Unforgiven (Fallen)

Title: Unforgiven

Author: Lauren Kate

Age Group: Teen/Young Adult

Genre: Fantasy/Romance

Series: Fallen, book six

Star Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

I borrowed this book from my local library and reviewed it.

Okay, so I'll start this review with some brutal honesty here: I really didn't like the Fallen series. Sucks, but it's the truth. Basically, Cambriel was the only character I really cared about in the whole thing--so imagine my delight when I discovered Unforgiven! He was my favorite character, and I was so excited to see the fallen angel's dark, angsty past. It was sort of separate from the whole series--a sort of standalone in the familiar universe of Kate's angels. Familiar characters, good and bad, also make an appearance throughout the book--some to help Cam, others to hinder him.

The pacing of Unforgiven was breakneck--I was completely spellbound by Cam's tragic love story, and his former paramour, Lilith. I also really liked the way the book kept switching from past to present, providing much-needed context about the couple. As I said previously, I loved Cam throughout the books, but it was kind of odd to see Cam in such a different light. It wasn't bad, mind you, it just took a little bit to get used to. I also really liked Lilith--her tough-as-nails, screw-you attitude, her tenacity in the face of near-constant adversity, as well as her unshakable dedication to the welfare of her mother and younger brother, Bruce. She makes a surprising, unexpected foil to Cam's bravado.

I loved all the characters in this novel too, new and old. It was so exciting to actually see Cam in the spotlight, and to get a front-seat view on how he fell, and how he became the sexy, compelling yet still so sad fallen angel we know and love today. It wasn't exactly what I expected, but it was a worthy addition to a series I felt kind of 'meh' about the whole time. Why couldn't the whole series be about Cam and Lilith again? The bottom line: A worthy sequel to the bestselling Fallen series, Unforgiven has something for everyone: romance, drama, and excitement. Next on deck: Carry On: The Rise and Fall of Simon Snow by Rainbow Rowell!

THE SIXTH MEMBER of this wonderfully uplifting series of YA Supernatural-themed romance novels fits right in with the theme of its more established siblings, and of course, easily matches their quality of story telling. Alert and seasoned fans of Ms Kate’s books may well have formulated their own ideas of how this book will end as they approach it’s twenty percent mark. I know I have, but I wont be revealing my theory here (*SPOILERS*). But this fact, and given a few moments of peace and quiet, UNFORGIVEN will give you the chance to meditate on the book’s plot and may well you immensely satisfied and with a not surprisingly strong feeling of contentment and gratitude to the author for writing it in the first place.

But as they say in the classics, the point of life is the journey, and not the destination. And so it is with this book. Reading UNFORGIVEN will not only bless the reader with yet another huge dose of the universe’s most essential ingredient, but we will also get the chance to learn more of the past and back story of Cam, Lilith and, of course, Big Bad Lucifer.

We also learn what it means to have music in your *soul*.

The very structure of the book is what lends the story it’s body, so as you make progress you will see the wisdom in it’s sub plots. And they are highly entertaining, as well as bordering on compelling in their own right. One never really knows the intentions of Lucifer. Obviously, he is the ultimate temptation for those unlucky enough to find themselves in his sights, and so on the one hand, you can see him plotting the downfall of Cam, or Lilith, and yet on the other, he can be seen showing mercy (yes, I said mercy) by giving some assistance to one of these fore mentioned characters.

The legendary school of hard knocks (SWORD AND CROSS) gets a mention here, but (thankfully) just a fleeting one. Even though i loved to hate that place back in book one, it’s mention in this novel may well lead the reader to unexpected feelings of excitement at vague promises of a return visit. But maybe not.

The writing style in UNFORGIVEN is just as good as the others in this series. Humour in its own right does not get a role, but we should all by know that eternal love is not a laughing matter. Friendship is, though, and so at the rare times in the book when a troubled soul finds the strength to look past their own problems and see a like minded individual holding our for their own hero, feelings of relief and joy may well escape your own heart as you find yourself totally involved in the moment.

We see the school based characters grow in a variety of ways, from facing up to bullies in the cafeteria, to seeing, recognising and correcting their flawed patterns of behaviour in front of the school staff, and even searching their own souls for answers to questions they had not even thought of. But I guess that is what this book - heck - this entire YA genre is all about. Seeing, reading, and experiencing some of life’s major questions in your own personal thinking space, and in your own time. And learning how to come up with your own answers.

