Review: Everlasting

Title: Everlasting
Series: Immortals # 6
Genre: Young adult- Fantasy/Paranormal
Author: Alyson Noel
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: June 7, 2011
Book: Finished copy sent by publisher

"Everlasting is the sixth and final installment of the epic love story that has enchanted readers across the world. Ever and Damen have spent centuries facing down bitter rivals, jealous friends and their own worst fears-all in the hope of being together forever. Now in Everlasting, their destiny is finally within reach.

Will they be united-or torn apart forever? Readers will finally discover the truth in this anxiously awaited conclusion!"

I must say that I am sad to see the series end. This is one series that even before I was a book blogger that I was hooked on. Let me be the first to tell you that as a long time reader of Alyson Noel's and a big fan of The Immortal series that this book ended nicely. All loose ends were tied. All questions, were answered. And the first chapter was so dynamic and strong that I sat reading this book in my office while at work! I know, bad Savannah!

The first chapter was just wow. I knew once I started "glancing" at the book that I was in deep trouble. The first chapter has a very strong beginning, the reader sees Ever and Damen struggling in Summerland to find answers. What I like about this is the pacing and the plot line. The pacing was right on. I really liked that the reader got to go back to certain points in their history and re-connect with the present. It answers a whole lot of questions that I have always wondered, plus then some. It gave the reader a much broader history on Ever and Damen's relationship.

What also grabbed my attention in this book, is the lives they had in the past. Through out the series, we see several past lives, but this one, it was a SHOCKER! I was like,"OMG!" Gasping at my desk and looking by my office door to make sure no one heard me. Hehe. Ms. Noel did a fine job in bringing this element to life in the book. I felt every emotion, excitement, hurt, and anger while reading this. Simply fantastic!

The characters were more developed. In this book, you finally see them learn and grow. At times through out the series like books 4/5, I got frustrated that they weren't going anywhere. They were being stagnate. I was hoping for a change. Everlasting is the change of all changes. The characters finally develop in who they need to be in order to grasp their future!

If you haven't pick up this series you most definitely should! Not only will you fall in love with it, but it will give you an everlasting read worth reading. Am I happy with the way it ended? Yes. I think Ms. Noel did a mighty find job on clearing everything she needed to clear up in order to finish the series.

*There was some implied sex, kissing, few cursing*

I give it 5 BITES!

Happy Reading!

Giveaway Everlasting!

The wonderful people at Zeithost Media are giving me chance to giveaway a copy of Alyson Noel's Immortal Series, Everlasting. It is the last and final novel of the series!!!

"Everlasting is the sixth and final installment of the epic love story that has enchanted readers across the world. Ever and Damen have spent centuries facing down bitter rivals, jealous friends and their own worst fears-all in the hope of being together forever. Now in Everlasting, their destiny is finally within reach.

 

Will they be united-or torn apart forever? Readers will finally discover the truth in this anxiously awaited conclusion!"

Everlasting Book Trailer!

Author Information:

Alyson Noel's Immortals Website:

http://www.alysonnoel.com/immortals/

Macmillan Publishing's Alyson Noel site:

http://us.macmillan.com/author/alysonnoel

This  is for US/Canadian ONLY!

ENTER HERE!

Ends June 8th!

Good Luck and Happy Reading!

Review: Night Star

Title: Night Star
Series: The Immortals #5
Genre: Young Adult- Paranormal/Fantasy
Author: Alyson Noel
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: November 16, 2010
Book: Bought

"After fighting for centuries to be together, Ever and Damen’s future hinges on one final showdown that will leave readers gasping for breath. Don’t miss this explosive new installment of the #1 bestselling series that’s enchanted millions across the world!

Haven still blames Ever for the death of her boyfriend Roman, no matter how hard Ever’s tried to convince her it was an accident. Now she’s determined to take Ever down…and destroy Damen and Jude along the way. Her first step is to tear Ever and Damen apart—and she has just the ammunition to do it.

Hidden in one of Ever’s past lives is a terrible secret about Damen—a secret that illuminates new facts about her relationship with Jude, but that’s so dark and brutal it might be enough to drive her and Damen apart once and for all. As Ever faces her greatest fears about the guy she wants to spend eternity with, she’s thrust into a deadly clash with Haven that could destroy them all.

