Lauren Kate (born March 21, 1981) is an American author of young adult paranormal romances.
Her work includes:
- The Betrayal Of Natalie Hargrove (2009)
- Fallen series
- Fallen (2009)
- Torment (2010)
- Passion (2011)
- Fallen in Love (Valentine's Day special, 2012)
- Rapture (2012)
- Unforgiven (spin-off, 2015)
- Teardrop series
- Teardrop (2013)
- Last Day of Love (prequel novella, 2013)
- Waterfall (2014)
- The Orphans Song (2019)
- By Any Other Name (2022)
Common tropes in her work include:
- Affably Evil: Miss Sophia, the librarian from Sword&Cross Reform School in Fallen - seemingly a nice, friendly lady, one of very few nice people in the school, while in fact she is planning to murder Luce in cold blood. And Lucifer himself, in his guise as friendly gargoyle Bill in Passion.
- Alpha Bitch: Chloe King from Unforgiven. She's from a rich family, has her own popular bubblegum pop group, is a leader of numerous school clubs and bosses everyone around. And she's always very nasty to poor and unpopular Lilith.
- And I Must Scream: Brooks in Teardrop after he has been possessed by Atlas. He is fully conscious of what is happening around him and with him but cannot react in any way.
- Artistic License – Religion: In Rapture there is a following scene: Moscow, 1930s, (Orthodox) church of Christ the Saviour. The main character is waiting for a mass to start. The church is full of waxed wooden pews and organs are playing. First of all, there were no masses in this church at that time, since Stalin's regime was actively fighting religious belief. Secondly, in Orthodox churches there are very few benches, usually at the back, for elderly or ill people. The rest stand during the whole mass (and kneel, when appropriate). Thirdly, there are no organs in Orthodox churches. Or any other musical instruments. People sing and that's all. Worst of all, Stalin demolished the Cathedral in December 1931 to build the Palace of the Soviets on its site, and it was only rebuilt in 1990. Thus, this scene would be impossible for most of the decade.
- Ascended Extra: Lilith, appearing for a short episode in Fallen in Love becomes the Deuteragonist of Unforgiven.
- Big Fancy House: Chloe from Unforgiven lives in a big white mansion, filled with marble and surrounded by a moat with koi.
- Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: Fair-haired Daniel, black-haired Cam and auburn-haired Lucifer (in his handsome youth guise) in Fallen.
- The Chosen One: Eureka from Teardrop. She is a descendant of Selene from Atlantis and is born and raised in just right circumstances to break the curse on Atlantis and end the world in the process.
- Color-Coded for Your Convenience: Fallen angels that have since the Fall sworn their loyalty to the Throne have silver-tinted wings, while those that have sided with Lucifer have golden-tinted wings.
- Deal with the Devil: The main plot point of Unforgiven. Cam (short for Cambriel) makes a deal with Lucifer himself to become reunited with his one true love Lilith.
- Demonic Possession: Not exactly demonic, but in Teardrop Eureka's best friend Brooks is possessed by Atlas from Atlantis. The reason? To make Eureka cry and in this way bring Atlantis back. It is also strongly hinted at that Hitler himself was possessed by the very same Atlas.
- Deuteragonist: In Fallen Luce is Protagonist while Daniel is Deuteragonist (and in the first book, Cam is Tritagonist). In Teardrop Eureka is Protagonist, Ander Deuteragonist and Brooks Tritagonist. And in Unforgiven it's the male lead, Cam, who is Protagonist, while Lilith is Deuteragonist.
- Dysfunctional Family: Eureka from Teardrop comes from one. Her parents argued a lot and finally split up when she was still a child, in dramatic circumstances. She stayed with her father because her mother was an archeologist who travelled a lot. Later, her father got married again. Eureka dislikes her step-mother, whom she believes to be cold and too focused on her career, although she loves the twins, her half-siblings. And then her biological mother dies in a car accident that leaves Eureka herself half-deaf. Then again, it was all written in the prophecy.
- The End of the World as We Know It: Basically, what happens when Eureka from Teardrop finally starts to cry. The Earth is flooded, Atlantis re-appears on the surface of the ocean and the whole world is re-made, with people killed in the flood brought back.
- Eternal Love: Daniel and Lucinda from Fallen. He loves her all the time, while she is destinied to fall in love with him every time she meets him.
- Fallen Angel: Basically, the whole cast of the Fallen series. Normal humans are only episodic. And in Torment there is a whole school for the Nephilim (children with angelic or demonic blood in their veins).
- Fiery Redhead: Lilith in Unforgiven. Her hair is very red and her temper very short. But then again, she has her reasons, like being locked in tailor-made Hells for the last three millenia. As mentioned in Fallen in Love, she is also a descendant of Adam's first wife.
- Girl Posse: June, Kara and Teresa, friends of Chloe King from Unforgiven, also members of her band "Perceived Slights".
