Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Wednesday Reads: Falling Under

From page one, I fell in LOVE with Falling Under by Gwen Hayes. The basic plot is: girl falls for evil boy who she shouldn't love, they fall in love, they deal with the consequences. I thought I was sick of demon/half-demon stories and these basic story lines. So what sold it for me? The VOICE. The pacing. The other characters. And the ending. So, let's dive in.

Synopsis:
In her dreams he’s irresistible—seductive, charming, and undoubtedly dangerous. But when he appears to her when she’s awake—and captivates her just the same—she’s not sure which way is up and which is down.

Theia Alderson has always led a sheltered life, not allowed the same freedoms as the rest of the teenagers in the small California town of Serendipity Falls. But when a devastatingly handsome boy appears in the halls of her school, she feels every urge she’s ever denied burning through her at the slightest glance from Haden Black. Theia knows she’s seen Haden before—not around town, but in her dreams.

Theia doesn’t understand how she dreamed of Haden before they ever met, but every night has them joined in a haunting world of eerie fantasy. And as the Haden of both the night and the day beckons her forward one moment and pushes her away the next, the only thing Theia knows for sure is that the incredible pull she feels towards him is stronger than her fear. And as she slowly discovers what Haden truly is, Theia’s not sure if she wants to resist him, even if the cost is her soul. 
First Line: "Everything changed the night I saw the burning man fall from the sky." Intrigue, and then, she dives into the voice and a little background of the character (it's far from a background dump, just laying the groundwork for understanding who we are dealing with).

Beefs: I was hesitant at first of the infrequent POV changes--we slide into Haden's POV a few times, very few--but it all made sense in the end, setting us up for something I thought was very daring. I wouldn't advice many writers to try it, that's how tricky it is and how well Hayes delivered.

Brownie Points: Aside from everything I've already gushed about, the biggest one I have to give props for are the dream sequences. I picked the book up thinking, "Oh no, not another dream sequence book in which they fall in love in dreams, yadda, yadda, yadda." Dream sequences are so hard to execute without losing the reader or going completely off the map. These were done so well, I actually wanted to skip ahead to those parts (I didn't because the rest of it was amazing too; I love Theia's friends--they are Brownie Point number 2).

Ending: From now on, I'll be discontinuing this particular section from my Wednesday Reads. For this week, I'll say a few more words: awesome. Okay, that was only one word, and I already gushed about it above.

Recommendation: If you're writing Paranormal Romance, this is definitely one to read. Study how Hayes manages to create something new in a tired genre. If you like Paranormal Romance, read it. If you like YA, read it.

Would I represent it? This particular book, yes. If not for the VOICE alone. However, I'm always wary of manuscripts with dream sequences because they are so hard to do. Not saying I won't take a look, but they have to be very original and well done (and not super weird--my dreams are odd enough, no need to read about it too).

Happy Reading!

11 comments:

Melanie said...

Great review. Thanks, Vickie. Strong voice--check. Paranormal--check. Romance--check. Demons--check. A new twist on this all? CHECK, CHECK. Definitely want to check this out.

Becky Wallace said...

Good to know that there are still books with good dream sequences! I'll have to read it and study up!

Julie said...

I love your "Reads" posts. It gives me new material to add to my "always-empty-cause-I-read-so-darn-much" book list!

On a side note, I recently read Hunger on your recommendation. It was fabulous. So compelling and it made me think that EVERY girl out there needs to read it. Us girls can get so insecure about ourselves. This book hilighted the problems with having that kind of negative mentality, and faced them head on in a way I've never read before. Thank you for the read!

Christa Desir said...

I agree. Reading about dreams is almost as painful as when someone wants to tell you their dream. My reaction is always: "Really? I have to listen to this? I have no idea why your mother-in-law's sister was in your house which was really your school singing the soundtrack to the Buffy musical. What do you want me to say?"

Glad to hear dream sequences have been done well in this. I'll put it on my TBR pile.

Michael Offutt, Phantom Reader said...

Definitely a book I'll have to check out for all the points that you mentioned.

Chauntika said...

I just went and read the first chapter of this book based on your recommendation. And I'm in love with Donny already (and she isn't even the main character). She is hilarious. I will definitely be buying this one just for her.

starbaby017 said...

Thanks for recommending this. I will check it out!

Hoàng Trung Dũng said...

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anon said...


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افضل شركة كشف تسربات المياه بالدمام


شركة تنظيف بالدمام



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شركة عزل أسطح بالقطيف


أفضل شركة عزل أسطح بالقطيف

mohamed said...



