Review: Fallin' for the Fallen
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 19, 2013
Ahhh, angels. There's just something about them. Is it the wings? Their unearthly beauty? I don't know, but whatever that mysterious "it" quality is that they possess, it works.Lily is a Nephilim, and it's her job to take down minions and the Fallen who control them. It's a violent task, to be sure, and one she takes very seriously. She's lauded as the best of the best, even among her fellow Nephilim, and she is fully committed to her mission to keep the world safe. Only one problem. She can't seem to shake her Fallen stalker, Julian, and the more she's around him, the more he turns her life upside down.I'll admit, it took me a little while to warm up to Lily's character and really "get" her. I'm still not convinced she's as "all that" as the other characters kept telling me she was, but she did kick enough butt to convince me she's got skills. I enjoyed her sarcastic humor and snappy one-liners, and I think her character ended on a really strong note, which more than made up for her rocky start. By the time I turned that final page, I was fully in her camp.Julian, on the other hand....whoa, mama! I was his from the very first scene. I loved him. Looooooooved him. JLA/J.Lynn has a knack for writing swoon-inducing heroes we would all drop our panties for, and believe me, Julian will have you dropping yours in a matter of seconds. Seriously, if he doesn't make your heart race, your skin flush, and your girly bits feel all warm and tingly, then you really need to see a doctor, because something's clearly broken. But all sexiness aside (and trust me, the man has sexiness in spades!), he's just an all-around fabulous character. Mysterious, mischievous, sweet, supportive, totally badass and HOT....did I mention how hot he was? Because I really can't stress that enough. Julian owns this book, and by the time you finish reading it, he'll own you too.The action of the story is kinda hit and miss. Sometimes it was spot-on and perfectly pulse-pounding, and other times, it felt rushed and just...sketchy, like I was getting the Cliff Notes version of a much bigger scene. I thought the world-building was a bit thin, too, and I'm hoping the next book will open things up a bit more and take us deeper into the lives of the characters and the world they call home.While UNCHAINED wasn't a perfect read, it lays a solid groundwork for the series and I'm curious to see where things go from here. I do plan to read the next book - and I swear, that decision has nothing at all do with my deep and fangirly love for Julian. Really, it doesn't. You believe me, right? Right?! ;-)*ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.