Rapture (Fallen Book #4) by Lauren Kate

“Was their love worth the erasure of the world and all its stories?”

The sky is dark with wings . . . .

Like sand in an hourglass, time is running out for Luce and Daniel. To stop Lucifer from erasing the past they must find the place where the angels fell to earth. Dark forces are after them, and Daniel doesn’t know if he can do this—live only to lose Luce again and again.

Yet together they will face an epic battle that will end with lifeless bodies . . . and angel dust. Great sacrifices are made. Hearts are destroyed. And suddenly Luce knows what must happen.

For she was meant to be with someone other than Daniel. The curse they’ve borne has always and only been about her—and the love she cast aside. The choice she makes now will be the only one that truly matters.

In the fight for Luce, who will win?

The astonishing conclusion to the FALLEN series. Heaven can’t wait any longer.

Personal Thoughts:

I remember picking up the first Fallen book of this angel series by Lauren Kate few years ago. It all started with an intriguing and gorgeous art cover of the book that caught my attention. Then the author book tour went in my area which actually push me to wait and read the whole series. Now I’m on the fourth and final installment and I have to say the journey is quite worth it.

“Tell them it’s happening. That an endgame has been initiated”

Since this is the final book, I won’t discuss here anymore the characters. I think I pretty covered their development from my reviews for the first three books of this series. We all know how Luce, Daniel, Cam and the other angels, nephilim and mortals behaved and grow. I’m also pretty sure I already told my opinions for each of them, specially the major characters. So in here, let me discuss more about the plot and how the turn of events evolved throughout the story.

As every reader of this series know, the story focus on Luce and Daniel finding a way to end their curse. The unending curse of their love story that is meant to end tragically every lifetime. They are lovers since old days who happens to always find each others in every life. But in this present life everything has change because Luce and Daniel might only have one last chance to be together. In this life they need to end the curse before it ended them and the whole world or its history.

From the previous books we know that Daniel is an Angel and with all the hints we also know that he is one of the highest rank. We also get to know that his decision to choose love or Luce between Heaven and Hell is the start of their curse. But what we don’t know is what is Luce’s exact role in all these? That’s the major question always left hanging from the previous books. So now that we are on the final book, of course we all expect that it will finally revealed. We expect Lauren Kate to deliver us the whole story – how the curse started, how will it end and how Luce become part of it.

So in order to know all those things Lauren Kate put Luce, Daniel and all the other angels in a mission to stop Lucifer from erasing history. The strange alliance of angels have nine days to find three artifacts that will lead them to the exact place of the original fall. A place where Daniel and Luce can possibly end their curse.

During the quest, Lauren Kate introduced some nice crafted plot devices like the three relics and patinas. Personally, I like the concept of patina, I think it is a pretty clever little addition to the story. Lauren Kate also brings us to different beautiful places such as Italy, France, Austria and Egypt. Like in the third book, Passion, she creatively use each place and its history to merge in the story. She also introduced new characters like Dee and bring back some of the old and important one. There were the Fallen, the Elders, the Scales, the Outcast, the Throne and Lucifer which all played important roles in finding the relics and ending the curse.

Being the final book, I expected Rapture to answer all my questions from the previous books. Though it holds most of the answers there were few things that’s still left hanging. Some revelations were surprising, like the most important angel that can tip the scale between Heaven and hell. All along I assume that it is Daniel who holds that power but I am surprised when it was revealed in here. Though I see what Luce real identity ahead of time I didn’t expect what her true value is. I under-estimate her, because from the start of this series I am not really a fan of her. Rapture also finally reveals how and where Daniel and Luce first met as well as how their curse started and how important their choices will be.

I don’t necessary like everything portrayed in this book especially the religious part, but I think the way Lauren Kate crafted the soul mate story is beyond the usual. The choice between the Throne and Lucifer, and how mercy played in the story is neatly layout. The story also shows that sometimes the price for love and happiness is not simple. Daniel and Luce as well as the other characters faced Heaven and hell literally. It cost them too much but just like in any situations, sacrifices are necessary in order to get our happiness.

Rapture is a fitting finale for this angel series. I am glad that Lauren Kate didn’t push the story too long. Her writing grew incredibly well from the first book, Fallen. The only issue I got is the lack of development for the side characters. As much as I want the story to focus on Daniel and Luce, I also want to know what happened to the other characters specially Cam. I did expect that Cam will get a bigger role in this final installment. His tortured past from Passion seems a nice plot to follow. There are many possible character arc to be thrown in him but unfortunately this final book didn’t give much room to Cam’s story. I didn’t see enough of him in here. Either Lauren Kate don’t have much time to developed Cam’s character or she’s planning to create a spin-off story for Cam. Whatever the reason, I really think Cam deserves a proper closure.

More than the angels plot line, Fallen series is really a story about Love. A love that spans eons of years and countless lifetimes. No matter what it cost Daniel and Luce are bound to find each other and fall in love again and again. It is a love that is meant to be no matter what.

Passion (Fallen Book #3) by Lauren Kate

“Every single lifetime, I’ll choose you. Just as you have chosen me. Forever.”

