Author: Alyson Noel
Series: The Immortals #1
Format: Kindle
Pages: 388
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Published (UK): 1st October 2010 (Macmillan Children's Books)
Since a horrible accident claimed the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever can see auras, hear people’s thoughts, and know a person’s life story by touch. Going out of her way to shield herself from human contact to suppress her abilities has branded her as a freak at her new high school—but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste.
Ever sees Damen and feels an instant recognition. He is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy, and he holds many secrets. Damen is able to make things appear and disappear, he always seems to know what she’s thinking—and he’s the only one who can silence the noise and the random energy in her head. She doesn’t know who he really is—or what he is. Damen is equal parts light and darkness, and he belongs to an enchanted new world where no one ever dies
As well as dealing with the deaths of her family - and the guilt of surviving the accident - Ever Bloom is also learning to cope with her new found ability to hear people's thoughts and see auras. Since her move to live with her aunt, Ever is no longer the popular girl, instead being labelled a freak at her new school - largely due to the fact she spends most of her time hidden behind her hoodie and her earphones, which help to block out some of the 'noise' around her. She keeps herself to herself with the exception of her two friends, Haven and Miles. Then along comes Damen, the new guy. Hot and mysterious, Ever can't help but notice him, if only because she can't read his thoughts.
At the start Evermore seemed like a typical YA fantasy story in which the protagonist is taken out of her comfort zone and into the world of paranormal. Elements reminded me of Twilight and there were times when I thought that if Damen started with the sparkly, I'd throw the book across the room (except I was reading on my Kindle so that wouldn't have been a great idea). However, thankfully Evermore turned out to be a much better story (FYI I'm not a fan of Twilight) with Ever being a much more likeable and interesting protagonist - and at least she had an excuse for being moody.
I did have some issues with the book. One being that some of the characters names were kind of annoying. I'd mostly expected 'Ever' to be short for something but if it is, it wasn't revealed in this book. Another thing that bugged me was that Haven and Miles were kind of flat and predictable. Haven was annoying and Miles was too much of a stereotypical gay bff. The plot was mostly predictable and it was more how and when certain things would happen, rather than what would happen.
I did enjoy the book though and I will definitely be reading the rest of the series as I want to find out what happens next.
