Darkness Falls (Immortal Beloved #2) by Cate Tiernan

The first book in this series was one that I just loved.  It was the kind that picked me up and hooked me right away.  In fact, you can read my review of Immortal Beloved HERE.  This book was similar, in that once I picked it up, it was hard to put it down.  In fact at work today, I really didn't want to go back from my lunch break until I finished it. But, alas, work must come first in order for me to have the money to continue to read and live, and etc.  While I had purchased the first one when Borders went out of business, I ended up checking this one out from the library.  Part of the reason is because I have the 3rd one as an ARC that I got from BEA in the summer of 2012.  Which, on that note, I bought my plane ticket to go to BEA next summer!  Can't wait!  Okay, okay, back to my review of the book.
We of course left off with Nastasya at River's farm, which is kind of like a rehab place for immortals.  While there she's learned that the really hot viking guy named Reyn, is actually part of the family that killed all of her family.  She is trying to come to terms with this, as well as her attraction to him.  But along with that, she is still dealing with learning just how selfish she had been in her past. Things she is just now starting to see that where once she told the story about the miracle of her survival, now she realizes all the people or animals that died when she could probably have saved them.  On New Year's Eve they have a circle, and each Immortal releases something into the fire that they want to work on being done with.  Nastasya decides to release her darkness into the fire.  When she does, the fire grows to immense proportions before it dies back down, and she is afraid that she didn't get rid of it, but actually released it into the world.  While she is learning about how most all of the Immortals had a bad start or past, as more and more things go wrong, eventually she decides she is the cause of it, and runs away.  Fortunately it seems, Innocencio just happens to be driving by and he finds her.  Now all this time she'd been having horrible nightmares about him, that he'd gone evil, sparked by when he'd killed the cab driver in the first book.  And in her dreams she also sees all their friends dead, killed by Incy.  But it turns out she was just dreaming.  Incy has been worried about her this whole time, he says he was unable to find her, and then today he was driving around, and he felt a strange pull, that she was going to be where he found her.  So Nastasya goes back to her friends, and a life of luxury.  But things aren't quite the same now, now that she really knows right from wrong, thanks to River.  And she must decide where she really fits in, what life she really is meant for, who are really her friends, before the wrong person decides to steal her power.
Still a good book for all the same reasons as the last one.  But, I was not happy that she ran away and went back to her old friends so quickly, and slipped back into that life style.  That's my only complaint I guess though.  Now I have to figure out when to fit in the 3rd one.  Maybe after I finish my next e-galley?

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? (5)

Once again I find myself with a day that I'm not ready to post a review, so I'll be joining in to this meme that is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.  For this we are supposed to spotlight the books we are reading, planning on reading, or just finished reading.  So here is my plan for the week:

First I plan to finish reading Crewel by Gennifer Albin.  After that I'm hoping that I can finish my e-galley of James Dashner's newest book:  The Eye of Minds that you see below.  My e-galley is supposed to expire on the 9th, which will only give me two days!  Yikes!  I'd better go see if maybe I can download it again to get 30 days again.

And because I know that there's no way I'll get through more than 3 books in a week these days, I hope to get started, and hopefully finish a library book that I think is also due back this week, one that I checked out because I've read number 1 in the series, and I have an ARC of number 3, but still needed to read number 2, Darkness Falls by Cate Tiernan.

I think this list is a little more realistic than my last one.  It seems most of the books I'm wanting to read now are at least 300 pages if not 400.  So, what do you plan to read this week?

Waiting on Wednesday - Darkness Falls (Immortal Beloved #2) -Cate Tiernan

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly awaiting.

This week I've chosen Darkness Falls by Cate Tiernan, the sequel to Immortal Beloved. It is set to be published January 2, 2012.

From Goodreads.com:

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?

I got the first book on sale when Borders was going out of business. I really enjoyed it, and am now eager to move on and find out what happens next in the story.

What is your most anticipated book this week?

Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan

Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I remember when I first saw this book, I believe it was around the same time as when The Eternal Ones came out, and at first I thought this was another reincarnation novel, and I was intrigued. But I picked it up and read that it was about "immortals" as you might guess from the title. I thought, oh no, another vampire book, and set it back down. When the Borders store closest to me was getting ready to close this past spring, I ran in and found this hardcover book there for like $4, and so I grabbed it and brought it home. I picked it up to read 2 days ago, and I was hooked!