Now it’ll take everything she’s got—and bring out powers she never knew she had—to face down her most formidable enemy. But in order to win, she must first ask herself: is her own survival worth dooming Haven to an eternity of darkness in the Shadowland? And will learning the truth about Damen’s past hold the key to their future?"

Best friends are your worst enemies. Why? Because they know you. They know your secrets, your fears, everything. And when things go bad and they turn your back on you,  everything that they know is spilled. And Ever secrets are about to be spoken.


Ever former BFF is now her enemy. Ever tries to reconcile, but there is no turning Haven. Haven is determined to kill Ever in order to get revenge on Roman and what Ever has done to Haven. But Haven is not playing a easy game. Haven is slowly using Ever, using everything and anything against her.

And boy does she play dirty. Not only are secrets spilled but Haven uses Ever's fear in Damen which brings up the past with a whole lot of skeletons. I can't help but blame Damen for this. He should of known sooner or later that all of that will spill. Had he be honest all of this could have been avoided. But with this new revelation it puts Ever is a position in which she must pick. Jude or Damen? 


I really enjoyed reading this book. It is always a pleasure to read Ever's adventures. My heart simply broke for her in this book. She was put on the spot many times and had lots to deal with. Her family life was also a major struggle. It seemed like Ever was losing everything and didn't have anything or anyone to lean on.

I enjoyed reading this book. There was so much in it, it was hard to put down. The only thing I felt was off was it seem like Ever was fighting the same things over again. I was expecting something a little different.
Nonetheless, the book was good. I look forward to reading the final book and I am crossing my fingers for Damen and Ever.


I give it 4 BITES!

Happy Reading!

Radiance ARC Giveaway

I am giving away a ARC of Radiance by Alyson Noel.
Release Date: August 31, 2010

"Riley Bloom left her sister, Ever, in the world of the living and crossed the bridge into the afterlife—a place called Here, where time is always Now. Riley and her dog, Buttercup, have been reunited with her parents and are just settling into a nice, relaxing death when she's summoned before The Council. They let her in on a secret—the afterlife isn't just an eternity of leisure; Riley has to work. She's been assigned a job, Soul Catcher, and a teacher, Bodhi, a curious boy she can't quite figure out.

Riley, Bodhi, and Buttercup return to earth for her first assignment, a Radiant Boy who's been haunting a castle in England for centuries. Many Soul Catchers have tried to get him to cross the bridge and failed. But he's never met Riley..."

You can enter the contest  here and doing one of the following:

1. Leave a comment on one of my recent reviews

2. Tweeting about the contest

3. Blogging about the contest

4. Any other way to spread the word about the contest

It is international. You must be a follower to enter. It ends August 13, 2010.

Good Luck and Happy Reading!!

Review: Radiance

Title: Radiance
Series: Riley Bloom # 1
Genre: Middle Grade- Fantasy/Supernatural
Author: Aylson Noel
Publisher: MacMillan
Release Date: August 31, 2010
Book: Sent by Publisher

"Riley Bloom left her sister, Ever, in the world of the living and crossed the bridge into the afterlife—a place called Here, where time is always Now. Riley and her dog, Buttercup, have been reunited with her parents and are just settling into a nice, relaxing death when she's summoned before The Council. They let her in on a secret—the afterlife isn't just an eternity of leisure; Riley has to work. She's been assigned a job, Soul Catcher, and a teacher, Bodhi, a curious boy she can't quite figure out.

Riley, Bodhi, and Buttercup return to earth for her first assignment, a Radiant Boy who's been haunting a castle in England for centuries. Many Soul Catchers have tried to get him to cross the bridge and failed. But he's never met Riley..."

This is a spin off from The Immortal Series and a great spin off it is.

Riley is now in Here, a place where people are after death. Riley meets up with the council to be placed where she belongs. After meeting with the council Riley is placed as a Soul Catcher, one who travel to the earth plane to help bring soul who linger for too long.

Riley is placed with Bodhi. A super geeky, with no fashion sense is Riley boss. From the very beginning they did not get along. Riley was always defying him always doing want she wanted. Her first task as a Soul Catcher was to help The Radiant Boy. A boy who has haunted a castle for years with no Soul Catcher able to ever bring him over. Will Riley be able to help The Radiant Boy?

