Dark Flame, the fourth novel in Alyson Noel’s Immortals Series, sees Ever Bloom in a world of immortal trouble. Having just ‘turned’ her best friend, Haven into an immortal, Ever battles to control the monster she’s created. Haven, drunk on her new powers and intent on flaunting them, resents Ever’s attempts to give her advice on her new life. When Haven hooks up with Roman, Ever’s arch enemy, their friendship is strained, but when Ever accidently binds herself to Roman with magic – things go south very quickly. If Ever can’t find a way to undo the binding she will lose her best friend, her boyfriend and ultimately her soul.
Ever’s turmoil was real and believable, but I would have liked more action to balance up the introspection. I did struggle to follow some passages, probably because I hadn’t read any of the previous books in the series. This book left an impression though. Afterwards, I found myself contemplating the pros and cons of immortality, and the nature of magic. If magical realism is your thing, I’d recommend starting with the first book in this series.
3 stars