Tuesday, September 7, 2010

ARC Review: Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan


Title: Immortal Beloved
Series: Immortal Beloved #1
Author: Cate Tiernan
Releases: Today!
Publisher: Little, Brown Books For Young Readers
Number of Pages: 416
Reading Level: Young Adult


4 out of 5 Stars










Description from Goodreads:


New name, new town, new life. Nastasya has done it too often to count. And there’s no end in sight. Nothing ever really ends... when you’re immortal. But this time is different: Nastasya knows that this new town must hold her salvation—or her death. 

Nastasya was born into darkness, and has embraced it her whole life. Four hundred years ago, a tragedy robbed her of her birthright, and she’s been living a lie ever since. Now, four centuries of exploring the depths and limits of dark power has left Nastasya feeling sickened unto death. If she continues down this road, she will end up as a very dark, twisted, evil thing—with unthinkable power. Or she can begin the long, painful road toward light, and reclaim the destiny that others tried to destroy. 

They’re rare. You may have never met one, never sat next to one on a plane, never eaten in the same restaurant at the same time. But the Immortals are there. Have always been there. Will always be there. Moving among humans, playing out their own cursed fate. Sometimes subtly, sometimes with huge, sweeping implications for mankind. But no one will ever know. Except you.


My thoughts:


Selfish seems to go hand in hand with the Immortal’s way of life, but suddenly Nastasya finds her conscience returning after her friends use magick to break a man’s back. Nastasya has lived for years leaving behind a string of identities. Now she seeks refuge with a fellow immortal she met years prior. She hopes to flee, and stay hidden while she sorts out her feelings.  Holed up with other immortals attempting to resist their dark sides. Nastasya finds herself returning to a simpler way of life. Unfortunately, her long time friend isn’t ready to let her go, and sets out to find Nastasya even though she wishes to remain hidden.


This novel is packed full of character growth. I liked Nastasya, and her journey of self discovery. Much is told with the use of flashbacks which I thoroughly enjoyed. I feel like I knew so much about the main character by the end, and this helped me to connect with her.


The plot was slower paced which some readers might not like. I felt even with the slower pace the story moved quickly, at least for me. My only complaint is I didn’t feel the dialogue “fit”. At over 400 years old I would expect Nastasya to maintain at least a hint of her accent. She seemed too comfortable using modern American slang. I know she has spent years blending in with others, but for some reason it just didn’t feel right. Just a minor complaint, and not enough to stop me from loving this series debut.


I haven’t read this author’s other series so I can’t compare the two. If I had to sum up my favorite thing about this book it would be it’s addictive characters. When I reached the end I wasn’t ready to say goodbye. I’ll definitely pick up the next book in this new series.


I’d recommend Immortal Beloved for older teens (15+) because of language, violence and sexual situations.


Cate Tiernan on the web:






*Received from Around the World Tours

5 comments:

  1. you know a book was good when you don't want it to end :) Thanks for the great review!

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  2. Brilliant review! I cannot wait to try this one now :)

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  3. Hey Christie! Awesome review :) Still not sure if I'll read this one (I kinda like faster paced stories) but this review definitely helped!

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  4. Addictive characters? Hmm looks I might need to add this to my TBR. Thanks for the great review!

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