4/13/14: Fallen Quadriligy by Lauren Kate

     There are no words for how unbelievably happy I am that I finished this series. 

Let's start from the beginning. It was a bitter fall Thursday when I came across Fallen for $4.99 at Barnes and Nobles. With $150 of birthday giftcards and a warm Earl Grey tea in hand, I thought 'Hey, this is a bargain I shouldn't pass up,' so I bought it. 

Oh how naive I was.

I didn't read the book itself until a while after I bought it due to the five other books I had bought along with it, but when I finally did read it, I regretted it. 

The book was horrible and not worth my five dollars. Although the writing was extremely poetic and beautiful, the plot was stupid. The accuracy was also off. 

Luce and Daniel's relationship was completely cheesy and unresolved. I also was completely confused at was going on. To read more about what I thought of that first book all those months ago, click here. 

Torment was the exact same way for me; boring and useless. At least I figured out what Daniel and Cam were. The plot thickened with stupidity and was going absolutely no where. I didn't like Luce's character or her choice in relationship. 

Passion was so SO much better. I adored the fact that finally (FINALLY) Luce wanted to figure all this shit out. Why did she really even like Daniel in the first place? What were all her past lives about?

The historical fiction aspect, combined with time travel and fantasy caught my attention and I ate that book up (not literally of course). You can read my full review of that here. 

So I put off reading the last book. I knew it wasn't going to be good and I just didn't want a read a book I knew wasn't going to be good. 

But there was a gap on my bookshelf where my copy of Rapture had to fall to complete the set and I was determined to fill that ugly hole (as readers I am sure you all know that feeling). So I conquered it. 

It wasn't good. But it wasn't as bad as the first two. For the first part I wasn't to intrigued, and the whole apocalypse thing was a bit unnecessary. Then when Lucifer turned out to be Luce's ex, I was laughing out loud. This whole book was just a very cheesy and 'I'm trying to be a grand ending' kind of book. It actually reminded me of Mockingjay in a way.  

Either way, I am glad I finished the series. I am currently reading the novella Fallen in Love that goes with and am completely overjoyed to be reading about somebody else's relationship besides Luce and Daniel's. 

My overall rating for this series was probably 2.5. I hope Lauren Kate writes something good after this. I think she could go into to poetry, because I loved the writing. 

Other Notes

For completing this series I earned 17 points in the 2014 Prequel & Sequel Challenge. To see more about this challenge, look to my 2014 Challenges tab. 

1/16/14: Passion by Lauren Kate

Passion

Cover: I really like the designs of these covers, although they do seem a bit, I don't know, 'fake'. 

Author: Lauren Kate

Genre: Romance, Paranormal, Time-Travel, Historical Fiction

Goodreads Blurb: 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 thislifetime...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.

Sweeping across centuries, PASSION is the third novel in the unforgettably epic FALLEN series.

Published/ing: June 14th 2011 Delacorte Press

Rating: 3.5/5

Review:

I definitely enjoyed  this book much more than the last two in the series. 

I think everything had a new depth to it. We get to see Luce actually develop as a character and question this 'undying love' that she is supposed to have with Daniel, and whether or not it is just the curse. She goes from being the foolish empty-headed girl with a crazy crush to being a bit more of a hero. Daniel also grows more as a character. He understands Luce's desire for truth. 

What really got me with this book though, was TIME TRAVEL! One of my all time favorite things. 

I loved how we got to go back and see Luce's past with Daniel. Through out the book we plunge deeper and deeper into this pit of time and personality and love. Everything was so accurate and beautiful. I can't even with how great it was to have all these different settings and conflicts and Luce and Daniels. 

The whole plot point with the 'breaking the curse' seemed a bit boring but when you jazz it up with history it actually turned out to be extremely interesting to me. 

Towards the end, when Bill, a character I absolutely adored until he turned out to be Satan (I kinda still liked him as Satan), changed the whole thing around, I was astounded. At first I though Bill was a bit too childish of a character to be in a book like this, but WOW DUDE way to pull that plot twist. I really liked that whole revelation moment. 

