Shadowland

I want to be clear from the start that I liked this book. Noël’s writing style pulled me in to the story from the first page to the last, and I didn’t want to put it down. But the actual storyline was disappointing; Ever’s quest to break Damen’s curse is merely the backdrop to introducing other characters and storylines. And though I realize this book is part of a series, I would’ve enjoyed the book more had there been more of a stand-alone feel to the plot. As it stands, I was left feeling unsatisfied with all aspects of the story.There’s also the matter of my ambivalence toward Ever. I felt that in Evermore there was a spark in her. She was a little sassy, a little standoffish, and generally independent. Since becoming an show more Immortal, though, she’s all about Damen. I realize that her conflicts have revolved around trying to save him, first from Roman in Blue Moon and now from the curse that she inadvertently placed on them, but she walks around as if she’s not complete without Damen next to her. I realize that, given he’s got about six-hundred-years experience on her, she looks to him as more knowledgeable regarding her power and living with the huge secret of immortality. But her dependence on him really has nothing to do with that as, time and again, she does things without his advice (or despite his advice to the contrary). Yet a part of me is drawn to her in hopes that the spark I saw in the first book will return, and I respect the fact that she is extremely dedicated to the people she loves.Having said that, I actually like the way Damen has changed since he first came into Ever’s life. The down-to-earth, contemplative Damen is much more tolerable to me than the dark, brooding Damen, but he still doesn’t do it for me. This is probably why it makes sense that I love the addition of Jude; in my opinion, Jude is what makes this book engrossing. Maybe I’m supposed to want Damen and Ever to be these inseparable soul mates, but to me Jude is the more appealing choice. I realize he’s mysterious and there’s the whole question of whether he’s actually a good guy or not, but I enjoy the fact that he doesn’t display his attraction to Ever in flashy ways, but in a pure, simple, maybe even a little bit timid way. He never overplays their connection, which is undeniable, in the way that Damen admittedly did. I’m interested to see if that will remain the case in the future.In the end, the book reminds me of Sisyphus: strong enough to push the boulder up the hill, but not really achieving anything more than to complicate things for the push to come. show less

What a major disappointment! Blue Moon is one of my favorite young adult books, and I had hoped that the rest of the series would be just as wonderful. Unfortunately Shadowland doesn't live up to expectations. There is a complete lack of any meaningful plot which gives the book the feeling of just being filler until the next installment comes out (which I haven't decided if I'll bother with or not). A 'surprise' ending involving Haven, and the introduction of another too sexy guy, Jude, is pretty much the extent of where Shadowland goes. In the end, nothing is resolved and I was left with a pretty intense dislike of Ever. If you're already a fan of the series, you might as well give it a go, but I'll have a hard time recommending these show more books to friends from here on out. show less

I find myself enjoying this series more and more. The story lines keep changing and haven't been all that predictable to me (aside from knowing that Ever is undoubtedly going to make a stupid decision somewhere near the end.)

Anyway, in shadowland we learn about where Damen's convinced immortals that die go -- Shadowland. We don't really learn too much about it other than that it's terrible. I'm guessing we'll revisit the subject in upcoming books.

We also get a deeper view of Damen and Ever's pasts. I found it very interesting especially the reveal of a repeating love triangle. That was pretty much the last thing I was expecting. I also found myself really liking Mr. Munoz and especially Jude.

I feel so bad for Ever most of the time. show more She cares so much about the people around her but has a really hard time showing it. She wants to do so much more with her gifts, but every time she does something goes wrong or someone gets hurt.

Also, I found the ending to be extremely abrupt and not at all explained. That always bugs me, but I'm assuming it will all be cleared up at the beginning of the next book. One random thing about this author that I love is her choices in names. They are so unique and I really like all of them. Ever, Raine, Romy, Roman, Jude, Stacia, Sabine, Honor, MIles, Holt, etc. Sweet names. show less

I fell in love with this series when I read Evermore. Blue Moon did not disappoint either. But with Shadowland I started to feel a little annoyed and that got worse with Dark Flame. The love triangle with Ever, Damen, and Jude angered me. I never believed that Ever would choose Jude and when I read about a love triangle I want it to be possible for it to go both ways. But with this series it makes it clear from the very beginning that Ever and Damen belong together. So anything involving them breaking up is just not believable to me. And Damen starting to get all protective of Ever and start worrying about her soul and everything? I hate to say it but this sounds a lot like Twilight to me.
Now with Dark Flame I was frustrated with Ever. show more To the point of wanting to smack her upside the head if I ever came face to face with a fictional character. She has no idea what she was doing when she dabbling in magic, but instead of listening to:
1. Damen, who has been around for literally centuries and knows what he is talking about,

2. The Twins, who were raised by a witch and were witches until you came along amd made them lose their magick,

3. Ava, who is trying to explain herself and help you, but you are too stubborn and pigheaded to listen,

you go and practice anyway, not taking advice from anyone, becoming banned from the Temple of Knowledge in Summerland, and binding yourself to your mortal enemy. Yeah, not too smart there, Ever.

