Rapture by Lauren Kate

Genre: fantasy
Series and Book #: Fallen Series #4
Pages: 448
Summary:

The sky is dark with wings….

 

Like sand through 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 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 is the only one that truly matters.

 

In the fight for Luce, who will win?

 

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The final book of the Fallen series redeemed the series for me. Daniel and Luce have resolved whatever doubts they have had in their relationship, there is serious conflict, and Luce has gotten past her selfishness and is actually becoming someone I like as a main character.

Luce being an angel wasn't as big a reveal as I think Lauren Kate was intending. I had the inkling of the idea from the get-go. The dramatics were unnecessary, and I'm not entirely sure it needed to wait until the final book for it to be revealed. I realize that whenever Luce becomes aware of her holy heritage, she spontaneously combusts, and I know Daniel doesn't want that to happen ever again, but its already established this incarnation of Luce is different because she wasn't "claimed" to one side of the holy war. Since Luce figures it out in the fourth book, and nothing happens, I think it should have been brought to light earlier. Dragging out the series for this long was a little unnecessary.

Rapture was a good finale for this series. There's some true character development from Luce, there's actually a climax that made me really want to read the book, and the side characters were lovely. Dee, Arriane, and company will always be my favorite part of these books.

The Cover: Thankfully, they're back to normal. I think she's supposed to be on the Mount in Israel? Anyway, I like the return to the dark covers.

Passion by Lauren Kate

Genre: fantasy
Series and Book #: Fallen Series #3
Pages: 420
Summary:

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.

 

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"You knew it when I followed you to the top of Corcovado in Rio, when you wanted to see the statue up close. You knew it when I carried you two sweaty miles to the River Jordan after you got sick outside Jerusalem. I told you not to eat all those dates. You knew it when you were my nurse in that Italian hospital during the first World War, and before that when I hid in your cellar during the tsar's purge of St. Petersburg. When I scaled the turret of your castle in Scotland during the Reformation, and danced you around and around at the king's coronation ball at Versailles. You were the only woman dressed in black. There was that artists' colony in Quintana Roo, and the protest march in Cape Town where we both spent the night in the pen. The opening of the Globe Theatre in London. We had the best seats in the house. And when my ship wrecked in Tahiti, you were there, as you were when I was a convict in Melbourne, and a pick-pocket in eighteenth-century Nîmes, and a monk in Tibet. You turn up everywhere, always, and sooner or later you sense all of the things I've just told you. But you won't let yourself accept what you feel might be the truth."

Fallen by Lauren Kate, page 357



I liked this installment of the Fallen series because we get to glimpse into Luce's past lives. Thankfully, she's looking for something more concrete in her and Daniels' relationship that isn't just blind passion. Also, Lauren Kate includes Daniel's perspective as he travels back in time to find Luce. Not only was I able to experience Luce's feelings, but also Daniel's, and it added some dimension to their relationship.

I wrote down the quote you can find at the beginning of this post when I was first reading Fallen, and I appreciated being able to recognize the places Luce and Daniel went because I'd heard them before. I have to give Lauren Kate props for her continuity.

Passion was my favorite novel of the bunch because I liked going back in time with Daniel and Luce. I, too, wanted to figure out how their relationship has developed over the ages. And trust me, the end is shocking, if not a bit crafty on Lauren Kate's part.

The Cover: Not my favorite at all. The Fallen covers are dark and the bright splotches of  clouds threw me off.

Torment by Lauren Kate

Genre: fantasy

Series and Book #: Fallen Series #2
Pages: 452
Summary:

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 into her previous live. 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?

 

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Oh my goodness, did this book fall to the Curse of the Second. I understand that Luce is frustrated and no one is answering her questions, especially not Daniel (who, let me add, is breaking his own rules), but I don't think that's a good enough reason to search for anything and everything that could lead her to her true identity. Especially when she's almost killed on one of her searches for answers. Plus, after all the warnings Daniel and her teachers at Shoreline have given her, you would think a girl would learn that its dangerous to be away from school property by herself.

Also, let's just talk about Daniel for a second. He's the one who has been drilling into Luce's skull that there are rules and they need to be followed and they can't see one another because its dangerous yet he still sneaks on campus and talks to her. How do you expect your girlfriend to follow rules when you can't even follow your own? And the revelation that Daniel hasn't been exactly exclusive in their centuries-old relationship is supposed to be surprising and heartbreaking? Yeah, sure, every seventeen years Daniel ventures out into the world in search of Luce's reincarnated soul, but that doesn't mean he's gonna be alone for those breaks. Besides, didn't Luce have a thing for Cam? And now the boy at school? She's not without sin, either.

