Review: Unforgiven by Lauren Kate

Unforgiven by Lauren Kate (review copy) - WARNING! I cannot review this book without spoiling the others in the series. Read no further if you're planning on reading this series and don't want it spoilt for you.

High school can be hell.

Cam knows what it’s like to be haunted. He’s spent more time in Hell than any angel ever should. And his freshest Hell is high school, where Lilith, the girl he can’t stop loving, is serving out a punishment for his crimes.

Cam made a bet with Lucifer: he has fifteen days to convince the only girl who really matters to him to love him again. If he succeeds, Lilith will be allowed back into the world, and they can live their lives together. But if he fails . . . there’s a special place in Hell just for him.

Tick-tock. From Goodreads.

Continue reading Review: Unforgiven by Lauren Kate

Review: Teardrop by Lauren Kate

Teardrop by Lauren Kate (review copy) - Never, ever cry... Seventeen-year-old Eureka won't let anyone close enough to feel her pain. After her mother was killed in a freak accident, the things she used to love hold no meaning. She wants to escape, but one thing holds her back: Ander, the boy who is everywhere she goes, whose turquoise eyes are like the ocean. And then Eureka uncovers an ancient tale of romance and heartbreak, about a girl who cried an entire continent into the sea. Suddenly her mother's death and Ander's appearance seem connected, and her life takes on dark undercurrents that don't make sense. Can everything you love be washed away? From Goodreads

Continue reading Review: Teardrop by Lauren Kate

Weekly Gossip

Here is your bookish news from the past week.

Rachel Vincent has shared the UK cover for With All My Soul, the seventh and final book in the Soul Screamers series, which will be released on .

Continue reading Weekly Gossip

Review: Rapture by Lauren Kate

Rapture by Lauren Kate (review copy) - WARNING! I cannot review this book without spoiling the others in the series. Read no further if you're planning on reading this series and don't want it spoiled for you.

The sky is dark with wings...

And time is running out for Luce and Daniel.

In order to stop Lucifer from erasing the past, they must find the place where the Fall began. Only Luce can break the curse, and it is her choice alone that will decide all of their fates.

But as Dark Forces gather, great sacrifices will have to be made in this final, epic struggle...

In the fight for Luce, and for Love, who will win? From Amazon UK

Continue reading Review: Rapture by Lauren Kate

Review: Fallen in Love by Lauren Kate

Fallen in Love by Lauren Kate (review copy) - WARNING! I cannot review this book without spoiling the other books in the series. Do not read any further if you plan on reading this series and don't want it spoiled for you.

Unexpected. Unrequited. Forbidden. Eternal. Everyone has their own love story.

And in a twist of fate, four extraordinary love stories combine over the course of a romantic Valentine's Day in Medieval England. Miles and Shelby find love where they least expect it. Roland learns a painful lesson about finding-and losing love. Arianne pays the price for a love so fierce it burns. And for the first -and last- time, Daniel and Luce will spend a night together like none other.

Lauren Kate's FALLEN IN LOVE is filled with love stories... the ones everyone has been waiting for.

True love never says goodbye...From Amazon UK

Continue reading Review: Fallen in Love by Lauren Kate

News: Cover Reveals for Lauren Kate's Fallen in Love and Rapture

Great news to share with you! The covers for Lauren Kate's Fallen in Love and Rapture have been released!

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

ETA: Check out this excerpt from Fallen in Love.

Rapture by Lauren Kate - The sky is dark with wings....

In RAPTURE, the highly anticipated fourth and final novel in the FALLEN series, Luce and Daniel are together... but for how long? Can history be rewritten? Or are some punishments eternal? From Amazon UK

Aren't they gorgeous?! Improved since Passion! They look a lot more realistic. I love them!

Continue reading News: Cover Reveals for Lauren Kate's Fallen in Love and Rapture

News: Lauren Kate to Release Companion Novel to the Fallen Series - Fallen in Love

Big news!!!! Lauren Kate is publishing a comanion novel to her Fallen series, Fallen in Love! Read the press release below:

Random House Children’s Books will publish an original novel by Lauren Kate that is connected to her internationally bestselling series, Fallen. The novel, FALLEN IN LOVE, acquired in the UK by Annie Eaton and Becky Stradwick, will be released in the UK on 2nd February 2012, before the fourth and final title in the series, Rapture, is published. FALLEN IN LOVE is a riveting collection of four intertwined love stories featuring the Fallen characters that fans have grown to know and love: Miles, Shelby, Roland, Arriane, and Luce & Daniel.

