Fallen In Love (Fallen #3.5)

Split into four different love stories, Fallen in Love was heartwarming and a fun addition to Lauren Kate’s Fallen series.

Fallen in Love’s first story, Love Where You Least Expect It: The Valentine of Shelby and Miles, was adorable. I loved seeing the lighter side to both Miles and Shelby, and their uncertainty about their growing feelings was extremely endearing. The way Shelby kept catching herself staring at Miles once his hat was lost, getting caught up in his clear blues eyes, had me stopping to catch my breath a couple times. Their nighttime picnic under a starry sky sealed the deal, and had me instantly swooning for their fledgling relationship.

I wasn’t as big a fan of Fallen in Love’s second story, Love Lessons: The Valentine of Roland. Maybe it’s because I haven’t read any of the Fallen books in a while, but I had a hard time remembering who Roland was. While I empathized with his torment over how things ended with his first – and only – love, I couldn’t truly connect to him because I couldn’t place him in Fallen’s overall plot.

Fallen in Love’s third story, Love: The Valentine of Arriane, started out quite promising. Learning about Arriane’s sordid love affair with one of Lucifer’s demons, a passion that spanned a millennia that neither time nor distance seemed able to weaken, was heartbreakingly beautiful. But their love story was tainted after Tess decided to present Arriane with an ultimatum – something someone truly in love would never force upon their loved one.

Fallen in Love’s last story, The Valentine of Daniel and Lucinda, was one I could have done without. Luce’s anxiousness permeated the pages, in her desire to uncover more clues about her past and what she needs to change in order to be with Daniel in the present. Even during a romantic moment together, Luce wasn’t able to completely set aside her worries and just live for the moment.

I did love that all four stories happened during the same time period – medieval England – and that they were all connected in one way or another, eventually leading up to Daniel and Luce’s Valentines Day. I also enjoyed that, while love was the focus, there was also a lot about friendship and the type of family bond that comes with shared experiences over time. It was also kind of romantic that, even though in this century Daniel and Luce are inevitably torn apart, if only for one night, their friends worked together to give them a moment of pure happiness. While I don’t feel like Fallen in Love has added to the Fallen series, it was a quick and romantic read that fans of the rest of the series are sure to find enjoyable!