happens to Olivia. Saying that, if this did not have our couple getting it together I would be emailing abuse at the author. These characters are believable and seriously deserve their shot at redemption!

I also have a few issues with the theology/mythology – for me it wasn’t quite explicit enough. I didn’t quite see how the Greek mythological characters fitted into this Biblical universe. I would have loved to have delved deeper into the whole fall of the angels. Lucifer doesn’t get a mention so how why did these angels fall? And again I would have loved to explore the nature of their damnation and how they actually became vampires. This novel left me with an awful lot of questions. We get a very visual representation of hell (though I’m not totally sure what the Garden of Eden was doing there alongside the river of forgetfulness from Greek myth) but little depiction of Heaven and God.

There is not much action. The plot is more cerebral than action driven which makes the pace of this quite slow.

Despite my issues with this novel, I would certainly recommend it. It is one of the more interesting takes on the vampire genre I’ve read in a while. I really appreciate the attempt to fuse so many complex ideas, and anything with fallen angels in always gets a thumbs up from me.

[Mandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t want to say a lot about the story, because part of the fun reading this book is having no idea where Skyler White is going to take you. She gives you two characters at the end of their rope. Olivia, the immortal vampire and fallen angel is tired of being desired. Her body conforms to any mans desire, yet she has never desired herself. She can only feed when a man desires or fears her, and with her body’s betrayal, she has no problems feeding. She believes if she can find someone to love all of her, she can get her wings and go back to heaven. But time and time again, men get too close, and get scared away.

If I could turn in his arms and tell him every poisoned thing I am, and still smell desire, not rank fear – if he could see and love me – could I slip through him, out of human flesh and time, back to angelic wings and freedom? This is my threadbare hope.

Dominic is a neuroscientist and his job rules his life. He battles visions of past lives and loves, and is determined and obsessed with finding a scientific cure to his “illness.” Others in the immortal realm call him a “reborn” one that lives life after life, and is able to bring forth the memories over and over again of past loves and losts around puberty. He is embarrassed that he can not control these “delusions” as he calls them.

Dominic gets offered a hefty sum of grant money in exchange for researching a vampire coven in Ireland. Dominic goes with the expectation of using science to break the facade of those who think they are vampires. Olivia is ready to return home, sick of the real world, and ready to go back to hell, with her people. Where she is returning to is the same place Dominic is to work, a hotel they refer to as Hell. The two of them meet and go on quite an amazing journey.

and, Falling Fly is such a unique book although at times difficult to read. There were times I was totally absorbed in the story, and many times in the middle of the book where the pace became quite slow and I had to push myself to continue. Skyler White writes with amazing description as she alternates between first person Olivia and third person Dominic. At some points I couldn’t help but smile at the beautiful way Skyler White writes, and at some points I was frustrated and just wanted a more straight forward book.

Although Olivia and Dominic have two different mind sets about the world they live in, they have something in common – love and fear.

“So what exactly do you fear?” I ask him. I already know the answer.
I wait for him.
He smiles grimely. “Love, I guess.”
And it’s true. He fears it because he has already suffered it – the entire pattern of birth, and love, and death. The endless agony of losing those he has loved. The grief his deaths have caused those who loved him. A terrible and primal love drives him to protect himself, his family, and his lovers from that pain. I have never wanted anything as ferociously. And I am the angel of desire.

and Falling, Fly gives you a story of hope, love, fear and desire. It offers something different in the paranormal genre, and I look forward to more from Skyler White.

Rating: 3.5/5

[Jim Tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this on the recommendation of Steven Brust, who co-authored The Incrementalists with Skyler. As with The Incrementalists, Skyler's narrative is fresh and innovative, switching between third and first person to clearly identify the storyteller and to give a sense of relationship to the story. First person gives a sense of primary narration and weight to the perspective i.e. fantastical vs. rational.

