I'm very excited to participate in the tour for Immortals! If you haven't read Runes yet (which is book #1 in the series), make sure to skip right past the information about Immortals and read about Runes instead. I don't want to spoil anything for you!
Title: Immortals
Series: Runes (Book #2) (See Below For Book #1)
Author: Ednah Walters
Release Date: August 5, 2013
Author: Ednah Walters
Release Date: August 5, 2013
Pages: 342, Paperback
Goodreads Rating: 4.41 stars
My Rating: 4.5/5 stars
My Content Rating: 16+ (Lots of kissing and some talk of sex, but no actual sex)
Summary from Goodreads: Nothing can stop Raine Cooper when she wants something…
Raine finally knows that her gorgeous neighbor, Torin St. James, is a legend straight out of Norse mythology, and that her feelings for him are strong. Torin is crazy about Raine too, breaking the one rule he lives by: Never fall for a mortal. The problem is he no longer remembers her, his memories erased by Norns—Norse destiny deities—to punish her for defying them.So Raine comes up with a plan...
She will make Torin forget his one rule a second time and fall in love with her all over again.
But she quickly learns that well-laid plans do not work when dealing with deities and supernatural beings. Desperate, Raine makes choices that could not only tear her and Torin further apart, but lead to the destruction of everything and everyone she loves.
Immortals was an awesome follow-up to Runes. It had everything I loved about the first book and more!
This book starts up two weeks after the last book left off. Raine and her family have just come back from a cruise (they needed to get away for awhile after the swim team tragedy that claimed several swimmers' lives. But, Raine can't just go back to life as usual. First of all, everyone knows about how she went crazy at the swim meet and tried to get people out of the pool. Word is that Raine is a witch - and everyone either fears or hates her. Luckily, she still has her best friends Eirik and Cora by her side.
Unfortunately, Raine doesn't have Torin by her side. He still has no memory of Raine and he isn't convinced when Raine tries to tell him about their history together. But, Raine isn't ready to give up on Torin. She believes that she can win him back - one way or another!
Torin is not Raine's only problem - The Norns have informed Raine that Eirik is in trouble and that she is the only one who can help him. She has to work to keep her friends and family safe while trying to regain the life she hoped for with Torin.
This book starts up two weeks after the last book left off. Raine and her family have just come back from a cruise (they needed to get away for awhile after the swim team tragedy that claimed several swimmers' lives. But, Raine can't just go back to life as usual. First of all, everyone knows about how she went crazy at the swim meet and tried to get people out of the pool. Word is that Raine is a witch - and everyone either fears or hates her. Luckily, she still has her best friends Eirik and Cora by her side.
Unfortunately, Raine doesn't have Torin by her side. He still has no memory of Raine and he isn't convinced when Raine tries to tell him about their history together. But, Raine isn't ready to give up on Torin. She believes that she can win him back - one way or another!
Torin is not Raine's only problem - The Norns have informed Raine that Eirik is in trouble and that she is the only one who can help him. She has to work to keep her friends and family safe while trying to regain the life she hoped for with Torin.
The negatives:
- Torin's disbelief. A good portion of the book is based on the fact that Torin not only doesn't remember Raine, but he also doesn't believe her when she tells him that they were together. I had a little bit of trouble understanding Torin's complete lack of belief (considering that he knows what Norns are capable of) and didn't quite understand why everyone didn't just back Raine up right away so that he would know she was telling the truth. Instead Raine decides that she can't convince him and just makes comments about her "ex-boyfriend" (I couldn't figure out if Torin actually realized she was referring to him or not). It all just felt slightly awkward to me. But, things got much better later on as far as this was concerned and I felt like some explanations were given that made sense, so this ended up being pretty forgivable.
What I LOVED:
- No more love triangle. I was very happy that the love triangle was resolved rather than being dragged out into two books. As I mentioned in my review of Runes (below), the love triangle was my least favorite part of the first book, so I was happy to have it resolved.
- Eirik. I said that I loved Eirik in the first book and I that didn't change in this book (even though Eirik himself went through some major transformations!). If anything, Eirik became a much more interesting and well-rounded character. We still saw his loyal, loving side, but we also got a glimpse at a darker side of Eirik that was unexpected and really interesting!
- Torin and Raine. The sparks between these two were really flying in this book! I felt for Raine as she struggled to get "her" Torin back and I just wanted to reach out and shake him when he didn't believe her about their relationship! And when Torin does finally start to realize that everything is not as it seems, I was captivated by his pain at not being able to remember pieces of his life. Unlike the first book where I was slightly conflicted, I was rooting for Torin and Raine all the way in this book!
- The mythology. Just like in the first book, I thought that the mythology was seamlessly integrated into the book (in a way that wasn't confusing) and we got to see even more of the mythological characters and the problems that they caused!! The book was action-packed and exciting with LOTS of paranormal activity.
- The twist. Once again, Walters throws a twist at us that I did NOT see coming at all! I was so shocked when it happened - I LOVED it!
Immortals was an exciting roller-coaster of a sequel. This was one case where I felt like book #2 actually even outshone book #1. If you enjoyed Runes, I'm pretty sure you will absolutely love Immortals! 4.5/5 stars.