Obviously I didn't really like Torment. As I said in my review of Fallen, I think Luce is a shallow character, and a bit selfish too. Maybe through her decision at the end of this novel will help her personality.

The Cover: I like the theme going for the novels. The backgrounds always reflect the setting Luce finds herself in and this time its on the West Coast ocean.

Fallen by Lauren Kate

Genre: fantasy
Series and Book #: Fallen Series #1
Pages: 452
Summary:

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 Sword & Cross boarding school in Savannah. He’s the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are screwups, and security cameras watch every move.

 

Except Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce—he goes out of his way to make that very clear. But she can’t let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, Luce has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret…even if it kills her.

 

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I appreciate Lauren Kate didn't initially push Luce and Daniel together. Of course, there was the whole "I-recognize-him-from-somewhere-but-I-can't-exactly-remember-where" mixed with "Oh-my-God-he's-so-hot". Daniel's rude reception of Luce kind of puts off their romance until later in the novel, after Luce gets tangled with other people. Still, it's a little unbelievable the amount of time Luce spent fawning over Daniel.

Luce wasn't a terrible main character but she was shallow. First, she's all upset that Daniel doesn't seem attracted to her. Then she's upset that Cam likes her instead of Daniel. I mean, she has two attractive guys vying for her attention and she still has a poor-me attitude? Her commitment to her friends was a good quality. Luce loves Penn and Arriane to no end. 

So, altogether it wasn't bad, but it wasn't my favorite. I loved the side characters more than anything, especially Gabbe and Arriane. Luce didn't really undergo any character developments as the story went on. I hope she becomes a more three-dimensional character as the series continues.

The Cover: The background of the forest surrounding Sword & Cross is good, as well as the darkness. The model looks a lot like Luce is described.

Perfect Scoundrels by Ally Carter

Genre: adventure
Series and Book #: Heist Society #3
Pages: 336
Summary:

Katarina Bishop and W.W. Hale the Fifth were born to lead completely different lives: Kat comes from a long, proud line of loveable criminal masterminds, while Hale is the scion of one of the most seemingly perfect dynasties in the world. If their families have one thing in common, it’s that they both know how to stay under the radar while getting—or stealing—whatever they want.

 

No matter the risk, the Bishops can always be counted on, but in Hale’s family, all bets are off when money is on the line. When Hale unexpectedly inherits his grandmother’s billion dollar corporation, he quickly learns that there’s no place for Kat and their old heists in his new role. But Kat won’t let him go that easily, especially after she gets tipped off that his grandmother’s will might have been altered in an elaborate con to steal the company’s fortune. So instead of being the heir—this time, Hale might be the mark. 

 

Forced to keep a level head as she and her crew fight for one of their own, Kat comes up with an ambitious and far-reaching plan that only the Bishop family would dare attempt. To pull it off, Kat is prepared to do the impossible, but first, she has to decide if she’s willing to save her boyfriend’s company if it means losing the boy.

 

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Hot diggity Ally Carter has done it again!

The reason I really enjoy the Heist Society novels (as well as the Gallagher Girl series) is that Ally Carter has a way of creating characters that never get boring. Kat and Hale continue to be themselves but now they have a bit more to risk. Kat's always been a con; Hale now has responsibility and he can't afford to tangle with the darker side of New York. Kat's family is compassionate. It's nice to have a real family built up within a novel. Many times characters don't have parents or are estranged from whomever they have left that could be considered their family. They don't trust them, they hate them for reasons, etc. The Bishop's stick together. A code among thieves, if you will. Because Hale means so much to Kat, he's considered a part of the Bishop's wacky family. Thankfully, Hale knows this too. I'm glad he and Kat weren't separated for long in the novel.

Ugh, and the cons are so much fun! There's never a dull moment with Kat's crew. They mesh very well. The dynamic within the group was enough to bring a smile to my face. There was conflict, of course, but the whole family situation really extended to Kat's friends as well. They stick together.

This installation in the Heist Society novels lives up to its predecessors. I can't wait for the next one!

