Something of The Corpse Bride about this...

Passion, the third book in the Fallen series by Lauren Kate, opens with a meeting of the outcasts, the Elders of Zhsmaelim and a man who sounds curiously like the man who joined Cam on parents day at Swords and Cross meeting at a horse race in Kentucky. But their minds are far from matters of equine form and more closely focussed on the whereabouts of the missing Lucinda Price. Someone isn’t happy, and he’s taking matters into his own hands…

Picking the story up where Torment left off, Passion follows Luce through the announcers and into her past lives as she struggles to find answers to the questions which have been plaguing her since she learned the truth about Daniels identity. Why are they cursed? Is there a way to break it? Does he really love her? And can her mysterious ally be trusted?

Flashing through various periods of history, the book glances on key moments in the saga of Daniel and Luce, to give a more rounded picture of their love. Instead of receiving the narrative solely from Luce’s point of view, her narrative is alternated with that of Daniel, so we get to hear more of his characters voice, and it is with some relief that I am able to report to you that he is a little less irritating than in previous books for this.

With only glimpses of some of the more interesting characters from previous books (Cam, Arianne. Roland..) fans of the other fallen angels may be slightly disappointed in this book, though there are some tantalising hints at the story which may yet develop in Rapture due to be released in the Spring of 2012.

An intriguing place holder, but only when counting on the power of the series. It lacks punch in its own right, in my opinion failing to conclude the business of the book and serving only as a link between the content of the first two books and the final book.

Nonetheless, enjoyable and an entertaining enough way to while away a few hours.