Torment by Lauren Kate

  Title: Torment
  Series: Fallen Series (book #2)
  Author: Lauren Kate
  Publisher: Delacorte Press
  Date Published: June 14, 2011
  Genre: Paranormal, Romance
  Pages: 464 (paperback)
  Age Range: 13+








                  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 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.
What if Daniel’s version of the past isn't actually true? What if Luce is really meant to be with someone else?

                                                   Review:

*Slow clap*  Lauren Kate has done it again. She's made me regret every decision I've made in life. Again, I'm reading these books on a dare- not under my own volition.

     In this book, we move to another school with a brand-spanking new set of characters. Easily, my favorite character was Miles. He was, unfortunately, another love interest, but he seemed like a genuinely good person. Half of me hopes that he'll end up being evil, just for kicks, but then I remember that I'm reading the most predictable series on the planet. Shelby was also a better character than any other that I've read so far, but she was a pretty minor character. Lucinda has not improved at all, Daniel has not improved at all, and Cam is... still my favorite, original character. And he's still pretty pathetic.

     There seemed to be no thought behind this book. Honestly, there was truce, other things tried to kill Lucinda for no apparent reason, and she fell for the worst-set traps in the globe. A fight ensued, and she ran away to... do what? TO FIND OUT IF DANIEL'S LOVE IS REAL. *sigh* People are dying, her family is in danger, and she's running amok with the very, very, VERY little expertise that she has. maybe she'll ruin the time-space continuum or whatever and die. A girl can dream, right?

     Here is the ranty, spoilery part. You knew it had to come.



     Oh, my god. SO, I STAND BY WHAT I SAID BEFORE. Don't kiss her, and she won't die. Right? Why am I the only one who has figured this out?!
     And who are all these other people that want to kill Lucinda? And why??? She's just an idiotic girl! She doesn't even have any powers. She's literally only a girl who dies over, and over, and over again because someone can't keep his hands off of her. I'm looking at you Daniel.


     Back to the review!!!

     What do I think will happen in book three? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. But I only hope that she screws something up and ruins everything. Now wouldn't that be fun?

Fallen by Lauren Kate

 Title: Fallen
 Series: Fallen Series (#1)
 Author: Lauren Kate
 Publisher: Delacorte Press
 Date Published: September 28th, 2010
 Genre: Fantasy, Romance
 Pages: 464 (paperback)
 Age Range: 13+










                  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 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.

                                                     Preview:

*sigh*      Even after reading the flap, I should have avoided this book. Just the flap tells you what kind of book this is going to be. A bad one, for those of you who don't know. First off, I actually kind of like the cover. It's definitely cheesy and awful, but it's so bad that I like it. Let's not judge, okay? Why did I read this book? For a few reasons. First, I had been wanting to read it for awhile, but I had heard awful things about it, so I decided not to read it. Then, a friend dared me to read the first three books of the series, so I did.
     Now, for the characters. Luce was the flattest, most boring, whiny, awful protagonist that I have read from in awhile. In a awhile. She didn't do anything by herself except get into scrapes, and she was boring to read from. I didn't care about her, and I didn't care about what happened to her. She was so self-centered, and everyone was inexplicably drawn to her even though she was so.... UGH. Words can't describe how much she annoyed me. Even worse, was Daniel. He knew the entire time that his actions with Lucinda (I refuse to call her Luce) would have consequences, and yet he insisted on continuing. Okay, so I'm going to write a spoilery review below, that way I can vent properly. Anyway, the entire book, I knew Daniel was some mythical creature, so it was really annoying to wait wait for the big (not big at all) reveal. The only character I actually liked was Arriane, and we didn't get to see a lot of her at all. Cam was, well, let's just say I knew something was off about him. I could totally predict what ended up happening with him.
     Besides being predictable, the book was plain boring. It was so flat in the writing department, that it hurt to read. My little sister could write a better book than Lauren Kate did. The plot wasn't particularly creative, either. It's pretty dang cliched, and it's been done much better before. Honestly, it was a miracle that I made it through this book.

     Nowww.... I'm going to write a spoilery rant below. Thank you for your patience.




