Book Review: Darkness Falls by Cate Tiernan.

Product details:
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton.
Hardcover, 400 pages.
Release date: January 5th 2012.
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Ages: 14+
Series: Immortal Beloved #2
Other Books in Series: Immortal Beloved.
Source: Received from publisher for review.

Nastasya has lived for hundreds of years, but for some reason, life never seems to get any better. She left her spoiled, rich girl life to find peace at River's Edge, a safe haven for wayward immortals. There, she learned to embrace River's Edge, despite some drama involving the sexy Reyn, who she wants but won't allow herself to have. But just as she's getting comfortable, her family's ties to dark magick force her to leave.

She falls back into her old, hard partying ways, but will her decision lead her into the hands of a dark immortal? Or will it be her first step to embracing the darkness within her?

Immortal Beloved saw party girl Nastasya turn her back on bad habits and dangerous friends as she said goodbye to hundreds of years of crazy behaviour, wild nights out, fine food and designer clothes. Leaving behind her best friend, Innocencio, Nastasya found herself at River’s Edge ‘home for wayward Immortals’ where she learned life lessons from wise Immortal River and fell for the sexy Reyn.  Now in Darkness Falls, Nastasya has to decide if she can live with the darkness that lies within Reyn’s past while all the while trying to fight the darkness within her that is manifesting itself in dangerous ways. And then there’s Incy, who won’t stop looking for Nastasya until he finds her and brings her back to the life they once shared. Can Nastasya resist the lure of her old life and prove that she has changed, or will her dark ways win out?

When I read Immortal Beloved, I thought it was a good read, if a little slow paced, and while I was intrigued by the character of Nasty, loved her snarky dialogue, and wanted to know her secrets, I can’t say that I much liked her. I also found reading about her new life at River’s Edge a little boring. I know that Nasty wants to be a better person, and she is a better and more likeable character in this book, but let’s face it, her life of mucking out stables and peeling potatoes is not exactly entertaining. I wanted to see more of party girl Nas. I wanted to read about her fabulous wardrobe and her wild nights out with Incy. Thankfully, in Darkness Falls, we get the best of both worlds. This book has action, it has character development, it has steamy kisses, and it has Incy.

I probably shouldn’t like Incy as much as I do, bit I can’t help myself.   He’s the character I’m most drawn to in these books, and if you’ve read them, you’re probably asking yourself right now what the hell I’m thinking!  I admit it; I sometimes take the bad boy thing too far! Even in Immortal Beloved where we pretty much get to see Incy in flashback form only, he was the character I wanted more of.  Sure, Reyn may be sexy, but he’s not a big talker, and I’ve never found his character very appealing. So, I’m all about Incy, and it seems that Nastasya is too, for she finds it difficult to resist the lure of her old privileged party lifestyle once her old friend finds his way into her life again.

Darkness Falls, a book about magick, Immortals, mystery and love where Nastasya confronts both her inner demons and the dangers that haunt her every day life, is an addictive read, and I can’t wait for more when the third and final installment in this series, Immortal Light releases next year. I’m also very interested to find out more about the mysterious Miss Edna who is briefly mentioned in the pages of Darkness Falls, but who I think is going to have a much larger role to play in Nastasya’s life as this series concludes.  I can’t wait to find out more!