Alyson did a great job writing Radiance. It was what I expected and more. I loved that I finally got to see an insight into Riley's point of view. Now, this book is for a younger age group, but nonetheless, this book was awesome. Riley's is a great character and had me hooked. Her quick wittiness and sarcastic comebacks had me laughing.

I also like that this book was written appropriately for the age group. There was no cursing, bad scene, etc. Just great teenage-drama without all the bad junk. Alyson Noel's transitioning from writing older teen books to this one, I think she did a great job. She was able to catch that young voice and portray is beautifully.

Radiance is a great summer read. It had a great plot and was a short,easy to read book. I really wish there was a little more for me to read. If you love The Immortal Series, then you will like this book. I would suggest that you read The Immortal series first, at least the first one, Evermore, so you can fully understand what happens in the the book.

I give it 5 BITES!

Happy Reading!

Review: Dark Flame

Title: Dark Flame
Series: The Immortals #4
Genre: Young Adult- Paranormal
Author: Alyson Noel

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: June 22, 2010
Book: Bought

I am super excited about the next installment of this series. I have been following it since the very beginning. And I have to say, it did not disappoint...

"Ever is trying to help Haven make the transition into life as an immortal. But with Haven drunk on her new powers and acting recklessly, she poses the ultimate threat--exposing their secret world to the outside. But Ever's struggle to keep the Immortals hidden only propels Haven colser to the enemy: Roman and his evil companions.

At the same time,  Ever delves deeper into dark magick to free Damen from Roman's power. But when her spell backfires, it binds her to the one guy who's hell-bent on her destruction. Now there's a strange, foreign pulse coursing through her, and no matter what she does, she can't stop thinking about Roman--and longing for his touch. As she struggles to resist the fiery attraction threatening to comsume her, Roman is more than willing to take advantage of her weakened state...and Ever edges closer and closer to surrender.

Frantic to break the spell before it's too late, Ever turns to Jude for help, risking everything, she knows and loves to save herself--and her future with Damen..."

Oh Ever, I sympathize for you. Ever has been trying to get away from Roman powers. Instead, she ended up binding herself to him. She knew she was in trouble. She was afraid to go to Damen thinking he would be upset, if he knew what she got herself into. Poor Damen. He really is trying to help her, but Ever keeps shutting him out. Ever, feeling embarrassed and scared goes to Jude. Since he is the only one who knows her secret and can help, he is there for her. Ever and Jude's past does not help the sparks between them.

Haven is supposed to be Ever's friend. Yet she is so power hungry, she mistakenly thinks Ever is jealous and refuses to speak to her. Now while it may seem like the case, I know Ever is just concern for her and Roman relationship. Ever is indeed trying to get in the way, but only because she binded herself to him, she can't help but feel drawn to him.

Ever, after all that she has been through finally found it through the power of forgiveness. It wasn't magic that binded herself to Roman, it was herself and her own fears. "As within, so without." Whatever you fear inside, will come out on the outside. Ever was scared of never being with Damen, so she let Roman take over her life. She spent all of her time and energy on him creating the bind inwillingly herself.

Of course, even after having an epiphany, nothing ever turns out okay. The book takes a dramatic turn I did not see and well...lets just say it was shocking and kind of sad. I can't wait to see how Ever handles everything now after all that she has learned.

Alyson Noel wrote a stunning book. A true-page turner. Dark Flame was well written and had a very good plot. I can only imagine what will happen next. This book also contains some sexual references. Other than that the book was clean.

I give it 5 BITES!

Happy Reading!

Review: Shadowland

Title: Shadowland
Series: Immortals # 3
Genre: Young Adult- Paranormal

Author: Alyson Noel

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: Novermber 17, 2009
Book: Bought

"Ever and Damen have traveled through countless past lives—and fought off the world's darkest enemies—so they could be together forever. But just as their long-awaited destiny is finally within reach, a powerful curse falls upon Damen...one that could destroy everything. Now a single touch of their hands or a soft brush of their lips could mean sudden death—plunging Damen into a bleak afterlife in the Shadowland, an eternal abyss for lost souls. Desperate to break the curse and save Damen, Ever immerses herself in magick—and gets help from an unexpected source...Jude Knight.

