One of the first young adult books I read after becoming manager of Oz was Fallen by Lauren Kate. It was one of Sarah’s (my Random House rep) favorite books, so I just dove right in and devoured it. Fallen had everything I was looking for: romance, mystery, intrigue and good characters. The main characters Luce and Daniel have been eternally cursed. Daniel is a fallen angel who was thrown out of heaven when he fell in love with the mortal Luce. As punishment, Luce and Daniel must live forever. Luce, because she is human, dies and come back with the same body and no recollection of her past lives. Daniel, however, remembers it all, knowing that each of Luce’s lives is ended by his kiss. Kate creates a believable world with her own take on angels and their fall.
So when Torment came out, I set aside a 
chilly night or two to read it. Torment picks up just days after the events in Fallen. The first novel is set at a private school in Georgia, but at the beginning of Torment the reader learns that Luce has moved to a Nephilim school in California called Shoreline for her own protection. Evil forces are trying to kill Luce for good in hopes of turning Daniel, and neither Luce nor Daniel want to lose each other. I loved that in this installment, Luce develops into a strong character as she becomes an independent person without Daniel to lean on. With interesting new characters from the Shoreline school and more flashbacks to Luce’s past lives, this novel is definitely as good as the first, if not better.
And to top it all off, Lauren Kate will be stopping by here on Thursday, December 30th at 5:00 to sign her new book! Ahh! I cannot wait! So bring your Christmas money and gift cards and come meet Lauren Kate.
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