Review: 3/5 for Passion by Lauren Kate

Passion by Lauren Kate

Hardcover, 420 pages

Published June 14th 2011 by Random House Children's Books
Source: eBook, purchased
Buy the book: Amazon : B&N : Goodreads

From Goodreads:

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.

Alright. After reading to this point in the series I had almost given up on it. This book definitely set the bar higher than the previous two. It takes the characters that I've followed thus far and speeds up their action to an acceptable pace.

As we join back with Luce she is hopping through time to try to figure out her and Daniel's past. She slowly figures out a few important key factors, but it is still hard because of Daniel's intent on secrecy. Luce has some company join her along the way, but it's slightly obvious from the start that it's not the best of help to have. I like the sides of Daniel I finally got to see this time. His story finally cracked open and I saw him in a little better light than before. Along with the help of their friends, Luce and Daniel's story truly grows in this book.

*Happy dance* The plot FINALLY picks up in this one! It was so sluggish in the first two books I was honestly concerned that it would continue on in this one. Luce's time travels came to my aid on this aspect. The hopping through time and seeing all the different lives and cultures she lived in really kept me interested. Daniel's struggles through these situations left real validity to their past and present relationships. I am very glad that is finally shown. I had hoped that some of the secrets he possessed about these relationships would illuminated this time. There is still a feeling that there's a lot more to be had at the end of the book though.

I did not realize until the ending of this book that it was actually a four book series. I thought this would be the end. That's why I was irritated when I finished the book. It had just picked up enough that I was truly interested and the series ends like that?? Nope, I was wrong. If I had known, I would have seriously waited until Rapture came out to even bother with these books.

Review: 3/5 for Torment by Lauren Kate

Torment by Lauren Kate

Hardcover, 452 pages

Published September 28th 2010 by Random House Children's Books
Source: eBook, Purchased
Buy the Book: Amazon : B&N : Goodreads

From Goodreads:

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?

After debating back and forth when I finished Fallen, I finally decided to continue on to this book. Fallen lacked in a lot of areas for me, but friends recommended I should carry on with the series because they felt it picked up for them in Torment. I am certainly glad I listened to them. While there are some things I wish would just be taken care of, there were several things introduced that gave this book some pep.

Luce discovers she's headed to Shoreline from Daniel. Of course, there is secrecy involved with every action he takes. On the plus side, several new and interesting characters are introduced at the school. These characters end up playing a more crucial part in the story that what I thought they would. They are more true to Luce because of their backgrounds. She does grow quick a bit in this book, but is still held by the boundaries that Daniel sets. He does elaborate on the grand scheme of things, but just enough to irritate me. I continually hope that one of other characters will just bluntly state the situation, but their allegiance is unwavering.

The beginning of this book is as slow as Fallen was, but Luce instigates a series of events that finally gets the ball rolling. It is not a page-turner, but it does keep the plot going at a decent pace. Some events involving Luce seemed a little unbelievable or simply irrational. A lot of it seemed out of character for her. It was slightly predictable, but the book just simply stops at the end. I'm not sure if it qualifies as a cliffhanger for me, but I'm sure most it would probably feel that way.

Review: 2/5 for Fallen by Lauren Kate

Fallen by Lauren Kate
Hardcover, 464 pages
Published December 8, 2009 by Random House Children's Books
Source: eBook, Purchased
Buy the book: Amazon : B&N

From Amazon:

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 think "book-hype" got to me on this book, very badly. I had such epic hopes for this series. While I was not totally let down, it just was not all it was cracked up to be for me. Loved the synopsis, but in many ways that's all I got with the book itself as well.

The characters kept me going through this book. They're easy to get along with and also have good personalities and interesting backgrounds. I also like the way in which the characters are intertwined with one another. As a group they flow so well. However, as individuals it is like they run in circles and never get anything done. This is because there is so much secrecy between the characters it's like no one knows what to do next.

The plot is fairly simple, but drags in many places. Some of my issues may stem from a good chunk of the book happening in a "juvenile detention" like setting. My career field gives me enough of this. Secrecy has a major effect on the plot line, everything is based around it. Most of the time this does not bother me. Unfortunately by the end of the book it felt like I did not know anymore about what was going on than what I did in the beginning.

I've seen other mixed reviews for this series, so maybe it just depends on who reads them. I like the book enough to carry on with the series. A lot of it is the characters and I genuinely want to know where they end up. Hopefully, it'll be a less twisted road to get there though.

Review: The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
Published July 2009 by Random House Children's Books
Paperback, 310 pages
Source: Borrowed from friend
Buy the book: Amazon : B&N : Goodreads

From Goodreads:

In Mary's world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future—between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?

I was initially wary of starting this book. I'd read some zombie stories before, but I never was too impressed with them. This one, however, has set the bar high for any that I read following it. It did have a slightly slow start, but after that it was a constant page-turner.

The world that Ryan created is both utilitarian and evil. Each have their own unique ways of oppressing Mary in her life. From the fences and secrets that hold her inside the village to the Unconsecrated that are forever trying to get in to it, Mary holds on to to hope that there has to be something better. There has to be a world where she could have a choice in her life instead of the necessity of just surviving. This is not the place for splurges or frivolous wants and wishes. However, once the village is breached, many tough decisions await afterwards. The series of events that follow are amazing! There's just the right mixture of action, terror, and romance that kept my attention right to the very last page.

Mary is a very interesting character. As she was fairly open, I felt like I could relate to her and the emotions that she was dealing with. She carries a somewhat volatile thought process though, and that affects a good part of the plot line. I lost touch with her a little towards the end but she did come around. Since things are kept simple and, in many cases, secret, there is a lot that characters just can't see for themselves. This was slightly irritating to me at times, but by no means a deal breaker. The relationships between the characters were an interesting mixture. The lifestyle they lead affected them deeply and the conclusion of the books showed the results of those effects.

All in all, this was a great book and I cannot wait to follow up with the others. It will be interesting to see where Ryan takes this story line now. I'll be keeping my eye out for the set, they'll definitely be going on my shelves.