Review ~ Rapture ~ Lauren Kate

Title: Rapture

Author: Lauren Kate

Published:  June 23^rd 2012

By: Doubleday

First line: First there was silence -

Last line:  It’s full of spoilery – sorry!

Fave line: “I’m Lucinda” she said. “I’m...” Sorry, rest of the quote is a spoiler!

So I’ve been waiting for this book for what seems like an eternity,  almost as long as Luce has waited for Daniel one might argue. Rapture was yet another of my most anticipated for 2012 but at the same time I kind of dreaded it turning up because I knew that when it did that was it.  The story was over.  Arrive it did though and I loved every word of it!

There’s been a fair old wait between Passion and Rapture and I thought that that might be an issue but thankfully that wasn’t the case. Kate Does an excellent job of précising what has gone before and so within a few pages I was already back up to speed.   This book certainly does move at a faster pace than its predecessor and actually reminds me more of Fallen in the style and approach that Kate uses. For those whose memories are failing at the end of Passion Lucifer has re-started the fall, his aim being that when he returns to earth he intends to wipe the earth of all of mankind, both past and present.  It will be as if we never existed, and it’s down to Luce, Daniel and their friends to put a stop to him, as well as to fight one last time to break the curse that has perpetually destroyed Luce and her relationship with the rather lovely Daniel over the centuries.

At the start of Rapture we discover that there are three artefacts that will lead them to the site of the fall and so our fave characters divide in order to conquer.  Their challenges certainly add an air of urgency to the book and there are some unexpected and sad losses along the way.  There are also new characters thrown in which give the book a fresher feel and I particularly liked Dee who I thought was a fantastic addition to the ensemble. Through the course of this story we find out the true history behind Lucinda and Daniel, her links to Lucifer, who she is and of course we reach our conclusion.

Let me say from the outset, I loved this story and if I’m honest with myself I don’t think that there could have been any other way that Kate could have put the final nail in the coffin as it were, but there are still some things that left me feeling a little disheartened.  It felt as though some of the characters were short-changed in the wrapping up, although deep down I’m actually hoping that this is because there could be another story in the offing the idea of which pleases me very much! We do lose a couple of major characters in this book which is sad but I get it. It would have been unrealistic to suggest that such large battles could be fought and that there would be no casualties along the way. That said I also felt that compromises were made which, whilst they may have been necessary to create a realistic continuity for the characters involved, also diminished the centuries of battles that had gone before, as though everything that Luce had Daniel had gone through could just be swept under the rug and I’ll admit that did make me a little sad – see? Sad face L I don’t want to say any more on that other than I did feel a little cheated, even though I loved the ending... Maybe a confused face then, not a sad one...

For all that there are also some amazing twists in the plot here that I did not see coming and I was completely broadsided a couple of times. The back-story to the relationship between Luce and Lucifer was enthralling and the point at which Luce’s story comes full circle was brilliantly written giving the books preceding this one a whole new level of context.  That in itself I thought was genius and I do believe that the rather beautiful Daniel became my hero all over again.

My final word on the matter? If Ms Kate were to write a series about a particularly bad angel called Cam? I can’t said I’d complain...

Rating: 4/5.  Even though I may disagree with the way the some things were concluded I loved this story! A Fabulous way to end the series.