Review: Darkness Falls - Cate Tiernan

Nastasya has lived for hundreds of years, but for some reason, life never seems to get any better. She left her spoiled, rich girl life to find peace at River's Edge, a safe haven for wayward immortals. There, she learned to embrace River's Edge, despite some drama involving the sexy Reyn, who she wants but won't allow herself to have. But just as she's getting comfortable, her family's ties to dark magick force her to leave.

She falls back into her old, hard partying ways, but will her decision lead her into the hands of a dark immortal? Or will it be her first step to embracing the darkness within her?




Immortal Beloved Series:
Immortal Beloved
Darkness Falls
Immortal Light (2012)

Visit Cate Tiernan's website for more information

Review:
Nastasya is still struggling to fit in at River's Edge, life at the farm is very different to the partying life she has lived for hundreds of years.  She desperately wants to change but is convinced that there is something dark inside her and that she isn't capable of being a good person.  She is also finding it hard to fight her attraction to Reyn in spite of the things she discovered about their shared history.  It isn't easy to forgive past actions that had such a major effect on both of their lives.  It is also hard facing up to the things that she has done in the past so when her old friends catch her at a bad moment it is all to easy to slip back into old habits.  As she becomes increasingly worried about Incy's strange behaviour she starts to wonder if she has made a terrible mistake.

I really enjoyed Immortal Beloved so couldn't wait to get my hands on Darkness Falls and I think Cate Tiernan out did herself with this installment.  Nasty has changed a lot from the character we met at the beginning of the first book, she is learning what is really important in life and starting to see that she can choose to be better than she was.  I was a little disappointed in her when she ran away from her problems again by going with Incy straight back to her old lifestyle but I think it did her good because she immediately realises how shallow her friends are and how pointless her old life was.  It was nice to see her start to appreciate her life at the farm more and I think she will be even stronger now because of it.

The beginning of the story is fairly slow paced and character driven but this lets us really get to know Nasty and also some of the other residents at the farm.  I loved seeing more about River's past but I was a little disappointed we didn't get to spend much time with Reyn.  The chemistry between Nasty and Reyn is off the charts when they are together but I didn't think they were together anywhere near enough - I'm keeping my fingers crossed for much more in the next book!  I can't wait to see if they can find a way to work through the shared history they have.  The last third of the book is very fast paced and dramatic leaving me on the edge of my seat while I was reading.  It was a lot darker than I expected and I really did worry for Nasty's safety.

I'm really enjoying this series and I can't wait to get my hands on the next book Immortal Light.  If you haven't already discovered these books I would recommend starting with Immortal Beloved and if you're already a fan you'll love this latest installment.

Source: Received from Hodder in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
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Review: Immortal Beloved - Cate Tiernan

After some of the events I've witnessed I felt like I was a shell with nothing alive left in me.

I hadn't been going around killing people, but people were hurt - the memories just kept trickling in like rivulets of fresh acid dripping into my brain until I wanted to scream.  It was in my blood, I knew.

A Darkness.

The Darkness.

I had inherited it, along with my immortality and my back eyes.

Immortal Beloved Series:
Immortal Beloved
Darkness Falls
Immortal Light (2012)

Visit Cate Tiernan's website for more information

Review:
At the beginning of Immortal Beloved Nastasya (or Nasty to her friends) was the kind of character I hate to read about, she is one of a group of rich friends who spends her time drinking, partying and having fun at the expense of others.  For the first couple of pages I wasn't even sure if I would finish reading the whole book but it quickly became clear how unhappy she was with her life and that she wanted to change and I soon became hooked.  Nastasya has lived for a very long time, she has both seen and done terrible things and over the years she has become indifferent to the feelings of others.  To block out her own memories she has taken to drinking herself into oblivion but after a horrific incident on a night out with her friends she begins to realise that she doesn't want her life to be like this anymore.

She runs from her friends, wanting to disappear and find a better life for herself.  Checking into the equivalent of Immortal rehab comes as quite a shock to her, for a long time she has avoided mundane tasks - they give her too much time to think - so working on a farm isn't what she is used to.  I really enjoyed watching her character develop throughout the story she changes from a party girl to someone who is able to appreciate the small pleasures in life.  I also loved the snippets from her past and the way her secrets are gradually revealed.  The inhabitants of River's Edge (the farm) were interesting and I'm looking forward to finding out more about them all.  I did struggle to understand Nastasya's fascination with Reyn for the majority of the book though, apart from the fact he was good looking we learnt hardly anything about him until towards the end and they rarely even spoke to each other.  I'm definitely more interested in him now that we know a bit more about his history though and will enjoy getting to know him better as the series progresses.

The story does feel quite slow to begin with, more character based than action packed but I mean that in a good way and it was an addictive read.  Immortal Beloved touches on themes of love, loss and grief but also shows how important it is to be true to yourself and not follow the crowd just because it's the easy option.  As the first book in a trilogy you are left with a lot of questions at the end of the book so I'm glad I don't have to wait long to read Darkness Falls and find out what happens next.  Going from the title I was expecting a fairly standard YA urban fantasy about vampires so it was refreshing to find something so different.  If you're looking for a YA paranormal that stands out from the crowd and doesn't have a fang in sight you should definitely give Immortal Beloved a try.

Source: Received from Hodder in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
Much Loved Books
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Publisher Spotlight: Hodder & Stoughton - September 2011 - March 2012 Releases

I thought it would be fun to start spotlighting new releases that different publishers have coming up over the next few months for us to look forward to.  I'm constantly looking for new books to add to my wish list and thought it would be a nice way of spreading the bookish love with other bloggers.  So stepping into the spotlight today we have . . .