     OKAY, so if Lucinda dies every time Daniel kisses, or touches her, THEN MAYBE HE SHOULDN'T KISS HER!!!!!! RIGHT? RIGHT? I mean, wouldn't that solve the issue? Don't touch her, and she won't explode, or die, or whatever it is that she does. Like, maybe, he should just avoid touching her. And clearly, he can't LOVE her without actually knowing her. What if she's a self-centered, whiny thing. Oh, wait. She already is... He is in love with the idea of her- of what he knew her to be. He can't love her in this life always remembering what she's like in the past. He fell in love with the old Lucinda, not this one.
     And does Cam actually love her, or is he just using her? Because if she was really in love with Daniel, she wouldn't have fallen in love with anyone else, right? Is that just me? I would rather her end up with Cam instead of Daniel. AND I can just tell that in the next book, there's gonna be another love interest. I can just tell. UGH.



     Back to the review....


     Anyway, I hated this book. And I can't believe it's going to become a movie next year. *sigh* Unfortunately, I have to read the next two books as part of the dare. Reviews for those shall be out soon. -_- Please help me, I think I lost my mind. Really.

                                            

++

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

Title: Clockwork Prince

Series: The Infernal Devices #2

Author: Cassandra Clare

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Date Published: March 19, 2013

Genre: YA fiction, fantasy, action, historical fiction, thriller, paranormal

Pages: 528 (paperback)

Age Range: 13+


Summary

In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when it becomes clear that the mysterious Magister will stop at nothing to use Tessa’s powers for his own dark ends.

With the help of the handsome, tortured Will and the devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister’s war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal and fueled by revenge. To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister knows their every move—and that one of their own has betrayed them.

Tessa is drawn more and more to Jem, though her longing for Will continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa answers about who she really is? As their search leads to deadly peril, Tessa learns that secrets and lies can corrupt even the purest heart.

Review


JEM CANNOT DIE!! HE CAN'T! I will have a meltdown if he dies...

The writing was fantastic, as always! It's Cassandra Clare so it's pretty impossible for the writing to be okay, or fine, or just good. You definitely grow closer with the characters in this book, especially Jem. We come to understand how his addiction affects him, and his true feelings about dying and how much the addiction is a struggle for him. It's awful, but he gets through it day by day.

Jem and Tessa grow really close in this book. Things even get a little steamy....okay, a lot steamy. It's great. While Tessa was describing how her heart was pounding; mine was probably beating 10x faster than hers lol! I love the relationship they have; it's sweet and bashful. I'm excited to see how it progresses in the next book, though I will silently praying: Don't die. Please don't die, Jem. UGH, I don't know what I'm doing to do if he does! I'm going to seriously be depressed...

Anyway, on with the review!

I loved how Henry and Charlotte finally came together and talked about their marriage. They both love each other and never talked about it! Henry thought that Charlotte married him because she needed a man in order to run the Institute, and Charlotte thought that Henry married her so his family wouldn't owe hers any money! They were so blindsided!

Speaking of blindsided; Jessie. I was not upset about her betraying them at all. I kind of expected it and wasn't distraught about it because I didn't like her in the first place (who did?). So, yeah, that's all I have to say about that.

Now, let's talk about Will. The reason why Will keeps everybody at a distance is revealed; it's heartbreaking. For five years he has believed that no one loved him and that no one will ever be able to love him because of a curse a demon put on him. It turned out not to be true--the demon had lied. When he found out, it was like Will's heart had shattered, but also opened up. When he started singing about demon pox, I was cracking up! It was just so un-Will-like.

Towards the end, he lets down the wall he's held up around himself for the last 5 years. It freaks everybody in the Institute out because it's so unnatural lol. But then, just when he goes to finally confess to Tessa, he finds out he has no chance because his best friend/parabatai has already won the girl. (GO JEM!). It'll be impossible for Will to go back to the way he was, now. Which makes me happy because I'm ready to see the real Will, not the Will he's been for the last five years.

I believe Tessa loves Jem--she does--but since she still has some feelings for Will, and now that he's finally showing his true, un-cruel self, she's not going to be able to fully walk away from him because she can't help but wonder what she could have had with him! Cassandra...all I have to say is that this is cruel. You are being cruel to your fans. This is just too much for us to handle....yet we continue reading.

Soooo many other things happened in this book, but if I added it to the review, it would just be too darn long. So I kept it short and about the characters. You'll just have to find out about what happened to Nate yourself. Go read the book! You won't regret it.

It's impossible not to love these characters. It really is, because they're all so great!