Saturday, April 17, 2010

Review: Blue Moon, by Alyson Noel


Title: Blue Moon (Book #2, Immortals)
Author: Alyson Noel (alysonnoel.com)
Pages: 304
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: July 07, 2009

Genre: Young Adult
Themes: immortality, reincarnation, forbidden love, paranormal, high school

Synopsis: (From GoodReads) 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...

Additional Information: Read an excerpt here. Book trailer follows.




My Review: At the start of the book, we learn that Ever is learning about her new powers from her Immortal boyfriend, Damen. Everything seems to be going perfectly for the couple until they see the new kid in school, Roman. Damen pays him no mind, but Ever is put off by him from the beginning. Then, things start changing. Suddenly, Damen starts acting weaker ... and altogether starts ignoring Ever. As a matter of fact, everyone seems to not like Ever at school anymore - even her friends Miles and Haven. Typical high school clique change, right? No, not necessarily. The school seems to be getting along fine and it seems as though the lines between cliques have been blurred. Everyone seems to be getting along, and agreeing on the fact that Ever is the only outcast in the school. Damen even goes as far as calling Ever a stalker and takes a sudden interest in the school's queen bee/ Ever's nemesis, Stacia. Ever's only ally during this time is Roman, the new kid who is constantly flirting with her. Ever knows something is wrong with Roman and somehow he's responsible for everything happening - but she has no proof and Damen seems to be slipping farther away from her. With the help of her psychic friend Ava, a few trips to Summerland and some intuition, Ever learns that all is not well and she doesn't have much time at all. And if she can't find a solution? Damen's immortal life may be at risk.

I mentioned on my Facebook that I literally stopped reading this a few times, which is why it took me a few extra days to do this review. There's just so many things that I can point out that make me want to scream, but I'll start with the good. Miles finally has some dimension! I know I mentioned in the first book that I was disappointed that the author didn't go anywhere with the token gay guy, but all is better. And there were definitely some spots in the book where it took unexpected twists, which was very refreshing. Having said that ... I feel as though Riley didn't get as much action time as she should have been given in this book. Yes, I know, she crossed over - but there were supposed to be signs everywhere for Ever! When you did get a sign and a scene, it was close to the end and just felt like an afterthought to me. The whole ordeal with Damen being weakened was a little sudden to me. I mean, it went from having a small problem with manifestation to a small bout of amnesia - to no amnesia and absolute disgust with Ever within a day. Oh, and you find out he's dying ... but there were never any signs that he was deteriorating. Instead, Damen's moments in the book were spent with threatening Ever and flirting shamelessly with Stacia. Yet, when the whole school seems to be acting the exact same to one another - Haven somehow manages to shine through by dressing like anyone that she likes at the moment. It was just so out of place. The plot seemed to be going in the same direction - which is Ever and Damen seem like they'll never get to actually enjoy being with one another - something always keeps them apart. And the worst part for me - Ever not following her instincts and her doing the exact opposite of what she should have done. To me, Ever just seems to be really immature, always acting irrationally. She never knows anything, but then out of the blue she has these genius ideas to save the world. With the negative out of the way, I can say that the read was light and flowed easily. Despite my complaints, I'm not going to stop reading the series because it does have that flair that keeps me coming back for more.

Rating: - As I said, the story frustrates me to no end. It has the "not what it may seem" moments, but then Ever's decisions are getting a little more predictable as you go along. It has a bittersweet happy ending, which gets you ready for the next book in the series. Again, there's nothing much I can say about the characters since they were a little ... distracted in the story. Despite that, the writing was wonderful and I do enjoy the world that is Summerland and look forward to reading more about it.

Summary: If you liked Evermore, then I'm sure you'll want to read this book. It's good for a nice, quick read. You learn a lot more about Summerland. Forbidden romance seems to be the theme this season, so if you love stories like that ... you'll probably like this one.

Source of Book: Purchased.

Other Books By Author: For a list of Noel's books, click here.

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