"Even though they were separate stories, I flowed from one story to the next seamlessly because they were set up in a way that was just completely natural." — Miss Remmers
Release Date: January 24th, 2012
Publisher: Random House
Challenges: NetGalley Challenge, eBook Challenge, +75 Challenge
"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."
So I'm going to admit that I definitely did not do my research before beginning this book. I had no idea that it was four short stories (albeit connect short stories) put into one novel. I, apparently, did not read the synopsis that I have provided for you in this review. So in case you skipped over the synopsis, know that this book is compiled of four short stories entitled "The Valentine of Shelby and Miles," "The Valentine of Roland," "The Valentine of Arriane," and "The Valentine of Daniel and Lucinda."
The first short story was probably my favorite, although now that I think about it there were definitely some unrelated loose ends (the hat and it's importance?). Shelby and Miles are two characters that I feel like I've invested in and care about. Roland and Arriane, however, I haven't put any emotional investment into and therefore, sorry to say it, I just didn't really care about their Valentines. Granted, it was interesting to see Roland and Arriane as an MC — but the changing of the POV really threw me off. Not because I couldn't keep up, but because this book is so entirely different than any of the previous novels. At times the style and the tone was so foreign, I had to make sure I was reading the right book by Lauren Kate.
That all said, I loved how intricately woven all four of these stories were. Even though they were separate stories, I flowed from one story to the next seamlessly because they were set up in a way that was just completely natural.
Overall, I'm glad I got this title from NetGalley and I think if I would have, oh, I don't know, read the synopsis, I would have been more prepared. The only other "point five" novella I've read is "Summer's Crossing" by Julie Kagawa, so I was prepared for a novel that had to do with the plot as a whole — not four more or less random (but perfectly linked together) stories.
I also noticed this quote (directly from Shakespeare) that I really appreciated: "Seek happy nights to happy days."
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To the FTC, with love: eGalley from NetGalley