The story uses some of the more common themes of angels and vampires, and mortal and immortal relationships that are found in modern fiction. Where Skyler differs from some of the modern dark fantasy (or choose your label) around is that those relationships don't have to be the only thing that carries the story (which I'm thankful for). The background of Ireland and the descriptions of the environment have you constantly trying to piece together which modern or mythical subject or object the plot is referencing. The puzzles, however are not that difficult to solve, or are not important enough to the plot that you need to give them much thought.

Like The Incrementalists, I felt the climax was written in a way that became more terse, narrated faster, and forced further jumps to create conclusions rather than actually creating more suspense. Indeed, to me the climax was not part of the book where the action was at its peak, but rather where I as the reader cared most about the outcome. This is a bit jarring to me as I normally get whatever level of emotional impact through a build up that keeps me on task so the roller coaster is connected. Instead, with "and Falling, Fly", I got impatient to get past the action-climax to get to the plot resolution climax.

All these things being said, I think Skyler's storytelling method is compelling, her use of language is generally rich without being too difficult to read, and that her ideas shown in both of her books that I've read indicate she could write additional stories that cross more genres. For me, three stars is a good enough book and doesn't dissuade me from reading others by the author.

If you are dark fantasy fan (which I am not), then this may fit your appetite very well. If you are not, you may have to work a bit to get beyond the typical dark vampire, pretty mortal language, but you can get there. This work is not vampire porn, though the language and a few scenes are adult in nature. In fact, I found that those places were easy to skim because they were getting in the way of the story.

I can't speak for Steven, but my impression from his praise for Skylar was not due to being a fan of the dark fantasy genre. Instead I think his interaction with Skyler and her work in his author's circle showed other things about her writing skill and I think it is this same sort of confidence that we should have in our favorite authors when they recommend other works. You may not always find a diamond, but generally they won't steer you to pieces of coal.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Won this through the GR Giveaways. It gives a new twist on the traditional vampire story, And Falling Fly follows Olivia, a fallen angel turned vampire, as she tries to find a loophole for her redemption and Dominic, a neuroscientist and a reborn who remembers the loves and losses of his many past lives, as he tries to help not only the goddaughter of his benefactor but also himself. The story of these two souls collides in L’Otel Mathilide (or Hell as it’s also known as) where Dominic tries to help himself and Olivia with their difficulties and distorted perceptions of reality (or are they…).

The story alternates between the first person for Olivia’s side and the third person for Dominic’s (and everyone else’s) side. This could have been a bit complicated and confusing but it was handled very well and didn’t detract from the story. At times the writing is very absorbing and you can’t help but keep reading but at others I did find that the story and the writing slowed a bit too much and I had to push myself a little bit to continue. However one must remember that this is the first novel by Skyler White and so a few minor problems are to be expected and should be forgiven.

The characters of the story were brilliant, the concept of combining angels and vampires a unique and superb idea that White has done very well. White has given Olivia and her sisters almost the right balance of dark brooding and the need for redemption, although personally Olivia desperation for redemption and re-acceptance as an angel did get a little irritating at times (but I must emphasize that, that is just me and not so much an issue with the writing). Dominic’s character was stronger and the hints of his past lives very well handled and well written without taking over who Dominic is in the present day.

The finale of the story I actually found a little bit anti-climatic and it doesn’t really explain whether the myth is the reality or the fantasy, while being a neat and tidy ending in other respects, which I did find a little disappointing. Some readers may like that however as it allows their own imaginations to run wild and decide for themselves whether it was real or not (in all honesty my mind tends to lean more to the myth being reality side). Overall I enjoyed this book although it was more of a paranormal romance than I was hoping for and I would have preferred both Olivia and Dominic to be a little less romantically overindulgent towards the end (I prefer my leading characters to have a little bit more independence and emotional strength…again just my personal preference). This book definitely holds a lot of promise for Skyler’s future works.

[Melissa Hayden · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of and Falling, Fly seemed to me to be a love story set in an urban fantasy world. I loved the created connection of fallen angels to vampires. There is a lot of mythology used in creating the story, along with scientific study of the current day. These are two different beliefs that seem to contradict each other, and with two different people put to the test to be seen through each others eyes.

