Review: Torment by Lauren Kate

How many lives do you need to live before you find someone worth dying for? In the aftermath of what happened at Sword & Cross, Luce has been hidden away by her cursed angelic boyfriend, Daniel, in a new school filled with Nephilim, the offspring of fallen angels and humans. Daniel promises she will be safe here, protected from those who would kill her. At the school Luce discovers what the Shadows that have followed her all her life mean - and how to manipulate them to see into her other lives. Yet the more Luce learns about herself, the more she realizes that the past is her only key to unlocking her future...and that Daniel hasn't told her everything. What if his version of the past isn't actually the way things happened...what if Luce was really meant to be with someone else? YA (September 28, 2010)

WARNING:  Spoilery if you haven’t read Fallen yet!

Torment is the second book in Lauren Kate’s fallen angel series and it picks up right after the events of Fallen. Luce has discovered her true love Daniel – a fallen angel. They are cursed to meet every 17 years, to meet and fall in love over and over again only to have a tragic outcome each time.
Now that Luce knows about the existence of her past lives and fallen angels, she and Daniel should finally be able to have that chance at love but Daniel is still as mysterious and illusive as ever, insisting on secrecy for her own protection. The warring angels have called for an 18 day truce to band together and fight those who have come to hurt Luce now that news of her mortality has spread. Daniel has moved Luce to a new school that should keep her shielded and help her “develop” until the time that he can be with her again.
Torment expands on the angel mythology and gives glimpses back to Luce & Daniel’s past. There is a lot more going on in this book than in Fallen, both emotionally and action wise. Luce has to deal with a lot of conflicting emotions in a short time without the help of Daniel who becomes a constant source of frustration instead of the comfort she thought he would be.
I have mixed feelings about Torment. I enjoyed it more than the first book simply because it was more complex and delved into the larger story a bit more. I love fallen angels and the battle between good and evil, so I loved learning more about that aspect of the story. Luce is a bit stronger in this one also and begins questioning everything, which I liked, BUT this is where I also grew frustrated.
I really do understand that all this true love/reincarnation/fallen angels/fate of the world is a lot to take in all at once but she continually got mad at Daniel for not telling her everything even though she understood why he couldn’t just yet. They keep having the same exact fight over and over again. I definitely see both sides, but it got a little repetitive for me. She also complains a lot about no one telling her the truth but several of the other angels (including Daniel) reveal quite a bit to her – if she would just listen and fill in the blanks.
*SPOLIERS  FOR TORMENT AHEAD*
And oh my….the bane of my existence – the love triangle *shudders*. If you read my blog you know how much I have come to hate love triangles…lol. So this will shock you….I kind of didn’t mind this one. Don’t get me wrong; I still don’t think it’s necessary to have every story involve two boys (why can’t a couple just have issues?? There are already some big ones here. And why does a girl always have to have a boy to make things ok??) but I can see the frustration with Daniel and the attraction to Miles – the boy at Luce's new school. Miles is just cute enough for me to believe in her attraction and just geeky & sweet enough to make me like him. The other thing I like is that neither is merely a hormone induced attraction. This is about fate and friendship – not lust. I’m ok with this one; even though I would rather she found her own way or maybe relied on a girlfriend more. My only peeve with this is how fast it happened – 18 days. Can’t Luce give Daniel that long to explain things? He is kind of busy protecting her! I would have liked it better if this aspect was introduced in the next book…. it was a little too soon for me. I was just learning about Luce & Daniel’s connection.
I’m really liking the supporting players in Torment. Most of the angels from Fallen are back: Cam, Gabbe, Roland, Molly & Arriane along with the addition of new players. It will be interesting to see what Kate does as the series progresses – it could go a few different ways as the stakes get higher. The sudden love triangle and Luce’s lack of patience is what keeps me from really loving this series vs. liking it so we’ll see.
Loved: I like all the angels and the bigger battle between good and evil, the moral dilemmas were touched on more in the this book which I liked. Good supporting characters. That cover!!
Nitpick: While I understand Luce has to mature and come to terms with things in her life – some of the scenes with her complaining seem repetitive to me and I would like her to rely a little more on herself rather than need a boy. 

3 out of 4 If you enjoyed Fallen – you will like Torment. There is more of everything in this one!

Author's website: http://laurenkatebooks.net/
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Thank you to Kate from I Just Wanna Sit Here And Read for letting me read her copy of Torment!