The main character is Nastaya, or Nasty for short. (Which, I kinda hate that nickname, sorry.) But that's not her real name, she is about 460 years old, and has had many name changes because of the times changing, as well as many different passports when needed. We begin the story with her as she's lived for a long time, with her gang of immortal friends, out being crazy, drinking, partying, etc. She does this to keep her mind from remembering all the bad things that have happened in her life. Well, this night, her best friend Innocencio, or Incy for short, uses magick to hurt a cab driver, hurt really bad. Nastaya has never been a fan of magick as it always makes her sick afterwards, and she's really not a fan of using it for dark purposes like this. The next morning she wakes up still freaked out and decides she has to get away and figure out what she wants. She remembers another immortal she met years ago who told her she didn't have to live that way and if she ever wanted help, told her where she lived so she could come get help. And that's where she goes. But part of it is trying to get away from her friends for a break from them. And so she tells her doorman somewhere else, and then she goes to America to see this immortal named River. River's place is a small farm that actually is pretty old fashioned. Along with classes, they do manual labor and all share chores. Their classes consist of learning to use magick and their powers. When Nastaya gets there, of course she at first doesn't think she'll stay, as she's used to a life of excess. And there is a REALLY hot guy there, who is also really a jerk to her. While there she starts having visions, and realizes that there are some reminders she must face from the beginning of her life.



Okay, enough summary. More of my opinion. I seriously LOVED this book. Did I already say that? I love what these immortals "are". I love the new story. These immortals aren't vampires, they're just humans who live a really, really, really long time. They can be killed, but it is really hard to do. They are only born to two immortals. And when they reach their teen years, their "aging" slows down, and they tend to stay teens to 20 year old looking for a long time. And so I guess because they look like this might be why this was considered a teen book. BUT! I actually didn't feel at all as if I was reading a teen book, not that teen books are bad, as you know if you follow me, I read a LOT of them. But I really feel as if this was an adult science fiction book. Yeah, she looks like a teen, BUT, she's lived a LONG time. And all of them have, and their conversations and what they do are totally people who are adults. Again, not that teens can't read adult fiction, but just not sure why this is classified as it is. I don't care where they put it in the bookstore though, I just can't wait for part two to come out, and I think I have to wait till 2012! Yikes!



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The Hazards of Working at a Bookstore Vol. 1.9 Part 1

I have so many books from working this past Wednesday, and then last night, I am going to split this blog into two parts to save myself some time. So check back, hopefully later tonight for the rest.

First is going to be Eliza's Freedom Road by Jerdine Nolen. Now this is really a young readers book, not teen level. But I am a sucker for any Civil War story. And this one really hits close to my childhood. Why? Because at the private school I went to from 1st-8th grade, for handwriting, at one point we had to just copy from books. And the book I copied from most of the time was a book about Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. And this story is about a young slave named Eliza who has her mother sent away, and soon the owner is talking of selling the slaves, especially a young girl like Eliza who will be a very big moneymaker. Eliza decides to run away using the stories her mother taught her about the Freedom Road.

Next is Balefire by Cate Tiernan. I guess this is actually an omnibus of a whole series all in one book. There are two girls who look almost identical, one of them has just moved to New Orleans where the other one already lives. And it isn't just a separated at birth kind of thing, it's much darker. Don't know much more than that, but it sounds great.

Third is Born at Midnight by C.C. Hunter. The main character is Kylie whose life seems to be going downhill, parents getting a divorce, boyfriend dumping her, grandmother dies, and now she has a stalker. Her counselor decides to send her to a school supposedly for troubled teens. Turns out the school is actually home to vampires, werewolves, fairies, witches, and shapeshifters, and supposedly Kylie is one of them.

Falling Under by Gwen Hayes is about a girl named Theia who lives a pretty sheltered life, but she dreams about a boy with haunting eyes all the time. Then one day he shows up at her school, and of course she's pulled to him, even though he seems hot and cold to her. She soon learns what he really is, and still thinks she wants to be with him.

And the last one I'll talk about now, and then I'll just do a part two with the other books, is Subject Seven by James A. Moore. Another teen book. In a way the storyline of this somewhat reminds me of I Am Number Four. There were several children genetically modified and raised in the Janus Project. These children are sent away after the original Alpha kills the the head scientist and his guards and escapes. In the future, they begin to feel a call, and feel like their bodies are being taken over by something that they can't control. It is compared somewhat to a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde story. They are gathered back together by Subject Seven and find out they were supposed to be killed instead of adopted out, and must band together to save themselves.