Review of "Passion" Lauren Kate

"Passion"
Lauren Kate


2

Pub. Date: June 14, 2011
Pages: 420
Publisher: Random House Children's Books


Synopsis: Luce would die for Daniel.

And she has. Over and over again. Throughout time, Luce and Daniel have found each other, only to be painfully torn apart: Luce dead, Daniel left broken and alone. But perhaps it doesn’t need to be that way. . . .

Luce is certain that something—or someone—in a past life can help her in her present one. So she begins the most important journey of this lifetime . . . going back eternities to witness firsthand her romances with Daniel . . . and finally unlock the key to making their love last.

Cam and the legions of angels and Outcasts are desperate to catch Luce, but none are as frantic as Daniel. He chases Luce through their shared pasts, terrified of what might happen if she rewrites history.

Because their romance for the ages could go up in flames . . . forever.

Sweeping across centuries, PASSION is the third novel in the unforgettably epic FALLEN series.

I loved the first two books in the series and I thought Lauren Kate set up for a fantastic third book, but sadly "Passion" was only okay.  I spent most of the novel wanting to punch Luce in the face.  I just thought her judgment was TERRIBLE!  She didn't really question anything that was happening to her and was far too trusting of others.  There was too much time spent with Luce and not enough with other characters.  There were only two other characters that played a significant role in the book, and I was not a fan of one of them.

In the first two books I thought the endings were surprising and extremely climactic, but "Passion"'s ending was the opposite.  I thought it was predictable and I wasn't sure why all the characters were so shocked.  Luce's quest to learn more about her relationship was interesting for about half the book, but by page 200 I was sick of seeing Luce combust.

I really was looking forward to this book, but I honestly don't think I learned much more about Luce and Daniel's relationship.  It was pretty much exactly what I thought it would be without any surprises.  I think I could have done without this book and skipped to the final book without feeling like I missed anything.  I will probably read the final book in the series, but I will definitely go in skeptical.

Review of "Torment"

"Torment"
Lauren Kate


5

Pub. Date: September 28, 2010
Pages: 464

Synopsis: Hell on earth.

That’s what it’s like for Luce to be apart from her fallen angel boyfriend, Daniel.
It took them an eternity to find one another, but now he has told her he must go away. Just long enough to hunt down the Outcasts—immortals who want to kill Luce. Daniel hides Luce at Shoreline, a school on the rocky California coast with unusually gifted students: Nephilim, the offspring of fallen angels and humans.

At Shoreline, Luce learns what the Shadows are, and how she can use them as windows to her previous lives. Yet the more Luce learns, the more she suspects that Daniel hasn’t told her everything. He’s hiding something—something dangerous.
What if Daniel’s version of the past isn’t actually true? What if Luce is really meant to be with someone else?

The second novel in the addictive FALLEN series . . . where love never dies.

It took me a little while to get into "Torment", but after about 40 pages or so I was completely hooked! I was very sad that the setting of the story had to change from Sword and Cross to a new school, but Shoreline turned out to be interesting enough. I loved the fact that Luce was infamous at Shoreline because of her and Daniel's epic love story. It was just a nice touch and added conflict to the story. I also liked how I never knew what to expect Daniel or Cam; this book played around with the good vs. evil and blurred the lines making me ding to see where Lauren Kate takes it. Is there really such a huge difference in Kate's world? Is right and wrong always black and white without any grey area?

I was worried that "Torment" would only be about Luce sitting at a school worried about Daniel and questioning their relationship, but luckily this was wrong. The story is about Luce searching for the truth about her relationship with Daniel, but it is also about Luce understanding her past and finding herself. I like how the shadows take on a different role in this book than in "Fallen". Even though Luce was taking unnecessary and dare I say stupid risks to use the power of the shadows to her own end, her experiences with the shadows is what made me fall in love with "Torment".

I was also pretty worried that Penn was a irreplaceable character and that I would spend the entirety of "Torment" missing her, but luckily new characters made the loss of Penn manageable. Shelby is a great character because she is rough around the edges and you never know what will come out of her mouth. Miles is a much more reliable friend and I just couldn't help but like him as the super sweet nice guy. He welcomed Luce to Shoreline on day one and didn't treat her differently because of the rumors about her and Daniel.

I honestly can't wait for the next book "Passion" to come out next summer and not just because "Torment" left on a giant cliffhanger. There are so many unanswered questions and it seems the more answers we get the more questions develop. Lauren Kate has definitely given herself lots to work with in the next two books in the series. I can't wait to see where "Passion" will take our characters!

"Fallen" is Fantastic!

"Fallen"
Lauren Kate


6

Pub. Date: December 2009
Pages: 464

Synopsis: There's something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price's attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He's the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.

Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce--and goes out of his way to make that very clear--she can't let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her.

Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, Fallen is a page turning thriller and the ultimate love story.

I don't usually buy books in Hardcover because I don't have a lot of money and I can borrow them for free at work, but "Fallen" is a book that is worth the money. I could not get enough of this book, it was painful when I was reading during my lunch break and I had to put it down. I just wanted to know what was going to happen next. There are so many mysteries in this book and I just HAD to know all of them. I wanted to know the truth about Cam and Daniel. Even though Daniel was really rude to Luce, there were hints that he had other feelings. Cam was constantly infatuated with her, but there was just something about him that put me off. I also needed to know more about the librarian at Sword and Cross, she just seemed to know more than she was telling Luce.

I thought it was really interesting how the setting of the book was in a reform school filled with teen criminals. The grounds of the school were very creepy, especially since there was a graveyard there. It just added an extra creep factor. The fact that all the students had pasts made them interesting to get to know. It was hard to tell who was genuine and whom Luce had to watch out for. If the dangers of the student body weren't enough, the strange shadows that Luce has seen her whole life seem to becoming more aggressive. These shadows were what got Luce sent to Sword and Cross and she worries about their power.

After reading this book I just wanted more. I wanted for more of the mysteries to be revealed, especially about the characters in the book. I would recommend this book to anyone who liked the book "Hush, Hush" or other paranormal romance books. If you haven't checked out the website yet, it is really cool. There is an archive that shows the school's files about the students at Sword and Cross. It does give some things away about the characters, but nothing too important. There is a trailer for the book as well as an excerpt. Click here to go to the website.