And knowing there’s only one way to find out, I take a deep breath, close my eyes, and wait for the crush of his lips against mine.
Chapter 14 summary: Ever meets up with Jude and tries to tell him how dangerous that Haven has gotten. She offers him the elixir, but again, he turns her down. Especially after Lina's death, he's more on “team normal life” than ever before.
Ever takes him into the gym where she insists on running drills to kill Haven should she come after him. Jude just thinks that it's ridiculous.
Then they have a moment. And Ever has to ask herself: what if it was supposed to be me and Jude, and it's Damen who was always getting in the way of that?
Reading Evermore again last time I read it I was in tenth grade.
Fuck Damen is kind of an asshole. Dude's interested in Ever but openly flirting with Stacia and then wonders why Ever's upset. Which wouldn't be so unforgiveable since Ever has a habit of being closed off. EXCEPT FOR THE FACT THAT THIS MOTHERFUCKER HAS BEEN READING HER MIND SINCE DAY ONE!
When I say, "I think polyamory and a healthy conversation about sex would have fixed everyone in The Immortals Series" do any of you know what I'm talking about?
Say what you want about Twilight, but it was competently written with an understandable - if racist - mythos. More competently than this at least. Side note: donate to the Quileute if you can!
Full roast below the cut and it’s even longer than RoseBlood!
After a horrible accident claims the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever Bloom can see people's auras, hear their thoughts, and know someone's entire life story by touching them. Going out of her way to avoid human contact to suppress her abilities, she has been branded a freak at her new high school—but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste.
Damen is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy. He's the only one who can silence the noise and random energy in her head—wielding a magic so intense, it's as though he can peer straight into her soul. As Ever is drawn deeper into his enticing world of secrets and mystery, she's left with more questions than answers. And she has no idea just who he really is—or what he is. The only thing she knows to be true is that she's falling deeply and helplessly in love with him.
Evermore is a product of the post Twilight supernatural book boom in 2009. Written by Alyson Noël, it is book one of The Immortals series, a series of six books and one spin-off series.
I will not be reading all of them. Not unless I’m paid.
Sin 1: The Main Character.
Ever Bloom - do all YA Female protagonists have gag worthy names? - is just so exhausting. Her powers (which we will talk about) make no sense, she’s a brat, and she’s so judgmental of everyone, even her “friends”.
In my old life, I didn’t hang out with people like Miles and Haven. I wasn’t connected with the troubled kids, or the weird kids, or the kids everyone picked on. I was part of the popular crowd, where most of us were cute, athletic, talented, smart, wealthy, or all of the above.
And even though I was never mean to anyone who wasn’t part of our group, it’s not like I really noticed them either. Those kids just didn’t have anything to do with me. So I acted like they were invisible. But now, I’m one of the unseen too.
So on my first day at Bay View; instead of wasting time with the usual hazing rituals of the Stacia and Honor crowd, I headed straight for Miles and Haven, the two outcasts who accepted my friendship with no questions asked.
I slide onto the bench beside Miles who's far too busy texting to even notice my existence, and I can't help but wonder if I should try to find some new friends—not that anyone would have me.
Translation: ugh, my life was SO perfect before but now I’m a looooooser but it’s totally by choice!
She claims that she enjoys their friendship and that she wouldn’t know what to do without them but like all the other YA girls before her, as soon as Love Interest comes along, her friends are dropped unless it’s plot relevant. That’s just how she behaves to her friends.
Ever also seems to forget that she’s supposed to be grieving unless it advances the plot. She left the hospital without any grief counseling - which I’m pretty sure wouldn’t be allowed for a minor - and has refused to see a therapist since. The only time she actually has any moment of it hitting her, it’s used to start a confrontation with a cardboard cut out mean girl that is there solely to be bitchy to Ever.
Usually, I try not to dwell on my old life. I try not to think about my old house, my old friends, my old family, my old self. And even though I’ve gotten pretty good at heading off the storm, recognizing the signs—the stinging eyes, the shortness of breath, the overwhelming feeling of hollowness and despair—before they can take hold, sometimes it just hits, without warning, without time to prepare. And all I can do when when that happens is curl up in a ball and wait for it to pass... which is pretty hard to do in the middle of history class.
