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Friday, July 9, 2010

REVIEW: Alyson Noel's DARK FLAME (Immortals Bk4)

Title: DARK FLAME ( Immortals Bk 4)
Author: Alyson Noel
Release Date: June 2010
Reading Level: Young Adult
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Format: Hardcover, 336pp
ISBN-13: 9780312590970




My Ratings

Plot: 5/5
Setting: 4/5
Writing: 5/5
Originality of Plot: 4/5
Characters Development: 4/5
Ending: 5/5
Cover Art: 5/5

Overall: 32/35 = 91%


Series Info

Ever Bloom is an immortal teenage, and not the Twilight kind either. She was saved from a deadly car accident, by her love of many lifetimes, Damen. He had turned her into an immortal, like himself, so they can spend eternity together. But everyone and everything, keeps getting in their way.


First Line
(OK, I had to use the first two sentences, because the first wasn’t near enough.)

"What the fug?"
"Haven drops her cupcake, the one with the pink frosting, red sprinkles, and silver skirt.”



Synopsis




At the start of this mesmerizing new installment of the Immortals series, Ever is helping her friend Haven transition into life as an immortal. But with Haven drunk on her new powers and carelessly putting them all at risk, their friendship becomes more and more strained. At the same time, Ever delves deeper into magick in order to get control over her enemy Roman and free Damen from his power. But when the spell she casts on Roman backfires, she’s bound to her deadliest enemy.

Frantic to reverse the spell the moment the moon enters a new phase, she finds her efforts are fruitless—there’s a strange, foreign pulse coursing through her, one that propels her toward Roman. Desperate to break free of this terrible curse before Damen or the twins can discover what she’s done, she turns to Jude and delves deeper and deeper into dark magick, ultimately risking everything she knows and loves—including Damen.
(Goodreads.com)



My Review


(Please beware this review contains spoilers)

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The fourth installment of Alyson Noel’s Immortal series, is the sexiest and darkest so far. Ever has to deal with the fact that she can’t be really physically romantic with soul-mate Damen, while she also being drawn to both Roman and Jude. There is nothing that I like more in a book then a love triangle, or make that square. I think Jude is a very nice addition to this series, he’s perfect…well just about perfect. I also loved the fact that he was Ever's spiritual ink to Riley. Damen also steps it up, in this book. I think my favorite part, is when Damen takes Ever to Summerland and gives her the interactive movie of their past lives together. It was extremely touching.

I guess my biggest problem with this book, and the series so far, is that Ever keeps making stupid mistakes. Not one, not two, but a thousand little small mistakes that turn her world upside down. I get that characters should be flawed. I also get that making mistakes can make for a great book. Ever has proven that she is a capable and smart immortal, but still she just keeps screwing everything up. It left me wanting to smack my head up against a wall during some parts of the book. I just don't know why Ever didn't let Damen help her, but I guess that would have made for a boaring story.

This book had the most emotional ending of the series so far. I was extremely moved by how Ever approached Roman in the final scenes. She found what was truly missing from his life, love. She used that information, to not only get what she needed, but to help Roman. My feelings for Roman came full circle. My heart broke when Jude tried to save Ever from him. Ever was moments away from getting the antidote to the antidote, so that she could finally be with Damen. Also, she had just had a breakthrough with Roman. There was so much hope, lost in a fit of anger. Jude did what he thought was right in the situation, I don't fault him for his actions. I'm just hoping that Ever can get past this, and find a way to let Jude back into her life in some way or another.

All this being said, DARK FLAME is my favorite in this series, so far. Though Ever has Damen and her Aunt, she has lost just about everyone in her life: her family, Jude, Roman, Haven, and Miles. She still can’t touch Damen without their energy barrier. Haven dead set on getting even with both Ever and Jude, for what happened to Roman. After Miles trip, he now knows that something is up with Damen. Jude is also a big question mark. Can Ever forgive him for what his has done, and what he ultimately cost her. I really can’t wait to see what Alyson Noel takes the next book in this series.



Other Books by This Author

IMMORTAL SERIES
1) Evermore - February 2009
2) Blue Moon - August 2009
3) Shadow Land - November 2009
4) Dark Flame - June 2010
5) Night Star - (Available for Pre-Order) November 2010


Websites

http://www.alysonnoel.com
-Alyson's Website
http://www.immortalsseries.com -Series Website
http://alysonnoel.blogspot.com/2009/03/mirror-mirror.html -Alyson's Blog

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