Since the publication of the first book, Fallen, in December 2009, Kate’s series has become a bona fide smash hit with close to half a million copies sold in the UK alone. Her story of star-crossed lovers and fallen angels has captured the hearts and imaginations of readers all over the world, with rights sold in 33 countries and counting. All bestsellers in the United States, the novels of the Fallen series: Fallen, Torment, and Passion, have become international sensations, hitting No.1 slots in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. The final novel in the series, Rapture, will be released in the UK in June 2012 taking readers on a journey that will close the chapter on Luce & Daniel’s love forever.

Annie Eaton, Fiction Publisher comments "It's incredibly exciting for us - and all Lauren Kate's legion of fans- to have this extra-special Fallen book coming for Valentine's Day. What a treat to start 2012 with!"

The release coincides with Lauren Kate’s current UK tour to promote the third book in the Fallen series, Passion. Last night guests attended a drinks reception at Proud Camden which featured a reading from Lauren. The tour includes a visit to Ireland, and an appearance at the Bath Children’s Lit Festival this weekend.


How exciting is this?! Thoughts people!

Continue reading News: Lauren Kate to Release Companion Novel to the Fallen Series - Fallen in Love

Review: Passion by Lauren Kate

Passion by Lauren Kate (review copy) - WARNING! This is the third book in a series. I cannot review this book without spoiling the first two. Do not read any further if you plan on reading the first two and don't want them to be spoilt for you.

Before Luce and Daniel met at Sword & Cross, before they fought the Immortals, they had already lived many lives. And so Luce, desperate to unlock the curse that condemns their love, must revisit her past incarnations in order to understand her fate. Each century, each life, holds a different clue.
But Daniel is chasing her throughout the centuries before she has a chance to rewrite history.
How many deaths can one true love endure?
And can Luce and Daniel unlock their past in order to change their future? From Amazon UK

When I received Passion for review, I was so excited to read it! Finally, the third book! Now I could find out what happened after Luce stepped through the Announcer, and what would happen between her and Daniel! Though I was slightly worried; would Passion live up to the epicness that is Fallen and Torment? Too right it would!

Following Luce as she visited her past lives was just so awesome! Seeing all the different people she was, all the personalities, was just genius. We get to witness the good, the bad and the ugly of what it means to be involved in the curse, exactly what the curse does, and it's just so cool! Kate obviously did a whole lot of research for this novel, because there is just so much detail about the time period of each life - the way people spoke, how they dress, the culture, and the "history lessons" provided by Bill - one of the Scale, a kind of Announcer tour guide, Luce meets on her time-travels. The things Luce learns and discovers, and the things she realises she already knew as she sees each past incarnation of herself and the Daniel of the time is just beautiful! Seriously, it's so moving and touching, and just truly beautiful!

What's also great is that we get to see Daniel's side of things too as he tries to follow and catch up with Luce as she jumps through time. How much he cares for her and how much he's suffered over the centuries just pours out of the pages, you can just feel it. And it's through him that we realise just how dangerous it is for Luce to jump through her past lives - changing things could be disastrous, to both their lives. Either way though, it's Daniel, and I love him, so I was always going to enjoy being in his head.

My god, the ending! It's not quite as big a cliff-hanger as the previous two, but with the immense and mind blowing events that leas up to it, a massive "what happens immediately next?" inducing cliff-hanger ending isn't necessary. Because the next book is going to be huge. No, colossal! When you think about the events that lead up to the end of Passion, and with what Luce and Daniel will have to face in the next book? There is no doubt in my mind that it's going to be more awe-inspiring than anyone could possibly imagine.

A fair few of out questions are answered in this book, but I do believe there are still some left to answer. I still think there is more importance to Luce than we're told in Passion, from the behaviour of some of the other characters in previous books, and at some points on Passion. But it's nice to have that "Oh!" moment when you finally start to understand things.

