Review: Blue Moon (Immortals #2) by Alyson Noel

Spoiler warning! This book is the 2nd in the Immortals series. If you haven't read Evermore then look away now, as there will be spoilers. You can read my review of Evermore, book one in the Immortals series, right here!





Blue Moon by Alyson Noel

Goodreads page

Author: Alyson Noel. Website, Twitter
Published: 5 March 2010 (Macmillan Children's Books)
Pages: 384
Amazon: paperback|Kindle
Waterstone's: paperback|e-book
Book Depository: paperback

Source: Borrowed from library.

Plot Summary (from Goodreads):
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 begin to fade after he is stricken by a mysterious illness that threatens his memory, his identity, his life.

My Review:
I really liked Evermore so I've been wanting to check out this book for a while. Picking up where Evermore left off, we see Ever and Damen as they settle into their relationship. Things don't stay happy for long when Damen starts acting weird, and the new guy at school Roman is acting suspiciously.

I like it when a sequel starts off recapping what happens in the previous book because I have a memory like a sieve! It can sometimes be a little off putting if you feel the author is going over everything, but in this case I found it really handy to be caught up on what had gone on in Evermore. I liked how the book started off with Damen and Ever exploring their new relationship and Ever discovering her new found abilities. Just when you think everything is going swimmingly, though, a spanner gets thrown in the works and suddenly Damen is acting totally weird. I loved that twist! Cue Ever trying to find out what's really happening whilst feeling completely heartbroken.

A lot of the story revolves around the mysterious new guy Roman. He's totally creepy and Ever's suspicions about him made for a great mystery as she strives to find out just what he's up to. I loved having that villain role filled by a fresh, new character to the series. There were other new additions as well, with Romy and Rayne, who Ever meets in Summerland playing a key role.

As well as new characters, there's plenty of attention on some of the ones we met in Evermore. I particularly liked getting more of Damen's history and seeing more of Ava, who becomes a guide to Ever even more in Blue Moon.

I loved the fact that Summerland was featured a lot more in this book and in greater depth. It made the whole book feel a lot more magical and some of the settings were beautiful and imaginative.

As with the first book, I really like Noel's writing style for the most part. There's one thing that really puts me off, though, and I think I even mentioned this in my Evermore review. The use of the phrase "pressed my lips together" just jumps out at me every time. It's completely overused to the point of becoming annoying. Perhaps a bit picky of me but it was starting to ruin my enjoyment of the book! I had a few issues in places where I had to go back and re-read things just to make sure I'd understood, and some things happened quite quickly within the story.

There were some big twists towards the end which totally took me by surprise! The ending felt very Mortal Instruments-esque  but I love that series so it'll be interesting to see how that carries on into the next book and how the series compare. Blue Moon has definitely made me want to invest more in this series, and was a book I really enjoyed.

Rating: 4*
What to read next: Shadowland by Alyson Noel, the third book in the Immortals series
Books like this: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Teaser Tuesdays - 4th September

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

 

 

"The moment I turn toward the door it opens before me. And since it's not one of those automatic doors like the kind they have at supermarkets, I'm guessing it means I'm worthy of entering."

-page 181, Blue Moon by Alyson Noel

Review: Evermore by Alyson Noel

Evermore by Alyson Noel

Author: Alyson Noel. Website, Twitter
Published: 3 October 2009 (Macmillan Children's Books)
Pages: 384
Buy: Amazon, Waterstone's, Book Depository

Source: Bought from The British Heart Foundation charity shop.

Plot Summary: (from Goodreads)
Since a horrible accident claimed the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever can see auras, hear people’s thoughts, and know a person’s life story by touch.   Going out of her way to shield herself from human contact to suppress her abilities has branded her as a freak at her new high school—but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste . . .

My Review:
I picked this book up a few weeks ago after I saw it in a charity shop, having seeing it online and adding it to my to-read list the night before - it was a sign! I had a few books I needed to read but after picking this one up and scanning the first few pages I was hooked in and so I set about reading it straight away.

This is the first book in Noel's The Immortals series and tells the story of Ever, who has lost her parents and little sister in a car accident and since then has been able to see people's auras and hear their thoughts. She is also receiving visits from her dead sister Riley. Then the mysterious Damen starts at her school and sits next to her in English, and suddenly things start to happen around her.

I really liked Ever and her abilities. I liked that she could see auras and hear people's thoughts, and her relationship with Riley was really funny and sweet. I loved the trio of her and her friends, too, them being the misfits at their school who don't fit in with anyone but each other. They made me laugh and felt very true to life. They even reference the TV show Friends (which is something I do all the time with my friends) so I loved that!

It took me a while to warm to the relationship between Damen and Ever, but I didn't hate it. I can be a bit sceptical with relationships so that's not an unusual feeling for me! And as more information began to reveal itself I think it's something that worked out nicely towards the end of the book. I like that Ever is feisty and doesn't always take rubbish from him!

The writing style kept me interested throughout (although my one niggle is the author's repeated use of the phrase "she pressed her lips together"). I was sometimes a bit confused as to what exactly was established in the world in which the story takes place. Ever knows she has powers but as far as she's aware, nobody else knows about them or has powers like hers. She refuses to share her secrets with anybody but Riley, but it's obvious that there other things happening that Ever is refusing to acknowledge. I didn't know if I as a reader was supposed to believe in other supernatural powers existing around her. Because it's all from Ever's point of view, I think it made you follow her train of thought about what was happening instead of what you thought yourself which was distracting.

Other than that, though, it was a really enjoyable read. There's plenty of action to look forward to near the end of the book and I was really interested in what happens to the characters. I think the world this story is set in has plenty of potential and as this is the start of a series, it left me really excited to know more in the following books. This book mainly establishes the characters and the world but it does a really good job of making it exciting and gripping.

Rating: 4*
What to read next: Blue Moon by Alyson Noel, the second book in The Immortals series.
Books like this: Intangible by J. Meyers.