Passion- Lauren Kate

Publisher: Delacorte press
Published: 14 June, 2011
420 pages
Goodreads page

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.

So let me start off by saying that i have barely had a chance to read this month, I've been super busy and i think I'm in a little bit of a reading slump. This book wasn't helping that much.

This book is the third in the FALLEN series and it was pretty average. I cant say i was disappointed because the only book i have really enjoyed in this series was the first but i had hoped it would pick up after the second one was such a disappointment.
I found that it was kind of slow and i was extremely frustrated throughout reading this because i didn't understand the point of the 'quest' Luce goes on. It seemed like she was doing all this stuff and still getting none of the information she was looking for.
Although it kind of explains it at the end i still felt like we didn't necessarily have to go through all that to find out what we did.
The history aspect of it was a good idea but i think that maybe if there were more actual historical events intertwined into the story it would have been great. I love reading about history but it just wasn't done right for me.

Overall i think this series is lost for me, i will only be reading the last book (Rapture) out of curiosity to find out how it all ends.

**
Two stars

Surviving the angel of death- Eva Mozes Kor, Lisa Rojany Buccieri

Publisher: Tanglewood Press
Published: Oct 14, 2009
141 pages
Goodreads page

Eva Mozes Kor was 10 years old when she arrived in Auschwitz. While her parents and two older sisters were taken to the gas chambers, she and her twin, Miriam, were herded into the care of the man known as the Angel of Death, Dr. Josef Mengele. Mengele's twins were granted the privileges of keeping their own clothes and hair, but they were also subjected to sadistic medical experiments and forced to fight daily for their own survival, as most of the twins died as a result of the experiements or from the disease and hunger pervasive in the camp. In a narrative told with emotion and restraint, readers will learn of a child's endurance and survival in the face of truly extraordinary evil. The book also includes an epilogue on Eva's recovery from this experience and her remarkable decision to publicly forgive the Nazis. Through her museum and her lectures, she has dedicated her life to giving testimony on the Holocaust, providing a message of hope for people who have suffered, and working toward goals of forgiveness, peace, and the elimination of hatred and prejudice in the world.

I love reading/learning about history so this book was right up my alley.
This book is Eva's story about her experience in a German concentration camp, where because she was a twin she had to endure cruel experiments.
I'm always blown away by the strength of people who went through this experience. I cant imagine how awful it would have been, and to stay strong and still want to fight to live is amazing.
The Nazis did horrible horrible things and Eva could still forgive for all she went through and that is so admiral to me, i have so much respect for her.

It was a quick read but a very moving one. I definitely recommend it.

****
Four stars

Torment- Lauren Kate

Publisher: Delacorte Press
Published: Sep 28, 2010
452 pages
Goodreads page

Hell on earth.

That's what it's like for Luce to be apart from her fallen angel boyfriend, Daniel.

It took them an eternity to find one another, but now he has told her he must go away. Just long enough to hunt down the Outcasts - immortals who want to kill Luce. Daniel hides Luce at Shoreline, a school on the rocky California coast with unusually gifted students: Nephilim, the offspring of fallen angels and humans.

At Shoreline, Luce learns what the Shadows are, and how she can use them as windows to her previous lives. Yet the more Luce learns, the more she suspects that Daniel hasn't told her everything. He's hiding something - something dangerous.

What if Daniel's version of the past isn't actually true? What if Luce is really meant to be with someone else?

The second novel in the addictive FALLEN series...where love never dies.

I have been super busy this past week so this book took longer for me to read than it should have.
Obviously i don't want to say too much about it but i can definitely say i did not enjoy it as much as the first.
It wasn't all bad to the point where i didn't want to read it but not a whole lot happened. There was a thing at the end and that was about it. The rest was kind of just a filler.
They also created  a NEW love triangle.. gah why? As if one in a series isn't bad enough, they create a new one. Hope that's not a spoiler but that just frustrated me a bit especially when you know that its pointless anyway, i wanted to see more of the actual love story or learn more about the angels but we didn't really get that.
I wouldn't say not to read it and I'm sure its all necessary to go on to the next book but it was somewhat of a disappointment.
Hopefully the next book will make up for it.
Oh and i didn't dig this cover like i did the first.