***Disclosure: This book was provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given. All opinions are my own***
Title: Runes
Series: Runes (Book #1)
Author: Ednah Walters
Release Date: May 20, 2013
Author: Ednah Walters
Release Date: May 20, 2013
Pages: 245, Paperback
Goodreads Rating: 4.22 stars
My Rating: 4/5 stars
My Content Rating: Pg-13 (Nothing more than kissing)
Summary from Goodreads: Seventeen-year-old Raine Cooper has enough on her plate dealing with her father’s disappearance, her mother’s erratic behavior and the possibility of her boyfriend relocating. The last thing she needs is Torin St. James—a mysterious new neighbor with a wicked smile and uncanny way of reading her.
Raine is drawn to Torin’s dark sexiness against her better judgment, until he saves her life with weird marks and she realizes he is different. But by healing her, Torin changes something inside Raine. Now she can’t stop thinking about him. Half the time, she’s not sure whether to fall into his arms or run.
Scared, she sets out to find out what Torin is. But the closer she gets to the truth the more she uncovers something sinister about Torin. What Torin is goes back to an ancient mythology and Raine is somehow part of it. Not only are she and her friends in danger, she must choose a side, but the wrong choice will cost Raine her life.
Runes was a really fantastic example of a mythology-infused paranormal romance. I really loved this book and would highly recommend it to paranormal fans!
The story follows Raine, who has been waiting for years for her best friend Eirik to figure out that they belong together. But her life is complicated when a mysterious (and sexy) guy moves in next door. Raine finds herself drawn to him, just as things are finally starting to work out with Eirik. As she fights to sort out her feelings for the two boys in her life, she starts to suspect that Torin is not just another guy and her suspicions are confirmed when she is hurt traumatically and he heals her. Suddenly, she finds herself in the middle of a mythological battle that she doesn't understand - and she has to figure it all out before she and her friends pay the ultimate price.
The story follows Raine, who has been waiting for years for her best friend Eirik to figure out that they belong together. But her life is complicated when a mysterious (and sexy) guy moves in next door. Raine finds herself drawn to him, just as things are finally starting to work out with Eirik. As she fights to sort out her feelings for the two boys in her life, she starts to suspect that Torin is not just another guy and her suspicions are confirmed when she is hurt traumatically and he heals her. Suddenly, she finds herself in the middle of a mythological battle that she doesn't understand - and she has to figure it all out before she and her friends pay the ultimate price.
The negatives:
- The Love Triangle. Unfortunately, I wasn't completely sold on the love triangle in this book and I actually felt pretty sorry for Eirik. Raine talks about how she has been in love with Eirik for so long and doesn't want anyone but him. And the minute they get together - she falls for Torin (rather quickly, I might add). This was one of those cases where I knew I was supposed to fall for the cocky, bad-boy type (Torin), but I kind of loved sweet, loyal, altruistic Eirik, who obviously cared for Raine deeply. Don't get me wrong - I did love Torin, but I just couldn't get rid of the niggling feeling at the back of my head that said, "But, Raine, you're being so horrible to Eirik!" I will say that I was glad Walters didn't let Raine completely off the hook by turning Eirik into a jerk or something (which is a common way to solve the love triangle dilemma).
What I LOVED:
- The Norse mythology. Walters did a fantastic job of weaving the Norse mythology into her book without making it overwhelming or confusing (which is hard to do - I've read plenty of other books where the author didn't manage this type of thing nearly as seamlessly). I found myself intrigued by the bits of Norse mythology that I was learning (or re-learning), but I didn't feel like I had a bunch of random Norse terms and characters that I had to keep track of.
- Torin. Like I mentioned earlier, I loved and felt sorry for Eirik, but that didn't mean that I didn't love Torin too. He was cocky (but not in a jerky way) and completely irresistible, and I could definitely understand why Raine fell for him. And the whole mystery of who and what Torin is was extremely well-done. There were hints along the way and enough information given out in small doses to keep you interested and intrigued with the mystery until you found out the whole truth. It just made Torin more and more intriguing!!
- The ending. There was a twist at the end of this book that I definitely didn't see coming that totally changed the game for Raine. This was a major cliffhanger that definitely makes you want to hurry up and read the next book! (But the book didn't feel like it had no resolution, which I appreciated).
I thought that Runes was an excellent blend of mythology and realism! This book is action-packed and it will keep you guessing (and have your heart doing flip flops). If you're a paranormal fan, I think you'll love Runes! 4/5 stars.
***Disclosure: This book was provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given. All opinions are my own***
AUTHOR BIO
EDNAH WALTERS grew up reading Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys and dreaming of one day writing her own stories. She is a stay-at-home mother of five humans and two American short-hair cats (one of which has ADHD) and a husband. When she is not writing, she’s at the gym doing Zumba or doing things with her family, reading, traveling or online chatting with fans.
Ednah is the author of The Guardian Legacy series, a YA fantasy series about children of the fallen angels, who fight demons and protect mankind. AWAKENED, the prequel was released by Pill Hill Press in September 2010 with rave reviews. BETRAYED, book one in the series was released by her new publisher Spencer Hill Press in June 2012 and HUNTED, the third installment, will be released April 2013. She’s working on the next book in the series, FORGOTTEN.
Ednah also writes New Adult paranormal romance. RUNES is the first book in her new series. She is presently working on book 2, IMMORTALS.
Under the pseudonym E. B. Walters, Ednah writes contemporary romance. SLOW BURN, the first contemporary romance with suspense, was released in April 2011. It is the first book in the Fitzgerald family series. Since then she has published four more books in this series. She's presently working on book six. You can visit her online at www.ednahwalters.com or www.ebwalters.com.
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