Bookworm Blogger #YA: Review: Rapture by Lauren Kate

Rapture by Lauren Kate

Publishers: Doubleday Childrens
Published Date: June 21st 2012
From: Bought
My rating: 4 out of 5

Synopsis:

The sky is dark with wings . . .

And time is running out for Luce and Daniel.

In order to stop Lucifer from erasing the past, they must find the place where the Fall began. Only Luce can break the curse, and it is her choice alone that will decide all of their fates.

But as Dark Forces gather, great sacrifices will have to be made in this final, epic struggle . . .

In the fight for Luce, and for Love, who will win?

The astonishing conclusion to the FALLEN series. Heaven can't wait any longer.

Review:

Rapture concludes the Fallen Series by Lauren Kate, and I have mixed feelings about it.

Lets start at the beginning. Fallen #1 was a great book. The story was original but with a few minor quirks. The two boy love twist, the good-come-evil librarian, and the inevitable big reveal (though nothing significant regarding Lucinda), and the great getaway. Torment (Fallen #2) was a little too Harry Potter's Hogwarts for me - a school for Nephilim and Angels alike? Other characters where introduced as was the meaning of the Announcers. The romance was touching but Daniel began to feel a little flat for me. Passion (Fallen #3) felt like an excuse just to time-travel back on previous stories of Luce and Daniel, although the introduction of Bill was the highlight of the book. An evil plot to erase the world was revealed right at the end to leave us hanging. Personally I felt that this book should probably have been an extra like Fallen in Love and not part of the main Series.

Rapture, in a way, was a relief. Yes, I had read all the books but I began to feel that the story was letting go some of the vital parts that the first Fallen book promised. After all, that is why we all wanted to read more after Fallen was released.

In my opinion, the quirky side-kick characters held none of their original charisma. The banter didn't feel real. Even Arriane, who is one of my favourite characters, only had a few lines of laugh-out-loud moments. And Roland and Cam were almost non-existent as far as characters, merely part of the background. Shelby and Miles, who were introduced and played a big part in Torment plus had their own section in Fallen in Love didn't really enter the story at all.

The good points have to go to the main historical elements of the story. Clearly Lauren Kate did her research regarding Bible and Angel lore, the depth of which is evident during the 'tellings' within the story. However, there were alot of moments where 'tellings' could have been more 'showings'.

Don't get me wrong. I'm glad I read it. I will always read Lauren Kate books, and I loved the finale (do you think the character of Nora was a nod to Becca Fitzpatrick?).I actually thought, with all the fig leaves and olive trees that Adam and Eve were going to be part of the story!!

-CBx