Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan

Published: September 2010

Publisher: Little Brown

Pages: 407

Copy: borrowed from library

Summary: Goodreads

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.

I really enjoyed this book. It was fun, romantic, thoughtful, and full of magick - good and bad. Nastasya is over 450 years old and she's burnt out. She's been living a destructive life and something happens that makes her realize -finally- that it's not what she wants. What I loved was that as a character she felt real. She has forgotten things, does not know everything, is flawed, has wisdom but at the same time is naive and after all that has happened, she still has a sense of humour.

'The metal acted as a mirror, and in the mirror I coud see Anne watching Nell. So she had seen Nell smirk, too. Excellent. You know, I think it's important that we all pause and apreciate little moments like this that make life so much richer.'

'Now he was kissing me, not in a scary way, not with hostility, but with warm, seductive intent. In a hayloft, in the barn, in the middle of the night. This scene brought to you by the letters W, T, and F.'

The bulk of the story is set in a rural farm/small town and has a peaceful atmosphere, but as the story progresses a thread of evil emerges and spoils the tranquility just enough to set you wondering. Although the title 'Immortal Beloved' leads one to believe this is going to be an amazing love story, it's not what you're expecting. It's a small, yet wonderful part of a bigger story. A sort of coming of age story - but 450 years too late. The ending was very satisfying - even though we know that there are still another 2 books to come, there was no cliffhanger - just the possibilities of more good stuff to come.

Final opinion - go out and get a copy and sit back and relax. It was fresh, fun, well written and enjoyable and I hate the fact that we have to wait until Sept for the next part of the trilogy, which unfortunately I can't find a title for.