Book Review: Passion, by Lauren Kate

This month I'm reviewing a book 

for two reading challenges.

The first one is

'The Descent of the Angels Reading Challenge'

hosted by Momo at Books Over Boys.

It began in January of this year,

and will end in December.

The second one is the

'Speculative Fiction Challenge, 2011'

hosted by Magemanda at Floor to Ceiling Books.

This one also runs

from January to December, 2011.

I found out about it way after

I had started the first one,

so it's great that I can use books for both,

since speculative fiction is

a broad umbrella term

that includes fantasy, science fiction,

paranormal romance, and urban fantasy.

So I hereby present my review!

Passion
Author: Lauren Kate
Hardcover, 420 pages
Published by Delacorte Books for Young Readers
June 14, 2011
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance



In this third volume of the Fallen series, Luce embarks on a journey through time, visiting and experiencing all of her past lives.  Her passionate goal is to overthrow the curse that has marred her relationship with Daniel, taking her away from him at the age of seventeen, over and over again...

In Torment, the second volume of the series, she discovered that the Announcers, those mysterious shadows that had always followed her, were actually portals into time.  In that book as well, she learned how to use them to transport herself into those previous lives, hunting unceasingly for clues that might help her understand her unusual love for a fallen angel, an obsessive, all-consuming love that will endure all the endless separations forced on Daniel and Luce due to her perennially untimely deaths...

As she travels back into the past, she meets her own previous incarnations.  Daniel heads back into the past as well, pursuing Luce, afraid that she might do something to change their history, perhaps even accidentally obliterating it.  Like Luce, he meets his own earlier selves. 

In contrast to Torment, which I felt was too slow-moving, this novel is full of constant action, as Luce quickly moves from one life to the other, further and further back into the past.  In each life, shortly after her arrival, she witnesses her earlier self's death, as each girl spontaneously bursts into flames, with no discernible cause.  It was horrible to read this every few pages...the only thing that kept me going was the fact that Lucinda Price, the latest incarnation, was alive, and kept moving on into the next past life.  She even made contact with Daniel's previous selves, revealing herself to some of them.

On one of her trips, Luce meets a strange, little character who calls himself "Bill".  Although he can take any shape he wishes, he apparently prefers to manifest as a gargoyle.  He helps Luce with suggestions and tips, not only during her trips, but also when she arrives at any given life.  Toward the end of the book, he becomes a pivotal character in the never ending romance of Luce and Daniel, while a sinister plot is suddenly revealed.

I really enjoyed the contrasts between Luce and each of her incarnations.  She was the same in all of them, yet she was also different.  Daniel, too, was basically the same, yet different.  The one constant in each life was their love.

The origin of the curse is explained at one point in the book.  It came about at the time of Lucifer's rebellion, in which he took many angels with him, and was cast out of heaven, into hell.  Daniel, deeply disturbed by this rift among angels who were his brothers and sisters, refused to take sides.  He passionately argued that, if one truly loves, one cannot possibly side against one's brethren.  For this, he too, was cast out of heaven, but to Earth, not hell.  Also, thanks to Lucifer, who then became known also as "Satan", Daniel was cursed to love one woman for all time, and yet, never be able to have her be completely his, since she was to be repeatedly taken from him when she reached the age of seventeen. 

This third book, while even more addictive than the first one, Fallen, raises more questions than it answers.  There is a fourth volume in the works, titled Rapture, which I assume will answer all of these questions.  The problem is that Luce and Daniel are no closer to breaking the curse, in this book, than they were in the two previous books.  Luce has witnessed firsthand just how truly they belong to each other, and, in one life, nearly makes a decision that will effectively put an end to their longing.  However, the final answer seems to elude them, and things are getting more complicated due to the sinister plot I referred to above.

In short, I am waiting with bated breath for the publication of the last book in the series!  Perhaps Daniel will finally make a decision to choose the side of heaven, and Luce will then have to live out her life without him, on Earth.  Or will Kate choose to have him live as a normal human with Luce, stripped of his angelic powers, but happy, since he no longer has to chase the love of his life across the centuries? 

We will all have to wait until the spring of 2012 to find out!

Meanwhile, I'm thinking that I might very well go back to the first book and re-read it, then do the same with the second and the third, in order to link everything up firmly in my mind...

I heartily recommend Passion as a fascinating paranormal read, one that will definitely keep readers turning pages until the very end! 


MY RATING: