Torment

Lucinda is sure that she and Daniel are meant to be together forever. Now 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?
from laurenkate.com

Beth says 4 Stars...

This book was just fun. Serious literature; heavens no. I was actually expecting a little less, so the book came as a pleasant surprise. The change of scenery was really helpful in creating a new atmosphere to differentiate this novel from Fallen. I loved the new school, and it was a great device to allow more information about the angels to be given to the reader without seeming forced. Unlike in other novels, having Lucinda go to class really made sense. One of my biggest complaints with many recent novels is that they don't really explain any of the mythology. Lauren Kate finally did, and it made me even more interested, particularly the highly blurry relationship between good and evil. I also really liked how she developed the role of the creepy shadows. In general, the school environment was just more layered and delightful. The pacing of the plot, unfortunately, was off. It felt like a middle book because there were long stretches where nothing would really happen.

The characters were better, particularly Lucinda. Daniel remains the swoon-worthy and emotionally conflicted fallen angel. He didn't actually become more interesting, although he and Lucinda continued to smolder whenever they were together. I was impressed by Lucinda, though. Initially I thought that she was just another stereotypical paranormal romance heroine who couldn't do a thing by herself. Imagine my shock when she proved me wrong on multiple occasions! Specifics would be too spoilery, but suffice it to say that she officially isn't wrapped up in meeting the love of her life as a teen. The supporting cast was relatively good as well, but nothing absolutely stellar.

If you liked Fallen, or even just thought it was okay go ahead and grab Torment. It improves where Kate left off, but be prepared for a slower read that's definitely setting up for the next installment. It won't blow your mind, but you'll have a good time reading it.
Book from Library

Fallen

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.
from laurenkatebooks.com

Beth says 4 Stars...

Finally, a paranormal romance that works! The shelves have been inundated by less than stellar rip offs of Twilight (which actually isn't that amazing to begin with) and I've gotten tired of it. Seriously, who needs to read the exact same story 15 times with different paranormal creatures? The first thing that made this one different was the setting; a Southern (not so different) reform school/mental institute (now that's something new). The cast of characters was interesting overall, partially because you knew that they all had secrets as to why they were at the school. The pacing of the book did get a bit slow in the middle, but it picked back up nicely once Kate decided to give the readers some more information.

Luce is interesting, but not the most riveting main character. The issue I had was that in repressing her own traumatic memories the readers were deprived interesting information that helped explain her personality. Also, she was kinda, well, wishy washy with the guys. The love triangle was interesting, but Daniel was the star. He smoldered through the page and was delightful when he got all dark and broody (after watching Buffy I have a thing for broody). It was nice how he wasn't (quite) the typical male lead, but he still followed the same patterns.

The issues I had were that even though there were parts that were original, a good deal wasn't. I got some similarities to the Immortals series by Noel and a touch of hush, hush. Fallen shows promise because it's well written. Hopefully that will come through and the plot will move in different directions in the next book(s?). This is a story that really pulls you in and refuses to let go until the mystery is finished. A nice summer read if you want something that's on the dark side.

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