Review: Evermore, by Alyson Noel

Title: Evermore (Book #1, The Immortals)
Author: Alyson Noel (alysonnoel.com)
Pages: 320
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: February 03, 2009

Genre: Young Adult
Themes: high school, teenage love, immortals, reincarnation, tragedy

Synopsis: (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…

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.

Additional Information: To read Chapter One and Two of Evermore on Alyson Noel's website, click here. Book trailer follows below.

My Review: Ever (original name, no?) survives a tragic accident that claims the lives of her father, mother, pet dog and twelve-year old sister, Riley. Unfortunately, Riley didn't actually cross over like the rest of her family (save Ever), so now she spends most of her time around Ever, or catching up on old neighbors and their gossip. Ever, now orphaned, is taken in by her father's twin sister - who is a lawyer and immediately gives Ever all that she could need to make herself feel more at home - tv, jacuzzi, stereo, the works. However, Ever would give it all back to have her family back. Not only does she have to start her life over in a new place, but she seems to have received psychic powers from her near-death experience. She can see auras, read people with just a touch and, worse of all, she hears everyone's thoughts. It's too much for Ever. She used to be popular at her old school and now - armed with her iPod on full blast to drown out the thoughts and hooded sweatshirts to conceal her mp3 player - she's considered a freak, only finding solace in her attention-craved, now goth, friend Haven and token gay friend Miles. That is, until she meets Damen. She's already heard about him, but she avoided eye contact with him when he sat beside of her in class. Then, there was the silence. Anytime Damen touched her, all she heard was silence. Damen has taken an interest in Ever - but who is this new girl, Drina, that she's seen him out with? And why is this new girl trying to take her best friend away from her? Ever didn't think it could get any worse ... until she found out that Damen is an immortal, and Drina's trying to kill her in order to get Damen back.

This is one of those books that I got a while back in order to get over my vampire obsession. I figured I could still do paranormal, but I needed to expand my horizons. The cover attracted me and I had heard a lot of things about it, but nothing overly great. I still picked it up, but I didn't get around to it until now. Thanks to my friend, I got a little hooked on the Harper Connelly Mysteries series by Charlaine Harris. Whoops. However, I'm hearing wonderful things about Shadowland and I really want to read it - so, what better place to start than the first in the series? It's just something I absolutely have to do - if I start a series, I start from the very beginning. Now, the story starts out okay. It drags out a little, and you have to read a while for some of the good stuff to happen. However, the filler that really kept me reading was Riley - Ever's sister that didn't cross over. She's a wonderful character. I just wish I could say the same about the others. I found the secondary characters not all that well developed. To be honest, Haven got on my last nerve with her attention-whoring ways. Of course, I never really did like anyone who changed who they were to get someone's attention. And Miles ... he's gay ... his character could have been wonderful in so many ways! But instead, he just came around in the story to add his two cents here and there, and he really felt like a filler to be ... but a filler in a bad way, not good like Riley. Ever could have been a little better as a main character. She just seemed so indecisive about everything and sometimes so needy when it came to Damen and her sister. The plot was good. I did like the story. Overall, the story was well-written, I just wish the characters were fleshed out a little better.

Rating: - Don't get me wrong, this is a good story and it's worth the read. But the characters held me back from four stars. However, I do plan on reading the sequel as well as the third installment that's come out recently.

Summary: The story starts out as a tragedy, but quickly turns into a love story between a girl and an immortal. As the story continues, you learn a lot more about why Ever has her powers as well as why she's being stalked by Drina, who claims to be married to Ever's boyfriend. It's a story that tells you it's definitely not the beginning of this love story - nor is it the ending.

Target Audience: Teenagers and older that loves the fantasy stories. If you like reading about crazy exes, you may like this story as well. ;)

Source of Book: Purchased with my own money.

Other Books By Author: The sequel to Evermore, Blue Moon, and now the third installment, Shadowland. Alyson Noel also has several other YA books that are non-paranormal, including Cruel Summer, Laguna Cove, and several others. For a full list, visit her website or click here.