And so I award this awesome new release full marks. Not just for the build up and solution to the most awesome night of any the book’s central character’s lives, but the trials and tribulations they face and overcome as they get there. And that theorem I mentioned earlier about life not being a destination, but the journey you undertake in order to get there? Well, UNFORGIVEN by Lauren Kate has just proven it.

Bye!

When I went back to reread my reviews of the previous books in the Fallen series, a line from my review of Fallen in Love jumped out at me:

"My only regret is that Cam wasn't in the mood for celebrating Valentine's Day along with everyone else, as I would have loved to read his story—and find out more about his type of girl."

Unforgiven has answered this question for me.

It makes me happy that Cam gets his story told because he really deserves it. After all he's gone through, he deserves to find his own love and his own happiness.

Lauren Kate writes beautifully and descriptively. Her words breathe life to Crossroads, the characters, and the characters' personalties. The story is told from both Lilith and Cam's perspective with pieces of the past weaved into their present story. As the story is told in third person, it wasn't much of a struggle switching from POV to POV; it was helpful that the chapter headings included the name of the person telling that chapter. I also like how the chapter headings include the time left that Cam has to win Lilith's love. It gives a sense of urgency while keeping us updated on where we are in the timeline.

While I don't normally like seeing students skip classes (I believe in the power of an education), I believe that many teens will be able to relate to Lilith and Cam. Plus, we see get to see the good along with the bad. Lilith's growth over the course of the novel shows us that our attitudes can change, and once we put in effort to reconcile with our "enemies," we can see a new side to them and even make friends with the people we once resented. As for her changing attitude towards Cam, a lot of things still don't quite make sense, such as how she is quick to blame him for things without solid evidence, but I'm willing to accept that her long history with Cam gives her a bias against him.

Plotwise, this story is all about the romance. Lilith is in this hell because of her love for Cam, and Cam is here because he still loves Lilith and wants to set her free. I wholeheartedly admit that, in general, I hate stories that are all about the romance, and I don't know why I've enjoyed the Fallen series so much. I believe love is an answer, but I don't believe in giving up everything for a romantic love. I did like Luce and Daniel, though I'm not as much a fun of quick-to-burn, fiery love stories like Cam and Lilith's. Maybes it's the writing. Maybe it's the characters. I especially like Lilith's brother in this hell (as longtime readers of this blog know, I'm always a fun of good family relationships in stories), and the side characters are funny. Though they don't play a super huge role in this story, I like how Lilith's changing relationship with the side characters shows her character growth. And I was delighted to see Arianne and Roland make an appearance.

My biggest takeaway from Unforgiven, besides getting to read Cam's story, is that we must fight to make our wishes come true. We can't just lolly around waiting for fate to hand our desires to us, and we can't give up in the face of great adversities for fear of losing what we do have. Like Cam, we must not be afraid to challenge the Lucs in our lives in order to protect those we love and to create our own happiness.

That said, if you're looking for depth of plot, characters, and world building, I wouldn't recommend this novel or any of the Fallen books. If you're looking for an easy read to entertain though, you just might be at the right place.

This novel does wrap up a bit quickly for my liking, and it leaves too many questions . . . which leads me to suspect that Cam and Lilith's story can't end here. I believe that there has to be more to come. Nevertheless, whatever Lauren Kate decides to do in the future, while Teardrop wasn't for me (see my review here), I anticipate more from her.

I remember really enjoying the first few books in this series but since it’s been years since I’ve picked up the first book, it was difficult for me to reenter the series again. I basically had to re-fall in love with Dan and Luce and the whole premise once again. Surprisingly, I ended up enjoying the spin-off (the last book in the series is actually a spin-off and not at all related to Luce or Dan) more than the conclusion of Dan and Luce’s cursed love.

I also enjoyed the novella, Fallen in Love, mainly because it allowed me to understand the other angels a little more even though when I first picked up the book, I had no recollection on any of the characters so the first couple in the novella, Miles and Shelby, were completely lost on me. Actually, now that I think of it, I’m still not 100% sure who they are…LOL. However, Roland and Arianne’s own stories made a lot of sense because they were still prominent characters in the fourth and final (“final”) book. I particularly liked Arianne’s story because I did not know she geared that way. It was a little shocking but I liked it because even angels do not have boundaries on love and I think that’s great.

