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angleon13's review
I decided to reread this as an adult since this was one of my favorite series when I was around 12 years old and I was curious to remember why I loved it so much. It was a trip to say the least.
I decided not to rate this as I consider that to be unfair knowing I am no longer the target demographic of this book, but I have some thoughts as an adult.
The first, Ever is the quintessential teenager. Superficial, immature, and possessing that teenage stubbornness. Her conversations and friends are equally superficial and childish. On the author’s side, bravo for creating a character that reads like a teenager. Now that I’m older, I wanted to bang my head several times while reading it. Reliving that mental headspace was painful and the things that Ever worried about or focused on just never made sense to me.
And at 26, if I can’t stand it, I couldn’t help but wonder how a man who is over 600 YEARS OLD could stand to be around the immaturity of a 16 year old. What the hell does he see in her? He mentions that she can’t be angry at him for having lived a life (he’s been married!). He has lived and she has barely lived. What could they possibly have in common? Not to mention the entire thing is incredibly disturbing and pedophilic to me. He has no business starting a relationship with her. Oh, she dies every reincarnation as a virgin?? MAYBE ITS BECAUSE HE TRAPS HER AS AN ADOLESCENT AND DOESNT ALLOW HER TO LIVE AND GROW UP FIRST! Who knows, maybe their relationship would be stronger if she got to live a little first.
Second, Drina is equally as old and yet she possesses the same immaturity level as Ever. How can a woman that old not have matured in that time? Make it make sense.
Third, Ever and Damen have no foundation that explains how much she supposedly loves him besides foolish puppy love. I kept asking why?? Why does she love him? They barely interacted enough for me to understand love. Like, maybe, but not love. In fact, I downright disliked him. He purposefully flirted with Ever’s bully to make her jealous, continuously left Ever alone without any explanation, lied several times, and is overall incredibly secretive. If a man disappeared and left me asleep in a cave the way he did with Ever, forcing me to find my own way home, his number would be blocked immediately. But again, this just speaks to her level of immaturity and how much she is willing to overlook.
Fourth, if I found out that the man who tracks me down in every life, and has supposedly loved every incarnation of me, gets back together with his crazy ex every time she KILLS ME, I would never speak to him again. That is so viscerally disturbing to me. Because what do you mean you hooked up with the person who continuously murders me?? And I suppose one could argue that Drina could be lying to incite some jealousy in Ever, but I have a feeling Damen likely slipped up a time or two in his six hundred years. But again, Ever just latches on to them having been married and completely ignored that part.
And finally, that ending was far too abrupt and anticlimactic. It was a lazy way to end the book in my opinion.
Now, I did find Ever’s relationship with her sister cute and heartwarming, and as someone with a sibling that age, I couldn’t imagine that heartbreak of losing them and then having to let them go again.
Also, I remember the whole plotline in the series being that they want to fuck and can’t because of some curse…. And I just can’t with that. Not the author writing a whole ass series where the end goal is just getting two characters to fuck.
I decided not to rate this as I consider that to be unfair knowing I am no longer the target demographic of this book, but I have some thoughts as an adult.
The first, Ever is the quintessential teenager. Superficial, immature, and possessing that teenage stubbornness. Her conversations and friends are equally superficial and childish. On the author’s side, bravo for creating a character that reads like a teenager. Now that I’m older, I wanted to bang my head several times while reading it. Reliving that mental headspace was painful and the things that Ever worried about or focused on just never made sense to me.
And at 26, if I can’t stand it, I couldn’t help but wonder how a man who is over 600 YEARS OLD could stand to be around the immaturity of a 16 year old. What the hell does he see in her? He mentions that she can’t be angry at him for having lived a life (he’s been married!). He has lived and she has barely lived. What could they possibly have in common? Not to mention the entire thing is incredibly disturbing and pedophilic to me. He has no business starting a relationship with her. Oh, she dies every reincarnation as a virgin?? MAYBE ITS BECAUSE HE TRAPS HER AS AN ADOLESCENT AND DOESNT ALLOW HER TO LIVE AND GROW UP FIRST! Who knows, maybe their relationship would be stronger if she got to live a little first.
Second, Drina is equally as old and yet she possesses the same immaturity level as Ever. How can a woman that old not have matured in that time? Make it make sense.
Third, Ever and Damen have no foundation that explains how much she supposedly loves him besides foolish puppy love. I kept asking why?? Why does she love him? They barely interacted enough for me to understand love. Like, maybe, but not love. In fact, I downright disliked him. He purposefully flirted with Ever’s bully to make her jealous, continuously left Ever alone without any explanation, lied several times, and is overall incredibly secretive. If a man disappeared and left me asleep in a cave the way he did with Ever, forcing me to find my own way home, his number would be blocked immediately. But again, this just speaks to her level of immaturity and how much she is willing to overlook.
Fourth, if I found out that the man who tracks me down in every life, and has supposedly loved every incarnation of me, gets back together with his crazy ex every time she KILLS ME, I would never speak to him again. That is so viscerally disturbing to me. Because what do you mean you hooked up with the person who continuously murders me?? And I suppose one could argue that Drina could be lying to incite some jealousy in Ever, but I have a feeling Damen likely slipped up a time or two in his six hundred years. But again, Ever just latches on to them having been married and completely ignored that part.
And finally, that ending was far too abrupt and anticlimactic. It was a lazy way to end the book in my opinion.
Now, I did find Ever’s relationship with her sister cute and heartwarming, and as someone with a sibling that age, I couldn’t imagine that heartbreak of losing them and then having to let them go again.
