Torment is the second book in the Fallen series which I discovered looking through the book section at Target. The first book introduces the reader to Daniel and Luce. They are two reform school students who have an interesting relationship. He tries to push her away, but she feels an unnatural pull towards him. It turns out that Daniel is a fallen angel who has been cursed for falling in love with a mortal. Luce has lived hundreds of lives, but in each one when she meets Daniel and gets close to him, she dies. However, this life is different, and Luce does not die.
In Torment, it is discovered that Luce seems to be some sort of lynch pin for the balance of good and evil in the world. Even though he is a fallen angel, Daniel is still mostly loyal to being good. He has formed an alliance with a more evil (demon) fallen angel named Cam. They are working together to protect Luce from the Outcasts (fallen angels who didn’t pick a side and are now rejected by both sides) who are trying to kill her. One means of her protection is transferring to a different school, Shoreline. This school is made up of half mortal students and half Nephilim. Nephilim are the students who have some angel blood in them, no matter how watered down it might be. Luce makes two fairly good friends. Miles is a Nephilim very far down the line and basically the closest to mortal of these students. He and Luce bond over this. They have a very easy friendship that Luce sometimes longs for in her relationship with Daniel. Luce also ends up getting close with her roommate, Shelby. Shelby helps Luce in her attempts to glimpse her past lives and learn about her relationship with Daniel.
Daniel and Luce’s relationship gets a little rocky as she struggles to understand it better with him being unwilling to give her the information she wants. This leads to her kissing Miles and wondering if it would be easier and better to be with him instead. Ultimately, all of Luce’s friends (Nephilim, angel, and mortal) end up going home with her for Thanksgiving. While there, a giant battle between the angels and Outcasts breaks out. Miles saves Luce by projecting a mirror of her that the Outcasts take thinking it is the real thing. Luce quickly realizes that if she wants to save her friends in this battle that she has to get away and she steps through basically a magical portal to another time and place.
So far this series has been pretty interesting. I really agree with Luce’s opinions of her relationship with Daniel in this novel especially when she is questioning if it is right for her. I found myself mostly cheering for her to choose Miles which maybe Lauren Kate will explore a little bit, but I know that in the end she will end up with Daniel barring some type of tragedy. This series provides an interesting twist on a love story by bringing in all of the supernatural aspects the angels provide. It allows for some more unexpected avenues to be explored that are not possible in more typical novels about teenage love.
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