Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Review: Falling Under by Gwen Hayes

Falling Under
By: Gwen Hayes
Published by: NAL Trade
Publication date: March 1, 2011
336 pages
Young Adult
I bought this book

From Goodreads....

Theia Alderson has always led a sheltered life in the small California town of Serendipity Falls. But when a devastatingly handsome boy appears in the halls of her school, Theia knows she's seen Haden before- not around town, but in her dreams.

As the Haden of both the night and the day beckons her closer 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 when she discovers what Haden truly is, Theia's not sure if she wants to resist him, even if the cost is her soul.



Wow!! Falling Under was unlike anything I have ever read before. You know what I loved best about it?? The dangerous boy ACTUALLY FELT DANGEROUS!! I get a little annoyed when books try to present a bad boy and he ends up being as harmless as a teddy bear. Definitely not the case here and I love that Hayes was willing to let Haden have a dark side.

You know what else I loved? The imagination and creativity that went into creating some truly eerie dreamscapes. The "Under" world was populated with nightmarish creatures and scenery. I've been waiting for a book like this, one that has the opportunity to create a richly detailed otherworld where anything goes and Falling Under definitely delivers.

I like the characters of Theia and Haden (and let me just say I adore the names in this book...Theia ~ Greek for Goddess, Haden ~ a play on Hades, Mara ~ nightmare) and while I thought their intense feelings for each other kinda came outta nowhere, I was still able to buy into their relationship. The supporting characters were some of my favorites of recent YA reads. There's sweet, naive and somewhat insecure Amelia along with her polar opposite Donatella, the brash, says-it-like-it-is, naughy, super confident girl. I absolutely adored these characters and their respective boys (Donnie's boy was amazing =)

I found Falling Under very hard to put down. I have a fondness for tales dark and goth and if you do as well, pick this one and fall under its spell.

By the way, I couldn't get the song 'Going Under" by Evanescence out of my mind while I was reading this one.....
I'm going under (going under)
Drowning in you (drowning in you)
I'm falling forever (falling forever)
I've got to break through

Check out the book trailer, it's what actually convinced me to pick this one up (first time a trailer has done that.) I fell in love with the imagery and was so happy that it reflected the feel of the book so perfectly.


10 comments:

Missie, The Unread Reader said...

Ang, I've read reviews for this book that are all over the place. Some really loved it and other hated it.

But I'm still curious about what you have mentioned, the imaginary, the setting and also about how the bad boy is portrayed. It definitely sounds different.

Sniffly Kitty said...

Bad bad boys are fun heh~~ I think this might be a love it or hate it book for me, but I do like darker books. Thanks for the review ^.^

Sniffly Kitty
Sniffly Kitty's Mostly Books

Amber said...

I really enjoyed this novel and had a hard time putting it down too. The ending threw me for a loop/ I completely agree with you about Haden actually being bad. Thanks for the awesome review!

Smash Attack Ash said...

Wow! This book is a want, for sure, but now it's a mega want! I am so happy to hear that it's dark side is glorious. I can't wait to read it!

Leanna Elle said...

Love your review of this one! I've seen a bunch of mixed reviews of this one, but we have similar tastes in a lot of books, so I'm hoping I'll like this one too!

The cover is gorgeous!!

Tales of Whimsy said...

Awesome review. Now I'm craving that song ;)

Books for Company said...

l have seen this around but never been interested enough but now l am going to add this to my wishlist! =)

Midnyte Reader said...

Okay, I need to read this.

Lola said...

This is definitely going on my tbr list! Thanks! :)

nicole said...

naw: see, i'm glad it worked for you!

i'm just a cynical ole thing :)