And Falling, Fly by Skyler White
- paranormal romance -
reviewed by Tara SG
borrowed book from library
** You may or may not have noticed that I’m getting a little tougher with my ratings. I feel like I wasn’t being varied enough. 3 stars means I liked it, so why did I feel like I had to give books higher than that?! I’m not going back and changing old ratings at this point. **
Links
Author’s Website : www.skylerwhite.com
Add To Your GoodReads TBR List
This book in 6 words:
extremely poetic examination of deep desire
Why did I read this? And am I glad I did?
When Alexia won a book of her choice in my 100 Google Friends giveaway she chose And Falling, Fly. I hadn’t heard of it before, but it sounded interesting and I was able to get it from the library. I’m glad I read this, but it wasn’t what I expected. It was VERY poetic to the point where I sometimes got confused (especially at the end). I don’t want to scare you away from this book. It was good and made me think a little more about what desire and if we even know what we want. Overall, I didn’t connect to the characters and didn’t love the romance, however, I did think about this book days after finishing it.
Brief Summary
In a dark and seedy underground of burned-out rock stars and angels-turned- vampires, a revolutionary neuroscientist and a fallen angel must put medicine against mythology in an attempt to erase their tortured pasts…but at what price? Olivia, vampire and fallen angel of desire, is hopeless…and damned. Since the fall from Eden, she has hungered for love, but fed only on desire. Dominic O’Shaughnessy is a neuroscientist plagued by impossible visions. When his research and her despair collide at L’Otel Mathillide-a subterranean hell of beauty, demons, and dreams-rationalist and angel unite in a clash of desire and damnation that threatens to destroy them both. In this fractures Hotel of the Damned, Olivia and Dominic discover the only force consistent in their opposing realities is the deep, erotic gravity between them. Bound to each other finally in a knot of interwoven freedoms, Dominic and Olivia-the vision-touched scientist and the earth-bound angel, reborn and undead-encounter the mystery of love and find it is both fall…and flight.
- via GoodReads.com
Plot/Pacing/Writing Style
I really liked the plot. I found it to be a very interesting mix of mythology and personal drama. Our lead female is a fallen angel (or maybe more accurately the child of fallen angels?) which makes her a vampire, but not your typical one. She can only feed off those that fear or desire her. Dominic’s mythology was one I hadn’t heard before, but want to know more about. As a science nerd, I love when you have the logical minded scientist that refuses to believe the “magic” around him 
The pacing was OK. I felt impatient reading some of the overly poetic scenes. I had no problems putting this down for the night, but looked forward to finishing it the next day.
The writing style was different. I liked the lyrical flow of the words, but sometimes felt it was overdone. The shifting of POVs threw me off for a while (1st person with Olivia and 3rd person with Dominic).
Characters
I wish I could have connected with Olivia more. Her trying to find herself in a world that defines her was intriguing. Her body conforms to the desires of those around her and she is unable to see her reflection while alone. I wouldn’t say she was annoying or that I disliked her. I just didn’t feel like I had enough time to get to know her and care about her.
Oddly enough I felt more attached to Dominic (I found this odds since Olivia’s POV was 1st person). I think is because Dominic was based in the real world. While I couldn’t relate to all that he had been through, it was easier putting myself in his shoes than Olivia’s. He is far more human.
Favorite Quotes
The angle of desire is damned. At least that’s what my tattoo says.
- first sentences
Tattooists are the new priests for the fucked-up and thrown away. They speak the language of symbol, and administer penance in tiny metallic lashes.
- from first page… an example of the lyrical writing style
Recommendations
If you like paranormal romance, you might enjoy this. There is romance, but not a lot of steamy scenes. There is some action, but it’s not enough for me to call it a UF. Just don’t expect a quick, easy read… this one will make you think
Going Deeper – NO spoilers
While Amanda and I like to talk about our lack of being able to define ourselves or the lack of a point in doing so… I don’t remember us talking about how we currently define ourselves. I would guess that I base a lot of “who I am” off how people see me and I don’t think I like that…
1. If I had to, I would define myself in one word: paradoxical. (haha, I could write a whole post about defining oneself)
2. It’s hard for us to define ourselves without seeing what others think of us. That’s not bad. What’s bad is letting others’ perceptions define us for us. When you know yourself and who you are, you will be able to judge whether someone’s perception of you is an accurate reflection or not.
PS. Yay for tougher ratings! I find myself giving a lot of 3 ratings, but mostly because it’s rare for me to find a book that makes me get all gushy or excited.
Eh. I’ll probably wait on this one for awhile. It’s on my TBR list, but it’s near the bottom. I think I’m going to banish myself from anymore library trips until I get my current TBR pile cut down a bit. Though I also have 7 unread library books on my shelf right now….Yikes!
@ Amanda : True. I’m going to have to obtain a cup of coffee and think about this more…
@ Natalie : Yeah I would suggest you keep it on the list in case you want something with substance, but definitely get it from the library.
Tara, NEVER attempt thinking before having coffee.
Received my copy, but haven’t read it yet. Thanks again Tara! And thanks for a great, honest review! Sometimes lyrical, poetic language works and sometimes it doesn’t. I’ve read books where I’ve admired the writing, but didn’t care for the plot and couldn’t finish the book. I’ve also read books that I loved the flow of the language and it stayed with me for days. I like that this book stayed with you and made you think. Looking forward to reading this one even more now!
@ Alexia561 : I’m really excited to see what you think of it! Thanks for bring it to my attention!