PASSION by Lauren Kate
Series: Fallen, #3
Publication Date: June 14th 2011 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Rating: 
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Summary: “Every single lifetime, I’ll choose you. Just as you have chosen me. Forever.”
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 this lifetime . . . 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.
Review Overview:
- Luce definitely changed as a character but it felt really abrupt
- I loved the time travel aspect; the feel of this book is more historical than paranormal
- Exceeded my expectations; after disliking Torment so much, PASSION took me by surprise
I was absolutely dreading PASSION. After being terribly disappointed with Torment, I was not even planning on continuing with the series. However, when I received an ARC, I knew I couldn’t just leave it unread. I had an obligation. So I reluctantly picked it up. Surprisingly, I devoured it in two sittings.
Luce felt like a completely different character for me in PASSION. While it was fantastic for me since, to be honest, I could not stand her in Torment, it also felt like there was no transition from one book to the other. She was just suddenly agreeable very early on in PASSION. She was suddenly just so understanding of Daniel and she just quickly brushed aside her little affair with Miles as if it were nothing. It was pretty hard to believe that someone so immature and selfish in the previous book could have undergone such a change in a matter of hours. Despite the major inconsistencies with Luce’s characterizations, I admit that it was easy for me to look over because it made Luce just more likeable, thus making PASSION a lot more readable.
In terms of the series, PASSION will stick out like a sore thumb. The book takes place in different settings in the past and the whole novel is centered around time travel through the Announcers. Luce is determined to understand her love with Daniel. She wants to know how deep it runs. Daniel has had lifetimes of their love, while Luce has to constantly start fresh with each reincarnation. She gets a glimpse into her past lives in PASSION. As an avid lover of time travel and historical fiction, I was instantly captivated by PASSION. I thought that PASSION could have been a wonderful standalone. Take out the prologue and epilogue and I think this could have been a fantastic novel about reincarnation and lost loves.
For the most part, I thought Kate did a wonderful job sending readers into the past. Kate managed to capture the distinct qualities of each time period to make it feel realistic. However, I thought that the setting lost its strength in the last three and earliest reincarnations of Luce. I think this was partly due to the staggering amount of time that had past. A jump from 17th century to around 500 C.E. was quite staggering and it was a completely different change of setting. There was really no transition from the European to the Mayan culture so it really came as a shock. Luce’s and Daniel’s reincarnation became less believable, but I was happy at Kate’s attempts to make their reincarnations more diversified.
I think this book could have had potential to be a four-star rating if it weren’t for the fact that it is part of a series. I have to think about the fact that it doesn’t quite fit with the rest of the books, but it was a massive improvement on the second one. Luce’s character definitely grew too quickly as a character, but as a reader, I’m glad that she finally got some sense knocked into her. PASSION definitely exceeded my expectations and I am actually strongly considering reading the final installment in this series!
Strange how she read as a totally different character. I couldn’t stand Torment but might have to pick this one up just to see what you’re talking about. Thanks for the review!
Mary @ Book Swarm
Glad to hear that the book wasn’t as bad as you had feared! I’ll admit, the time travel thing does sound pretty cool.
Glad you liked it more than you thought you would
I actually liked Torment more than Fallen lol and made me more motivated to keep on with the series. I’ve heard mixed reviews on this one, so hopefully I’ll like it. Great review!
I am looking forward to this one! I liked Torment more then Fallen. I looking forward to this one! Thanks for the review.
Thank you for the awesome review!! I didn’t really like Fallen, but I could tell there should be some time travel going on in future books! looks like i should skip torment and read this one!
Haha, if I can just pretend Torment never happened I will be a happy camper. I think you can pretty much read Passion without reading it anyways, since the world and most of the characters have already been established.
I actually enjoyed both of the first books, but have yet to read this one. For some reason I haven’t had the desire to rush out and read it, but I definitely will get to it soon. Thanks for the review!
I hope you enjoy it!