I found myself in the end enjoying all the characters. I found myself pulling toward Dominic more in the story from the beginning. I think, for me, I found the science easier to believe than the mythology. I felt I could understand Dominic easier in the world based on todays. Shortly after meeting Dominic I started to learn there is something special about him as well. I loved this little secret Dominic has and is trying to run from.

There where passages in the beginning from Olivia's view point in which I felt confused. There was a lot of legendary information given to help understand Olivia and where she comes from in her ways and thinking. There where times I did not understanding why she was doing what she was doing or the reasons behind things. For instance, Olivia made a point of mentioning she didn't work as she didn't need to, she had all the money she needed. I was curious as to where she got this money (which by the end of the book you will find out). But, this part of being confused was cleared up as the book went on. I just had to learn the way of the laws and legends of the fallen/vampires. After we got to Ireland the story really started to grip me.

I also liked the secretive magic Gaehod, the innkeeper, held in the story. Just enough to enjoy but not over do it.

The story telling was nicely done. You do get to see things from two point of views, Dominic and Olivia. This helped to better understand their opposing beliefs. I found myself wondering: Which way of thinking is correct in this world? What do I believe. As what I believed in the beginning started to change the more I read. I could feel the love growing between the characters as well. The paths that are needed to be taken in order to find what you need, or even desire. What happens if you get what you want? Is the grass always greener on the other side? What do you want and what do you think you want? Great questions to think on.

In all I enjoyed the journey I took in this book with love, mythological beliefs, and scientific beliefs. A wonderful love story to add to the urban fantasy world. If you are looking for a lot of action this is not the book for you, but if you want to read of an endless love blooming I would read this book.

[Soni · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was very glad I had had a chance to delve into Skyler White's world. And what an intriguing world it was.

'and Falling, Fly' is unlike any other vampire based genre novel I have read. A captivating concept of a world in which: “Every vampire is a fallen angel of desire, and we nourish our deathless beauty on what we fleeting inspire in mortals who live, but briefly.” (p.16).

A place where science, mythology and magic meet and create an interesting, thought provoking meld.
Skyler weaves a world that is, at the same time beautiful yet gritty, beginning in the first few chapters in America, then continuing across the Atlantic to Ireland in the hell that is L’Otel Mathillide.

Centering on the two complex protagonists, Olivia (the fallen angel of desire) and Dominic (the self medicating neuroscientist), and each ones quest for understanding, acceptance and freedom.

Dominic seeking to understand himself “mentally”: Is he crazy? Why does he have so many memories of lives previously lived? Can he erase these memories with the skills of science?

Olivia, is seeking to be understood “physically”, and once seen for what she really is (a fallen angel, now vampire) through eyes that are not blinded by her beauty, she can thereby gain her freedom from the trap of unfeeling mortal flesh.

I found that, 'and Falling, Fly' put to question the notion of the superficiality of desire. Are we only considered desirable, if we meet the requirements of what is dictated or expected? And if one does not fit into it, are we thus damned, undesirable and unworthy?

Furthermore the language in which Skyler writes evokes a wonderful sense of lyric and poetry (that was not lost on this fellow poet). Her use of metaphor helps to drive the story along in the minds eye, conjuring images that add to the uniqueness of the novel. For example: “Tonight, I will hunt with Adam’s rage on ruined shoes, and I will feed full-tooth. Desire denied consumes.” (p.22)

As well, personally, I like Skyler’s approach with the points of view in the novel. Using the “I” point of view for the strong female persona of Olivia, yet not over shadowing (and giving equally to) the voice of the male protagonist Dominic.

To quote Julie Kenner (USA Today bestselling author): “Skyler White’s and Falling, Fly puts a unique and intelligent spin on the vampire legend… will have readers turning pages… and thinking about the book long after they’ve reached the end.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Skyler White's and Falling, Fly makes for a provocative and intriguing debut, that takes you on an intellectual ride, that's well worth reading!