Monday, November 22, 2010

Review: Torment (Fallen #2) by Lauren Kate

Title:  Torment
Author:  Lauren Kate
Pages:  452 pages; 19 chapters
Release:  September 28, 2010

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.


Review: 
- CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS FOR FALLEN -

The title of this book can pretty much sum up how I felt while reading it.  It tormented me to no end.  Luce becomes even more confused than she was in Fallen and tries to get Daniel to alleviate the load of questions she's been accumulating since book one.  Daniel, however, still can't answer her questions and continues to keep her in the dark thereby keeping us in the dark.  

At Luce's new school she befriends Shelby, a sarcastic and headstrong nephilim, and Miles, another nephilim who has taken an interest in Luce.  Miles also brings about an uncertainty in Luce regarding her love for Daniel.  With the inclusion of this new love triangle and the never ending questions that never get answered, there are many emotional ups and downs that, dare I say it, torment the hell out of you.  Even though I grew to like and enjoy reading about Miles, I'm a big Daniel supporter.  How can you beat a love that transcends life and mortality?  

I found myself getting a little irritated with Luce and Daniel (you can see my emotional investment in these characters).  I think Luce needs to understand why Daniel can't tell her everything yet but I also think Daniel needs to stop babying Luce (especially when he knows she doesn't like that).  I do however like the fact that Luce is much more headstrong and sure of herself in this book.  Even with the emotional ups and downs, there are still moments that bring a smile to your face and leave you sighing.  

I started reading this book hoping to get some answers to my questions from Fallen but I ended up with even more questions!  Of course, that didn't stop me from reading and enjoying the book.  It was still a great read, with a very interesting story and characters.  Much like Fallen, the end really packs a punch and leaves you yearning for the next book NOW.  There is a cliffhanger that left me yelling (which my puppy didn't appreciate), but I like the way Lauren wrote the last few lines.  It actually made me feel better about the cliffhanger so I could lay off biting my nails a little.     

It was difficult finding a snippet to share because many of them are too spoilery.  So this is what I found:
"Let's keep this evening's happenings between us, shall we?" Cam said.  "And going forward, do us all a favor and stay on campus, where you won't get into trouble."
At the end of Fallen we find out that Daniel and Cam have called a truce so I found it clever that the titles chapters of this book were a countdown of the 18 days. 

I am highly anticipating the third book in the series entitled Passion (Fallen #3) which, I hear, gives us a glimpse of all the past lives Luce and Daniel have shared.  I expect Passion to be the book that begins to answer our questions from Fallen and Torment.  The series will end with the fourth book, Rapture (Fallen #4).

Look for Passion (Fallen #3) where Luce can finally get some answers!  In stores June 14, 2011.

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