Review: Rapture by Lauren Kate

Rapture
Fallen series, #4
by Lauren Kate
Published by: Delacorte Press June 12, 2012
Formats: Hardcover, eBook ~448 pages
Source: Public Library

Synopsis:
The sky is dark with wings....

Like sand through an hourglass, time is running out for Luce and Daniel. To stop Lucifer from erasing the past, they must find the place where the angels fell to earth.

Dark forces are after them, and Daniel doesn’t know if he can do this — live only to lose Luce again and again. Yet together they face an epic battle that will end with lifeless bodies...and angel dust. Great sacrifices are made. Hearts are destroyed.

And suddenly Luce knows what must happen. For she was meant to be with someone other than Daniel. The curse they’ve borne has always and only been about her — and the love she cast aside. The choice she makes now is the only one that truly matters.

In the fight for Luce, who will win?

Rapture is the astonishing conclusion to the FALLEN series. Heaven can’t wait any longer.

Cover: The cover of Rapture is beautiful yet foreboding. The image of the sky blackened by the amount of wings is ominous. Yet there is still light shining through bringing hope to the picture. Out of all the covers, it ranks second for me.

“…a million trembling shadows surrounding a great dark orb, their tendrils licking the surface of oblivion like sunspots.”

My Thoughts:
First let me begin by stating that this is the fourth and final book in the Fallen series so my review may contain spoilers from previous books.

I have been going over and over in my head for three days now as to how I feel about Rapture. I liked that there was finality to it, but it just lacked in so many ways. The story jumps in right where Passion left off. Luce is back from her journey with Bill aka Lucifer, and must find a way to stop him from erasing time. Between three groups of fallen angels, Luce, and a merry band of Outcasts, they are on a mission to find three artifacts that will lead them to the exact location of the Fall. Luce, of course, goes with Daniel and almost immediately finds the first artifact. After that though, things got a little bit more difficult.

Luce is finally able to see some of her past incarnations, but there is so much more she is to recover from her memory. Once I found out the big “secret” I wasn’t all that surprised. The more I thought about it, especially after learning more of the origins of the curse, I was like – duh, *face-palm*. Though we do get more information, there were just more questions created. But, the self-awareness the Luce gains was a journey that not all female protagonists take. Well done.

“The past is important for all the information and wisdom it holds. But you can get lost in it. You’ve got to learn to keep the knowledge of the past with you as you pursue the present.”

What I really liked was the background information that was finally revealed about all the different types of angels, fallen angels/demons, Outcasts, the Elders, the Scale, etc… There were some definite parallels to how people react to religion and God, especially the Scale and the Elders who think they know better than everyone else and make it their mission to be the judge and jury. I think they were scarier than the demons.

“If a fallen angel desires to reenter the jurisdiction of the grace of God, we must approach the Throne directly. There are no shortcuts.”

The ending was just disappointing. I wanted more, not just a mere possibility of more. But like I said, there is closure. I did not like that we lost so many characters along the way; some of my favorites at that. And my biggest problem of all was with the identity of the Throne. I am all for creative license, but when you have so much of a story coming from one dogma I think it should be uniform; not throw something in just to be different. But that is just my beef.

Overall, I loved the Fallen series, but I wished things had ended up differently. Lauren Kate created a story that spanned thousands of years and told of a love so powerful that not even death could destroy. Kate’s writing is haunting and beautiful and her insight into life, love and faith is nearly incomparable in the Speculative Fiction genre. I will continue to recommend the series because I do love the story and it is just one of those that just stick with you, that you continue to feel and think about long after reading.

“If I were yours and you were mine, I would want you to be exactly as you are. I would never eclipse you with my desires.”

Favorite Quote:  “There is no darkness as dark as a great light corrupted.”

★ ★ ★ ★
 My favorite speculative fiction series to date! I recommend to those who love romance, action, adventure, and a little hell along the way.

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