I’m not going to talk too much about Dan or Luce mainly because I think most of the character building occurred in the beginning of the series and I was essentially only reading the conclusion in book 4, Rapture. Therefore, I will discuss more about the plot and the conclusion. First of all, I was shocked with the ending. I thought the whole purpose of the series was a cursed love between an angel and a human. However, Lauren completely skewed from that and revealed the ultimate reason as to why Dan and Luce have a cursed love to start with. Second, I think that ultimate reason is bogus. I found it ludicrous and ridiculous because, I mean, these are angels. Why do they need to pick a side and failure to do so would end up in a lifetimes of lifetimes of a love that will ultimately lead to death? Needless to say, I was not satisfied with that reasoning but it did give a good introduction into the “final” book of the series.

The whole premise with Unforgiven was fascinating. The idea of Lilith being sent to a purgatory of different aspects of hell that circle on the main thing – revenge – was interesting. You don’t really understand what the story behind was until later on in the book and then you’re like “OH, so that’s what happened” and then you feel bad for the two of them. To be honest though, this whole drama stemmed from Cam’s inability to trust in Lilith enough. If he only had the guts to tell her or show her, then they would have lived a happily ever after and maybe Cam wouldn’t even have sided with Lucifer to start with. But no, he had to be stubborn and scared. I’m just glad it all worked out for them because I simply cannot imagine living different kinds of hell over and over again because of a deal gone bad.

Overall, I still think this series was good mainly because I do remember enjoying the first and the third book a lot with the second one being a bit of a lull. And Cam’s story in Unforgiven was enlightening. I also like you not only got a closer glance at Cam’s background but also more on Lucifer’s personality. There were a lot of LOL moments between the two.

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This book was amazing i loved the story and I love how this story shows Cam's softer side and loving side as well. Cam's love for Lilith is so sweet and romantic that It makes you want to tear up at some parts.This book is such an incredible story in every way possible. I really reccomend this book to those of you who have yet to read this story yet and for those of you who want a beautiful, heart touching, and emotional story with some darkness in the mix. This book gets 5 stars and 10 out of 10! Cam and Lilith forver <3
Once you read this book you will have moments were you will want to laugh at Cam and Lilith for being funny and having their stupid funny moments, smack them upside the head for their you got to be kidding me moments and so on. This book really is wonderful and trust me once you read this you will see Cam's softer and romantic side. Cam and Lilith are awesome! Lauren Kate has done an amazing job in Unforgiven just like she did in her amazing Fallen series! If you haven't read the fallen series than you are missing out as well. Everyone's taste in books are diffrent and opinions are as well so give those books and unforgiven a chance and you will love them.

The first thing about Unforgiven is that you don't necessarily have to read the Fallen series in order to enjoy it, but if you plan on reading the Fallen books, you will want to read them first (there's a bit of a spoiler in Unforgiven.) This story tells about Cam's lost love and how he goes about trying to redeem himself of past wrongs. There is very little of Lucinda and Daniel in the story aside from a flashback here and there or a mention of them in thoughts or conversations. This story is all about Cam. We do get a visit from a couple of the other Fallen Angels though, so fans of the series will still enjoy the reading of this one.

I thought this story went quite differently than the stories of Luce and Daniel and I enjoyed the uniqueness of the tale. I also think that there's a total possibility of carrying on with tales of the other fallen angels, if the author so desired. They are fun to read about and you find yourself rooting for them in every way.

To be clear, I did NOT like the Fallen Series at all. I read the first 2 books and I just could not continue. I normally don't leave series unfinished. The main reason I didn't like them was Luce, I think she was a very annoying heroine who was irresponsible and did stupid irrational things and didn't just communicate. That tends to be the main thing that ever makes me NOT like a book - a bad heroine.

BUT Unforgiven was different and I actually really liked it. I like Cam as a character, a lot better than Daniel actually and a LOT better than Luce. I liked Lilith too. It was a good story and I did not want to put it down until I was done.

My main point is that you can read this story even if you did NOT like the Fallen Series and didn't finish it. Unforgiven totally does have spoilers about the rest of the Fallen books as it regularly refers to how the story ended. But I did not mind this because I don't intend to ever read the rest of the Fallen books.

Unforgiven gives us Cam's story. I always felt this draw to Cam, so I'm glad he's gotten his own book. I enjoyed the series in the beginning, then gradually became disenchanted with it as it went on, but Unforgiven drew me back in, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I actually forgot all about Lilith being in the original story(if she was), so I can't remember how I felt about her then. It's been so long since I read it, but I enjoyed reading her character and learning her history along with Cam's.

