Immortal Beloved

Publishers Weekly

Born in 1551, Nastasya is immortal, wealthy, and at the end of her rope. After centuries of hedonism, one casually cruel moment in present-day London shatters her composure and leaves her grasping at the slimmest of chances to save her sense of humanity. That chance takes the form of River’s Edge, a farm and retreat in the heart of Massachusetts, where a varied group of immortals seek to regain the immediacy and emotion of life fully lived. It’s not an easy fit for Nastasya, and as she learns about her companions, the ghosts of her long and dark past rise vividly to haunt her. Tiernan (the Sweep series) gives Nastasya a strong, distinctive voice and wonderfully realized perspective on the joys and horrors of history (“I was in Paris on July 14, 1789. You never forget the sight of a human head on a pike”). First in a projected trilogy, the story necessarily leaves many questions open, but achieves a satisfying arc. As Nastasya admits, “I wanted to see how it came out.” Readers will, too. Ages 12–up. (Sept.)

VOYA - Lori Cambareri Pruyne

As immortal party girl Nastasya watches her best friend brutally torture a hapless mortal, she realizes that, although she's been alive nearly five centuries, she's done nothing with her life. She has no talents, no callings—no joy. Fearing what she may become if she continues this existence of selfish pleasure and gathering darkness, she flees to seek help at a kind of halfway house for immortals. There she finds a fragile (if excruciatingly boring) peace and begins to come to terms with her heritage and her past. However, danger is never far. One of the other residents, Reyn, a drop-dead gorgeous blond who resembles a Viking god, has a sinister connection to the darkest, most buried horror in her past. Even more disturbing, it soon becomes clear that someone wants Nastasya dead. Strong characterization powers this fast-paced novel. Nastasya's development as a character is a little uneven, but her edgy, sarcastic voice, combined with her spunky attitude and raw, sincere emotions, makes her one to whom it is easy to become attached. Flashbacks are powerfully utilized to incorporate past events into the novel's time line, and revelations about Nastasya's life are parceled out slowly but consistently in a manner that builds and sustains suspense. Several major plot lines remain unresolved, but those unanswered questions leave readers eagerly awaiting the rest of the trilogy. Humor overlies serious issues of identity and personal responsibility explored within the story, and readers who enjoy character-driven works of romantic fantasy will flock to this book. Reviewer: Lori Cambareri Pruyne

School Library Journal

Gr 10 Up—This is both a fantasy about immortals and a contemporary story of an adolescent seeking to know herself. Questions about identity and morality plague Nastasya, an immortal. A heavy-drinking party girl, she speaks as a 21th-century teen, though she was born in 1551. Her connections with friends who flagrantly exploit their magic powers, flippantly causing death and pain to others, have finally set her on a quest for guidance. She looks for River, a calm, intelligent, and patient mentor who heads a retreat in Massachusetts called River's Edge. It is for immortals who seek self-knowledge. Independent Nastasya has trouble following the precepts of the group, but she perseveres because she desperately needs to get beyond the pain of her childhood and the brutal destruction of her family centuries earlier. The other students at River's school are all working through their own personal difficulties, and each character is interestingly drawn. Among them is Reyn, a handsome Nordic fellow whom Nastasya tries to ignore at first because he reminds her of the raiders who murdered her family. The truth of their dark past together becomes a background for their developing connection and strong mutual attraction. Intrigue, humor, pathos, and underlying wisdom combine to make a fascinating read. The open ending naturally leaves readers wondering what will happen next. Suggest this to fans of Frewin Jones's The Immortal Realm (HarperTeen, 2009) and Alyson Noel's Blue Moon (St. Martin's Griffin, 2009).—Renee Steinberg, formerly at Fieldstone Middle School, Montvale, NJ

Kirkus Reviews

Despite the title, romance plays a relatively small role in this tale of compassion, rehabilitation and magick. After four centuries careening from party to party with her band of elite immortals, reckless, callous, smart-mouthed Nastasya runs away to a rural farm that serves as a sort of rehab. There she begins to confront her painful past, understand her magickal gifts and untangle her confusing knot of feelings for Reyn, another immortal staying at the farm. Despite her age, Nastasya's cynical, defiant narration is awash in contemporary slang, pop-culture references and an inventive array of curses (including a few unfortunate slurs such as "lame" and "retarded"). Clearly, historical realism is not the goal of this novel, in which eternally youthful beings gallivant from Revolutionary Paris to 1960s San Francisco with seemingly limitless wealth and freedom. What Tiernan creates instead is an easy-to-swallow story of an emotionally immature woman healing from childhood trauma. The ending is anticlimactic, but more action is sure to follow in the trilogy's next two volumes. (Paranormal romance. 12 & up)