**
Two stars

Fallen - Lauren Kate

Publisher: Delacorte Press
Published: Dec 8, 2009
452 pages
Goodreads page

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.

To start off we meet Luce who has been sent to a reform school because of an incident that even she doesn't know the details of. Here she meets Daniel who wants nothing to do with her and yet she is still drawn to him. The plot pretty much takes off from there.
I don't think i had actually read an angel book before this one so i didn't really have any expectations but i really enjoyed this book. I have seen a lot of mixed reviews on this book but i thought it was really well done.

I loved the setting, the way the school was written made it sound so creepy and it just really set the scene for a good story.
The storyline was great, there were a couple of slow bits but i think there generally is in every book.
The only thing that bugged me a bit was that there was a love triangle, but it wasn't done in a way that it was super annoying. Kind of just the whole idea of a love triangle is a bit blah for me.
I liked the ending but was still left a little confused about how Luce tied into it all but i guess i will find out more in the next books.
Oh and can i just say i think this cover is beautiful, i love it!
Overall i thought it was a great book, very well written, great characters, definitely worth a read.

****
Four stars

August wrap up

The weepers, the other life-

Susanne Winnacker
Goodreads page

The lovely bones-

Alice Sebold

Goodreads page

Confessions of an angry girl-
Louise Rozett
Goodreads page

You against me-

Jenny Downham

Goodreads page

Divergent-
Veronica Roth
Goodreads page

Insurgent-

Veronica Roth

Goodreads page

6 books this month :) did pretty well. Just managed to squeeze Insurgent in there. Enjoyed most of them so it was a pretty good month for reading i think!

Insurgent- veronica Roth

Publisher: Harper Teen
Published: May 1, 2012
525 pages
Goodreads page

One choice can transform you--or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves--and herself--while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable--and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

"New York Times" bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian "Divergent" series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature.

So i cant really say too much about this book because i don't want to spoil the first one for those very few who haven't read it.
I will just skip to my opinions..
I was quite disappointed with this book, it seemed to me to be a filler book (a book that is necessary to take the story line into the next book). No questions were answered it only created more, and i feel like we should have got at least some answers.
Also there was still no real back story. I want to know how and why their society is like this, and although they did touch on it at the end it just wasn't enough for me.
It was just kind of bland and i had little motivation while reading it.
Things did happen in this book but it wasn't the gripping story line we got in Divergent.
Oh and the romance fell extremely flat for me, it was pretty much non-existent, like it was hardly a focus at all and i was hoping to see things blossom a little more. If you know what i mean ;)
Overall pretty disappointed, hopefully the next book can pull it together and rescue this series for me.

***
Three stars

Divergent- Veronica Roth

Publisher: Harper Collins
Published: May 3, 2011
487 pages
Goodreads page

In a future Chicago, 16-year-old Beatrice Prior must choose among five predetermined factions to define her identity for the rest of her life, a decision made more difficult when she discovers that she is an anomaly who does not fit into any one group, and that the society she lives in is not perfect after all.

So this was actually a re-read because i have had Insurgent sitting there since the day it came out but have been putting off re-reading this just because i have so many books in my TBR pile.
The first time i read this was before i started this blog so i thought i would do a review anyway.

Can i just say that the first time i read this i actually wasn't that into it, like it was good but i didn't understand the hype about it. I think its because i read it so fast that i didn't take time to enjoy it. By the time insurgent came out i had completely forgotten what happened, which is why i had to re-read.

The second time round i actually took the time to enjoy it and let everything sink in and i can actually understand the hype now. It really was great.
I don't think i need to explain what its about because I'm sure you have all read it so i will just skip to my opinion.
I love the world building, although i would like to learn more about the other factions (fingers crossed insurgent!). It was written in such a way that it felt so real.
And Tobias, oh man he is like the perfect guy. He is by far my favorite character.
The action in this book is so good. I pretty much read the last half of the book in one sitting because i couldn't put it down i just wanted to know what happened. Even when i had things to do i would tell myself 'just one more chapter' and five chapters later i was still sitting there.
A really great read and i recommend this for any dystopian lovers, or pretty much anybody should really give it a go

*****
Five stars