The Fallen Persevere

I've been waiting to read this book impatiently after I finished reading Torment earlier this year.  I had to wait for it to come out on paperback, though, since the two other books in the series are paperback.  Too bad when I went to the library, I couldn't resist picking it up and reading it as soon as I got home.  I like to think of myself as a patient person since I have to wait a year--sometimes years!--for the next installment in a series to come out.  But, for this series, my patience went out the window, along with my sleep and a minor incident where I fell asleep with my contacts in and my nose was pressed all the way into the book itself. 
Let me just complain a little and say that the library copy of this book STUNK so bad.  It smelt like smoke and almost every other chapter had a dogeared page.  But, as long as the book wasn't mine, I was fine with it.  This was, after all, an amazing and epic romance that couldn't be put down.
Enough of this; it's not like you want to hear all of this, anyway.

Luce would die for Daniel.
And she has. Over and over again. Throughout time, Luce and Daniel have found each other, only to be painfully torn apart: Luce dead, Daniel left broken and alone. But perhaps it doesn’t need to be that way…
Luce is certain that something—or someone—in a past life can help her in her present one. So she begins the most important journey of this lifetime… going back eternities to witness firsthand her romances with Daniel . . . and finally unlock the key to making their love last.
Cam and the legions of angels and Outcasts are desperate to catch Luce, but none are as frantic as Daniel. He chases Luce through their shared pasts, terrified of what might happen if she rewrites history.
Because their romance for the ages could go up in flames… forever.

In Torment, readers were left in total chaos.  The Outcasts had attacked Luce and her Fallen friends in her backyard on Thanksgiving.  In complete confusion and desperation, Luce had summoned an Announcer and stepped through it, traveling to who knows where back in time.  Daniel follows after her, using a different Announcer, having no idea where he's going, but knowing that his journey will be a dangerous one.
A hair-tugging-and-screaming cliffhanger, right?
Passion starts off with Luce stepping out of the Announcer and ends up in Moscow, Russia during an air raid.  The ground rumbles with the bombs that are not so far in the distance and Luce has no idea what she is doing.  And just as Luce steps through another Announcer, traveling even further back in time, Daniel steps out of his in Moscow, Russia during an air raid, looking for her.
That's pretty how much the book goes on for the rest of it.  Although I wanted all of this game of tag to end, I knew that what Lauren Kate had to write was vital to the story, so I read on, no matter how bleary eyed I got.  I knew there had to be a stop to all of this madness.
I really appreciated all of the accurate history that was used throughout the story.  I could really tell that Miss Kate really did her research while writing this book.  Luce and Daniel travel all over the world, going further and further back in time.  So, it was kind of important that an accurate setting was given for each one of the places they traveled to.  And I was not let down by that.  I had the best history lesson from this book.  Of course some of it was altered to fit the needs of the book, but it was pretty darn close to the truth.
I give this book four stars, mostly because I wanted to strangle Passion just so I could figure out what happens in the end.  But, where would be my good book-reading spirit be with that?  I was frustrated by the mystery that was just out of reach for not only Luce, but the readers.  Nothing was predictable about this book.  There were many, many twists and turns that I did not expect and one I wish had never happened, but they made the book.  Every small detail completed this book, and I'm glad that everything that happened took place.
And as a surprising little sidenote, the whole book seems to cover days and days, but in reality, it only covers about a few hours!  My socks were knocked off when I found that out.  Waah!  How is that even possible??  Anything is possible, Millie.
I can't wait to read Rapture, the final book to the series.  I need all of my worries to be smoothed over as soon as possible.  It's too much for me to handle to just sit and wait around.  I'm extremely happy I read this series.  I know it'll always be that series I will always remember.
Here's a question!  Does anybody else think that A Thousand Years by Christina Perri would suit this song perfectly?  Everytime I hear that song, I think of Daniel and how he will always love Luce, through every bump in the road.