“Fate is nothing but the deeds committed in a prior state of existence” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Weeks after the climax of Blue Moon, Ever is guarding a secret from Damen. The secret that they can never hold hands for the fear of one drop of sweats could ruin everything, they can never kiss, never consummate their undying love for each other; the secret that if they share DNA, Damen will die…

…but Damen is none the wiser. After, putting off telling Damen, Ever decides enough is enough – he has to know.

Shadowland follows the aftermath of this, but with differing consequences. Whilst Damen blames himself and his bad karma for this unfortunate turn of events, Ever blames herself and only herself, feeling she’s the only one who can fix this wrong and make everything right.

“You can’t escape karma … It is what it is. It doesn’t judge, it’s neither good nor bad like most people think. It’s the result of all the actions, positive and negative–a constant balancing act of events–cause and effect–tit for tat–reaping and sowing–what goes around comes around … However you phrase it, it’s the same in the end.”

But with Romy and Rayne still stuck on Earth after being unable to return to Summerland and Roman causing havoc, Damen is determined to protect Ever at all costs, providing her with a personalised amulet and he has one to match. But Ever has differing motives and could put everything at risk with Damen.

When Damen shows Ever what happens when an immortal is killed – The Shadowland becomes a more real and terrifying place. The risk of sharing DNA is too great…whilst Damen works on a invisible veil of energy, Ever decides Roman is the answer to all her problems, but what must she sacrifice in order to get the antidote she is nod desperate for?

After acquiring a new job, Ever meets Jude. A standard surfer boy with all accounts but there’s something different…he seems familiar and when Damen meets him, Ever’s past lives are brought back to the surface…Damen isn’t the only one who has been chasing Ever through all her lives.

“But while everything around us seems to be in a constant state of flux- people at their very core remained exactly the same. All of us still seeking the things we’ve sought all along—shelter, food, love, greater meaning…A quest that’s immune to evolution.”

Damen makes a choice…a choice Ever can’t understand. But Ever must do everything she can to prove to Damen that despite everything, he is her one true love and nothing will change that…but Roman has other plans. Plans which Ever could never have imagined, plans which change everything.

“It seems I’ve interfered…it seems I have a habit of intruding in your life, meddling in decisions that should’ve been yours. Pushing a fate that…that was never meant to be yours…”

” He looks at me, the light in his eyes fractured into millions of bits – a kaleidoscope of darkness that may never be fixed.”

“This is ridiculous! All of it! Everything! It’s destiny that’s brought us together again and again. We’re soul mates!..And from what I’ve learned, that’s exactly how it works – soul mates find each other, time and time again, against all odds, no matter what!”

“Destiny?..Was is destiny when I purposely roamed the earth in search for you – over and over again – unable to rest until I’d found you?…”

“Somehow I was able to ignore all of this, push it aside for the last four hundred years, convincing myself it was our fate, that you and I were meant to be. But the other day, when you dropped by after work, I sensed something was different…”

“…I want you to know how sorry I am. And yet – sorry doesn’t cut it. It’s woefully inadequate, and you deserve better than that. I’m afraid the only thing I can do now – the only thing that’ll make things right, is to – … I’m stepping aside. It’s the only thing I can do at this point. From this point on, every move toward your destiny is yours and yours alone to make… I’ve no right to barge into your life the way I have. Never giving you the chance to choose for yourself. And you know what the worst part is? I wasn’t even noble enough, wasn’t even man enough to play fair.” I used every trick in the book, all the powers at my disposal to annihilate the competition. And while I’ve no way to change the past four hundred years – nor the immortality I’ve forced upon you – I’m hoping that now – by stepping aside – I’ll allow you some smidgen of freedom in allowing you to choose…”

Halfway through The Immortals series, there is a consistency in starting where we left off which is amazing. So many sequels I’ve read start so far into the future from the previous novel that I struggle to follow it, no matter how hard I try! It’s a series that whilst you’re unable to put the book down until you finish it, once finished you struggle to feel satisfied with the outcome.

Whilst many readers of The Immortals series get frustrated with Ever (and I can totally see why), I can relate to Ever. Whilst she has good intentions and a good heart, she seems to have an uncanny ability to make everything ten times worse. She struggles with knowing she has hurt those close to her, from Sabine, to Romy and Rayne and of course, Damen yet everything she does in an attempt to make things better, backfires, or at least the consequences of her actions aren’t at all what she envisioned.

I can also see why Damen takes a step back in this book…he blames himself, his bad karma. No one else. Not Roman and definitely not Ever. And while he loves her and will love her through all of eternity, he feels he is in the way, that he is interfering. That maybe she should find her own way to see if he is her true love rather than just proclaiming he is and standing in her way. I feel for Damen, he wants what is best for Ever – even if that means breaking his own heart in the meantime. He wants Ever to make her own choices, to decide who she loves and despite her plea’s, Damen knows the only way for Ever to know for certain is if he takes a step back…

Jude is someone who believers or practitioners of magic and all things magical from seeing auras to being psychic , can relate too. A down to earth guy (or so it seems), who believes everyone no matter who they are or where they come from can learn and utilise the art of magic.

And Romy and Rayne…what to say about these two! I love what their characters bring, a yin and yang. One who speaks her mind, the other who tries please everyone. They being a light-heartedness to the book as well as having more purpose than one would think for two thirteen year olds!

The link for Shadowland and The Immortal series is below

Many thanks,

D x