So, this is the book I originally picked up without realizing that it was the fourth in the series. I’m still struggling to care about Ever’s petty problems, but I’m hoping to at least like this installment of the story.

Read: Jun. 12 – Jun. 15, 2025

Genre: Fantasy, Supernatural, Romance
Audience: Teen, Young Adult
Book contains: violence, deceit, mentions of sex, death

Purchase a copy from Indigo.ca

---

Finally Some Character Growth

After being forced into an impossible choice, Ever has now made Haven immortal, and though Haven loves her new life, her feelings for Ever take an even deeper dive. Ever only seems to make it worse, as her binding spell from the dark moon backfires, and she ends up bound to Roman instead.

My main issue with this series isn’t the writing, which is actually pretty good, or the plot, though it could be better, but the characters. Ever, the protagonist, was unlikable from the beginning, and while the reader was given ample information about her struggles, her personality was far too self-centered to be likeable. I would be fine with that, but the problem is that she had no character growth over the past three books. It’s usually quicker in books, but in these, it was sort of sidelined. Now, in Dark Flame we finally see that growth. I hope it lasts.

Once again, we follow Ever’s first person present tense POV, knowing only what she knows, and as she struggles a lot with her powers in this book, she knows less and less. Again, the structure takes us through the school year and then summer chronologically, back and forth between reality and Summerland.

I read this book quite quickly. I’m not sure if that means I’m getting faster at old-fashioned reading again or if it was just easier to get through. A quick read nonetheless.

I’ve spoken at length about the characters before, so I won’t go into that. Mainly, here, I’ll talk about Roman as a villain. I really don’t understand what he wants. An antagonist is usually more active, but after the second book, Roman seems content to just sit back and let Ever struggle, which isn’t really what you want in an antagonist. Sure, he’s doing things in the background, but when it comes to him and the protagonist, there needs to be more activity. His motivations are unclear aside from “don’t give Ever what she wants” and letting her obsess over him. It’s bad guy character for sure, but not really antagonist level.

That said, his relationships are very shallow, and it shows. Though Ever is pushing everyone away, at least she has Damen, Sabine, the twins, Jude, and now Ava again. Roman uses people and doesn’t really make friends, which is displayed well in this book, particularly in a conversation between Ever and Haven.

I still think the writing itself is quite good, despite the lack of quality in story and characters. Sometimes, I have a hard time getting through a book because I just want to put the book down and do something else. This book, at least, doesn’t make me feel that way. It’s the trashy romance TV show that you watch even though it’s not the best or most entertaining thing to watch.

The pacing was okay too. Ever is struggling throughout the book with this binding spell, which is built up well in the first half, then halfway through it seems to be solved (but of course it isn’t), before she really hits rock bottom and must forcibly make herself change. My one pet peeve, though, is that the plot is constantly dragged out by Ever’s own stubbornness. Even stubborn characters wouldn’t keep saying “that expert/person with experience must be wrong”. There are several instances where Ever, despite having no knowledge on a subject, makes assumptions which go against what was recommended to her—and it just doesn’t make sense to me.

This book brings the series up a bit in my opinion. I still think it’s good for readers who like supernatural romances like Twilight or if you like watching romance TV like The Bachelor.

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*