....
I bolt from my seat and race for the door.... I turn the corner, blinded by tears, gasping for air, my insides feeling empty, cleaned out, a hollow shell folding in on itself. And by the time I see Stacia it’s way too late, and I knock into her with such speed and force she crashes to the ground and rips a hole in her dress.
.....
[Confrontation between Stacia and Ever which is just Ever reciting everything bad Stacia has ever done in order to tell the reader just how terrible of a person she is.]
.....
And yet, there she is, standing before me, eyes wide, lips trembling, stunned to have all of her dirty little secrets revealed. And instead of feeling bad or guilty for exposing her, for using my gift in this way, seeing this despicable person, this awful selfish bully who’s taunted me since my very first day, reduced to a sweaty, shaky mess, is more gratifying than I ever would’ve imagined. And with my nausea and grief now merely a memory, I figure, what the heck, I may as well continue.
This is really the only time Ever has a display of grief. But it’s poorly conveyed. There’s no real heart behind it, no description of how the emptiness feels. Is she exhausted by her grief? Is she scared of it? How long does it take her to recover from these moments?
The thing about Ever is that there is no heart to her. Not just in her actions - ignoring her friends, being mean to her (dead) sister, ignoring her aunt, etc - but in how she’s written. Ever is the same from the start of the book to the end. Even when she is offered help by another psychic, Ever chooses instead to wallow in her problems and never grow.
Sin 2: The Love Interest.
Dame Auguste is Edward Cullen dialed up to 10. In a very short amount of time, he convinces Ever to do things like, illegally gamble at a horse race, skip school multiple times, drink, and generally be a terrible person to her friends and Aunt.
“But don’t you have to be twenty-one?”
“Eighteen,” he mumbles, going inside and pressing five.
“Exactly, I’m sixteen and a half.”
.......
He tosses me the racing form and I look it over, surprised to find three distinct names jump out at me, in a one-two-three order. "How about Spanish Fly to win, Acapulco Lucy second, and Son of Buddha third?" I say, having no idea how I got there, but feeling pretty confident in my picks.
......
"Well, now I get why you're not all that into school. I guess it can't really compete, can it?" I laugh, still feeling high from my winnings, thinking I've finally found a profitable outlet for my psychic gift.
I’ve never been to a race track in my life but I’m willing to bet you guys the boss’s throne that they CHECK IDs.
The next day he convinces her to skip school and go driving up to a beach where they nearly have sex. Only they stop because Ever is Not That Kind of Girl and he tells her to sleep instead. When she wakes up, he’s left a note that says he’s gone surfing but Ever can’t find him on the beach. So she goes home. Damen eventually turns up and GASLIGHTS HER TO THE MAX.
I look at him, my eyes narrowed, my lips pressed together. I can't believe he actually expects me to believe that.
"Sorry, but I looked, and there were only two surfers out there. Two blond surfers, which pretty much rules out either one of them being you."
"Ever, would you look at me," he says. "Really look at me. How do you think I got this way?"
So I do, I lower my glare to take it all in. Noticing his wet suit that's dripping salt water all over the floor.
"But I checked. I ran up and down the beach, I looked everywhere," I say, convinced of what I saw, or in this case, didn't see.
But he just shrugs. "Ever, I don't know what to tell you, but I didn't abandon you. I was surfing. Really. Now, can you please get me a towel, and maybe another for the floor?"
The next couple of hours are a blur of classes and confusion, and it's not until I get to the lunch table that I learn the truth about yesterday.
"I can't believe you guys went in the water," Miles says, stirring his yoghurt and looking at me. "Do you have any idea how cold it is?"
"She wore a wet suit." Damen shrugs. "In fact, you left it at my house."
I unwrap my sandwich, not remembering any of it. I don't even own a wet suit. Do I?
"Um, wasn't that Friday?" I ask, blushing when all the events of that day come rushing back to me.
Damen shakes his head. "You didn't surf on Friday, I did. Sunday was when I gave you a lesson."
.....