If I was to criticise at all, I would have to say I would have liked Luce's time in her past lives to have been longer. I would have liked to have seen a bit more of Daniel and the various Lucinda incarnations together. However, if that was the case, Passion would have been incredibly long - it's already over 400 pages, so I can understand for the length and for the actual plot/Luce's purpose why the visits weren't as long as I would have liked.

I have said before that no-one writes love like Kate does - not as beautifully, nor as breath taking - and that's still the case in Passion. There were moments where I could have just died over how beautiful amazing and real it all was, but because of the amount of page time spent in each past life, and because present day Luce and Daniel don't spend an awful amount of time together, these moments don't last very long It was a shame, but it was still absolutely beautiful, and despite it being fiction, it gives me hope.

Passion is a fantastic book! It's absolutely amazing and such a page turner! All Fallen fans should read it immediately. You do not want to miss out on this brilliant third instalment. Now, where did I leave Fallen and Torment? I believe I need to start reading this series all over again.

Thank you to RHCB for sending me a review copy.



Published: 23rd June 2011
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Buy on Amazon US
Lauren Kate's Website
Fallen Website

Continue reading Review: Passion by Lauren Kate

News: Lauren Kate Talks about The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove

Watch this video of Lauren Kate talking about her new novel, The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove, courtesy of Random House!



How awesome does this book sound?! I am so looking forward to reading!

Continue reading News: Lauren Kate Talks about The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove

News: Covers for The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove and The Iron Witch

Lookie lookie! UK covers for new releases from Random House Children's Books coming next year!

The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove by Lauren Kate (6th Jan 2011) - Lauren Kate's irresistible first novel, THE BETRAYAL OF NATALIE HARGROVE, features the most ruthlessly ambitious heroine since Lady Macbeth. Natalie is utterly determined to cement her position at the top of the high school social ladder by becoming prom queen. When it looks like an interfering ex-boyfriend might get in her way, she devises a little prank to humiliate him. But when the prank goes devastatingly wrong, Natalie starts to lose control of her life. Caught in a web of dark secrets, shame and abuse of power, it's not guilt that eventually defeats Natalie. It's fate: the only thing she can't control... From Amazon UK

The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney (3rd Feb 2011) - That's what they call seventeen-year-old Donna Underwood at Ironbridge High School. A horrific fey attack that killed her father when she was just a child left Donna branded with iron tattoos that cover her hands and arms - and magically enhanced strength, that she now does all she can to hide.

Now, after ten years of wishing for a normal life, Donna finally accepts her role in the centuries-old war against the darkest outcasts of Faerie - the dark elves. Aided by Xan, a gorgeous half-fey dropout, Donna must save her best friend's life - and that means betraying one of the world's greatest secrets and confronting the very thing that destroyed her family. From Amazon UK

Just to clarify, Lauren Kate wrote The Betrayal first, but Fallen and Torment were published in the UK before it.

Look at the pretties! Aren't they gorgeous?! I am SO excited to read them! What do you think?

Continue reading News: Covers for The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove and The Iron Witch

Review: Torment by Lauren Kate

Torment by Lauren Kate (ARC) - WARNING! I cannot review this book without spoiling Fallen, the first in the series. Do not read any further if you plan on reading Fallen and do not want to be spoilt.

In "Torment", fallen angel Daniel and his mortal love Lucinda think they are safe but evil forces are massing against them. As Luce learns more about her past, and discovers that the lives she's already lived hold the key to her future happiness; she starts to wonder if Daniel has told her the whole truth. What if his version of events isn't the way things happened? What if that means that she's really meant to be with someone else? From Amazon UK

I fell in love with Luce and Daniel's story in Fallen, and was beyond excited and frustrated when I finished the book; excited because it was just so wow, frustrated because I had so many questions and had to wait so long for Torment! So I ws thrilled when the lovely ladies of Random House UK handed out bound manuscripts of Torment as gifts to the bloggers who came to the Book Bloggers Meet Up in May. And now I've read it, all I can say is OH MY GOD!

I am reeling with amazement as I write this at how incredible Torment is! The writing skill Kate just blows me away. We have a whole slew of new characters who are just so real they could jump out of the page, a plot that is just so believable, a rollercoaster of emotions that will tug at the heart strings, and so much excitement you won't be able to sit still!

