Sunday, December 5, 2010

Book Review: Nevermore






















Nevermore (Nevermore, book 1) by Kelly Creagh.

Cheerleader Isobel Lanley is horrified when she is paired with Varen Nethers for an English project, which is due—so unfair—on the day of the rival game. Cold and aloof, sardonic and sharp-tongued, Varen makes it clear he’d rather not have anything to do with her either. But when Isobel discovers strange writing in his journal, she can’t help but give this enigmatic boy with the piercing eyes another look.  Soon, Isobel finds herself making excuses to be with Varen. Steadily pulled away from her friends and her possessive boyfriend, Isobel ventures deeper and deeper into the dream world Varen has created through the pages of his notebook, a realm where the terrifying stories of Edgar Allan Poe come to life.  As her world begins to unravel around her, Isobel discovers that dreams, like words, hold more power than she ever imagined, and that the most frightening realities are those of the mind. Now she must find a way to reach Varen before he is consumed by the shadows of his own nightmares.

His life depends on it.



Her world is unraveling...in more ways than you can imagine.  Nevermore is an intriguing beginning to a paranormal young adult series.  Isobel Langley has a charmed life, or so she thinks.  She's popular, dating the hottest football player, and is queen of her school's cheerleading squad.  Varen Nethers is the dark, brooding, intellectual goth guy in her English class.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find any redeeming qualities in Isobel and found myself wishing, over and over again, that this book had been told from Varen's perspective.  The supernatural elements of this story, though at times confusing, were intriguing.  Creagh combines historical fact and the haunting works of Edgar Allan Poe to create a suspenseful urban fantasy world.  This book ends with a cliff hangar and I look forward to giving the next book in the series a try. 

I recommend Nevermore (Nevermore, book 1) to readers of paranormal suspense, urban fantasy, paranormal romance, and especially to fans of young adult fiction. 

Source: This book was purchased by me for review.

Nevermore on Amazon.
Nevermore on Goodreads.

10 comments:

  1. Oooh I'm sorry to hear you didn't love Nevermore that much. Isobel was a bit tough to stomach at first, but I liked her better later on. Great honest review! :)

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  2. ...Just wanted to add that this was the most difficult book for me to review this year. There was so much to love (Edgar Allan Poe!), but my dislike for Isobel took my overall reading experience down a notch. In an effort to write a fair review, that also reflects my personal feelings, this review may seem overly ambiguous and for that I do apologize.

    I would love to hear what others thought of the book. :)
    xx,
    E.J.

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  3. Aww...that's too bad! It's so disappointing when the lead character is unlikeable. Thank you for your honesty. :)

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  4. Was she unlikable the whole way through? It sounds like I'd want to read this. Good honest review!

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  5. I found her unlikeable the whole way through, but that's just me. :)
    xx,
    E.J.

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  6. What didn't you like about her? Funny but I'm reading a book with a lead female that isn't likeable, but I see that she's changing, becoming softer through the interaction with other characters. Do you see that in Isobel? We readers are rather picky about how we click with characters - I guess it's a lot like how we click with people. Thanks for giving the review.

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  7. I really liked this one. I don't remember having any issues with Isobel, though it's been a couple of months since I read it. I thought the wild nightmare mishmash at the end was over the top, but I loved the Poe theme and I'm always a sucker for the "opposites attract" romances!

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  8. LM,
    I tend to identify more with the "outsider" character, so that may play a part in which characters I enjoy. The contrast with Varen, who was absolutely my kind of character, may also have been a factor. Ultimately I found her shallow, and even when she finds herself in a friendship with a goth guy she still makes some unpleasant over generalizations about the goth subculture that bothered me.

    Oh well, the story itself was interesting enough that I do hope to read the next book in the series. :)
    xx,
    E.J.

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  9. I didn't like this book either, but Im hoping the series gets better as it goes. I really like Poe, so this one intrigued me, but Varen was SUCH a better character than Isobel with her stuck up snobbishness. She drove me up the wall and I felt she was so clueless the entire time.

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