Passion

Passion
by Lauren Kate (read by Justine Eyre)
Random House (audiobook)

If you haven't discovered Lauren Kate's Fallen paranormal romances for young adults, my advice is to start quickly. Beginning with Fallen and Torment, and continuing with Passion, they tell the gripping tale of a girl-meets-fallen-angel relationship. The girl is Luce Price, the angel Daniel Grigori; I suspect this moody, handsome hunk has tumbled from Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. The couple flirt, argue, snog and learn they have met before - all the while Luce tries to make it through school. In Passion - read with breathy, throaty commitment by Justine Eyre - they explore their past, giving Kate the opportunity to indulge in some prequelitis. There is a lot of suspiciously Goth-sounding nonsense to wade through: the Nephilim (rich kids of humans and spirits); an Announcer, a portal to the past. This is what Luce enters to find out why she and Daniel have known each other for centuries, and why so many people want to keep them apart. Kate and Eyre are so grimly sincere I was rather hooked. Still, I wish Eyre wouldn't make Daniel sound like he was Keanu Reeves talking into a steel bucket.