Also, I remember the whole plotline in the series being that they want to fuck and can’t because of some curse…. And I just can’t with that. Not the author writing a whole ass series where the end goal is just getting two characters to fuck.
readlovereviewblog's review
4.0
I think the aura color chart at the beginning of this book is fascinating.
We meet Ever; what a unique name; she has had a near-death experience and lost her entire family. She gained some freakish abilities, like being able to read people from one touch. Consequently, she doesn't like to touch people anymore and wants to get away from the energy. She seems to read people's thoughts, see their lives and even know information about them sometimes without touching. Her abilities are intriguing.
New kid in school Damen Damen is hot, or so the student population surmises. Ever's friend Haven is unique as well, but she has much more life in her. Then we meet Miles. He seems to be grounded but honest. I'm anxious to learn not about him.
Ever gets a quick realization when she sees no aura on Damen and touch doesn't do the normal psychic stuff. She probably hasn't figured it out yet, but she did lead the reader with a clue saying, 'the only people she didn't see are the ones who are dead.' She elaborates on her abilities and her profound loss, as well as her discussions with her ghost sister.
Damen has some quirks about him, and he is most likely paranormal. This book has a bunch of high school drama. There is also a ton of hot and cold between Damen and Ever. She hasn't revealed her secrets, and he hasn't announced his.
This gets more tangled and twisted as they interact. She has a lot of pent-up emotions that unfortunately tend to careen out of control. She sees and puts things together without all the answers. I'm not saying Damen is a good guy. He certainly is tricky. But his actions lead to one conclusion and his words to another. Oh, this gets even worse as he admits to things she doesn't want to believe.
He isn't a vampire, and he actually tells us why but I was right. He is paranormal. She, unfortunately, doesn't take the news well. With her new boyfriend not there and the psychic abilities swamping her, she discovers that alcohol helps quiet the capabilities.
I have to admit this book goes from interesting to head-scratching. Once you hear all about what Damen has to say, you may be going, wtf? Yeah, it goes from a great high school romance with intrigue about what he is to a tale of lost lovers finding each other against all odds but with trouble in the way. We do get many answers by the end of the book, but it was so not what I was expecting. I also have to say it got repetitive and not as interesting.
I have already purchased the next book and kinda want to see if it gets any better. But as of right now, I could have stopped reading at the end and left the story there. The story closed many issues with Ever and Damen before the end of the book and was just not about the romance anymore. I did enjoy the initial mystery of who, what, and why, but after explaining it, it just got weird. The storyline lost its intrigue as it became about past and future and not contemporary romance.
readlovereviewblog's review against another edition
4.0
I think the aura color chart at the beginning of this book is fascinating.
We meet Ever; what a unique name; she has had a near-death experience and lost her entire family. She gained some freakish abilities, like being able to read people from one touch. Consequently, she doesn't like to touch people anymore and wants to get away from the energy. She seems to read people's thoughts, see their lives and even know information about them sometimes without touching. Her abilities are intriguing.
New kid in school Damen Damen is hot, or so the student population surmises. Ever's friend Haven is unique as well, but she has much more life in her. Then we meet Miles. He seems to be grounded but honest. I'm anxious to learn not about him.
Ever gets a quick realization when she sees no aura on Damen and touch doesn't do the normal psychic stuff. She probably hasn't figured it out yet, but she did lead the reader with a clue saying, 'the only people she didn't see are the ones who are dead.' She elaborates on her abilities and her profound loss, as well as her discussions with her ghost sister.
Damen has some quirks about him, and he is most likely paranormal. This book has a bunch of high school drama. There is also a ton of hot and cold between Damen and Ever. She hasn't revealed her secrets, and he hasn't announced his.
This gets more tangled and twisted as they interact. She has a lot of pent-up emotions that unfortunately tend to careen out of control. She sees and puts things together without all the answers. I'm not saying Damen is a good guy. He certainly is tricky. But his actions lead to one conclusion and his words to another. Oh, this gets even worse as he admits to things she doesn't want to believe.
He isn't a vampire, and he actually tells us why but I was right. He is paranormal. She, unfortunately, doesn't take the news well. With her new boyfriend not there and the psychic abilities swamping her, she discovers that alcohol helps quiet the capabilities.
I have to admit this book goes from interesting to head-scratching. Once you hear all about what Damen has to say, you may be going, wtf? Yeah, it goes from a great high school romance with intrigue about what he is to a tale of lost lovers finding each other against all odds but with trouble in the way. We do get many answers by the end of the book, but it was so not what I was expecting. I also have to say it got repetitive and not as interesting.
I have already purchased the next book and kinda want to see if it gets any better. But as of right now, I could have stopped reading at the end and left the story there. The story closed many issues with Ever and Damen before the end of the book and was just not about the romance anymore. I did enjoy the initial mystery of who, what, and why, but after explaining it, it just got weird. The storyline lost its intrigue as it became about past and future and not contemporary romance.
frannieman's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
yodamom's review
3.0
his book was written well and the story flowed nicely at times. The fact that the author over explained everything did not ruin the tale. It had a very similar feel, Twilight anyone ? But not as well done. I enjoyed it enough to read the next story but only from the library I would not buy it.
ravenlynn15's review
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
wafaasher's review
3.0
I'm not going to say anything about it. See all the other reviews and you will figure it out.
This is the first book I have found on goodreads which has SO MANY 1/5 ratings.
I am being really kind here with the stars. I want to give it much less but I wasn't as revolted by this one as I was by the ones after it. The second one is okay too, but the ones after this are absolutely torturous!
The series really goes downhill from here.
xmadrobx's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0