The Cover: Elegant, classy, and is that Hale I spot in Kat's sunglasses?

Railsea by China Miéville

Genre: science fiction
Series and Page #: none
Pages: 424
Summary:

On board the moletrain Medes, Sham Yes ap Soorap watches in awe as he witnesses his first moldywarpe hunt: the giant mole bursting from the earth, the harpoonists targeting their prey, the battle resulting in one’s death & the other’s glory. But no matter how spectacular it is, Sham can’t shake the sense that there is more to life than traveling the endless rails of the railsea—even if his captain can think only of the hunt for the ivory-colored mole she’s been chasing since it took her arm all those years ago. When they comes across a wrecked train, at first it’s a welcome distraction. But what Sham finds in the derelict—a kind of treasure map indicating a mythical place untouched by iron rails—leads to considerably more than he’d bargained for. Soon he’s hunted on all sides, by pirates, trainsfolk, monsters & salvage-scrabblers. & it might not be just Sham’s life that’s about to change. It could be the whole of the railsea.

 

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What a strange book. It had hints of Moby Dick but at the same time, China Miéville created this intricate, slightly confusing, but altogether excellent novel.

Sham is an immediately likeable character. He has all these dreams and ambitions of doing what his parents used to do. Something like treasure hunting among the dangerous flatlands surrounding the rails. Instead, he trains to become a doctor like his uncles want him to do. He's a compassionate person. It seems as if everyone likes him, from the captain to the rest of the moletrain crew. He's very ambitious, too. He comes into himself while he's in the railsea. Its fun to see him develop throughout the book.

While the characters excelled, the descriptions were kind of vague. China Miéville didn't do such a great job of explaining the setting of the novel. There was a little description of the way the world was built because there were layers of earth where humans inhabited and where creatures roamed...? I was very confused.

Its difficult to really get into this book. But once you get past the initial exposition its easy to get into the flow of the book. The action was very well written, as well as the characters met throughout Sham's adventures. The descriptions were lacking and occasionally they took away from the novel. Probably not one of those books you'd find at the main shelves of a bookstore, but if you're looking for something new, I would recommend Railsea.

The Cover: I love this cover. The tracks and the garbage and the way the word "railsea" hangs there. It's an attention getter.

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

Genre: fantasy, sci-fi, adventure
Series and Book #: none
Pages: 528
Summary:

There are six different stories set in different times: Adam Ewing, an American traveling across the world for his work; Robert Frobisher, a young musician seeking security and an apprenticeship in Belgium; Luisa Rey, a journalist following in her father’s footsteps hoping to uncover a dangerous nuclear power plant; Timothy Cavendish, an elderly gentleman who is sent to a nursing home and is waiting for his chance to escape; Sonmi-451, a clone beginning to understand the world; and finally, Zachry Bailey, a sixteen year old boy growing up in a primitive post-apocalyptic Earth. David Mitchell intertwines their lives in one simple novel.

 

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"A half-finished book is a half-finished love affair."

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, page 64

 

This was such an interesting read because David Mitchell didn't stick with just one genre as he explores all six different worlds he has created. It bounces from historical fiction to science fiction to post-apocalyptic. This may seem like it would be confusing to read, but it's really not. Its distinctive when he switches stories. The best part is, I got sucked into each story. None were any worse than the others.

 

Each of David Mitchell's characters in this novel had a separate voice. Each story has an upside and a downside; nothing is perfect. But when writing six separate stories I think it would be extremely difficult to make sure there's no repetition or one story filters into another. Nothing of that sort happened in this novel. The setup of this book begins with Adam Ewing. Then, about halfway through Adam's story, Robert Frobisher's begins. The pattern continues until Zachry Bailey's. That story continues until its finish and then the book returns to the second half of Sonmi-451's story. Then the book continues to the end of Sonmi-451, Timothy Cavendish, etc. until finally, Adam Ewing writes the final entry in his journal.

 

Cloud Atlas was made into a movie of which I haven't seen. I would like to see how they interpreted it onscreen.

 

Cloud Atlas is a unique novel. As much as it may seem confusing, it's not. each character has their own voice and David Mitchell does an excellent job of tying all the stories together so they're not random. Sometimes the individual stories ended a bit abruptly. I wouldn't immediately skip to the second half of the story because you'll miss some crucial details in between.

 

The Cover: I love how it portrays different versions of the clouds. And there are six! One for every character.