News: Night Star by Alyson Noël Trailer

Lookie lookie! Here's the book trailer for Night Star, the sixth and final book in the Immortal series by Alyson Noël!

Night Star continues the epic love story that has enchanted readers across the world. In this installment, Ever and Damen face down bitter rivals, jealous friends and their own worst fears—all in the hope of being together forever. Night Star is guaranteed to mesmerize fans and leave them breathlessly awaiting the sixth and final book! From ImmortalsSeries.com

Night Star will be released on 16th November in the US from St. Martin's Press, and on 4th March 2011 in the UK from Macmillan Children's Books

Be sure to check out the Immortals Series website and the Facebook fan page.

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News: Radiance by Alyson Noël Trailer

I have another trailer for you today! This time, it's for Radiance by Alyson Noël, a spin off series of The Immortals series, this time following Ever's sister, Riley!

Riley has crossed the bridge into the afterlife—a place called Here, where time is always Now. She has picked up life where she left off when she was alive, living with her parents and dog in a nice house in a nice neighborhood. When she’s summoned before The Council, she learns that the afterlife isn’t just an eternity of leisure. She’s been assigned a job, Soul Catcher, and a teacher, Bodhi, a possibly cute, seemingly nerdy boy who’s definitely hiding something. They return to earth together for Riley’s first assignment, a Radiant Boy who’s been haunting a castle in England for centuries. Many Soul Catchers have tried to get him to cross the bridge and failed. But all of that was before he met Riley... From Amazon US

Radiance was released on 31st August from Macmillan Children's Publishing Group.

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Review: Blue Moon by Alyson Noёl

Blue Moon by Alyson Noёl - WARNING! I cannot review Blue Moon without spoiling the first in the series, Evermore. Don't read any further if you plan on reading Evermore, and don't want to be spoiled.

Things have changed for Ever since she met her beloved Damen – not least because she’s got a whole new set of powers, courtesy of her new Immortal status. Just as she's getting stronger, though, Damen seems to be weakening. Panicked at the thought of losing him, Ever finds a path to the in-between world known as Summerland, where she learns the secrets of Damen’s tortured past. But in searching for a cure for him, Ever accidentally discovers a way to twist time so she can save her family from the accident that killed them. It’s all she’s ever wanted – but so is Damen. And Ever must choose between them... From Amazon UK

Ever since finishing Evermore last year, I've been eager to read Blue Moon, really wanting to find out what happened next - would Riley return? Would I get more of an idea who Damen is? What would Ever do with her new powers? So when I finished reading all the books I brought with me when I went on a break, I decided to buy Blue Moon and see where the story went - ad it was a good job I did! Such a great read!

Blue Moon is very much a middle book. It's not as fast paced as Evermore and not a lot happens in the great scheme of things, but it's not slow and it's definately not boring. With the arrival of a new student, the ever cheerful Roman, and the sudden strange behaviour of everyone at school, including Damen, Ever's world is turned upside down. Along with Ever, we get to explore further the beautiful Summerland as she tries looking for answers, and finding out a lot more than she bargained for.

Ever is just brilliant in Blue Moon, she grows so much. There are several occasions where she has to use her own initiative and work things out by herself, she shows how brave and smart she can be. We find out more about Damen's past in this novel, which gives more of an idea of who he is, and I actually really quite like him now! Haven grew on me a little this time round; after accepting that's just the way she is, she can be quite amusing at times. Still loving Miles, he's still his chirpy, dramatic, camp self. Roman drove me round the bend with his excessive cheerfulness. I just wanted to slap him.

As I said, not a huge amount happens for most of the book, but what does happen is just so intriguing! I can't really go into it too much, but Damen's world is a lot bigger than Ever realises, and his past catches up with them. The action in Blue Moon takes a different form than we've previously seen; Ever has to race against time to save lives, and you're never sure if she's going to make it, or exactly what's going on and why. The pace picks up as the story goes on, and you're never sure how it's going to end. I never saw the actual ending coming. I mean, wow! Such a cliffhanger!

Having not yet read Shadowland, the third in the series, I can't say for sure, but it seems to me that Blue Moon is a bridge book to get the story and the characters from the end of Evermore to the beginning of Shadowland. It's not as great as Evermore was, but it's still pretty awesome; so engaging, I couldn't put it down! Well worth a read! I'm so excited to seeing how things turn out and where Damen and Ever's relationship goes in Shadowland, which is out now.

Published: 5th March 2010
Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Books
Buy on Amazon UK
Buy on Amazon US
Alyson Noёl's Website

My review of Evermore

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Review: Evermore by Alyson Noёl

Evermore by Alyson Noёl - Sixteen-year-old Ever Bloom is the sole survivor of a car accident that killed her family. Exiled to sunny California, Ever is haunted by her little sister and by the ability to see people’s auras, hear their thoughts and know their entire life story by touching them. She wants to hide from the world, but when a stunningly handsome new guy arrives at school, she can’t seem to keep away. Falling in love with Damen is dangerous – he’s not what he seems. But if Damen is her destiny, how can Ever walk away? From the back cover.

There are quite a few YA paranormal romances around these days, some are great, some perhaps not so much, but in the case of Evermore, I really liked it!

I love the paranormal element that goes throughout the book. When I picked up the book, and read the blurb, I wasn’t sure what would be going on, and I didn’t know. As you read through it, you make certain assumptions which feel pretty valid giving some of the evidence in the book, but it was nothing like what I thought! I was completely blown away by what was really going on, and I loved it! Such a unique premise, I really liked it! However, when coming to write this review, I was looking up summaries, and ended up typing up what’s on the back of the book, because I feel some of the ones I came across just gave too much away. Doesn’t it annoy you when you know a summary is more spoilery than it needs to be? I won’t be spoiling the book for you, so I won’t dig in too much with the paranormal element, but just know it was great!

I had a fair bit of trouble reading this book, emotionally. At times, it really did pull on the heart strings, and how could it not? Ever’s pain over the loss of her whole family, and the guilt she feels over believing it was her fault is just so strong, it’s difficult not to feel it yourself. So big, you could almost reach out and touch it. This book is pretty sad, and there were tears from me. In my opinion, this just shows how amazing Noёl’s writing is, and how fantastic the book is, to evoke such strong emotions. Really powerful!

There was something about Ever and Damen’s attraction that wasn’t big enough for me, however. It is spoken of a lot by both of them, but I just didn’t really feel it, especially when it comes to Damen. It just wasn’t as believable to me. As characters though, they were pretty awesome; Ever was so fragile, yet so strong at the same time, she’s incredible – though she did annoy me with the amount of times she said “I mean”, and how she thought everything she said came out whiny, but that’s no big deal. Damen is mysterious and, to be honest, I still don’t know quite what to make of him. I don’t like Haven, one of Ever’s best friends; she has issues, and I get that, but the way she acts and talks to her friends sometimes is just disgusting if you ask me. I don’t like her at all. Miles, Ever’s other best friend, is hilarious; he’s gay, and very camp, and can’t shut up talking, he had me laughing out loud so many times, I love him! But my favourite character in the book has to be Riley, Ever’s little sister and ghost; she is annoying as any sister would be, but she was just so funny! Her visits to Ever were some of the highlights of the book!

There isn’t really a huge amount more I can say about this book without going into the paranormal element. Evermore is really a great book, and I’m really looking forward to reading Blue Moon when it comes out in the UK in March! I highly recommend you go out and read Evermore if you haven’t already!

Published: 17th September 2009
Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Books
Buy on Amazon UK
Buy on Amazon US
Alyson Noёl’s Website

Continue reading Review: Evermore by Alyson Noёl