REVIEW Falling Under - Gwen Hayes

 

Author: Gwen Hayes

Pages: 324

Genre: YA - Paranormal Romance

New American Library

AMAZON - Falling Under 

From the Blurb.

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.

REVIEW: 4 out of 5 stars

Falling Under is the first novel in a new Paranormal YA series by Gwen Hayes.

17 year old Theia Alderson lives a sheltered life in the small Californian town of Serendipity Falls. She is socially awkward having been protected by her strict, and seemingly uncaring British Father; she is expected to be perfect, but everything she does is her father's influence, nothing for herself.
 

Theia begins having dark dreams which start off with the witnessing of a burning boy falling from the sky; these dreams continue until this boy becomes her reality, the new student in school.

Haden Black is a dark and mysterious half-human, half-evil who forms an instant connection with Theia. He is stuck between two realms, that of where humans reside and also the twisted, horrifying and macabre world of Under.

With Haden’s arrival come more unusual dreams which Theia needs to determine are real or a figment of her vivid imagination. In her world he is distant and seemingly uncaring but in his own he appears to have deep feelings for her but continually tries to push her away knowing she doesn’t belong in his dark world; he is torn between his human and other side but can't seem to resist being with her (I wont spoil what he is).

Falling Under is written beautifully, the descriptive way in which Gwen describes the surroundings and characters really puts you in that world, it is a unique and twisted tale of darkness and gloom but also a wonderful love story.

Theia evolved throughout the book, she grew in strength and character and I enjoyed watching the relationship with her father slowly progress, although they were still a little too cold and distant for my liking and it unfortunately took a tragedy for them to slightly bond, it was nice to see them start to communicate. I truly felt for Theia and the seemingly solitary life she had lived.

The chemistry between Haden and Theia is captivating, but I felt Theia was all too eager to give everything up just to be with Haden who she barely knew and even when she did know he was part evil, it was all too hasty and intense. 

It was a nice change to read a YA novel devoid of a love triangle, something I am reading all too often in YA novels lately.

The secondary characters are well-constructed, her best friends; Donny (Donnatella) is boy crazy, brash and brazen and speaks her mind with no thought to the repercussions. Ame (Amelia) is sweet and open-minded with raw psychic talents of her own; the three really contradict one another but it is a friendship that works well, they were a wonderful support network and along with friends Gabe, Mike & Varnie, they complimented each other.

Falling Under kept me riveted from the very first to the very last page, I still have a lot of unanswered questions which I hope will be answered in Book 2 which has an anticipated 2012 release date.

An enjoyable, frighteningly dark and twisted tale.