You know those questions I mentioned earlier that were left over from Fallen? Well now I have a whole lot more to add to the list. Kate has this brilliant way of just scratching the surface of what's going on, giving you - and Luce - just a glimpse of what is the heart of, well, everything that makes this story, without really answering any questions, yet keeping you turning the pages like your life depended on it. I can't tell you how maddening - in a good way - it is to still not know what's going on! Kate drops hints throughout, and I have my theories, but who knows if they're right? It's just fantastic, I am completely gripped by this story!

We have a few new characters who make an entrance in Torment. Shelby, Luce's roommate at her new school, is great; she's sarcastic, she's a little rough sometimes, but altogether someone you would enjoy being around. Jasmine and Dawn are brilliant, both really sweet and excitable - Dawn especially, just the cutest thing ever. Then there's Miles, the sweetest, loveliest guy! Just adorable! They're all brilliant!

The love between Luce and Daniel is just so wow. I am unable to describe it eloquently. It's this big, wonderful, scary thing that is just overwhelming to read about. It's huge, it's poweful, it's endless - and it's really quite beautiful. Kate's may be some of, if not the best descriptions of all encompassing love I have ever read. It really is amazing how brilliantly Kate puts something so undescribable into words. It's one of the things that makes me love this series so much; not only is the plot exciting and intriguing, the love is just so real it's almost palpable.

The main action, like in Fallen, comes right at the end. There are smaller action scenes throughout the book, but the main event is towards the very end. Luce gets to see more this time round than in Fallen, and it's just awesome to see the angels at work. Really impressive, really exciting, really worrying! I loved it!

The ending! Oh my god, the ending! Such a cliffhanger, with all those added questions! I am dying to find out what will happen, but the next book in the series, Passion, who's publication date is yet to be announced, covers Luce's past lives, so is more of a prequel than a sequel. I cannot wait for the next two books, the wait for them is going to be torture! If you haven't already, you really need to start this series, it's so far beyond amazing there are no words!

Thanks to Random House for the review copy.

Published: 30th September 2010 in UK, 28th September 2010 in US
Publisher: Random House UK, Delecourte Books for Young Readers in US
Buy on Amazon UK
Buy on Amazon US
Lauren Kate's Website
Fallen UK Website

My review of Fallen

Other reviews:
Fluttering Butterflies
Sarah's Book Reviews
Girls Without a Bookshelf

Continue reading Review: Torment by Lauren Kate

Contest: Fallen by Lauren Kate

Random House have kindly letting me host a contest for you to win a copy of Fallen by Lauren Kate.

Fallen by Lauren Kate - What if the person you were meant to be with could never be yours? 17-year-old Lucinda falls in love with a gorgeous, intelligent boy, Daniel, at her new school, the grim, foreboding Sword & Cross ...only to find out that Daniel is a fallen angel, and that they have spent lifetimes finding and losing one another as good and evil forces plot to keep them apart. Get ready to fall... From Amazon UK

Rules:

• Three copies are available, three for UK winners and two for international winners.
• One entry per person. Multiple entries will be deleted.
• You can enter by filling in the form below.
• Contest closes on 20th July 2010.
• Randomizer.org will choose the winners, and they'll be announced on 25th July 2010.
• The winners' information will be passed on to my contact at Random House to sned on your prize.
• Please read my Privacy Policy.
  
  CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED!

Continue reading Contest: Fallen by Lauren Kate

Guest Post from Lauren Kate - Blurring The Lines

A break in Body Image & Self-Perception Month, today I'm delighted to share with you a guest post from Lauren Kate, author of YA novel Fallen, to talk about good and evil.

Blurring the Lines

When people ask me where I got the idea for Fallen, I usually go back to a line in
Genesis*, which describes a group of angels who were cast out of heaven for falling in love with mortal women. I explain how this line made me wonder about what kind of mortal girl could attract an angel's affection. And then: What kind of emotional baggage would an angel have? What would her very over-protective parents think?

That was the spark that led to Luce and Daniel’s saga. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love a good love story. They’re what I’ve been writing my whole writing life. I believe that love is what (almost) all good stories really boil down to. But what made this particular love story feel bigger to me—what’s keeping me writing about it for four hefty books and almost as many years—is that I get to grapple with good and evil.

