DOUBLE Book Review: Immortal Beloved and Darkness Falls by Cate Tiernan

Immortal Beloved
Published September 7th, 2010
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
407 pages (Hardcover)

Nastasya has spent the last century living as a spoiled, drugged-out party girl. She feels nothing and cares for no one. But when she witnesses her best friend, a Dark Immortal, torture a human, she realizes something's got to change. She seeks refuge at a rehab for wayward immortals, where she meets the gorgeous, undeniably sexy Reyn, who seems inexplicably linked to her past.

Nastasya finally begins to deal with life, and even feels safe--until the night she learns that someone wants her dead. (From Goodreads)

Darkness Falls
Published January 2nd, 2012
Little Brown and Company
400 pages (Hardcover)

Nastasya has lived for hundreds of years, but for some reason, life never seems to get any better. She left her spoiled, rich girl life to find peace at River's Edge, a safe haven for wayward immortals. There, she learned to embrace River's Edge, despite som drama involving the sexy Reyn, who she wants but won't allow herself to have. But just as she's getting comfortable, her family's ties to dark magick force her to leave.

She falls back into her old, hard partying ways, but will her decision lead her into the hands of a dark immortal? Or will it be her first step to embracing the darkness within her? (From Goodreads)

 First off, the new covers are SO much better.

Overall, these books left me with mixed feelings.  Immortal Beloved was a great start to the series.  Once you begin to figure out all of the characters (be prepared for A LOT of names), the story gets interesting.  Nastasya is snarky, which I always like.

My problem in Immortal Beloved was the flashbacks.  I've never been a fan of flashbacks, and likely never will be.  In my mind, they take away from the flow of the novel.  All of the flashbacks serve a purpose in understanding the events occuring, so this is more a personal preference of mine.

I was less impressed with Darkness Falls.  I found it predictable and boring through much of the novel.  Nastasya falls back into her old ways, and the book just seems to go nowhere fast.  To boot, it's never enjoyable when your favourite character (in this case, Reyn) disappears for much of the storyline.

I will say that Darkness Falls had a good ending, and was a quick read., even if I just wanted to leave it.

Book 3 of the trilogy, Eternally Yours, is set to be released November 6th, 2012.  While I may not drop everything to read it, I am definitely interested in the conclusion to this series.

Much love, Samantha