DARKNESS FALLS by Cate Tiernan

I'm still here. Still immortal. The eagerly anticipated sequel to Immortal Beloved, the deeply alluring gothic romance.

Reyn: the thorn in my side, nightmare of my past, destroyer of my family, constant irritant of my now . . . and the one whose fevered kisses I had relived over and over as I lay exhausted and unable to sleep.

And yet night after night, he--who has kicked down hundreds of doors--had not brought himself to knock on mine.

Are you dizzy from being flung into my world like this? I feel the same way every morning when I open my eyes to find I'm still me, still here.

This is the second book in the Immortal Beloved Trilogy, and while I enjoyed the first one, this one blew me away. Seriously, I was instantly hooked and found it hard to put down.

Nastasya is immortal and for the last few months has been staying at River's Edge, which is like a rehab farm for immortals who have lost their way. She helps out with the daily chores, cooking, and even has a job in town, but her life still isn't easy. Especially since she spends so much time denying she's got feelings for the very alluring Reyn. After all, their history is entwined in a very personal and violent way that goes way back to their childhoods centuries before.

On New Year's Eve, the group gets together and they perform a magick circle to let go of something they no longer want, and meditate about the new year. When Nastasya lets go of her darkness, everything becomes a lot more complicated. Suddenly, she's having horrifying visions about her best friend--also the person she escaped--Incy. But that's not all. Her job becomes a nightmare as she gets caught between a very angry father and the daughter he blames for his wife and son's death. Not to mention that she starts to feel as if her darkness is even affecting the farm. It gets so bad that she decides to make a run for it. She leaves and in the middle of the night is miraculously found by the man she most wanted to leave behind.

Within days of going to Boston with Incy and meeting up with her shallow friends again, she realises that the selfish, partying life she lived for so many long years is no longer what she wants. She also slowly starts to understand that what she believed to be her dark influence might actually be someone else's. And maybe, it's too late to do anything about it...

Darkness Falls is an amazing, well-written book! I absolutely loved every minute of it. While Nastasya is often abrupt, confused, and even downright self-involved, she really is an excellent narrator. She takes the reader on a very personal roller-coaster ride of emotions as her dark past and familial legacy continue to haunt her every waking moment. She tries very hard to be good, and even though she doubts herself so much, it's not until everything is on the line that she realises just how much she's learned and changed.

This book showed tremendous personal growth for her, and I'm waiting very impatiently until the next book comes out, because I can't wait to see how it all wraps up.

I adored this story!

Darkness Falls: Immortal Beloved #2, January 2012, ISBN 9781444707076,  H&S Fiction