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.

Personal Thoughts:

This is the third book of Fallen series and having read the first two books I wanted to know how the story will progress. Torment, the second book of the series left me with many unanswered questions about Luce and Daniel curse and what is Luce’s role between the battle of good and evil. So I hop on to Passion expecting few more explanations for those hanging questions. As well as my curiosity to know how Lauren Kate will deliver the time travel plot of Daniel and Luce unending love story.

I really enjoy reading the scenes from Luce travels. From Moscow, to Milan, Helston (England), Tahiti, Prussia, Tibet, Versailles, London, Greenland, Chichen Itza (Mesoamerica), Yin (China), Jerusalem, Memphis (Egypt), and back to Savannah, Georgia. These places and their distinct culture and people were capture precisely by Lauren Kate’s descriptions. She easily weaved the scenes and time vividly, which makes the historical aspect of the book breathtaking. Lauren Kate must have been done a tremendous research to execute all the past events perfectly.

I like that some chapters were told from Daniel’s point of view, in fact I like it more compare to Luce. While Luce point of view is necessary to show how much she is learning from her & Daniel past lives, I find Daniel narration much more interesting. Because he knows and understand more what is happening. Visiting their past lives reveals a lot of Daniel character and his love for Luce. And no other character from the book could ever describe the dept of how he feels every single lifetime of loving and losing.

If you’ve read my reviews for Fallen and Torment you know that I have issues with Luce for being the dependent girl most of the time. While I see a little growth in her character in Torment I expected more from her in this book. When she step to the announcer in the last part of Torment I almost cheer for her because I assumed she is trying to be independent for once. She step into unknown with a goal to discover her past and understand the future. What surprise me is, most of her past version is more daring and dependent than the present Luce. I find her past character much more interesting than the present Luce.

Daniel is as passionate as he is with Luce every lifetime. You will feel his love for Luce each past lives. Each lifetime reveals a different sides of Daniel and you will sympathize for him every time Luce dies in his hands. Painful is understatement to describes how he feels every time he loses Luce.

While I anticipated the time travel plot I didn’t expect that majority of the story will be set on the past. With Luce diving into their previous lives nothing is really happening in the present which makes the story stagnant. While the past scenes were important to discover the root of Daniel and Luce curse the overwhelming scenes of their past lives seems repetitive. Luce going back to the past, watch the past Daniel & past Luce meet, fall in love and die. The same tragic ending of their curse. And the worst part is, they are not even closer in breaking the curse.

Also, having set in past we don’t see much of the other characters from the previous books until few pages in the end. The villain and his real identity wasn’t surprising. It is easy to guess, but I must say that he is an interesting addition to the plot. He makes Luce’s travel more fun to read. There’s also a little glimpse of Cam past which gives arc to Cam’s character. I may not be fan of him in the first two books but with that little information about his past I understand more where he is coming from.

Overall, Passion is a nice ride to Daniel and Luce past lives. Lauren Kate pull of a thousand years of unending love story brilliantly. Each lifetime shows how creative and vivid her writing is. Though my expectation of more development in the story isn’t delivered, I still find Passion a nice addition to the series. A nice bridge between Torment and Rapture, the final book to Fallen series.

Torment (Fallen Book #2) by Lauren Kate

“How many lives do you need to live before you find someone worth dying for?”

Book Description:

In Fallen (book 1), Luce found Daniel – a cursed angel and her true love. Luce knows that she and Daniel’s destinies are intertwined; that he has loved her over and over again in her previous lives, but they’ve never managed to be together. Each and every time, she died. It’s the way it’s always been. That’s the nature of the curse. This time, so far, things are different. Luce has survived their often-fatal first kiss. But that doesn’t mean she’s safe.

As Luce and Daniel’s story continues, she has been relocated to an exclusive school on the west coast called Shoreline. There are normal kids there, but there is also a very large population of Nephilim, the offspring of fallen angels and humans.

Daniel promises she will be safe in Shoreline, protected from those who would kill her. At the school Luce discovers what the Shadows that have followed her all her life mean – and how to manipulate them to see into her other lives. Yet the more Luce learns about herself, the more she realizes that the past is her only key to unlocking her future…and that Daniel hasn’t told her everything. Making her question if Daniel really is the one for her?

Personal Thoughts:

I anticipated much of this book after reading the sneak peak a month ago. The sneak peak contains only the prologue part which tells more on Daniel and Cam secret alliance – the truce between good and bad angels. I thought I will get to see more about that from this book but I failed. Daniel and Cam got a lesser appearance this time around. There are so much new in here. New setting, new characters, new adventure and a new Lucinda Pierce.

I appreciate the new scenery, it’s more appealing to me, a totally new world to discover for Luce. I can now connect more on the story as the settings is more vivid compare to the first book. Luce’s new school’s Shoreline is pretty interesting. I love being transported to beautiful places in books. I could actually imagine myself in this warm sunny place near a beautiful ocean. Something warming and loving about the place.

