Review: Evermore by Alyson Noel (The Immortals #1)

THE DETAILS:
Pages: 384
Genre: Teen, Fantasy
Release Date: 01/12/2009
Sent to me by Pan Macmillan

THE SYNOPSIS:

The first title in the Immortals series, a #1 New York Times Bestseller

Seventeen-year-old Ever is the sole survivor of a car crash that killed her entire family. Living with her aunt in Southern California, she's plagued by the ability to hear the thoughts of those around her, and haunted by the ghost of her little sister.

She tries to tune everyone out, shunning her old lifestyle as the pretty, popular cheerleader, but somehow she can't hide from Damen, the new guy at school. Stunningly handsome, clever and not a little bit intimidating, there's something about him that doesn't quite add up. Ever realises he's hiding something – but nothing could prepare her for the truth...

MY THOUGHTS:
Evermore was one of those series books that I had never attempted to read simply because of all the books involved. Much later after progressing heaps with my reading pace and getting a recommendation from a friend I decided to give this book a go. While this book did have some similarities with typical paranormal romances out there, It was equally entertaining and individualistic.

Paranormal Romances are like teen movies. They are fun, humorous, charming and most likely unrealistic. They are entertaining and there are a lot of people out there trying to tell us that they are bad for us. The thought has occurred to me though- Where do you draw the line? There are a lot of people out there trying to brand all of these books as the one thing when they are not. Can't we let works of fiction be just that a work of fiction.

So why is this rant relevant? Well... In the beginning of this book I was beginning to wonder whether or not this book would be a typical Paranormal romance. And, if it was how far gone would it be...? 'Evermore' may have had the typical traits (things like mentioning Wuthering Heights, A drop dead gorgeous main character, a sexy forbidden love with a male character, a quirky side-kick, undying love), but this novel was also quirky in the way that it incorporated other unique things into the story line. Things like references to different things in history, a funny little sister, a main character who finds her strength and does silly things that she regrets and there's a true-to-life level of embarrassment that occurs throughout.

The characters in the novel had very real emotions, but lacked a bit of personality. As a reader I knew how they felt, but didn't really understand who they were. Because they were also perfect physically I felt that the characters were a little flat. This is where the book reminded me most of a teen movie. I did appreciate that Noel conveyed the idea that it isn't always how beautiful you are, but how you flaunt your beauty that makes people realise how attractive someone is.

Overall I think this novel was great. 4 stars. It was really entertaining and was a nice quick read. I just can't wait to read the next one in the series. I think the only thing that let it down was a few typical traits that are often revealed in this genre. I also thought that the ability to create flowers out of air is pretty cool...

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