Tag: lauren kate

Spoiler Review: Waterfall by Lauren Kate

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19401029Waterfall by Lauren Kate
Genre: Paranormal, Fantasy, Romance
Published by: Random House
Pages: 400
Format: E-Book
Rating: ★
Series: Teardrop (#1)
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

I have absolutely no idea what happened in this book. There were about seven different ideas all crammed into one, that made everything too convenient for my liking. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the first book, but I somehow managed to enjoy the sequel even less.

Firstly, what ever happened to the romance between Ander and Eureka? Did the entirety of the first book mean nothing? We start with one boy and end with another, and I was completely confused about how cold hearted, and selfish Eureka must have been to do what she did. I couldn’t connect with her one bit, and when you don’t like the main character, it’s pretty hard to enjoy their story. On that note, Eureka turned into something beyond my imagining in Waterfall, I thought she was slightly annoying in Teardrop with her mellow drama, but she just took it to the next level. It’s not often that I’m harsh with a book, even if I don’t like it, but I honestly just didn’t like what Eureka became – a murder, manipulative, and unthoughtful. Eureka even got to the point where she seemed to delight in torturing others, which didn’t bode well with me at all.

Another problem I had was that the characters just don’t mourn the deaths of loved ones for nearly long enough. In fact, they almost seem to wipe their hands of them after ten seconds, and then don’t give them another thought. The only exception to this was Diana, Eureka’s mother, who we are constantly reminded of. That, and Brooks, who doesn’t die, but Eureka is always thinking about him, and how Atlas possessed his body – so I guess if I’d just put two and two together I may well have saw the ending coming.

The idea of everybody having a ‘quirk’ annoyed me, because it was just so convenient, and seemed like a cop out. I loved that Claire had a special power in Teardrop, and I wanted it to be explained in this mystical way where maybe she would be connected to the tearline, but no. It turned out everybody has a quirk and they all seem to just magically appear when they’re in Solon’s caves. I liked the amethyst witches – or whatever they were called – and I would love to read something where they are the main characters, because they kept the plot going, and made the story interesting when Eureka was in Solon’s cave and not really doing anything, other than feeling sorry for herself. I was amazed at how little happened in the beginning, and even the middle, but then ALL THE THINGS happened during the final sequence when we were in Atlantis. There was so much more mythology and things to wrap our heads around, and I was just so confused. 

I just need a minute to shuffle my thoughts about the ending, because, seriously? When Eureka’s possessing Atlas’ body she’s so overwhelmed with the fact that she’s a boy, she pees. What? And then this other woman, who is Eureka’s ‘mother’ and Brooks all just fit inside the body as well? The only thing I actually liked about this book was the very end. Eureka can finally be happy because she died and is with Brooks  – at least I thought she died, and I thought she was with Brooks. If this wasn’t the end of the series, then I have absolutely no idea what could happen next. From the ending and the fact that Eureka. Dies. I think this has to just be a duology. The fact that I didn’t really mind when Eureka died, showed that I couldn’t connect with her, it wasn’t like the Divergent series where every single death hits you.

In conclusion, I am incredibly sorry if this review lacks any coherency, but my thoughts are just so jumbled after reading Waterfall, I really don’t know what to make of it. What I can tell you is that I would only reward this book ONE star. I can’t give it a two star rating, because that’s what I gave Teardrop and if there’s one thing I know, it’s that I liked this even less. I’m not going to go so far as to give this no stars , because the final final final chapter – or maybe just the last page – made up for all my dislike, because I could finally be at peace with Eureka’s story, and she could be at peace also, because – wait for it – she died.

Just as a side note, I may well come back an edit this review after I’ve had some time to let my feelings simmer down.

Review: Teardrop by Lauren Kate

Published on by Heart Full Of Books3 Comments

16070143Teardrop 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?

(Spoiler) Review: Fallen by Lauren Kate

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fallenFallen by Lauren Kate
Genre: Romance, Paranormal
Published by: Delacorte Press
Pages: 452
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★.5
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

There are certain buzzwords in novel descriptions that just seem to put me off the story, because I feel like it’s going to be the same thing as what I’ve read before. Things like ‘dark and mysterious boy’ and ‘they’ve met in another life’ not to mention the oh so clichéd ‘love triangle.’

And Fallen had all of these things, but for some reason I still felt compelled to read it. Granted, this is probably because of the pending movie, and I didn’t want to be left out of any hype. Movie Casting: http://laurenkatebooks.net/its-official-the-fallen-cast/

      Fallen follows the story of Luce, who has been haunted by shadows all her life, and one day those shadows do something terrible that ensures Luce a place at Sword & Cross – home for delinquents. Which is where she meets the crazy Arriane and the bookish Penn. Not to mention the two boys that steal her heart…well, okay so there’s this one boy and he’s all dark and mysterious but they’ve met each other in a past life and they’re just meant to be. And then there’s the other one.

      Luce wasn’t the strongest of female protagonists, but she certainly wasn’t weak, the fact that she told people how she was feeling was quite refreshing. She did have moments where she lost a little bit of her common sense, but other than that I enjoyed her character. There wasn’t a large amount of character development, and I think this was because everything happened so quickly.

      I haven’t read a lot of books where Angels are the focus so it was nice to delve into a slightly different genre. Although, Fallen definitely had a Twilight feel to it…except instead of vampires and a werewolf we just get one moody angel and one even moodier angel.

      I feel that Fallen was written just as a warm up for the next three books in the trilogy and, if the Goodreads ratings are anything to go on, then the series seems to get better and better. Although I enjoyed the characters I didn’t connect with them enough to feel outraged, or any strong emotion in particular in regards to the ending.

      There were so many questions that were just left unanswered I feel I have to follow on to the next book, just to get some closure on the first. Overall, I did enjoy the story, despite some of the clichés and my better judgment. I gave Fallen 3.5/5 stars, but more specifically I’d say:

Main Characters = 3/5
I liked them enough to want to continue the series, let’s just say that.

Love story =2/5
It hasn’t developed enough for me to feel attached to their relationship, but I am sure that this rating will improve as I continue to read the series.

Other characters = 4/5
I liked the dynamic between Penn and Luce, although it felt like sometimes Luce could have been more appreciative.

Drama = 3.5/5
There was a lot of it, but things were so rushed at the end there they lost their effect.

 

[SPOILER ALERT]

 

 

Penn’s death seemed a little unnecessary, and I was surprised at how impassive Luce was. She did register some sadness, but not enough to cry over her dead best friend’s body, and it certainly didn’t stop her for skipping off with Daniel and doing whatever he told her to do.

Daniel, buddy, with your current track record – which, by the way, we still aren’t fully clued in on – I have no idea why Luce is so willing to trust you. I mean, she trusted Miss Sophia and look what that got her. A dead Penn. Luce must be extremely devoted to Daniel to trust his judgment so quickly and he’s barely told her anything!

I’d say that the characters were way too nonchalant about all the deaths that happen in this book, actually. We may not have known Todd very well, but surely his death would have procured a little more emotional distress.