Fallen

Widow Lilia Desjardins wants answers concerning the death of her husband. As a woman in a futuristic society geared towards males and control, Lilia's ability to look into and research her husband's death is slow moving and dangerous. With the government always watching, going into certain forbidden areas is risky. When Lilia goes to a police station to report the death of a shade informer, she realizes her error and attempts to leave. Too late, however, she finds herself in Adam Montgomery's office being asked questions she doesn't want to answer. Adam Montgomery has been brought to Earth to watch over the human race. Coming into contact with Lilia Desjardins, a widow secretly trying to investigate her husband's mysterious death, complicates matters for Adam because of the feelings and emotions she arouses in him. Time is of the essence because the eyes of the Republic are watching and they don't intend to let anything forbidden slip by. Adam and Lilia must trust the other in this advanced society. Behind the scenes forces bent on control are at work and it is going to take every single skill they possess in order to survive their enemy's plans. What a magnificent and thrilling world Claire Delacroix has woven in FALLEN! Futuristic in nature, the setting of FALLEN intrigued me greatly. FALLEN is set after decimation caused by war and as such, the characters are forbidden to do things by the Republic - the "government" who is able to watch every single aspect of every single citizen's life. Babies are harvested, not conceived. Defects are not tolerated by anyone and punishment for breaking the law is more often than not fatal. Adam Montgomery is an angel without wings on a mission. Doing his best to complete his assignment makes him loyal in my eyes. From the top of his shaved head to the tips of his boot clad feet there is nothing I didn't love about this heady and darkly handsome character. The fact that he falls in love with Lilia is the culmination of a love story neither character envisioned but by the end of FALLEN, it is a love they can not live without. FALLEN is electrifying, suspenseful, and poignant. Claire Delacroix has me intrigued and begging for more of this supernatural and futuristic world! Natalie S.

Lilia Desjardins knows that her husband's death wasn't an accident. Unfortunately no-one else agrees with her, perhaps because she's viewed with suspicion by members of the Society for Nuclear Darwinists. In the year 2099 and following several nuclear detonations, people are assessed as 'norms' or as 'shades', shades having mutations and being restricted as an underclass which suffers under a form of slavery. Lilia's notoriety rests on her discovery of 'Angel-shades', mutant humans with angel-like wings. Her mission now is to get to the bottom of her husband's death but it is proving more difficult and dangerous than she could have imagined, particularly when she comes to the attention of policeman Adam Montgomery. Adam isn't your average policeman. He knows a great deal more about the angel-shades than Lilia originally realises and he has a lot of his own secrets to keep. As he and Lilia find themselves working together to find the killer of several people who have links with Lilia, they have to decide whether to trust one another and what Adam will do at the end of his mission. The post-nuclear world of this book was really well written with some interesting details. The central plot kept me guessing although I did find some of its conclusions rather unlikely. The central romance took a back seat to the action but was reasonably believable. Overall the strong point of this book was the setting and plot and the author has clearly set us up for a sequel. Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2008

Lilia Desjardins is a shade hunter, and will employ every skill in her considerable arsenal in pursuit of her husband's murderer. The authorities deemed it an accident, but Lilia knows better. Unfortunately, her penchant for getting into trouble rears its head almost as soon as she arrives in New Gotham, where her husband lost his life. Upon reaching her rendezvous point with the mystery informant who claims to have imperative information for her, she finds a vicious murder instead. The murder brings Lilia to the attention of the intriguing and maddening Detective Adam Montgomery, who has his own secrets. Montgomery forfeited his wings and ethereal existence as an angel in order to come to the aid of mankind. Once he successfully completes his mission, he'll earn his wings again. The attraction between Lilia and Adam is both instant and unexpected - for both of them. Their feelings threaten to distract each from their respective missions. But soon they find their imperatives are more aligned than they anticipated, and working together becomes necessary when it becomes evident that someone very powerful is working hard to frame Lilia for the murders - someone who will do anything for the information her husband left for her to find. Claire Delacroix embarks on a whole new branch of her career with the first novel in her new futuristic trilogy, FALLEN. Ms. Delacroix builds an intricate, multi-layered world only minutely reminiscent of present day Earth. In the year 2099, Earth still suffers the after-effects of nuclear warfare, with radiation ever-present in the old cities targeted by the bombs that changed the world forever. In this new world, the Republic keeps a watchful eye on every citizen, with a misogynistic government mandating new laws that favor the male population and repress the female half. But worse is the subjugation of the more helpless part of the population - the shades who were born after the radiation warped their physical development, and sometimes their mental capacities as well. Under the guise of `protection', the Republic enslaves the shades for their own nefarious purposes, something with which neither Lilia nor Adam agree. Each work to effect change in the status quo, however minute, as they search for the murderer of Lilia's husband and the killer of the shades who seem to die as soon as they have contact with Lilia. In this society where the government sees all, no one enjoys the luxury of privacy, and everyone seems to have an agenda. Ferreting out the villains of this story proves daunting, as evil plagues our intrepid couple from all sides. Yet the future is not without hope, with characters such as Lilia and Adam fighting for a better life not only for themselves, but their fellow man, norm and shade alike. I will admit that this was a slower read for me than usual, due to the complex world-building involved in setting the stage for FALLEN. Don't let that intimidate you, however. The author mak

Widow Lilia Desjardins wants answers concerning the death of her husband. As a woman in a futuristic society geared towards males and control, Lilia's ability to look into and research her husband's death is slow moving and dangerous. With the government always watching, going into certain forbidden areas is risky. When Lilia goes to a police station to report the death of a shade informer, she realizes her error and attempts to leave. Too late, however, she finds herself in Adam Montgomery's office being asked questions she doesn't want to answer. Adam Montgomery has been brought to Earth to watch over the human race. Coming into contact with Lilia Desjardins, a widow secretly trying to investigate her husband's mysterious death, complicates matters for Adam because of the feelings and emotions she arouses in him. Time is of the essence because the eyes of the Republic are watching and they don't intend to let anything forbidden slip by. Adam and Lilia must trust the other in this advanced society. Behind the scenes forces bent on control are at work and it is going to take every single skill they possess in order to survive their enemy's plans. What a magnificent and thrilling world Claire Delacroix has woven in FALLEN! Futuristic in nature, the setting of FALLEN intrigued me greatly. FALLEN is set after decimation caused by war and as such, the characters are forbidden to do things by the Republic - the "government" who is able to watch every single aspect of every single citizen's life. Babies are harvested, not conceived. Defects are not tolerated by anyone and punishment for breaking the law is more often than not fatal. Adam Montgomery is an angel without wings on a mission. Doing his best to complete his assignment makes him loyal in my eyes. From the top of his shaved head to the tips of his boot clad feet there is nothing I didn't love about this heady and darkly handsome character. The fact that he falls in love with Lilia is the culmination of a love story neither character envisioned but by the end of FALLEN, it is a love they can not live without. FALLEN is electrifying, suspenseful, and poignant. Claire Delacroix has me intrigued and begging for more of this supernatural and futuristic world!

I usually do not read anything labled "romance", however, I was drawn to the book description. The book is not typical for that genre and anyone that likes steampunk and some of the urban fantasy books will most likely enjoy Fallen. I admit to gagging a bit at some of the "he stared into her eyes" type sections but that is me, not the writers fault. I do not have a romantic soul lol. I think Fallen will appeal to a very broad audience. I loved it and can not wait until the sequel.