We throw around these two terms all the time, but what do they really mean? It’s difficult to define one without speaking of the other (many of us have heard the phrase “evil is the absence of doing good”). To me, this suggests an interesting reliance. Does “good” require “evil” to exist, to be perceived in the world? Does “evil” need “good” to pit itself against? (When I say “good,” I’m not talking about specific embodiments of what we think of as good or evil, like Mother Teresa or Hitler respectively, rather a broader look at everything each word might suggest.)

If you go back and look at Zoroastrianism, the earliest known dualistic religion (meaning there are two opposite sides), good and evil are twin brothers, two parts of a whole, and born of the same place. In Judaism, God is both merciful (“good”) and just (occasionally punishing or distant). He is, of course, never described as “evil,” but many scholars make the case that the Hebrew god contains some of the same dualities as the pair of Zoroastrian gods. A hard side, and a soft side. In Christianity, there’s Satan. We all know about him.

The fact that all three of these foundational religions have strong dualistic roots has always fascinated me. Can the lines dividing them really be that clean and that stark? And even if they are on paper—or in Heaven—what happens when you throw humans and their free will into the mess? What was black and white becomes grey.

I had all of this in my mind when I started to write Fallen. I’m interested in blurring the lines between angels and demons, between heaven and hell even further. I want readers to fall for the “evil” characters in these books as much as they fall for the “good” ones. Like Satan in Paradise Lost, Cam is (at times) the most charming character in Fallen. And Daniel certainly isn’t a perfect angel in every scene. Luce herself is so wide open—she’s perfect to be put in the middle of this age old battle between good and evil, to have to determine whether each side truly is what she’s grown up thinking it is.

I know many readers were unnerved by the epilogue where Daniel and Cam come together to discuss Luce’s future. All three of these characters have a long way to go before their story is complete, and I can’t wait to explore how complicated the relationship between good and evil can get before it’s over.

*Genesis 6:1-4. (There are other references—a mention in Isaiah about Lucifer being cast into the abyss, and a mention in Psalms 82 of a prince’s [read: possibly Lucifer’s] falling, for example—which together, many scholars think can explain the consequence of God’s anger over these angels’ lust.)

Thank you to Lauren for writing brilliant guest post! So interesting!

You can read my review of Fallen here. Torment is released in the UK on 30th September 2010, Fallen came out in paperback on 1st July 2010.
Be sure to check out the recently updated UK Fallen website and Lauren's website.

You can see the trailer for Fallen that is showing at Eclipse cinema screenings here, and the US teaser trailer for Torment here.

Continue reading Guest Post from Lauren Kate - Blurring The Lines

News: Trailers and Author Videos

I have various bits of news to pass on to you guys.

Firstly, there is a new trailer for Fallen by Lauren Kate from RHCB. I absolutely loved this book, and if I hadn't read it already, this trailer would definitely make me pick it up!



The trailer was exclusively released on Fiercebook, RHCB's Facebook teen fan page, at 5pm yesterday. The trailer will be running in UK cinemas from 9th July at screenings of Eclipse, reaching 1.2 million Twilight fans. Check out my review of Fallen. The paperback will be released in the UK on 1st July 2010.

EDIT: I've just noticed this trailer for Torment, the sequel to Fallen, on Fallen Facebook group. How awesome does it look? The release date mentioned in the trailer is for the US. UK release date is 30th September 2010.




There is also a trailer from Bloomsbury about Mary Hooper's new novel, Fallen Grace. Unfortunately, there is no option to embed, so you're going to have to follow the link. You can also read the first chapter on the Bloomsbury website.

Grace Parkes has just had to do a terrible thing. Having given birth to an illegitimate child, she has travelled to the famed Brookwood Cemetery to place her small infant's body in a rich lady's coffin. Following the advice of a kindly midwife, this is the only way that Grace can think of to give something at least to the little baby who died at birth, and to avoid the ignominy of a pauper's grave. Distraught and weeping, Grace meets two people at the cemetery: Mrs Emmeline Unwin and Mr James Solent. These two characters will have a profound affect upon Grace's life. But Grace doesn't know that yet. For now, she has to suppress her grief and get on with the business of living: scraping together enough pennies selling watercress for rent and food; looking after her older sister, who is incapable of caring for herself; thwarting the manipulative and conscience-free Unwin family, who are as capable of running a lucrative funeral business as they are of defrauding a young woman of her fortune. A stunning evocation of life in Victorian London, with vivid and accurate depictions, ranging from the deprivation that the truly poor suffered to the unthinking luxuries enjoyed by the rich: all bound up with a pacy and thrilling plot, as Grace races to unravel the fraud about to be perpetrated against her and her sister. From Amazon UK

Fallen Grace came out on 7th June 2010.

