Nastasya, now 450 years old, is making progressat River's Edge, "rehab central for wayward immortals." Reyn, the "Viking wonderboy," continues to pursue her without success, despite Nasty's yearnings. After she rejoins her immortal partying friends in Boston, her life is threatened. Nastasya's self-deprecating humor and asides to the reader give this novel a fresh voice and help to balance some overreaching similes ("My heart had slowed like a hibernating squirrel's") and sprawling passages that could have benefited from tighter editing. This installment has a complete story arc, but the series' many fans will be eager for the forthcoming trilogy finale.

Cynicism and self-doubt drive Natasya to leave the refuge for the immortals that welcomed her in Immortal Beloved. But rejoining her wastrel friends and Innocencio brings no relief. A growing suspicion that her history of destruction might be due to more than her own dark past leads to violent revelations. Natasya's sardonic voice and relatable struggle toward change are at the book's core.

This follow-up to Immortal Beloved (2010) amps up the romance as ex-bad-girl immortal Nastasya continues her rehabilitation. Nastasya's breezy, slangy and just a little bit vulnerable narration quickly brings new and returning readers up to speed. After 400 years as a superficial and destructive party girl, Nastasya has found her way to River's Edge, where immortals like her heal from their past misdeeds and traumas and learn to do Tähti magic, a more wholesome and less destructive kind than the Terävä Nastasya practiced with her friends. More trusting and committed to healing than before, Nastasya is still haunted by the fear that she is irreparably full of darkness. She is also haunted by Reyn, a fellow resident at River's Edge, whom she once kissed before realizing the nature of their shared past. Though readers will easily see through both Nastasya's fears and her insistence that she finds Reyn merely annoying, her pained internal monologue still invites compassion. Innocencio, Nastasya's cruel, capricious and manipulative former best friend, reappears in this volume, and his behavior toward Nastasya quite openly and chillingly mirrors real-world domestic violence. The action builds to a high-stakes climax, but there are plenty of loose ends to resolve and plenty of room for Nastasya to keep growing and learning in another volume. Another successful blend of sarcasm, pathos and magick. (Paranormal romance. 12 & up)

Gr 10 Up-In this sequel to Immortal Beloved (Little, Brown, 2010), Nastasya, an immortal, has been working hard to absorb and embrace the philosophy of River's Edge in the hope that she can escape the darkness she feels within herself. River, her mentor, shows incredible calm and patience as she tries to ease Nas into a more peaceful and fulfilling life. The same tensions and attractions that Nas felt for Reyn in the first book are palpable. She is physically drawn to him, but she can't forget the part he played in the destruction of her family centuries before. Though she gradually begins to feel that she is making some progress, there is always another roadblock in her path. River confesses the evil from which she came, which gives Nas some hope that redemption is possible. Nas is a beautifully drawn, multidimensional character. The setting shifts back and forth over the centuries in order to round out an understanding of her heritage and experience. Finally Incy, her best friend whose wretched behavior made her run to River's Edge in the first place, returns, and Nas is drawn to him and the others in her former circle of friends. For a while she is happy to be with them and to be living the high life with abandon. Eventually, though, the truth about him becomes obvious. Highly charged events lead to an exciting climax. Tiernan has created a story filled with suspense, adventure, pathos, and compassion. Fans of the previous books will look forward to the third volume. Renee Steinberg, formerly at Fieldstone Middle School, Montvale, NJ