But the ending was a bit weird and confusing. They jumped around a lot and then all of sudden they were in Heaven and then they weren't and now Satan/Bill wants to take away two millenniums of time and Daniel, Luce, and the gang have to find where the angels originally fell. I got a bit confused. What about the curse? And, you know, God? Like I know from watching shows like Supernatural and such that God doesn't usually just come to the rescue, but I feel like the characters should've had that 'wait where's God' moment. You know? 

I hope, when Rapture comes in the mail from amazon tomorrow, that this gets a bit cleared up. Honestly, I'm kind of excited to read the next book. I hope it really smooths out and I get to give it a five star review (not very likely).  

Future News:

This series is expecting a movie, but nothing has been announced. This book series is completed. 

Hope you all have a good night! :)
~Monty

12/17/13: Top Ten Tuesday: Writer Newbies

This meme is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. 

December 17: Top Ten New-To-Me Authors I Read In 2013

On this topic I could write a million authors, but I'll just do my favorite new ones of this year.

• Huntley Fitzpatrick
• Huntley wrote one of favorite books this year, My Life Next Door. I'm ad so excited to read her next few books when they come out!
• Kevis Hendrikson
• He is definitely a new author for me this year. I appreciated getting the chance to read his books this year.
• Marie Lu
• OoOoOo, probably my favorite dystopian author this year. Her books blew me away.
• Lauren Kate
• I'm still reading her series, Fallen, and I don't know what I think of them yet. I think I'm leaning towards three stars, but I don't know, maybe she'll surprise me!
• Madeleine Roux
• I really loved falling into her zombie novels, Allison Hewitt is Trapped and Sadie Walker is Stranded, and really must read her Asylum novel.

• Rainbow Rowell
• I think she'll be on everyone's list this year. Quite the breakthrough writer. 

• John Green
• I DO NOT REGRET A THING. These books were so good and I love what John does with his brother and everything about it is wonderful and happy.
• Tahereh Mafi
• I think these books were so very unique. Shatter Me and Unravel Me just blew me away. 
• Cassandra Clare
• Ha. Hahaha. See John Green.
• Tamera Ireland Stone
• I also enjoyed divulging my self in her books. I liked that romantic and timey wimey feel they had. 

~Monty

10/23/13: W...W...W... Wednesday: So Much to Read, So Little Time

Wednesdays meme is hosted by Should Be Reading.

• Currently Reading
• I am reading Allegiant (most likely becuase I am writing to you from the past) by Veronica Roth. This is the third and final installment in the Divergent Trilogy. 
• Finished Reading
• I've hopefully finished Torment by Lauren Kate *fingers crossed*. 

• To Read
• I have a huge amount of books I want to read. I recently bought a lot of books with birthday money. Since there are so many books, there is a picture down below of my book pile.

~Monty

10/7/13: Fallen by Lauren Kate (Quickie Review)

Fallen

Cover: I thought the cover was really interesting and that, I believe, is what drew me to this in the first place. I like the that Gothic element.

Author: Lauren Kate

Genre: Romance, Paranormal

Goodreads Blurb: 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. 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 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.

Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, FALLEN is a page-turning thriller and the ultimate love story.

Published/ing: December 8th, 2009 Delacorte Press

Rating: 3.5/5

Review: 

This book was interesting. I went into it with high hopes for it being sort of like a cross between Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick and Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl and a lot of great reviews from friends. But I feel extremely let down. 

I enjoyed first reading it, because the Prologue was exceptional and extremely attention grabbing. The writing style is also exceptional. The flow of words was great and the descriptions of settings and characters was wonderful. But it was lacking in areas. 

I liked the diverse character personality. I liked the southern and gothic setting. But the plot was lacking. 

The whole story line kind of drawled. There were potholes, and what I think is a still unresolved conflict. I had trouble understanding what was happening. I liked the forshadowing and the Biblical refrences but what was really going on? What are ***SPOLIER*** Cam and Daniel really? ***SPOILER CLOSED*** 

But overall it was a good storyline and I think it is heading in the right places. I've read many exceptional things where the first book sucks, so I will continue on (AFTER HOUSE OF HADES AND ALL THE OTHER BOOKS COMING OUT IN LIKE LITERALLY 7 DAYS) with the series. I like me some Gothic element and romance. 

Future News:

The series just came to the close and the author is starting a new series. 

House of Hades comes out soon. OMGS.