ARC Review: Torment - Lauren Kate

How many lives must you live before you find someone to die for?

Lucinda is sure that she and Daniel are meant to be together forever.  Now, in this sequel to the bestselling Fallen, they are forced apart in a desperate bid to save Luce from The Outcasts - immortals who want her dead.  As she discovers more about her past lives Luce starts to suspect that Daniel is hiding something.  What if he has lied to her about their shared past?  What if Luce is really meant to be with someone else?

Fallen Series:
Fallen
Torment (30th Sept 2010)
Passion (2011)
Rapture (2011?)

Visit Lauren Kate's website for more information

Review:
After events in the previous book Luce once again finds herself starting at a new school and struggling to fit in.  Life at Shoreline couldn't be more different from her previous reform school Sword and Cross.  She has an angel and a demon for teachers and is in a class of Nephilim (part angel part human) students.  Daniel is being more elusive than ever and Luce knows he is keeping secrets from her.  Determined to find out what is going on Luce sets out with the help of her new friends to find the answers.

I'm finding this review a little hard to write because I can't help feeling frustrated that instead of getting answers to some of the questions raised in Fallen, Torment has just left me with even more questions.  While the plot has moved on and I have been able to make some guesses about what I think might happen I have no idea if I will be proved correct or not.  I do love a story that leaves me wanting more but I can't help wishing that we were given just a little more information in Torment.

I found Luce could be a frustrating character in Fallen - she doesn't make very wise choices and at times had me wanting to shake her - but I forgave her that considering everything she had been through.  I hoped she would have grown up a bit in Torment but I found her actions even more frustrating than ever.  She has been told by Daniel to stay on campus where she is safe yet, despite the fact that she is nearly killed when she ventures out, the very next day she decides to leave campus again.  I just didn't find that believable and I started to feel that perhaps Luce deserved to have the worst happen if she was going to be that stupid.

I was also a little disappointed in the relationship between Daniel and Luce.  Daniel keeps Luce at arms length, he won't explain anything to her and leaves her doubting the feelings between them.  Although I felt that Daniel genuinely loves Luce I didn't feel that she returned his feelings.  It felt more like she thinks she has to love him because of their shared past - a past that she can't even remember.  When they are together there is a connection between them but when they are apart (which is for most of the book) Luce seems totally lost and unsure of her feelings.  I guess that this is understandable but I did find her constant confusion started to irritate me.

On a more positive note I really loved the new characters that we are introduced to in Torment.  Luce's roommate Shelby was great - such a fun and snarky character & someone I'd love to have a conversation with!  Her teachers Francesca (an angel) and Steven (a demon) are interesting characters and I'm curious to find out if we will see more of them in the future.  Miles was a sweet guy too who genuinely seems to care for Luce.

Lauren Kate is a talented writer and her descriptions make it easy to picture Luce's surroundings.  I always have pictures in my head as I'm reading but I find the images are particularly strong when reading this series.  I know exactly what both Sword and Cross & Shoreline look like and have complete pictures of the characters in my head.  This works especially well in the action scenes.  Like Fallen the main action in Torment comes at the end of the story and for the last few chapters I was completely gripped.  But the cliffhanger... oh the cliffhanger!  I don't know how I'm going to wait until next year to find out what happens next!

While Torment was a frustrating read at times I did still like the story and am looking forward to finding out what happens next.  If you want a series that is non-stop action then this might not be the series for you but if you like paranormal romances that are more character driven then it is well worth giving this series a try.

Source: Thanks to RHCB for sending me this book for review

Other reviews of this book:
Once Upon a Bookcase
Girls Without a Bookshelf
Asamum Booktopia
Fluttering Butterflies
I Was A Teenage Book Geek
Chrissie's Corner
The Bookette
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.