شركة جبس بالرياض
شركة تشطيبات داخلية بالرياض-شركة تشطيبات خارجيه بالرياض- شركة تشطيبات بالرياض شركة تشطيب فلل بالرياض -
منتديات اتصل بنا سوف يرد عليكم مهندس ومصمم ديكور بالرياض من أفضل شركة محل ديكور بالرياض متخصص لديه اقتراحات وتخيل لحل مشاكل الديكورات الداخلي للغرف والحمامات وديكورات الفلل لديه خبره في اختيار انسب وافضل الخامات لعرضها عليكم من شركة ديكورات بالريعن الديكور بسلطنة عمانتعد سحر اللمسات افضل شركة ديكور بالرياض
شركة ديكور بالرياض
اسقف معلقة - جبسنبورد – ارضيات
تصميم داخلي لديكور الفلل والقصور والمعارض والمشاغل والمحلات شقق ومنازل وديكورات مكاتب بالرياض وجميع انحاء المملكه
واحدة من الشركات الرائدة في مجال تصميبم الديكــــــــــــور الداخلي في مدينة الرياض, شركة ديكور بالرياض متخصصة في تقديم أضخم خطط المشاريع وخدمات شركة دهان بالرياض تكون افضل شركةالتصميم الداخلي للفلل والديكورات
التصميم الخارجي للفلل بالرياضشركة تنسيق حدائق بالرياض ومن أفضل شركات
انتقي من مجموعتنا الواسعة للتصاميم الخارجية ما يناسبك كالتصاميم المستوحاة من فن العمارةوجميع انواع الديكورات
الإسلامية, أو المتميزة
تصميم مطاعم بالرياض
شركة باركيه بالرياض لانها تتمثل
شركة تشطيب فلل بالرياض من أفضل
بطابع شرق أوسطي و غير ذلك
التصميم الداخلي للمكاتب بالرياض
دعنا نقدم لك تصميمآ داخليآ مبتكرآ لمكتبك الخاص بمساعدة مصممينا من الكيدرا, شركاؤك لتنفيذ أعمالك على أكمل وجه
تصميم الفنادق بالرياض

mohamed said...



شركة ترميم بالرياض

اجذب المزيد من الزبائن إلى مطعمك من خلال تصاميمه الفريدة من نوعها. نتميز بكوننا من أفضل شركات التصميم الداخلي في الرياض
وتنفيذ ديكور بالرياض وأفضل مصمم تصميم وتنفيذ ديكورات بالرياض - شركة تشطيبات داخلية بالرياض-شركة تشطيبات خارجيه بالرياض-شركة تشطيب فلل بالرياض - اسقف معلقة - جبسنبورد – ارضيات
شركة ورق جدران بالرياض حيث انها أفضل
شركة مقاولات بالرياض وهي انها افضل
اجذب المزيد من الزبائن إلى مطعمك من خلال تصاميمه الفريدة من نوعها. نتميز بكوننا من أفضل شركات التصميم الداخلي في الرياض
وتنفيذ ديكور بالرياض وأفضل مصمم تصميم وتنفيذ ديكورات بالرياض -
مجالس نراثيه بالرياض من أفضل شركات الترميم
مقاول عظم بالرياض ومن أفضل شرككات المقاولات
اجذب المزيد من الزبائن إلى مطعمك من خلال تصاميمه الفريدة من نوعها. نتميز بكوننا من أفضل شركات التصميم الداخلي في الرياض
وتنفيذ ديكور بالرياض وأفضل مصمم تصميم وتنفيذ ديكورات بالرياض - شركة تشطيبات داخلية بالرياض-شركة تشطيبات خارجيه بالرياض-شركة تشطيب فلل بالرياض - اسقف معلقة - جبسنبورد – ارضيات
شركة كاميرات مراقبة بالرياض افضل شركة كاميرات
اجذب المزيد من الزبائن إلى مطعمك من خلال تصاميمه الفريدة من نوعها. نتميز بكوننا من أفضل شركات التصميم الداخلي في الرياض
وتنفيذ ديكور بالرياض وأفضل مصمم تصميم وتنفيذ ديكورات بالرياض - شركة تشطيبات داخلية بالرياض-شركة تشطيبات خارجيه بالرياض-شركة تشطيب فلل بالرياض - اسقف معلقة - جبسنبورد – ارضيات
شركة كلادنج بالرياض وافضل واجهات كلادنج
صيانة الحدائق بالرياض