Showing posts with label author: Alyson Noel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label author: Alyson Noel. Show all posts

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Review by Alex- Blue Moon

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.





Saturday, July 18, 2009

Review by Alex- Evermore


Evermore by Alyson Noel

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...

Ever sees Damen and feels an instant recognition. He is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy, and he holds many secrets. Damen is able to make things appear and disappear, he always seems to know what she's thinking--and he's the only one who can silence the noise and the random energy in her head. She doesn't know who he really is--or what he is. Damen equal parts light and darkness, and he belongs to an enchanted new world where no one ever dies.

Evermore is a paranormal romance that starts off very similar to Twilight but then slowly changes. Similar to Edward, Ever can read people's thoughts and Damen is the only one who can calm them. Actually, it's a lot like True Blood then.

But personally... I almost like Twilight better. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a diehard Twi-fan. I'm really over the whole Twilight franchise. But, just, Evermore didn't grab me.

I felt the relationship between Damen and Ever felt forced most of the time. I didn't feel any real connection or spark. Maybe that's just me though, because I couldn't get into the book, because others seem to love Evermore. Damen pulls back a lot and Ever's left wounded and confused most of the time. The romance just didn't feel real to me.

The writing was fine. It flowed nicely, it was okay. It wasn't great though, and I didn't think it matched the story as well as it could have. Ever's supposed to be all messed up, feeling people's auras and hearing thoughts. But the writing is so normal, so valley girl, so average teen. Then again, I thought Ever seemed like a normal teen most of the time, minus the fact she can hear voices and whatnot. But for all she pretended to be all angsty with her hoodie and loud music, she seemed almost pretentious to me.

While I couldn't feel the book at all at first, the ending is something else. The book and plot really picks up towards the end. Fight scenes, mystical powers, and finally learning the truth of Damen. And Ever. Learning who and what Ever really is. That's interesting. I really like how it twists and when the truth is revealed, I was quite surprised. At that point, I couldn't put the book down. So for those who haven't read the book, which is probably slim to none since I think I'm the last one :P, don't give up hope if the beginning is annoying.

Overall, I'll be picking up Blue Moon, and I'd suggest you all do too.














Want to win your own copy of Evermore? Taste Life Twice is giving one away in a contest! So why don't you all head on over! And while you're at it, you can welcome them to the bloggingsphere. :)

 
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