The new characters are also interesting. There are new teachers in the form of Francesca and Simon. Two fallen angels from opposing sides who are also an item. Having an angel and demon teaching the same class is fascinating. There are also new classmates for Luce. The addition of Nephilim are a bonus but I missed a lot of the characters from the first book. Like Daniel, Cam, Ronald and Ariane. They do still exist in here but with a lesser part.

The development of Luce character is a good attempt. She is a bit stronger and begins questioning everything, which I liked because at least she’s trying to make her own decisions. But at the same time I also grew frustrated with her. She’s quite stubborn and unreasonable. I found it hard to sympathize with her, specially when she started aiming on his new classmate Miles who she just knew for few days. Obviously, I’m not a fan of love triangles. They are typical and simply irritating. Though I don’t mind Miles in this part, but Luce is really annoying. There is a lot of misunderstanding between her and Daniel. They keep having the same exact fight over and over again. I get and understand both sides, but it got a little repetitive for me. She also complains a lot about no one telling her the truth but several of the other angels (including Daniel) reveal quite a bit to her – if she would just listen and focus really hard. And besides the whole story happens in 18 days while Daniel is busy protecting her outside her school. Can’t she give Daniel enough time to explain things? Or at least try to obey her teachers? She spends a lot of time trying to figure out why Daniel is in love with her, and I spent a lot of time wondering that myself. The two books is still lacking the details behind those things.

As for Daniel, he needs to trust Luce more, that she can handle more than he thinks she can. He is too overprotective. He needs to lighten up a bit and clue Luce in on a few things.

What I like in this book is the writing, it get better compare to Fallen. The cover is also lovely like the first book. And I also liked the development of the “Shadows”. That thing that haunted Luce since the beginning of this story in Fallen. They are now called “The Announcers”. It’s nice to know more about them, their abilities and the history they carry. They played a major role in discovering Luce’ past which this book tackles more.

The questions from Fallen which I expect to be answered in Torment are still there and worst new questions are added. The mystery surrounding Luce and her timeless relationship with Daniel has only deepened. It gets more confusing and intriguing. Luce purpose is still vague and the lines between good and evil are blurred even further. It makes it more hard to distinguish who are the good guys, who are the bad guys, and what role Luce has to play in all of these? With all this hunger to know the answers and what’s next to come, I realized how clever Lauren Kate is — she makes the reader coming back for more.

Fallen by Lauren Kate

“What if the one you were meant to be with, could never be yours?”

The title itself gave me an idea what to expect from Lauren Kate book Fallen. But what really draw my attention to pick up this book is the art cover – the girl in black goth clothing crying in the middle of the forest, I was intrigue. Since I got a spare time last holiday I grab my chance flipping the pages. I thought it may be good enough to kill time. The prologue is interesting enough to make me decide to continue reading, it slightly creepy and appropriately vague. But the first ten or so chapters didn’t work for me, it’s terribly slow-paced and it hardly get my focus.

I think the story is too slow and slightly redundant. It did not fully develop the characters nor the storyline. “Luce” or “Lucinda Price” the female protagonist is too obsessive and bland. Aside from her interest in Daniel, I couldn’t figure out what other interests she had. There’s one part in the book where she talks about how smart she is, but I don’t see an ounce of passion in her about anything except the boy she’s attracted to. I want to see some growth in her character, but there just wasn’t much.

Daniel Grigori the male protagonist is much interesting than Luce. When I read his last name, my idea from the book title of what the story is all about is confirmed. Which makes it more Luce character questionable. With her supposed superior intelligence, I can’t fathom why it took her so long to figure out Daniel’s secret. Even if she’s not religious, it is still too obvious. Maybe if she just try to search it online she’ll get all the answer she needs.

The settings has lot of confusing details. I had a hard time picturing the place as a whole because the descriptions were weak and mess up. They were poorly drawn and sometimes conflicting. It seems that the author failed to deliver a beautiful atmosphere to match the lovely cover of the book. The plot touches briefly about paranormal which I wish the author explore more.

This book stands at 452 pages not because there are lots of words, but because the font is so big. The first 250 pages are slow and uninteresting. Then a lot is covered in the last 50 pages, leaving you with a lot of unanswered questions. The problem is, most of the vague points are still vague to me after reading it. I got confused with the shadows. I’ve learned that they were like “messengers” or “watchers” but I’m not sure if they really serve their purpose in the story. I didn’t really know if they were meant to scare or what because they weren’t really scary to me. I was hoping for a better explanation of the “fallen”, like the difference between the good & the bad angels. And more information or history of the two main characters, Luce and Daniel. Hopefully, that will be explained in the books to follow. Also, I’m still wondering with the “Good News” that Daniel is supposed to say to Luce. It says that there was good news and bad news, but the writer didn’t say what is the good news.

Despite all my complaints, I still give Fallen a chance. The book was good as a dark novel as it is too serious, but I didn’t think it was original at all. I feel that the story has potential if taken in the right direction. I might read the sequel which entitled “Torment”. I just hope it will be more engaging and it won’t be tormenting to read.