Darkness Falls by Cate Tiernan

Darkness Falls by Cate Tiernan

Release Date: January 2nd 2012
Publisher: Poppy
Pages: 400

Nastasya has lived for hundreds of years, but for some reason, life never seems to get any better. She left her spoiled, rich girl life to find peace at River's Edge, a safe haven for wayward immortals. There, she learned to embrace River's Edge, despite some drama involving the sexy Reyn, who she wants but won't allow herself to have. But just as she's getting comfortable, her family's ties to dark magick force her to leave.

She falls back into her old, hard partying ways, but will her decision lead her into the hands of a dark immortal? Or will it be her first step to embracing the darkness within her?

I like that Nastasya has matured since the last book and continued to do so in Darkness Falls--she slowly begins to face her fears and her problems instead of just running away as she's done in her past 400 years. Her voice has also matured and has mostly lost the childish-ness she exhibited in the first book, another sign of her growth. Of course she maintained a touch of snark and cynicism, plus plenty of sarcasm, but she's less whiny, which is good! I really liked how she not only began to face her problems but also tried to fix them, and also how she's learning to empathize with others!

There was more action in this novel than in Immortal Beloved, which was fun! Although it was great to get to know more about the characters and to watch Nasty grow, the action definitely upped the excitement for the novel! I would even say that if there had been more action, the novel would have been even more enjoyable! It was good to see Nasty putting the lessons she learned in a classroom into effect!

More about River's past is also revealed in Darkness Falls and that was quite a story! Nasty's definitely not the only one who's dealing with demons from her past, that's for sure! We also learn more about Incy, which reveals a lot about his motivations. He's definitely more of a complex character than he appears to be in the first novel, which was great. There is definitely more character development in this novel and I liked learning more about the characters' pasts; it explains a great deal about their personality and decisions.

Overall, I'd say Darkness Falls is a stronger read than Immortal Beloved mostly because the writing has improved a bit. I feel the writing also reflects Nasty's attitude and demeanor, and since she's matured considerably from the first novel, the voice in Darkness Falls is less whiny and much more enjoyable! The actual plot (described in the blurb) took a couple of chapters to actually start up, but I felt the pacing was pretty good once it did.

I enjoyed Darkness Falls, and I do believe this is a trilogy, so I am already looking forward to the third book!


Overall: 4 out of 5
Plot: 3.75 stars
Characters: 4 stars
Writing: 4 stars
Cover: 3.50 stars