Blue Moon by Alyson Noel
Eager to learn everything she can about her new abilities as an Immortal, Ever turns to her beloved Damen to show her the way. But just as her powers are increasing, Damen’s are waning. In an attempt to save him, Ever travels to the magical dimension of Summerland, where she learns the secrets of Damen’s tortured past; a past which he has always kept hidden from her. But in her quest to cure Damen, Ever discovers an ancient text that details the workings of time. Now Ever must chose between turning back the past and saving her family from the accident that claimed their lives—or staying in the present and saving Damen, who grows sicker every day...
First Impressions: Read Evermore back in July. (Review here.) I wasn't super excited to read Blue Moon, but I did read it because I was interested in finding out more. Evermore ended well, so I was hoping that would continue over to Blue Moon.
Sadly, to me anyway, Blue Moon's a lot like Evermore. The beginning is slow without much interest, and it isn't until the last third of the book that it really picks up. If you, like me, feel your attention to the book waning, I encourage you to read on, because it does get better.
However, Damen and Ever's dependance on each other grated on me pretty much the whole time. It seemed they couldn't go an hour without each other and sucking face. I'm not too sure how the other characters handled them all the while fairly amused and tolerant (I say fairly- they joke and complain, but they don't go around slapping Damen and Ever like I would have done). Their constant PDA creeped me out. Other than that, the relationship between the two was... well no. I still don't like their relationship. I guess their lack of independance shows how much they love each other?
In Blue Moon, a new character is introduce: Roman. Typical good looking charmer who seems to have everyone wrapped around his finger. But Ever doesn't like him- not one bit. Meanwhile, Damen's power is waning, and he seems to be constantly ill and chugging the immortal juice. Oh my.
For the plot, I really do like it. Mostly the second half, where things finally start to get exciting. There's quite a bit going on, but it works nicely. Also, we finally get to learn Ever's and Damen's histories.
The whole world Noel has created, that mix of alchemy, magic, zen stuff etc. is different and interesting. Summerland is a place I'd love to really learn more about, although we do happily get to know more about it in Blue Moon, as Ever's travelling there quite often.
What brings the book down, is as I said before, the characters. Ever's this completely oblivious girl who fails to see some of the most obvious things. At some parts, I could sympathise. And then all my sympathies would be blown away when Ever makes another silly decision. Damen was interesting, although for the most part he wasn't present enough. Haven, Ever's friend, is ridiculously annoying and I have no idea why Ever is friends with her, excluding being desperate.
The writing's still nice and smooth. It's super easy to read without many glitches. It gets descriptive, but some of it's actually nice- especially the depiction of Summerland.
Final Impressions: It's on the same level as Evermore. The ending's wonderfully exciting with some twists but the beginning's blah. The world's nicely created, but the characters are too annoying for my tastes. I probably will read the third book in the series, but I'm not in a rush.
Add to Shelf: Not for me. The Immortals series is mostly a one read for me, and that's enough. But I'm sure others will suck this series up.
Note This! I didn't mention before, but we also get two new characters: Romy and Rayne, twins who help Ever in Summerland. But who are they? And are they really helping Ever? Duh duh duuuh.
2 months ago
Yeah... I can't really add anything to that. I pretty much agree.
ReplyDeleteIt's too bad, really, because the premise is interesting. But you need good characters to make a story work and, sadly, the characters here are pretty bad.
I reviewed this one a while back and agree with you. I liked Evermore, but wasn't really into this one. And her decision at the end was a serious TSTL (too stupid to live) moment.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. Beautiful writing and interesting themes, but the characters are somthing to be desired. I've never been able to connect to any of the books, but that's just me. Other people may love them. Really good review! :)
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