I'm breaking my own self-imposed rule by posting this 2-star review (I normally don't post unless it's 3 stars or above) but I have to make an exception on this occasion as I am so incensed after reading this book.

I'll start by saying that I'm not an uber-Fallen fan, but I did mostly enjoy the series despite the glaring plotholes and unanswered questions. I'm actually dying to see the movie when it comes out next year and I love love love Daniel Grigori. I immediately pre-ordered this book when Lauren announced the details as I was always intrigued by Cam. I thought - great, we will finally get some answers to some of the questions I had regarding his backstory and possibly an insight into what did happen with him and Luce (if anything) in the past.

What we got instead was a lame, lazy, quite obviously rushed, juvenile piece of storytelling. The blurb pretty much sums up the entire book. Honestly, there is not much more to it than that.

The only reason this is not a 1-star review is down to Lauren Kate's writing. I actually really enjoy her writing and happen to think she's very talented, and I know she can deliver better quality than this. Part of my frustration stems from this, however, the main issues were lack of worldbuilding, character development, and a plot which was practically non-existent.

And don't even get me started on Cam. This was NOT Cam. Cam, as presented in the other books, is a bad-boy with a penchant for trouble, a serious snarky mouth, and a vulnerability that he tries his best to hide. Deep-down inside, he is a good guy, and we see that through his friendships with all the other fallen angels, and his belief in their quest, despite the risks. Underneath it all, I've always suspected he just wants to be loved. In this book, he was a total watered-down version of himself, a complete and utter sap, with no backbone and minimal personality.

Lucifer was like a one-dimensional caricature of Satan. Plastering posters with stolen song lyrics around the school - seriously, Lucifer, is that the best you could come up with??

When I happened across the first Interlude, I got very excited at the prospect of discovering Lillith and Cam's original love story, but it was totally glossed over, and it was at that point that I felt like throwing my Kindle at the wall.

There was little romance either in the telling of their original love story, or the current attempt to re-win her heart, and I felt zero chemistry between them. I can't get behind a love story that just isn't credible in the slightest.

I have tons more I could say, but I'm going to leave it there. Not impressed, enough said. I suspect there are more books to come. I, for one, will not be reading them.

The story of Cam and Lilith.

It has a little back and forth seeing as he like is a million years old. His story has some similarities to that of Luce and Daniel.

Lilith is trapped in a type of hell. She doesn't know it but she keeps living yet another miserable existence. And Can has to get her to fall in love with him despite any odds.

This was one of the more enjoyable stories of the series

Wow.....I am totally speechless. I have been following this author's work for quite some time now and I have been totally blown away by this story. I thought the story of Dani and Luce was amazing, but Cam and Lillith was just phenomenal and awesome and I read this book within 24 hours. I can't wait to see where this author takes us next and I highly recommend this to all Paranormal Romance Lovers.

I borrowed this book from my local library to read.

I love that Cam's character was given enough importance for his story to be told considering his role in the main series. Now that I know his background it all makes sense now, like the missing puzzle piece. I would definitely recommend it to anyone that read the Fallen series. I'd love it if there more books about the other characters and what happens to them after Fallen!

I followed all the books that led to Unforgiven, Glad I bought it the story of Cam is awe inspiring ,I would recommend all the fallen books along with this ......The love story and sacrifices through out are heart wrenching ....... LOYALITY LOVE AND THE DEVIL MAKE UP ONE HECK OF A READ

I was not aware of this book. Imagine what a delightful surprise it was to find. I really enjoyed connecting to the characters of the Fallen series again. And this story is so lovely. I always wanted to see Can drop his bad boy act and in Unforgiven he has! Great job Lauren Kate, I'll be keeping my eye on you!

I really expected more from Cam's story. He was the hardest of the fallen, and the one that could have been explored the most psychologically and feelings wise.
He was a character that was so important as the main character, if not the most captivating of the series. This book, for me, was the most boring of the series.

A view of hell scarier than the thought of fire and brimstone. The power of love, friendship, and redemption. Glad it was one book, with a satisfying ending, although I would love to read more about Cam and his fallen angel friends.

Cam was my favorite character in the other books so I thought I would love this. The bad boy you fell in love with in the other books is anything but that in this series. I feel like she just pushed out this book without putting any heart into it.

4.3 stars!
Finally a novel all about Cam and his love, Lilith. I was wondering if there was ever going to be a story about Cam and here it is! This novel showed us the good side of Cam. With perspective views from both Cam and Lilith this was definitely worth reading especially for fans of the series.