Book Review: Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan

Immortal Beloved
by Cate Tiernan
Received via Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Expected Publication: January 1, 2012
Pages: 432
Age Demographic: Young Adult
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Nastasya has spent the last century living as a spoiled, drugged-out party girl. She feels nothing and cares for no one. But when she witnesses her best friend, a Dark Immortal, torture a human, she realizes something's got to change. She seeks refuge at a rehab for wayward immortals, where she meets the gorgeous, undeniably sexy Reyn, who seems inexplicably linked to her past.

Nastasya finally begins to deal with life, and even feels safe--until the night she learns that someone wants her dead.

Cate Tiernan, author of the popular Sweep series, returns with an engaging story of a timeless struggle and inescapable romance, the first book in a stunning new fantasy trilogy.

* Summary taken from Goodreads.

❝My Thoughts❞

Immortal Beloved is a dark tantalizing paranormal romance filled with overwhelming struggle in the face of adversity and a timeless yet inescapable romance. It is a compelling world filled with rich complex characters, intriguing plot, and a clever look at paranormal in an original way. Tiernan has this wonderful way of grasping reader's attention, by casting these fantastic characters that are daring and wild, complicated and ambiguous, yet likable and easy to connect with. She doesn't shy away from introducing the pitfalls or drawbacks of the supernatural, while giving them their own unique realistic flaws. In her world, the past plays as much of an important role, as coming to terms with the present and dealing with what's at hand.

Tiernan cleverly crafts this world where River's Edge is like immortal rehab for paranormals to figure out the mess they've created with their lives. It's run by River, whose past is just as ambiguous as she is to readers at this point. She's a wonderfully likable character, who cares enough about every paranormal who finds themselves seeking refuge there by sharing her own wisdom and advice on life with them. There are mysteries intricately woven around her and her own haunted past. Change is an important element in this novel, since most of it seems to hinge on self-discovery, than anything else.

Nastasya is a complex and complicated, yet likable and unlikable character at certain points in the story, which makes her even more intriguing to readers. She's filled with wildness and reckless abandonment, which feels absolutely nothing at all and could care less. It isn't until she finds herself high on drugs, out of her mind, and witnessing her best friend (a dark Immortal) torturing a human that she decides things needs to change. Once at River's Edge, she's going to have to come to grips with learning how to deal with the messy complications of her past, while discovering who she is.

Reyn is a dark alluring mystery, who doesn't come into play until much later in the book. He is an incredibly strong, sexy, silent type sure to get reader's blood pumping. He and Nastasya share a very complicated connection due to their past issues. Tiernan does something wonderfully brilliant with these two, by focusing more on Nastasya discovering herself, instead of building on any romance that could potentially happen between these two amazing characters. Of course, their chemistry is deliciously scintillating, what little reader's are given of it and it only adds to further intrigue. There seems to be an underlying theme revolving around the importance of being true to oneself, than anything else.

Immortal Beloved is not your standard typical vampire novel, it is so much more than that. It's filled with the pain of betrayal, dark and unpredictable secrets, love and heart-breaking moments, and mystery fueled by excitement. Tiernan's masterful writing, attention to detail, and dark atmosphere is sure to hook readers and have them craving more. Fans of paranormal romance will absolutely not be disappointed.

{ This book was provided by Little Brown Books For Young Readers, in exchange for an honest review which I have provided. No money exchanged hands, I review books for fun because I love to read. I am not interested in monetary gain. Any piece of this ARC that was/wasn't quoted, is not part of the finished product and should not be perceived as such.}