Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan [Review]

4 out of 5 Robots!

   

Immortal Beloved By Cate Tiernan
Series: Immortal Beloved  #1

Genre: Paranormal Young Adult

Release: September 7, 2010

Hardcover: 407 Pages

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

My Copy: Purchased

Reviewer: Shannon

Buy the Book: Amazon

Book Summary:

Nastasya has spent the last century living as a spoiled, drugged-out party girl. She feels nothing and cares for no one. But when she witnesses her best friend, a Dark Immortal, torture a human, she realizes something's got to change. She seeks refuge at a rehab for wayward immortals, where she meets the gorgeous, undeniably sexy Reyn, who seems inexplicably linked to her past.

Nastasya finally begins to deal with life, and even feels safe--until the night she learns that someone wants her dead.

Shannon's Thoughts: 

Immortal Beloved is quieter and more intimate than you would expect given this is a book about immortals, or what the publisher would have you believe.  This story is very much about Nastasya’s personal journey.  Nastasya is a 460 year old immortal who has spent over a hundred years being a party girl and trying to forget her past.  It isn’t until one of her friends does something that truly horrifies her that she recognizes the destructive path she's on.  She flees London to River’s Edge in Massachusetts, a kind of “immortal rehab” where immortals learn to resist their natural inclination to dark magick.  This does not come naturally to Nastasya and she is tempted to leave on more than one occasion.  But she finds herself slowly accepting her past and therefore her future.  And of course, there is Reyn, another resident of River’s Edge.  She finds him extremely attractive...yet somewhat familiar.  But it is also pretty clear that Reyn wants nothing to do with her. Or does he?  I think you all know where this is going.  

I found myself really enjoying Immortal Beloved, even though it is quite different than I expected. I expected a lot more action, but instead the focus is on Nastasya’s recovery and self growth. Tiernan takes her time and lets the story unfold slowly, but I was kept interested the whole time. Tiernan adopts a great conversational tone for Nastasya’s narration.  I feel like Nastasya is telling me her story over a cup of coffee.  And right before it gets too cheesy or melodramatic, she reigns it back in with Natasya’s self-deprecating humor.  There are definitely some times that I laughed out loud at Nastasya’s inner dialogue.   

Lastly, even though this is marketed as a young adult, I think more adults would relate to this than teenagers.  Nastasya may be a bit emotionally stunted, but I would not call her naive or immature. She has lived many lives and has been married, had children, and dealt with heavy losses.  She may look like a teenager, but she is certainly not one in spirit.  As an adult reader, I enjoyed that aspect because I could really relate to her.  

It sounds like the next book, Darkness Falls, promises more action.  I will definitely be reading it to find out what happens next!

Books in the series in the order they should be read:

1. Immortal Beloved

2. Darkness Falls

3. Eternally Yours (expected publication Nov. 2012)