Book Review: Falling Under by Gwen Hayes

Details:  Paperback, 226 pages
Published by NAL Trade
Publication Date:  March 1, 2011

0451232682 (ISBN13: 9780451232687)

This ARC received from Good Golly Miss Holly ARC Tours.

Synopsis (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.

My Thoughts:  Let me start off by saying I love books on vampires and werewolves.  That being said, I am SO glad this book was a paranormal book about something other than vampires and werewolves.  It was refreshing and a nice little break. 

The Under realm was very creepy for me and I loved it!  The descriptions of the castle in Under were spooky and so real.  I felt like I was walking down the halls with Theia.  The descriptions of the ladies that helped Theai get dressed reminded me somewhat of Coraline.  Again, very creepy!

I  really liked Theia for the most part.  She was very quiet, withdrawn and mature at the beginning of the book.  She didn't go against her very strict father and it took reading half the book before you figured out her father (somewhat).  I was a little disappointed in the fact that after Theia and her father finally talked about Theai's mother, he seemed to pretty much drop out of the picture.  Not that he was really in the picture a lot anyways but after the talk he just sorta disappeared. 

Haden was your typical hot high school boy but with a twist that didn't center around being a vampire or werewolf.  I was annoyed with him for flirting so much with other girls without explaining to Theia what the deal was and I really didn't like him towards the end when he became a little weak but there was a reason for it that I can't disclose here.

Theia's friends were awesome!  I loved Amelia and Donatella (Donny for short) but my favorite characters were Varnie and Gabe.  Gabe was the sort of boy you would love to have around.  He was protective, caring, funny and persistent.  I was annoyed with Donny's attitude around Gabe but it wasn't too big of an issue.  Varnie was just awesome all around.  I mean, what you can say about a cross-dressing psychic who loves to surf?  I was a little sad when he disappeared after a couple of scenes at the beginning of the book but was extremely happy when the author brought him back towards the end of the book.

The ending of the book was unpredictable and I really liked that.  Again, this is not your typical vampire/werewolf YA read. 

Now, for a few small gripes with the book.  It only took me 2 days to read this book but at times I felt like I was reading two separate books.  There were times when I would think "did that happen in this book or another book I recently read"?  Some parts just didn't seem to really fit or even need to be in the book.  I wasn't crazy for Theia's dad or the explanation for why he was so distant.  I also didn't really like the character Mike.  He seemed to not really have any specific part in the book and he could have been taken out without messing up the story in any way.  The only other thing I didn't like was at the end, Mara (Haden's mother) just kinda left the story.  Maybe it is leading up to a second book and then it would make more sense but it left me feeling like I missed something.

Other than that, I completely enjoyed this book and would recommend it.  It grabbed my attention from the first sentence and kept my attention (for the most part) through to the end.