Hodder & Stoughton have a fantastic range of YA titles over the next few months (and I'm going to mention a couple that are already available too!).  For more information check out the Hodder & Stoughton website.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor was published back in September but I had to include it in the list because I absolutely loved this book (you can read my review here).  If you haven't already picked this one up it is definitely a must read and I'm already dying to get my hands on the sequel!  You can find out more on Laini Taylor's website.

Errand requiring immediate attention.  Come.

The note was on vellum, pierced by the talons of the almost-crow that delivered it.  Karou read the message.  'He never says please', she sighed, but she gathered up her things.  When Brimstone called, she always came.

In general, Karou has managed to keep her two lives in balance.  On the one hand, she's a seventeen-year-old art student in Prague; on the other, errand-girl to a monstrous creature who is the closest thing she has to family.  Raised half in our world, half in 'Elsewhere', she has never understood Brimstone's dark work - buying teeth from hunters and murderers - nor how she came into his keeping.  She is a secret even to herself, plagued by the sensation that she isn't whole.

Now the doors to Elsewhere are closing, and Karou must choose between the safety of her human life and the dangers of a war-ravaged world that may hold the answers she has always sought.

Next we have the highly anticipated third book in the Tiger Saga series - Tiger's Voyage by Colleen Houck.  This was released a couple of days ago on the 10th of November and I've already started reading my copy.  I loved the first two books in this series Tiger's Curse and Tiger's Quest (click on the links to read my reviews) and it feels like I have been waiting forever for this one.  If you've not started this series yet then it's one I would highly recommend for paranormal romance fans!  Check out Colleen Houck's website for more information.

With the head-to-head battle against the villainous Lokesh behind her, Kelsey confronts a new heartbreak: in the wake of his traumatic experience, her beloved Ren no longer remembers who she is.  As the trio continues their quest by challenging five cunning and duplicitous dragons, Ren and Kishan once more vie for her affections - leaving Kelsey more confused than ever.

Fraught with danger, filled with magic, and packed with romance, Tiger's Voyage brings Kelsey and her two tiger princes one step closer to breaking the curse.






On the 5th of January you can look forward to the second book in Cate Tiernan's Immortal Beloved series - Darkness Falls.  I haven't started this series yet but have heard great things about the first book Immortal Beloved and will be reading my copy soon, I also have to mention how much I love the covers of these books - they're so pretty!  You can find out more at Cate Tiernan's website.

He was the thorn in my side, nightmare of my past, destroyer of my family, source of all my troubles, and the most beautiful guy I had seen in 450 years.

Are you dizzy from being flung into my world like this?  I feel the same way every morning when I open my eyes to find I'm still me, still here.

Still immortal.

Desire, death and painful secrets are revealed in this additively compulsive sequel to IMMORTAL BELOVED.








On the 2nd of February we have British author James Treadwell's debut novel Advent to look forward to.  I love stories about magic and am really looking forward to Advent, the description doesn't really give many clues to what the story will be about but gives just enough to raise my curiosity levels.  I really like the cover too!  For more information check out James Treadwell's website.

For centuries it has been locked away
Lost beneath the sea
Warded from earth, air, water, fire, spirits, thought and sight.

But now magic is rising to the world once more.

And a boy called Gavin, who thinks only that he is a city kid with parents who hate him, and knows only that he sees things no one else will believe, is boarding a train, alone, to Cornwall.

When he arrives, there is no one there to meet him.









On the 1st of March we have the release of one of my most anticipated books of 2012.  I loved Lauren Oliver's Delirium (read my review here) so have already been waiting months for the sequel Pandemonium.  I literally can not wait to get my hands on this one!  You can find out more about the series on Lauren Oliver's website.  There is no UK cover image available yet (I'll be sure to post it as soon as I can) but here is the blurb to whet your appetite:

Love, the deadliest of all deadly things.
It kills you when you have it.
And when you don't.

I'm pushing aside the memory of my nightmare,
pushing aside thoughts of Alex,
pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school,
push,
push,
push,
like Raven taught me to do.
The old life is dead.
But the old Lena is dead too.
I buried her.
I left her beyond a fence,
behind a wall of smoke and flame.

Pandemonium is a poignant, explosive, recklessly romantic and utterly heartbreaking novel. Like Delirium, the first in the compelling trilogy, it will take you to the very edge. That's all you need to know. We'll let Lena do the rest of the talking . . .

Last but not least we have Gemma Malley's new book The Killables which will be available on the 29th of March.  This is the first book in a new trilogy and Gemma is currently working on the second book, visit her website for more information.  I love dystopian stories so this one looks like just my kind of thing and has been added to my wish list.  Again there is no cover image currently available but here is the blurb:

THE KILLABLES is set in the year 2065 and follows Evie and Raffy who work for the government in a society where evil no longer exists. After a war on terror that almost destroyed the world, The City has been established, where brain surgery removes the potential for evil thought and citizens are labelled on The System according to how 'good' they are. Evie and Raffy are both System operators and discover a mistake when an academic has been labelled a K, the label given to dangerous criminals. But as they investigate further they discover that it wasn't a mistake; that The City has secrets and a dark side that the government will hide at all costs. They are horrified to discover that 'K' stands for 'Killable' - the state's mark of death. And then Evie gets another K report to change on the System. Only this time it's for Raffy...

So what do you think?  I told you Hodder & Stoughton have some exciting books for us!  Which of these is at the top of your wish list?