Book Review: Torment by Lauren Kate.

Product details:
Publisher: Random House Children's Books.
Release date: September 28th 2010.
Paperback, 464 pages.
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Ages: YA.
Series: Fallen #2
Other books in series: Fallen
Source: Received from publisher for review.

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.

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.

The second novel in the addictive FALLEN series . . . where love never dies.

* Please Note: There are slight spoilers for Fallen in this review!

A true page-turner where danger lurks around every corner, Torment, the second book in Lauren’s Kate’s Fallen series, is an action packed slice of fun, full of mystery, secrets and lies, and those all important hot guys! It took a while for Fallen to win me over, but with this book I had no such problems. I enjoyed Torment right from the start through to the very last page.

While Fallen was slow to start, Torment gets right to the action from the off. Luce is in hiding, pursued by an array of unknown enemies while Daniel and Cam, enemies at the end of Fallen, must now work together as an eighteen day truce between Angels and Demons is formed. Fallen saw the emergence of a hidden enemy and now, no longer safe at Sword and Cross, Luce instead finds herself in sunny California, at Shoreline, a boarding school with a difference. While the Southern setting of Sword on Cross was beautifully described, I found the school itself to be depressing, drab and dreary, and so I really loved the change in location. After the constant doom and gloom of Sword and Cross, I was ready for Luce to have some fun at Shoreline.

And she does have fun! I had a difficult time with Luce in the first book, but here she is an all together more likeable character. While she still pines for Daniel, she makes a real effort at Shoreline, attending beach parties, making new friends, and delving into her past lives by mysterious means. She also uncovers some special abilities of her own which makes me think there could be a while lot more to Luce than meets the eye! I was left with a whole lot of questions at the end of Fallen, and while the answers to a lot of my questions are still outstanding, as Daniel refuses to divulge pretty much any information, I appreciated that Luce was willing to question Daniel here and not just take everything he told her at face value.

Once again I appreciated the depth of characterization in this book. The introduction of a new school sees a whole new set of characters and maybe even a new love interest for Luce. If you thought that Daniel and Cam were going to fight it out over Luce, then you’d be wrong, because there’s a new guy on the scene, and while he’s not my type, I can see why Luce might just be a little tempted, because he’s a whole lot easier to figure out than Daniel.

Oh, Daniel. I had issues with Daniel in Fallen, it’s true, and now I feel as though maybe I was a little harsh on him. He can be over-bearing, over-protective and even bossy at times, but there were a couple of scenes in this book where I was simply smitten with the guy. Daniel is often absent in Torment, but when he does appear, his presence is commanding, while the scenes between him and Luce, when they are not arguing, are intensely romantic and all round swoonworthy. I can’t help it. I am a hopeless soppy romantic! I can’t forget my two favourite characters Cam and Arianne either. While they don’t play a huge role in this book, when they do appear, they are total scene stealers. Then there’s Shelby, Luce’s new roommate who is a whole lot of trouble, and has a whole lot of attitude!

Exciting throughout, Torment ends on a major cliffhanger that left me wanting more! A lot of my favourite books deal with themes of past lives and reincarnation, and it looks as though we might finally get to see Luce and Daniel’s connection through the ages and get some answers to those still unanswered questions, in Passion, the third book in the series which is out later this month. Can’t wait!