I’m on the third book of this series and I still don’t care about the protagonist’s problems. She’s too much of an egoist in my opinion, and her problems feel too petty for me to root for her.

Read: Jun. 6 – Jun. 10, 2025

Genre: Fantasy, Supernatural, Romance
Audience: Teen, Young Adult
Book contains: curse, brainwashing, death, discussion of sex

Purchase a copy from Indigo.ca

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Still Not in My Taste

Now cursed never to touch, Ever and Damen must find an antidote for the antidote Roman gave them, though their ideas differ greatly. On the verge of death, Damen saw what awaited him: a shadowy place of endless darkness, the Shadowland, where both he and Ever are doomed to go to, instead of Summerland, should they die.

I know that this book is for teens and that I shouldn’t expect anything profound, but I still found it extremely difficult to get into this book, despite it being the third. I feel that it marks a bland book if the characters (especially the main character) don’t really experience any positive growth. The main duo keep falling into the same bad habits as the first, and Roman isn’t a great antagonist either, as he doesn’t really push that growth, but rather just makes Ever a worse protagonist.

Shadowland is written in first person present tense from Ever’s POV, meaning we’re wholly in her head. We’re also partially in other characters’ heads with her telepathy, but mostly Damen’s, as Ever hardly uses her psychic abilities to read thoughts or auras anymore.

I’ve started reading out in the backyard on my lounge chair as the mornings heat up this summer. It’s nice and cool in the shade while still being comfortably warm. I read the old-fashioned way, and while I didn’t enjoy much of the book’s plot, the writing was decent enough that I could read for long periods without putting it down.

I just don’t like Ever as a character, her selfishness and petty issues not being much of a motivator for me to root for her success. She’s a very shallow lead, and the others aren’t so great either. Damen is odd, as he went from selfishly hedonistic to selfishly altruistic; the actions he takes in this book are to “fix his karma” though he goes about it in a purely selfish and stupid fashion, clearly showing no growth or true change of heart whatsoever. The only characters I can actually say that I like are Miles, partially Haven, and now Jude, who was introduced in this book. The twins, though they don’t show up much here, are okay too.

Ever’s relationship with Damen remains something dead, in my opinion. It was already toxic and co-dependent, but things keep happening that make me think: just let it go! I suppose love isn’t a logical thing but besides telling the reader how much she “loves” Damen, Ever’s thoughts really don’t show their interactions with any depth. Both of them (especially Ever) are just obsessed with finally having the ability to sleep together, but there’s no relationship deeper than that – Damen teaching her to use her psychic abilities doesn’t really count, as it’s his fault she’s immortal anyway. I do like Damen’s relationship with the twins, even though he’s very condescending with both them and with Ever in his book. Honestly, the only healthy relationships here are Ever and Miles (somewhat), Sabine and Paul, and Ever and Jude (which is growing stronger even though I think he can do better).

Noël’s writing is okay, but the plot and characters are somewhat of a mess in my opinion. She’s thrown in a lot of tropes, and though it’s less in this book than the others, I don’t see what was resolved. What was the point of this book except to get to the next one? Ever is still the same person as she was at the end of the last one, given the same choice and making an impulsive decision out of misguided love after being forced into a corner. She continues to think that the universe revolves around her (and Damen) and thinks that nothing can really affect her (which a lot of teens think, to be fair). But in a protagonist, it’s unsavoury. Where is the actual growth?

While I loved a lot of the new things happening in this book, I couldn’t really see a grand plot arc, and it ended with another big scheme on Roman’s part, though he was hardly in the story at all. Where was the buildup? The suspense of the villain? It was mostly Ever going through the motions and getting better at magic so that more interesting things can happen, likely in the next book.

Lovers of Stephenie Meyer would enjoy this teen drama, but I don’t really recommend it to anyone looking for a good read.

Related Reviews:

The Immortals Book 1: Evermore by Alyson Noël
The Immortals Book 2: Blue Moon by Alyson Noël
The Immortals Book 3: Shadowland by Alyson Noël
The Immortals Book 4: Dark Flame by Alyson Noël
The Immortals Book 5: Night Star by Alyson Noël
The Twilight Saga Book 1: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
The Mortal Instruments Book 1: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
*Dawned by Michelle Areaux*
*The Other Side of Daylight by Nicole Chartier*