Here's a video from HarperCollins of Lauren Laverne talking about her novel, Candy Pop - Candy and the Broken Biscuits.

Join fabulously funny (undiscovered) rock chick, Candy Caine on a rollercoaster ride to the world's biggest music festival. A sharp, comic teen series from uber-cool presenter Lauren Laverne. Misunderstood musical genius Candy Caine - age fifteen - knows she's destined for a bigger life beyond her small-town existence. And now Mum is marrying The World's Dullest ManTM it's time to put plans into action and achieve world domination with her band, The Broken Biscuits. Oh - and find her real dad, who will most definitely be cool and, of course, will verify her own super specialness. With a battered old guitar and some supernatural assistance, can Candy get her life on track and her new band on the road to greatness? Candy Caine is the hilarious new creation of debut author Lauren Laverne - a writer who's been there, done that and customised the T-shirt. From Amazon UK

Candy Pop - Candy and the Broken Biscuits came out 27th May 2010.

Continue reading News: Trailers and Author Videos

Fiercebook Comp: Get Your Quote in the Fallen Paperback!

It won't be long until the paperback of Fallen is released, and Fiercebook is giving readers a chance to get their quotes printed in the book! For your chance to enter, head on over to the Fiercebook page, and reply to the appropriate post! But be quick; entries won't be accepted after 5pm GMT tonight!

Continue reading Fiercebook Comp: Get Your Quote in the Fallen Paperback!

Lauren Kate Interview and Reading!

Well, today is a good day for Publisher treats! We now have videos of an interview Lauren Kate, author of Fallen, and a video of her reading an excerpt from the novel, thanks to Random House!

Interview:



Reading:



Great videos, huh?

Continue reading Lauren Kate Interview and Reading!

Fallen Army Stunt Video

I received an email from Random House today with the Fallen Army stunt video, of when they took the streets of London to promote Fallen by Lauren Kate. Check it out!

Fallen Army Stunt Video:



Awesome huh?

Continue reading Fallen Army Stunt Video

Report of Book Event from Random House: The Fallen Are Among Us

I received a fantastic email yesterday from Lauren, a publicist at Random House, detailing the events of when Random House's Fallen Army took their Angel, Daniel, out to meet the people of London to promote Fallen by Lauren Kate.

"Yesterday (Tuesday 22nd Dec) the Fallen Army took to the streets of London with their very own Fallen Angel to spread the word that Angels are the new Vampires!

The army targeted shoppers outside Topshop, Oxford Circus then walked down Regent Street to Piccadilly Circus handing out copies of the books – in total the army gave out 150 copies! Each book contained a specially designed Fallen postcard directing people to the fiercebook site. The Fallen Angel braved the freezing temperatures and attracted quite a crowd!

The army then popped into the Heat offices on Shaftesbury Avenue and gave a copy to one of the girls from Heat plus one to the lovely receptionist who let the photographer take lots of snaps in the office. More magazine are also based there so the army personally delivered them a copy too. After leaving a few copies lying about on tables in reception the army left to a chorus of ‘There’s a naked man in reception!!’ from a group of ladies peering round the office doors.

Finally the army walked through the Christmas Market on Piccadilly to the small courtyard behind and took a few final photos of their brooding Fallen Angel."

Check out the slide show of photos below of the goings on throughout the day:



And a teaser video:



First of all, I have to say kudos to that angel! I didn't know about this event at the time, and I decided to stay at home that day as it was so cold, so for that guy to be walking around undressed as he was is just... wow. He's pretty wow himself, really! I wish I knew about it, I'm so jealous!

More news and photos about the event are being updated on Fiercebook and on Twitter (@GetReading_RHCB). And check out the Twitter "war" between Random House (@GetReading_RHCB) and Simon and Schuster (@simonkids_UK) over who has the better angel!