"Is this really all yours?" I ask, running my hand over a plush chenille sofa as my eyes tour exquisite lamps, Persian rugs, a collection of abstract oil paintings, and the dark wood coffee table covered in art books, candles, and a framed photo of me. "When'd you take this?" I lift it off the table and study it closely, having absolutely no memory of the moment.
"You act like you've never been here before," he says, motioning for me to sit.
"I haven't." I shrug.
"You have," he insists. "Last Sunday? After the beach? I've even got your wet suit hanging upstairs. Now sit." He pats the sofa cushion "I want to see you resting."
Even Edward Cullen wasn’t this bad. I cannot believe the bar has been lowered even FURTHER. If it gets much lower, I’ll knock my horns on it.
There’s more but we’d be here for most of the book.
Sin 3: Damen and Ever’s relationship.
Kids - sinners? Library patrons? Visitors? What do I call you? Leave a suggestion in the comments. - we found a relationship worse than Edward and Bella! And Boss save me from their mutual toxicity.
Even though Damen is a gaslighting manipulator, Ever is NOT innocent in this.
Because she knows nothing about him, and has never been to his house, she decides to break in. She gets directions from Riley - who followed him for because she was curious - and heads over to his house. She uses her powers to get in because Damen lives in a gated community, and has a moment of self reflection only to completely miss the fucking mark.
I stop at the end of his block, kill the engine, and realize I’ve lost all my nerve.
I mean, what kind of psycho girlfriend am I? Who in their right mind would enlist their dead little sister to help spy on their boyfriend? But then again, it’s not like anything in my life is remotely normal, so why should my relationships be any different?
Because what are healthy boundaries?
She also discovers on this trip that Damen is immortal, but she thinks he’s a vampire. Damen has a habit of carrying a bottle full of dark red liquid around and drinking from it. He also has a room full of things from various centuries, all of which feature him in some way.
A quick list of things he has:
A portrait of himself by Pablo Pcasso, circa 1902
A portrait of himself by Vincent Van Gogh
A book addressed to him, signed by William Shakespeare
A book addressed to him, signed by Emily Bronte
And many many more.
Sin 4: Ever’s powers.
They are absolutely ridiculous. They’re a Deus Ex Machina of the highest order. Because Ever does not just read auras. She can also memorize any book by placing her hand on it, immediately know the answers to her pop quizzes and tests by placing her hand on the paper, and know everything about a person just by touching them.
Ever since I became psychic, I’m no longer required to study. I’m not ever required to read. All I have to do is place my hands on a book, and the story appears in my head. And as far as tests go? Well, let’s just say there’s no more “pop” in the quiz. I just brush my fingers over the questions and the answers are instantly revealed.
I also know her dad isn’t really away on “business” like he said, her mom’s personal trainer is way more “persona” than “trainer” and her little brother broke her Evanescence CD but he’s too afraid to tell her.
But how can I date when touch feels so overbearing? How can I be in a relationship when I’ll always know what my partner is thinking? Never getting the chance to obsess, dissect, and guess at the secret meaning of everything he says and does?
She can also just... make herself immortal. Through the power of love. I’m not kidding. She also killed off the antagonist who was arguably the best character in this book by punching her in the love chakra.
“I hardly touched her,”I say, remembering how my fist met her chest but just barely.
“The fourth chakra was your target. And you hit the bullseye.”
“Huh?”
“The body has seven chakras. The fourth chakra, or the heart chakra as it’s sometimes called, is the center of unconditional love, compassion, the higher self, all of the things Drina was lacking. And that left her defenseless, weakened. Ever, her lack of love is what killed her.”
And none of that is ever explained. The chakras had no build up, Ever’s powers were whatever the plot needed at the moment, and Ever becomes Immortal because she loves oh so much.
Sin 5: This book is too long.
Ok, the page count is only 320. RoseBlood was 488. Twilight was 498.
But everything is so dull and Ever is such an awful protagonist that being stuck in her head is mind numbing! Her powers are poorly explained DEMs, Damen is a gaslighting manipulator, her friends have no personality beyond “Gay” (Miles) and “Attention Seeking” (Haven).
Oh yeah, her friends.
Sin 6: Haven and Miles.
