Shadowland by Alyson Noel

Ick, another lackluster installment of the Immortals series by Alyson Noel.  This is the third book in the series and they should be read in order.  However, that being said, the only one I remotely liked was the first one.  Both the second book and this one left a lot to be desired.

At the end of the last book we found Ever and her boyfriend Damen unable to be together because of a curse (genetic mishap, etc.) that was placed on them by a rogue immortal.  Now, Ever is determined to find the antidote that will fix it, but is heavily distracted by her new job, boss (who's someone from her very distant past), and the fact that her aunt is dating her history teacher.  Not to mention that the twin girls from the Summerland are also stuck in her dimension and she and Damen must care for them.  When the rogue immortal decides to play even more tricks, she finds herself having to make some very tough decisions.

Ever never does the right thing.  Ever.  And it gets kind of exasperating sometimes.  For someone who's supposed to be smart and read motives she's either very dense or in such a hurry to do things she doesn't think them through correctly.  Meanwhile Damen is his usual perfect self, striving to be even more perfect, and I have to agree with Ever that he is quite boring in this book.  Granted, he's no longer lying to her for her own good, but he's making other decisions for her that he really shouldn't be.  No wonder the girl can't make a decision correctly when he usually does it for her.  The new character Jude, I couldn't figure out if I liked him or not.  He has some good qualities, but there still isn't enough known about him.  And Roman, well he's just as evil as ever, albeit in a charming way.

There wasn't much of a plot in this book.  Little story lines yes, but not one big plot.  In fact, it was so jumbled and rushed around that I had a hard time reading it and keeping my interest.  Most of it was just talking but not the type that's a progression to anywhere.  And really, the main goal was Ever finding a cure for Damen so she could finally sleep with him.  Which for a young adult novel might be an accurate representation of what teenagers think about, but perhaps not the best goal for a book.  The only saving grace of this book was the little hints of alchemy and other fantasy elements.

I can't say that I'll be seeking out the next book anytime soon.  I hate leaving things unfinished, no matter how much I don't enjoy them, but maybe I'll delay reading the next in the series.

Shadowland
Copyright 2009
339 pages