"Falling Under" Review

"Falling Under"
by Gwen Hayes

Publisher: New American Library
Release Date: March 1, 2011

Source: sent by publisher

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Summary from goodreads.com:

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.

My Review:

I really couldn't help but compare this one to some other really popular teen paranormals, especially "Twilight", "Fallen", and "Hush Hush." I mostly saw the similarities in how the lead characters were portrayed. Haden really wasn't nice to Theia in that he always tired to keep her off-balance. Theia never knew if Haden hated her or loved her. Theia came across as weak a lot of the time, unfortunately.

I have to mention that I loved Theia's friend, Ame. She's a bubbly, smiling girl who likes goth styles but hates black so she wears her goth gear in bright colors. What's not to love about a character like that? I also really liked Theia's friend Donny's boyfriend, Gabe.  He was a total sweetheart and Theia even admitted once that she should be into a guy like Gabe instead of one who makes her cry all the time. At least she's aware of it. 


The underworld was written really well and I liked the dream scenes early in the book. I really enjoyed the gothic feel of the book. This book is dark, but not in a depressing way, in a creepy, spooky way. I kind of liked the creepy, ghoulish element of the book. It has a much more sinister tone than other YA. 


This book was a little more mature than a lot of YA titles. I'm not saying it should be toned down or anything, but I personally wouldn't loan this one to my 15 year old cousin like I do with a lot of my YA books. 



Main Characters: 3/5
Supporting Characters: 5/5
Setting: 4/5
Romance: 3/5
Uniqueness: 3/5
Cover: 4/5
Writing: 4/5


Bottom Line: I recommend this book to fans of "Twilight", "Fallen", and "Hush Hush", I think those readers will love this book.