- God: Commonly referred to as "the Throne". Appears herself in Rapture to decide the fate of Daniel and Luce.
- Heroic Sacrifice:
- Molly and Gabbe in Rapture to save Lucinda's life, particulary heroic, since they are both basically immortal.
- Eureka in Waterfall to save the whole world and let it be reborn.
- Horrible Housing: Unforgiven: Lilith lives with her brother Bruce and mother in a derelict house in a poor part of town. The roof is caving in, the garden is abandoned and full of weeds and there are problems with running water because of faulty plumbing. Lilith's mother works in many part-time jobs, which don't bring her much money, and in any case she spends most on Bruce, who is seriously ill. Lilith calls her house at one point "a rusting eyesore". This contrasts with Rich Bitch Chloe's huge white mansion filled with marble.
- High School: Both Fallen and Teardrop start with the female lead being in high school - and it is not nice place. Teachers are clueless, other students are nasty and our main character is not one of the popular kids. Taken up to 11 in Unforgiven, justified in that Trumbull High is actually a tailor-made Hell for Lilith.
- In Love with the Mark: Ander in Teardrop. He's one of Seedbearers, a secret organization whose only aim is to protect the world from Atlantis, by killing girls who might fulfil the prophecy and break the curse on Atlantis with their tears. Unfortunately for the world, he falls in love with the girl he should kill.
- Inevitably Broken Rule: In Teardrop, the young Eureka is told by her mother to never ever cry. Most of the plot of the first book sees other characters either trying to make her cry or trying to stop her - and when she finally does, it's The End of the World as We Know It.
- Kryptonite Factor: Fallen angels in Fallen can only be killed by starshots, special arrows made by Abbadon himself.
- Living Forever is No Big Deal: True for the whole angelic cast of Fallen.
- Loser Protagonist: Lilith in Unforgiven. Justified, as she lives in tailor-made Hell.
- Louis Cypher: That handsome youth Luc in Fallen in Love.
- Mayfly–December Romance: Any time any of the fallen angels hooks up with a human, such as Roland (immortal demon) and Rosaline (daughter of a Mediaeval English nobleman).
- Medicinal Cuisine: In "Waterfall", Eureka Boudreaux's group learns about quirks, which are magical abilities each person has. Eureka's father discovers that he can detect what's ailing a person and use food to help heal them.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Bill and Luc (short from Lucifer) in Fallen in Love.
- Neglected Garden: In Unforgiven, Lilith lives in a dilapidated house surrounded by an abandoned garden full of weeds. Her single mother works a lot of part-time jobs and spends most of her time looking after Lilith's little brother, who is very ill, so has no time for the garden. Actually, everything is just part of a tailor-made Hell created just for Lilith.
- Obviously Evil: Lucifer, when he's not disguised as handsome auburn-haired youth Luc or little friendly gargoyle Bill. He stinks like something rotten or burnt, his fingers are claws, he has maggots in his decayed teeth and bugs are crawling in his "tarnished" wings.
- Our Angels Are Different: True for Outcasts - a group of angels that initially rebelled against the Throne but turned back almost immediately... and wasn't accepted. Their skins are sallow, hair thin, wings weak and unpleasant-looking, and they are all blind. Can be recognized in human form, as they tend to wear tan trenches - both sexes (if this term even applies to angels, that is).
- Prophecies Are Always Right: Eureka fulfils the one in Teardrop. Tears of a girl from Selene's family, born on a particular date and raised in particular circumstances do lead to Atlantis re-surfacing and The End of the World as We Know It.
- Rich Bitch: Chloe King from Unforgiven. Her father is a media mogul, she lives in a mansion surrounded by a moat with koi and full of marble inside. Her band "Perceived Slights" even has a song "Rich Bitch".
- The Rich Have White Stuff: Chloe's mansion is filled with white marble and almost exclusively white furniture.
- Scars Are Forever: Fallen angels can cure most injuries easily and without scars, the only exception being when they are burnt by blood of another fallen angel or demon. That is why Arriane has a huge scar on her neck.
- Shout-Out: Chapter titles in Unforgiven are song titles, for example Love Will Tear Us Apart, Dead Souls Never Tear Us Apart, Sparks, Going Under, My Immortal, End of the Dream, The Weeping Song, Love's Secret Domain — and these are only the most obvious ones.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: Daniel and Luce from Fallen. When Luce turns 17, she is doomed to fall in love with Daniel, at which point she dies in flames... and is re-born. The cycle repeats itself for several millenia.
- Time Travel: In Passion with the help of mystic entities called the Announcers. The downside is - you do not get to choose where and when you end up. And you can only travel to the past, never the future.
- Unable to Cry: Eureka from Teardrop. When she was still a child, her mother told her sternly to "never ever cry again". And so she did. As it turns out, her mother had a good reason: Eureka's tears could bring back Atlantis and end the world.
- Weapon of X-Slaying: In the Fallen series starshots, the only weapon able to kill a fallen angel.
