Passion by Lauren Kate – Review

If you have already been reading the Fallen series by Lauren Kate, then you were probably waiting in anticipation just like I was for the third book. Two years ago a friend of mine let me borrow the first book with a promise that I wouldn’t be able to put it down. I was disappointed to say that I could put it down, and I wasn’t terribly impressed. In a sea of Twilight-esque books being published every day, the story wasn’t that original. Swap vampires for fallen angels, and you’ve got a very similar plot. At least, that’s how it seemed. When Torment was released next, I only bought it because I believe in sometimes giving a series a second chance. I’ve discovered that sometimes, the first book is just setting us up for a story that’s going to be really interesting. I was surprised to be right. I read Torment over 100 books ago, and I can tell you that it stuck with me. When the book was over, for the first time in a very long time, I found myself cursing that I had started reading a series that was going to make me wait for the next book. Especially because Torment ends on a cliffhanger, and I am completely against cliffhangers in books. (Why? Because it takes sometimes a year or two, if not longer, before we’re gonna see another book. I don’t mind if the story is unfinished, but try not to leave me hanging for TWO YEARS! But, that’s a rant for another day.)

I have waited a year for the latest installment to be released. Passion came out June 14th. It is the third book in a series that we know is going to be at least four books long, but at least doesn’t end on a major cliffhanger. You can be certain I bought the book immediately and read it in the course of 24 hours. You might think that I’m building this up to talk about how much I liked this book. You would be mistaken. I was apathetic about Fallen, absolutely loved Torment, but was disappointed in Passion. Torment had me scrambling to know what was going to happen next, only to discover that Passion was simply going to be a kind of “ghost of Lucinda’s past” story. All of the book take place in Lucinda’s past, as she travels from past life to past life trying to discover why it is that she falls in love with Daniel every time, and if there is something she can do to break the curse.

It was interesting to read, and it wasn’t boring, really. But it wasn’t exciting, either. I gave it a lot of thought. I finished the book a week ago and have been mulling over it ever since. I think I figured out what it was about Torment that sets it apart from the other two books. Torment takes place with a different cast of characters. Lucinda leaves the school where she was sent in the first book for a much cooler school where Nephilim, the half-mortal children of angels, are taught all about the secret world most mortals don’t know really exists. Lucinda makes friends that are more interesting (sorry, Penn), and her teachers are an interesting mix of angels and demons. We got to see just how interesting this story could really be. Couple that with the book ending the way that it did (and no, I don’t intend on spoiling it), and no wonder I enjoyed that book so much.

Passion, on the other hand, is only about Lucinda and Daniel. The other characters make short, unimportant cameos that could have been omitted without being important to the book. An entire book about Lucia and Dan’s love for one another. Yuck. I like a good love story as well as the next person, but we already know they are destined to always choose one another in every lifetime. We knew that this book was going to end with Lucia realizing why. It was a book devoted to NOTHING but their love, which was a little boring.

Oh, and we do get a little insight about Cam, but it’s not as well done as it could have been, which I personally find disappointing, because I always root for depth in the bad boy. I will say this in an attempt to redeem the series:  the ending of the book seems to suggest that all the characters who were absent from Passion will be coming together in the next book for a big battle. So I intend to read it. But, if I were going to rate this series so far, I would give it a 3 out of 5. It’s not fantastic, but it’s not awful either. It has the potential to be more, but only the next book will tell.