And then the whole Haven becoming Immortal. And being so stupid about it and hating Ever. I never really liked Haven, but this girl seriously needs to be destroyed before she ruins the world. Like Spiderman said, with great power comes great responsibility. Haven, you do not have that responsibility. You're fired. *insert Donald Trump signature wrist flick thing here.*

Now I will say that I am going to read the last two books in the series. Simply because I got this far and I need to know what happens because I am a curious person and it will always weigh on my mind if I don't finish the series. But I hope the last two are better. No more dumb love triangles. No more magick. No more trying to be parents to twins from the Salem Witch Trials. Just Ever and Damon fighting the world to be together. That is all I want. Leave the needless drama for your mama. show less

This series just went downhill for me. I loved Evermore because I found Ever to be such a great character and I really liked her, but now she's just annoying. When before I thought she was smart and kind, now I think she's stupid and impulsive and self-obsessed. I can't take it anymore! The decision she made to save Haven just drove me over the edge. The right thing to do was so obvious and she went completely the opposite way, knowingly siding with Roman, the most evil person she knows, and ignoring Damen who she should trust most of anyone. I can understood wanting to save your best friend in normal cases, such as not knowing about the afterlife and what happens to people when they die, but Ever knew everything about that. She knew show more about Summerland and what a great place it was. She knew dying was merely the beginning of a totally new and eternally happy life in another realm. She also knew that by "saving" Haven, she was condemning her soul to the Shadowland if she was ever killed later in life. Stupid. Selfish. And not to sound mean or anything, but I would have preferred that Ever let Haven die not just because it would have been the right thing to do but because Haven is one of the most annoying characters in this series and I would have been glad to be rid of her. However, now that she is an immortal, I expect she's going to play an even bigger part in the rest of the books (and according to the summary of Dark Flame, she will be more annoying and selfish than usual). Bah!!

I believe that this is going to be a common occurence in this series-Ever making a stupid,impulsive decision and making everything worse. This only makes the story more annoying (I know I've been using this word a lot, but it really sums up how this series makes me feel) as well as boring and predictable now, so I'm officially done reading this series. Maybe I would have continued if there was just one more book left (like I originally thought) and quickly end the series, but I recently found out that there's at least three more books. Nuh-uh. No way. I'm not going to waste my time.

The only parts of this book I enjoyed were the twins and Jude. If if it weren't for those three characters, I probably would have rated it 1 star or even 0 stars. show less

The Little Bookworm

Ever begins her quest to fix her mistake from Blue Moon so she can be with Damen at long last. But Roman stands her in way as well as her undeniable attraction to her new boss, Jude.

Oh Ever, still as dumb as a rock. What a waste of an Immortal given her inability to make even a smitten of the right choice. At least her intentions are good, but she never wants to listen to anyone. Always convinced that she is the exception and knows more than the people who have been around a lot longer than her. Damen is a freaking saint for putting up with her BS though he had his moments in Blue Moon.

Anyway, I found Shadowland to be a much slower book, not quite as good as its predecessors. That happens a lot with middle books. But show more still the build-up for the next book was nicely paced as was the introduction to Jude, a person who is very familiar to Ever and Damen for a good reason. The ending was good, a little surprising, but another opportunity for Ever to make exactly wrong choice yet again. Can't wait to see what she gets up to in Dark Flame. show less

About~ Ever and Damen have traveled through countless past lives-and fought off the worlds darkest enemies-so they could be together forever. But just when their long-awaited destiny is finally within reach, a powerful curse falls upon Damen…one that could destroy everything. Now a single touch their hands or a soft brush of their lips could mean sudden death-plunging Damen into Shadowland. Desperate to break the curse and save Damen, Ever immerses herself in magick-and gets help from an unexpected source-a surfer named Jude.

Although she and Jude have only just met, he feels startlingly familiar. Despite her fierce loyalty to Damen, Ever is drawn to Jude, a green-eyed golden boy with magical talents and a mysterious past. She’s show more always believed Damen to be her soul mate and one true love-and she still believes it to be true. But as Damen pulls away to save them, Ever’s connection with Jude grows stronger-and tests her love for Damen like never before…

My Review~ I love this series. No I really mean I LOVE this series. I read the first two books last year in October and while the first book had some trouble holding my interest, the second book was easily devoured, just like how I devoured Shadowland, the third book in the immortals series.

In Shadowland, I felt like the story deepens with all the magic-magick?-and how the love interest with Damen and Ever grows, but there love is put to the test when Jude comes into the picture.

The main character, Ever, still has the same personality like she has in the first two novels, except that I feel like her confidence in herself has grown more stronger then before, and I’m proud of her for that. I’m glad she no longer questions herself why Damen would choose her over Drina. I was glad also glad she’s not giving up on finding the antidote to the antidote for she can be able to touch, hold, and kiss Damen again. And as cute as Roman sounds, he acts like such as jackass, I just want to punch him in the face and make him shut that dirty mouth of his. I sooo dislike him for doing what he did to Damen and Ever at the end of Blue Moon and I dislike Roman even more for what he did to Haven at the end of Shadowland. The choice he makes Ever choose from is so heartbreaking; you can’t help but feel like punching Roman in the face even harder…

On another note, I love the cover to the book. It’s so beautiful and I love the amulet that Ever’s holding. I wish I had one just like it. All in all, this was a very great book, and I hate the fact that I did not read this book sooner. You would love this book and you should put it on the top of your reading pile, and if you haven’t started reading The Immortals series, you should read the books ASAP.

Plot: ♥♥♥♥♥
Characters: ♥♥♥♥♥
Ending: ♥♥♥♥♥
Cover Art: ♥♥♥♥♥
Pages in Novel: 339
ISBN: 978-0-312-59044-4
Other books in the Series: Evermore, Blue Moon, Dark Flame

Link to my blog: http://eternalnight06.blogspot.com/ show less