Although she and Jude have only just met, he feels startlingly familiar. Despite her fierce loyalty to Damen, Ever is drawn to Jude, a green-eyed golden boy with magical talents and a mysterious past. She's always believed Damen to be her soul mate and one true love—and she still believes it to be true. But as Damen pulls away to save them from the darkness inhabiting his soul, Ever's connection with Jude grows stronger--and test her love for Damen like never before..."

Enter the love triangle. Now that Damen and Ever can not even kiss each other without the other literally dying, Ever turns to Jude for help. He is like no one Ever met, plus she can talk to him about the things that happen with Damen. She couldn't talk to Damen because he felt so bad about what had happen. Enter Jude. Jude is a great guy who adores Ever. He tries to help her and in the process falls for her. I mean, who wouldn't fall for Ever. She is a great girl who put other people concerns before her own.

Again this book  was fast paced and a easy read. The writing is great and the plot was very good. Love triangles always are! Now Ever faces a challenge, who to be with? The one who she can touch and the other who if she just touches they can both die.

Great for the fans of Twilight.

I give it 5 BITES!

Happy Reading!

Review: Blue Moon

Title: Blue Moon
Series: Immortals #2
Genre: Young Adult- Paranormal

Author: Alyson Noel

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: July 7, 2009
Book: Bought

"Just as Ever is learning everything she can about her new abilities as an immortal, initiated into the dark, seductive world by her beloved Damen, something terrible is happening to him. As Ever's powers are increasing, Damen's are fading—stricken by a mysterious illness that threatens his memory, his identity, his life.

Desperate to save him, Ever travels to the mystical dimension of Summerland, uncovering not only the secrets of Damen's past—the brutal, tortured history he hoped to keep hidden—but also an ancient text revealing the workings of time. With the approaching blue moon heralding her only window for travel, Ever is forced to decide between turning back the clock and saving her family from the accident that claimed them—or staying in the present and saving Damen, who grows weaker each day..."

This book was just is seductive as the first. Alyson had me on a roller coaster. So Ever goes to school one day to find A new kid who Ever know that something is not right. And of course she is. All of a sudden Damen is completely ignoring her! I ached for Ever! She just could not figure out why he started to act like such a jerk. I was evern angry at Damen. Here he was proclaiming his love for her and then BAM! He act as if he never knew her. I was angry about seventy-five percent of the time while reading this book. I am glad that Ever was able to save Damen and makes things right again. But still, not everything turned out okay.

 

This book is a fast paced, easy to read book. Although there were no curse words, there was still the implied intention of Ever and Damen trying to consummate their relationship. That bothered me. If they really loved each other than it can wait.

 

Again, if you love the Twilight series, you'll enjoy this series as well.

 

I give it 5 BITES!

 

Happy Reading!

Review: Evermore

Title: Evermore
Series: The Immortals # 1
Genre: Young Adult- Paranormal

Author: Alyson Noel

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: Febuary 3, 2009
Book: Bought

"Since a horrible accident claimed the lives of her family, Ever can see auras, hear people's thoughts, and know a person's entire life story by touch. Going out of her way to avoid human contact and suppress her abilities has branded her as a freak at her new high school—but everything changes when she meets Damen.

Damen Auguste is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy. He's the only one who can silence the noise and random energy in her head—wielding a magic so intense, it's as though he can see straight into her soul. As Ever is drawn deeper into his enticing world of secrets and mystery, she's left with more questions than answers. She has no idea just who he really is—or what he is. The only thing she knows to be true is she's falling deeply and helplessly in love with him."

I am not surprised that I practically munched down this novel. We meet Ever who is hiding underneath her hoodie all the time. Damen comes and everything changes. This is an easy to read book.The book was fast paced and very sci-fy-ish. I also am a sucker for romance so the sparks flying off Ever and Damen had me smiling a lot.

I loved this book all together. The writing is good and the plot was even better. Every page, every chapter had something else to reveal. I finish off the book wanting the next one already! This is a  very cute romance with a sci-fy twist. If you like Twilight, then you will defiantly enjoy this series.

I give it 5 BITES!

Happy Reading!

Happy Release Day Alyson Noel!

Her book, Dark Flame is now in stores. Be sure to go by your local bookstore to pick it up.

Happy Reading!