Review: Falling Under by Gwen Hayes

Title: Falling Under

Author: Gwen Hayes

Release Date: March 1st 2011

Publisher: New American Library

Source: Bought

Description 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:

Theia awakes to a burning man falling from the sky.  She doesn't realize that from this moment on, her life will never be the same.

Theia lives with her father- a strong businessman who believes in raising his daughter in the most stern and strict way so she acts like a real lady.  She basically never gets to let loose and have any fun.

She dreams of a boy and later sees him ,in the flesh, in her school as the new kid.  All the girls want him, including Theia.  He seems to know her from the dreams too, but still tries to make her jealous.  Could he possibly be the same boy that she keeps meeting in her dreams or is it just a coincidence that he looks the same?

Haden, the new boy at school, is unlike any guy that Theia has ever met.  He makes her want to forget all her father's rules and go have fun.  He is sometimes nice to her, but also times he is short coming, mean and angry with her.  When he is in a good mood around her, she'll receive the sweetest comments from him.  When he is angry...watch out cause he could be sending people to the hospital if he can't control his temper.

Theia feels this connection to Haden and finds out that it is no dream and they really are meeting at night.  She'll go to great lengths to learn more about who he is and to be with him.  Once she discovers who Haden is, will she be willing to risk her own soul to be with him?

I think the plot of this story is really interesting.  It does have a bit of Twilight feel to it and even goes as far as talking about a sparkling vampire. 

The writing is what threw me off a bit.  I felt dumb as I was reading the book.  I kept getting stumped.  Gwen kept using big words that I had no idea what they meant.  I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, but I'm not the dumbest either.  I'm glad I was reading on my Kindle because the built in dictionary sure got some use during this book.

My favorite part was when Haden showed up in a big pickup truck.  He took Theia stumping which consists of " muddy logging roads, 4 wheel drive, and holding on to the 'oh shit handle' above the door."  It reminds me of when we use to go mud boggin' aka Muddin'.  We used to ride around in lifted trucks with huge tires and go splashin' mud all over the trucks.  I was always holding on to the "oh shit grip"  and can picture the adventure that Haden and Theia had from my own personal experiences.  What a great scene to imagine while reading!

The cover is what drew me to this story first and then I read the description and knew that it was something that I would enjoy.  Overall, I loved the chemistry between Theia and Haden and envy the feelings that they have toward one another.  The story was romantic, humerous, mysterious, and at times, just plain fun.  I was pulled in from the first page and wanted to read at any free time I found.  I can't wait for the sequel to see if they are together or not.

4 Stars