Review: Teardrop by Lauren Kate

Teardrop by Lauren Kate

Author: Lauren Kate Website|Twitter
Published: 24 October 2013 (DoubleDay Children's)
Format: Hardback
Pages: 464
Buy the book: Amazon|Hive|BookDepository
Buy the e-book: Kindle|Kobo

Source: Bought

Plot Summary (from Goodreads):
Never, ever cry... Seventeen-year-old Eureka won't let anyone close enough to feel her pain. After her mother was killed in a freak accident, the things she used to love hold no meaning. She wants to escape, but one thing holds her back: Ander, the boy who is everywhere she goes, whose turquoise eyes are like the ocean. And then Eureka uncovers an ancient tale of romance and heartbreak, about a girl who cried an entire continent into the sea. Suddenly her mother's death and Ander's appearance seem connected, and her life takes on dark undercurrents that don't make sense. Can everything you love be washed away?

My Review:
I took a bit of a chance on this book. I've read two books by Lauren Kate, one which I loved (The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove) and one which I loathed (Fallen), but it was half price in Waterstones and that cover drew me in! Teardrop tells the story of Eureka who loses her mother in a freak tidal wave. With the help of the mysterious Ander, who seems to appear wherever she goes, she starts to unravel secrets about herself and her mother.

I fell in love with this book pretty quickly. In fact, I brought it straight home from the shop, read the first couple of pages to see what it was like and then couldn't put it down! The book opens with a prologue from Ander's point of view which gives you a glimpse into his world as a Seedbearer, a race of people with control over water. Straight away this insight gives you the bigger picture to the story, which Eureka herself won't discover til much later. I loved the way it teased you with a glimpse of what's to come.

Because as a reader you know there are secrets to came out, it made for an addictive read. The pacing was brilliant and I was constantly turning the pages, rooting Eureka to discover more. At the same time there was enough mystery that as a reader you didn't know much about to keep you guessing and maintain that intrigue. I thought the world building was fantastic and I was hooked into all the ideas and the history of Eureka's world. I loved all the action sequences which were written so well - the book felt very visual! And my heart was constantly in my mouth with all the times the characters were in danger.

I could really sympathise with Eureka at the beginning of the book. She's in therapy after her mother's death and is living with the stepmother from hell. There are several traumatic moments in her past which have affected how she is, for example she doesn't cry. I liked the friendship between her and her male friend Brooks because the two of them are so natural around each other. I was kind of rooting for them to be something more at the beginning, but the relationship between them becomes a lot more complicated than that as the story goes on. I also adored Eureka's friend Cat who is a complete flirt but also has brains. It was just so nice to see a character who isn't just a bimbo!

As well as the friendship with Brooks, Eureka also has a developing relationship with Ander. This was the only downside for me really as it had a touch of instalove about it. Because Ander holds all of the knowledge about Eureka and her past it sometimes felt like he abused that power. There is some back story between them but because Eureka is unaware of it, her attraction to him comes pretty out of the blue which is where the idea of the romantic bit sort of lost me. The plot was pretty solid when you take away the romance side of things so I could put that to one side and it didn't spoil my enjoyment of the book.

Overall I was really impressed with Teardrop. The ideas behind the story like the link to mythology were really interesting, and the plot was gripping. I loved Eureka and how she develops over the book and really comes into her own. I'm definitely excited to continue with the series.

Rating: 4*
What to read next: Waterfall by Lauren Kate, the sequel to Teardrop, is set for publication this year
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