The Manga Geek

Oh geez . . . where do I begin with this book???????????????

I was barely in the prologue, the PROLOGUE mind you, and I could already tell whether or not I would like this book. *sigh* Well I decided to pull through and finish it. Maybe it could change my mind and at least hit a two, possibly a three star rating.

Boy was I mistaken.

Let me start of the only thing that seemed interesting. The idea. The thought that this girl was reborn several times over and over again would meet the same immortal guy and fall in love with him. Now that would be very clever and interesting if it was done properly. But no, that is NOT what this is. This is just a spoiled whiny girl that does nothing but think about this gorgeous guy who is a complete asshole to her. I mean . . . why??? Just why? WHY???????????????

Okay, lets look at the plot step by step and see what is wrong with it. Well, first of all, there would be more tension and suspense in the story if the prologue was gone and removed. Why? Because the prologue just told me most of the story before I even started reading the book. And that is not even the worst part. The rest of the book is Luce 'trying' to juggle between two guys. One is being nice and trying to get her to like him back which she willingly follows but leaves him when convenient for her and thinks of guy #2 - the jerk who flipped her off and tries to avoid her so she stalks him to find more about him and is too dumb enough to understand that HIS VOICE AND ACTIONS INDICATES THAT HE SAYS NO AND MEANS NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Why is it when someone is attracted to someone else in YA novels and that someone else says no, the person who liked them keeps bothering that person until they give in and say yes? Why? This so-called 'romance' between Luce and Daniel is Luce obsessing over Daniel immediately after he treats her like crap and Daniel keeps pushing her away but the idiot keeps coming back for more.

Yes people, this is the plot of basically about . . . 80% of the book. This just cycles throughout the story. No development of the relationship, no progress to the story, and just pure obsession over this asshole just because he's hot (oh, and he seems familiar to her). The rest of the story is rushed and doesn't make any sense. I must be stupid or something because there are some things I don't understand like . . .

- I still don't know what happened with Trevor or Todd for that matter, why were Luce and Todd pushed?
- Why these so-called 'shadows' follow Luce around (Seriously? Why do they care about Luce?)
- If Daniel loves her so much then why does he stick around when he knows she can die because of him?
- Why do these fallen angels need Luce? Really? Luce is so dumb that it took her OVER 70% OF THE BOOK TO FIGURE OUT WHAT DANIEL WAS!!!!!!!!
- Why was Daniel cursed? What's so special about Luce? And why is there a war? What's the point of it? To break them up? That can't be it!!!

Now on to characters.

Luce is one of the most annoying YA novel heroines that I had the misfortune to read about. I would say that she is very bland and boring but she isn't, she is supposed to be very smart because she told us of her achievements, which comes out of nowhere and is angry that Daniel is treating her that she is stupid, and she is. Seriously, I don't have to poke fun or mention it. The book does that for me. Which is really odd. The book outright tells us that her actions are stupid and illogical and yet the book expects its audience to like and support this character.

Okay girl, here are some points as to why you are stupid.

- First of all, you don't take your education seriously. If you were 'academically' smart then you would pay attention in class and try to keep your grades high. Not worrying about how long your classes are going to take!

- Second, you are obsessing over a guy that flipped you off that you barely met less than a minute ago. And yet she wonders what is wrong with her life. You know girl, if you want a good life and not want people to call you names or think ill of you then going after guys who treat you like crap after the first meeting and keep treating you like that repetitively isn't the best direction to go.

- Third, you have another guy who is treating you nice and you ignore him because "He isn't Daniel."

- Fourth, you do things that you are unsure about and you know you shouldn't do yet you do it anyway. Example: Cam invites her to go talk to him but she knows that he usually doesn't want to 'just talk' yet she goes anyway. And then she turns around and tells Daniel that she didn't mean to go there. Oh honey, YOU KNEW WHAT HE IS CAPABLE OF AND YOU WENT ANYWAY!!!!!!!!!!! HE DIDN'T FORCE YOU!

- and Fifth, you are suppose to be nice and yet you don't give a damn about anybody else. Example: Todd died in a fire and she suspects that the shadows following her might have something to do with it (which is the logical thing to think because she was pushed down the stairs by a shadow before she passed out) so she tries to ask Gabbe, Arriane, and Penn about what happened to Todd. But she keeps getting interrupted and she just sips a frosty and listens to the girls interrupt her over and over. If she really cared about the guy then she would keep interrupting THEM and demand to know what happened to him. And what is her reaction when she finds out that he's dead??? Go ahead, take a guess. SHE THINKS OF HOW TREVOR'S DEATH AFFECTED HER AND HOW IT WAS A HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE FOR HER AND HER ALONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Girl, the hell is wrong with you? This isn't about you! A classmate has died and all you care about is what people think of you and if they are going to call you a murderer. You don't give a second thought about his family or his friends that will be heartbroken because of his demise (assuming he was mortal, remember at this point she doesn't know yet).

Which goes back to one of the traits that I listed in one of my updates. Um, which was it?

Spoiled? No.

Stupid? Not that one.

Ignorant? Nope.

Selfish? Yes!

That's the one! Luce is unbelievably selfish that I'm shocked. I am so speechless that I don't know what to say. She is spoiled, selfish, ignorant, stupid, obsessive, and whiny. Oh geez! So whiny. Whiny about Daniel.

Ugh, and speaking of which.

Daniel is bland and boring and that's it. He's a jerk who has no common sense whatsoever. Him being near Luce might kill her and what does he do? He treats her like crap to keep her away from him. And when that doesn't work what does he do? He APPROACHES HER AND COMES TOO CLOSE TO HER! If he truly loved her then he would do everything in his power to keep himself away from her. That would work but in the book it says that no matter how far he runs he will always meet her. If he stopped searching for her then she would seek him out unconsciously.

Um . . . . . . what?

Let me see if I got this straight. So Daniel tries to avoid her so she doesn't die but then they always meet no matter what. Why would you have the book not support the hero in trying to allow his loved one to live by distancing himself from her? Yes it's tragic but it seems logical in what he was doing before. So why have him approach her if it could end her life? This isn't attractive or romantic!!! This is downright creepy and makes him a murderer!

The only likable person is the supposed villain. Miss Sophia. She tells Luce exactly what Luce is (the spoiled, selfish, stupid girl etc.). She also says that the fate of the eternal souls rested on two lovesick infants and she is angry. Yeah, I would be pissed too. I wouldn't want my soul to rest with these pathetic lovers. Glad she told the truth. When she was about to kill Luce. I was screaming "That's right girl!!! You can do it!!! Quit dawdling and hurry up!" But of course, Daniel saves Luce and that's the end of that book.

What a headache. The plot is nonexistent. The characters are bland and insufferable. The romance is just one being obsessive while the other is just a douche. There is no character development at all and there are many questions that haven't been answered. Not to mention that I've counted AT LEAST five chapters that could be removed because there is no point to them whatsoever. Read the second one, not worth it.

I'm sorry, I tried to get through it. I really did, but I just couldn't do it.

Fallen, I'm pretty much done with you.