Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

A young girl moves halfway across the country to live with a well-meaning but somewhat distant relative. She's forced to go to school (even though she already knows everything) and to sit next to a mysterious, physically perfect boy who is the object of everyone's attention. Of course, he has eyes only for her. The girl eventually learns that this boy is more than what he seems: he's incredibly fast, he can read minds, and he's lived for a long, long time. This boy is not like other boys, and the girl knows it. She doesn't think she's worthy of his perfection, even though he doesn't seem to be bothered by her normalness. Eventually, one of the boy's own kind shows up to threaten the heroine, who somehow manages to survive, even though, logically, she shouldn't. Sound familiar? It should. Evermore is basically Twilight, only much more poorly written, with a dash of "quantum physics", a pinch of a glossed-over theory of reincarnation, and a dollop of The Secret for good measure. When I saw that this book was recommended for fans of Stephenie Meyer, I assumed that it would be similar to Twilight. But I didn't think it would be an outright rip-off. The stories are structured the same, so you can pretty much guess what's around every turn. There are no surprises. And the only time when some real suspense was attempted, it quickly became tiresome. Ever blames herself for the accident. Then she blames herself again... and again... and again. And we don't find out why until almost the very end. I found this tedious and frustrating. It really only needed to be mentioned once, especially if it was going to be dragged out for so long. Show, don't tell... Isn't that the rule? The writing was also atrocious. The author actually used "envelopes" when she meant "envelops". Once again, we have a young adult novel without an editor. There were run-on sentences galore. Then there was the annoying first-person, present-tense point of view that occasionally lapsed into a first-person, past-tense point of view... when it really shouldn't have. Evermore was difficult to read, and it didn't need to be. If you know how Twilight ends, you can guess how Evermore ends. Instead of a ballet studio, it's a kitchen. Instead of people getting thrown against mirrors, they're thrown through French doors. And there's a wonderful failure of logic when Ever defeats the villain by throwing a fatal, revenge-fuelled punch at her heart chakra, only to be told moments later by Damen that revenge makes you weaker while love makes you stronger. Wait... what? When I saw the last couple of pages and took note of the title of the sequel to Evermore, I became further convinced that this series is some sort of satire intended to mock the awfulness of the Twilight "saga". Twilight's sequel was New Moon. Evermore's sequel is... Blue Moon. The pattern is clear. I'll save you some time and fill you in on the rest of the series: Blue Moon: Damen decides he's ruined Ever's life enough for one lifetime, so he disappears into Summerland on an extended vacation. Meanwhile, Ever discovers that her friend Miles is also an immortal, who has just landed his dream gig starring in an all-gay revue sponsored by VitaminWater. Ellipse: An evil immortal from Damen's past comes out of the woodwork and creates a whole bunch of new immortals who do nothing but drive around in Ferraris and act like spoiled brats. But they're a threat, you know? Ever must use her newly acquired skills in "quantum physics" and Transcendental Meditation to make the immortals not so immortal, thus saving Orange County from vapid materialism on a grand scale. Breaking Wind: Ever finally has sex with Damen, which results in a baby. Unbeknownst to Ever, this baby houses the reincarnated soul of Drina, who wants nothing more than to kill Ever and to marry Damen... who's now her father. Don't say I didn't warn you.