I guess some credit for having an openly gay character in 2008 but that’s literally all he is. He is the stereotypical gay best friend who spends all his time on his phone, has a bad relationship with his dad, and has a new boyfriend every chapter.
There’s also no physical description of him so.... Imagine literally any gay male character from whatever TV show or movie you like.
Haven plays somewhat of a role in the book as Antagonist Drina uses her to get close to Damen and Ever in order to kill Ever. But we never see any reason why Haven, Miles, and Ever are friends. All they do is fight, Ever never pays attention to anything they say, and Miles is always on his phone.
Sin 7: Drina is too involved.
Ok, I’m a slut for villains that pull threads. I love me some juicy “I caused the death of your loved ones” and some delicious “I lead you here” stuff. But only if it’s good and plausible by world building standards.
Drina is Damen’s not really ex wife back from when they were in Italy like six hundred years ago. They never actually got divorced and Damen ran off with Ever’s first incarnation - Ever is reincarnated - which lead Drina to just follow them around trying to permanently kill Ever and win Damen back.
Damen knows this and for some reason still hangs out with her to the point of GETTING DINNER WITH HER but that’s not the point here.
Ever’s family died in a car crash when her dad swerved to avoid hitting a deer and the car went into a ravine. This happened because Ever asked them to turn around and go back to the lake they had spent the day at in order to retrieve her irreplaceable powder blue cheer camp sweatshirt.
“...just when I was sure you were dead, the next thing I know, Damen’s moved to California because, surprise, he brought you back!”
I’m still deciphering her words - Drina caused the accident?
“Yes I caused the accident. Why must everything be so spelled out for you?” She shakes her head. “It was I who spooked the deer that ran in front of your car. It was I who knew your father was a sappy, kindhearted fool who who’d gladly risk his family’s life to save a deer.”
If Drina knew all the these things, including where Ever lived, why didn’t she just kill Ever herself? She clearly has no qualms with it because she tries to a minute later.
I’d believe it more if it had been another car and Drina had caused a crash like that. Or if Drina had tried to run Ever over. But this? No. I refuse. Too much detail and too last minute Gotcha! vibes to be believable.
Verdict
Evermore is an overstuffed, under explained dumpster fire with a protagonist that is unbearable to say the least. Thus, this librarian orders the following punishments.
For Ever, an arguably worse protagonist than Rune Germain and Bella Swan combined, she is condemned to... go to grief counseling, be stripped of her immortality, spend time with her aunt, and learn how to deal with her powers. Damen is condemned to lose all of his signed books and portraits from the masters. Drina, Miles, and Haven are all condemned to only listen to Video Killed The Radio Star by The Buggles for all eternity. And Alyson Noel is condemned to have a college professor nitpick the grammar of all future writing projects.
So let it be recorded. Today’s story time has concluded.
I place my hand on the stem, as Damen places his hand over mine. The two of us leaning into each other, feeling happy, content, eager to embrace whatever comes next, as the plane lifts into the sky.
Chapter 45 summary: When they get onto the plane, Ever has to remind Damen that he can't just manifest stuff anymore. He says that it's going to be an adjustment for him.
Ever then sees Riley and Buttercup out on the wing of the plane. She turns to point them out to Damen, but by the time they turn back to the window, the two of them are gone. Ever knows that she'll be seeing more of her sister again in the future.
The tulip Damen tried and failed to manifest back in the previous chapter suddenly appears. And they know that their powers aren't completely gone, just... highly restricted now. And with that, the series finally comes to a close.
My words stopped by his own when he says, “Shhh … just close your eyes and picture yourself in seat three-A with me sitting right there beside you…”
Chapter 44 summary: What I assume to be the next morning, Ever and Damen test out the remaining bits of their magic. They can still telepathically communicate, but can no longer manifest items.
They return to Sabine's house, where Ever packs a bag. Damen looks in her mini-fridge at the elixir she has stored there, and wonders what to do with it. Ever is disappointed to realize that somebody seems to have taken some, but has to remind herself that it's no longer her problem. She says that she has enough fruit to help anybody in the future, and to destroy the rest of the elixir.
They go to the summerland, where Damen suggests that they should backpack across Europe together. And that their flight leaves in 15 minutes...
