Author: Alyson Noël
Publication Year: 2009
Genre: Young Adult/Paranormal
Links: Goodreads | Amazon (Paperback) | Amazon (Kindle)
After a horrible accident claims the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever Bloom can see people's auras, hear their thoughts, and know someone's entire life by touching them. Going out of her way to avoid human contact and suppress her abilities, she has been branded a freak at her new high school - but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste.
Damen is gorgeous, exotic, and wealthy. He's the only one who can silence the noise and random energy in her head - wielding a magic so intense, it is as though he can peer straight into her soul. As Ever is drawn deeper into his enticing world of secrets and mystery, she's left with more questions than answers. And she has no idea just who he really is - or what he is. The only thing she knows to be true is that she's falling deeply and helplessly in love with him.
My two cents: This review is certainly long overdue. But, don't blame me...I've been busy. Where do I start? I admit, I was drawn by the cover. I debated with myself whether to buy this or not until one day, it was on sale and I just couldn't resist the temptation. First few pages into the book, and all I could think was that this is just another 'Twilight' (never been a fan of that series). I was wrong. Damen is not a vampire and Ever is not obsessed to be whatever Damen is. I, at least, enjoyed this one. I have to admit though that an immortal can easily be interchanged with a vampire (he he).
Character-wise, I could totally see why Ever would shut herself out from other people. Her unique abilities were well-explained. But, it's a bit funny how she seems to never care enough to find solutions to her problems. Anyway, that is exactly the point, isn't it? However, Ever's friends are sometimes so one-dimensional. Miley is the typical gay sidekick. And Haven is the typical girlfriend who never heeds her friends' warning. Now, Damen was described as gorgeous, exotic and wealthy. Well, I get the wealthy part...but I can't really find anything exotic and gorgeous about him. I have to admit, it was kinda appealing at the start but it just becomes a bit 'blah' after a while. Having said that, I still enjoy reading about him and Ever. And the antagonist is the antagonist...typical one, cheesy and predictable and stupid!
The story is nothing new...girl is an outcast, new guy comes, they fall in love, things happen. I still enjoyed it immensely though. Kudos to the author for making this an enjoyable read. The dialogues are funny and witty and are exactly what glued me to the page after page of the book. And yeay to the flower reference and all. I am all about the symbolic meaning behind things and the flower thing totally earned a few points from me. But, I do have a few complains about the ending or the built-up towards the ending. Everything just seemed so easy. I would have liked it better if it was a bit more complicated. However, all in all, an interesting start to a series. I already have Book 2 and 3 in my safe-keeping and I certainly can't wait to read them.
My verdict: 3.5/5
After a horrible accident claims the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever Bloom can see people's auras, hear their thoughts, and know someone's entire life by touching them. Going out of her way to avoid human contact and suppress her abilities, she has been branded a freak at her new high school - but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste.
Damen is gorgeous, exotic, and wealthy. He's the only one who can silence the noise and random energy in her head - wielding a magic so intense, it is as though he can peer straight into her soul. As Ever is drawn deeper into his enticing world of secrets and mystery, she's left with more questions than answers. And she has no idea just who he really is - or what he is. The only thing she knows to be true is that she's falling deeply and helplessly in love with him.
My two cents: This review is certainly long overdue. But, don't blame me...I've been busy. Where do I start? I admit, I was drawn by the cover. I debated with myself whether to buy this or not until one day, it was on sale and I just couldn't resist the temptation. First few pages into the book, and all I could think was that this is just another 'Twilight' (never been a fan of that series). I was wrong. Damen is not a vampire and Ever is not obsessed to be whatever Damen is. I, at least, enjoyed this one. I have to admit though that an immortal can easily be interchanged with a vampire (he he).
Character-wise, I could totally see why Ever would shut herself out from other people. Her unique abilities were well-explained. But, it's a bit funny how she seems to never care enough to find solutions to her problems. Anyway, that is exactly the point, isn't it? However, Ever's friends are sometimes so one-dimensional. Miley is the typical gay sidekick. And Haven is the typical girlfriend who never heeds her friends' warning. Now, Damen was described as gorgeous, exotic and wealthy. Well, I get the wealthy part...but I can't really find anything exotic and gorgeous about him. I have to admit, it was kinda appealing at the start but it just becomes a bit 'blah' after a while. Having said that, I still enjoy reading about him and Ever. And the antagonist is the antagonist...typical one, cheesy and predictable and stupid!
The story is nothing new...girl is an outcast, new guy comes, they fall in love, things happen. I still enjoyed it immensely though. Kudos to the author for making this an enjoyable read. The dialogues are funny and witty and are exactly what glued me to the page after page of the book. And yeay to the flower reference and all. I am all about the symbolic meaning behind things and the flower thing totally earned a few points from me. But, I do have a few complains about the ending or the built-up towards the ending. Everything just seemed so easy. I would have liked it better if it was a bit more complicated. However, all in all, an interesting start to a series. I already have Book 2 and 3 in my safe-keeping and I certainly can't wait to read them.
My verdict: 3.5/5