Torment by Lauren Kate

How many lives do you need to live before you find someone worth dying for? I am in love with this catch phrase for this book. It simply screams “This book is amazing. You must read it!” and I must say that I agree. Plus it is one of the best covers I have seen this year! I mean I am in love with that dress! Anyways, Torment is the sequel to the New York Times Best Seller, Fallen. If you have not read Fallen, Torment may be hard to get into. Torment picks up right where Fallen left off. Luce has been removed from Sword and Cross and is going into hiding. Cam and Daniel (fallen angels on different sides of the line) have drawn up a truce lasting 18 days. In this time period both sides will work together toward a common goal, protecting Luce from the Outcasts.

For her own safety Daniel and Cam agree to keep Luce at Shoreline, a school filled with Nephilim, the offspring of fallen angels and humans. Here Luce begins to uncover the truth behind the Announcers (the shadows that have followed her all of her life) and her past lives. Luce is beginning to understand that it is not just her and Daniel who have been hurt by her many deaths. With each life there is a family that is left behind. Is it right for her to keep hurting those she loves? With this knew knowledge it is becoming harder for Luce to overlook Daniels half truths and his insistence that he can not stay with her now. Daniel may be her past and her present but is he really her future? Could Luce be happy with someone else?

Luce is a much stronger character in this book. She is not content with waiting around and just blindly taking orders anymore. More characters are introduced in Torment as well. Miles is a great addition to the series. He will have everyone questioning whether they should ditch their Team Daniel shirts for a shiny new Team Miles one. Shelby (Luce's new roommate) is brash, stubborn, and has a history of her own with Daniel and Luce, but she is also impossible not to love. Most of the characters from Fallen make an appearance in Torment but I was disappointed that there wasn't more Cam. I hope he plays a bigger role in future books.

The one thing that may seem frustrating is that like all series this is a cliffhanger. The next book will be Passion. It is set to release in Fall 2011. Passion will be a sort of prequel to the series. Once you finish Torment you may have a better idea of what exactly that could mean. I don’t want to spoil anything ;) Then Rapture will be released in 2012 to wrap up the series. So expect to be frustrated after turning that last page. :)