Teardrop by Lauren Kate
Genre: Fantasy, Mystery
Published by: Delacorte Books
Pages: 441
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★
Series: Waterfall (#2)
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

First of all I should preface this by saying that the premise for this novel is amazing, and I was unaware that this was the first in a series, rather than just a standalone.

Nonetheless, I did find the pacing of the novel to be a little slower than I would have liked. Almost fifty per cent through and the real purpose behind the plotline was still yet to be revealed. Despite this, I still enjoyed the story overall and the last fifteen per cent of the book – which was a rollercoaster of emotions, I can tell you – more than made up for the slow beginning. Although I thought the pacing was slow, the actual timeline of the story was very fast, and I found myself loosing track of days until I spotted a sentence that said ‘it had been two days since” etc., etc. The love story itself may have been a little rushed, or at least it felt that way until it was fully explained at the end. I would have been perfectly happy for Ander and Eureka to remain separated until the next book, because although Ander had been with Eureka for a long time, Eureka didn’t know that, and so her ‘insta-love’ felt perhaps a little too artificial. Generally I liked their romance, despite the fact that it all happened quite quickly, and am looking forward to how it develops throughout the series.

The pain Eureka felt over the death of her mother was executed extremely well, the burden became heavier throughout the story because the protagonist wasn’t really up for sharing. I felt Eureka’s concern over therapy, but without including spoilers, I think I may have agreed with Brooks’ opinions over her stoic-ness.

My favourite parts of the story where the translations of the Book of Love, and when Eureka was underwater; I was captivated by the story and would have liked to know more. As for when Eureka was underwater, Lauren Kate’s description of scenery is wonderful. She described the bayou, and pretty much any location that was mentioned, in such detail it was so easy to imagine any one would be able to draw the scene.

Lauren Kate has a way of gripping her readers just when the time is right, like the last fifteen per cent for example. There were times when I put the book down for a while too long, but when I picked it back up again something amazing would happen and I’d regret that decision to put the book down. Teardrop makes it’s audience feel all of the emotions possible. Okay, well, mostly anger, frustration, heart wrenching sadness and small pockets of joy whenever a scene gets a little too depressing. However, the deaths of certain characters were as blunt as Brooks was at the Halloween Maze party. There was little closure that I felt the reader got, not to mention Eureka herself! All I can say is, that it’s going to be extremely heart breaking to read when all that death and destruction catches up to her.

Overall, I’d give Teardrop three stars, because it was definitely a fun read, but there were some questions that I want answered, but that’s what the next book is for, right?