Continue reading Report of Book Event from Random House: The Fallen Are Among Us

Mini-Interview with Lauren Kate

Awesome news! The wonderful people of Random House made it so that I could have a mini-interview with Lauren Kate, author of Fallen. Thank you so much, Lauren, for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer some questions - and thank you also to Random House for making it happen! Without further ado, on to the interview.

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

I grew up in Texas, moved to Manhattan after I graduated college, and now live in Los Angeles. In fact, I just moved in yesterday to a house high on a hill in Laurel Canyon and I feel sort of like I’m writing from a tree house. I’ve always loved to read and write but my other interests can be kind of chameleon-like, based on my surroundings. For example, growing up in Texas, I was a dancer. I was actually on something called a “kick team.” Very serious business. All we did was go out on the football field during half time and do about a hundred high kicks. It was a short career (too many times smacking my nose against my shin). Later I lived in Paris for a little while and got really into cooking. Now that I’m a southern California girl, I’m feeling the need to learn to surf. See? Chameleon. I just got married this summer and am hoping someone gives me a new puppy for Christmas.

How did you come up with the idea for Fallen?

I first got the idea for Fallen when I came across a line in Genesis, which tells about a group of angels who fell in love with mortal women. In the bible, these renegades are casts out of heaven, end of story. But for me, that was only the beginning. I started thinking about how a normal girl would respond to an angel having a crush on her. Imagine the baggage he must have! And what would her seriously overprotective father think? From there, a whole world unfurled in my mind—only it wasn’t just angels anymore. Demons, secret sects, reincarnations, and the End of Days were also all battling for a piece of the action.


Vampires, werewolves and fae have been shining in the YA urban fantasy spot light. Why did you decide to go with angels?

It’s strange to say this now that I’ve written the book and pay so much attention to “the market” and what else is being published—but I’m not sure I really thought about vampires or werewolves as I was writing. I’ve read two of the Twilight books. I love Melissa Marr’s Wicked Lovely books, but if Fallen is an answer to those books, it’s just as much an answer to any book that’s ever inspired me. That said, I do love this kind of energy around paranormal romances right now. It’d definitely an exciting time to be participating in the genre. Plus I eavesdropped on a conversation in the bookstore the other day and heard someone say that angels were the new vampires. Sounds good to me!

Although Fallen is incredibly captivating, there are more questions asked than answered. Why did you decide to end on such an excruciating cliff hanger?

It’s the blessing and the curse of writing a 4 book series! When I wrote Fallen, I had a vague idea about what the arc of the series would look like, and it gets clearer every day. I almost feel guilty knowing all the thrilling things I get to write about in the later books and having to hold it back from the readers. I promise, I will make it worth the wait!

Can you give us a sneak peek into what may happen in Torment?

I’m having so much fun writing Torment that it’s hard for me not to spill everything right now so I can say, “Aren’t you excited? Won’t this be great?” But my publisher would probably have my head. So in lieu of that, I’ll reveal just three things:

1. As Luce learns more about her past, she comes into a host of powers she never knew she had—and they might involve the shadows.
2. After the second book comes out, a prequel (which will span thousands of years!) will follow before the final book in the series.
3. Even though, of course, Daniel is Luce’s one-and-only, a very interesting new male character is introduced in Torment that offers him some stiff competition.

Thank you so much, Lauren, for such a fantastic interview! Doesn't she sound like such a lovely lady? I can't wait to read Torment and the rest of the series, and I so hope you get a puppy for Christmas, Lauren!

If you haven't read it already, check out my review of Fallen.

Also, check out these cool sites:
Lauren Kate's Website
Fallen's UK Website

Continue reading Mini-Interview with Lauren Kate

Winners of the Fallen Contest

The contest for the 5 copies of Fallen by Lauren Kate is now closed! 81 people entered, earning 278 entries. The winners, as chosen by Random.org, are:

12 - Anja Kapllani
59 - Wendy Cueto
69 - Gwen Paterson
165 - Issa Morjica
200 - Holly Taylor

Congratulations to you all! I've sent you all an email asking for your mailing address. If you don't get back to me within 48 hours, I'll pick another winner. Please get your address to me ASAP, as I have to send it on to Random House so they can post them out to you.

Thanks to everyone who entered! Maybe you'll win next time.

Continue reading Winners of the Fallen Contest