So, as I’m sure you can tell from my glowing review of Immortal Beloved, I love the writings of Cate Tiernan. And before reading Immortal Beloved, these four books, now published in a bind-up as one, were my favourite of hers.
The story switches POV between girls. Thais and Clio. Thais’ father has just died and she is sent to live with some strange woman she’s never heard of before in New Orleans. When she starts high school there, she runs into Clio. And Thais and Clio are identical. Looking at Clio is the same as looking in a mirror for Thais.
What follows this discovery of estranged twins, is a family secret, spells gone wrong, a web of lies and evil and mystery. And magic. I love Tiernan’s brand of magic.
When writing a book that switches POVs you always run the risk of having the reader prefer a POV over the other. And that was certainly true with me. As much as I thought Clio was a realisticly, well-written teenage girl…I just didn’t like her. I loved Thais, however. And the intricate cast of characters surrounding the sisters. All of them with good and bad qualities. That was another thing I loved. Not one character was completely evil, nor was anyone completely good. Even Clio and Thais do some horrible things. And the main love interest does some really horrible things.
Which was awesome! Because I liked him anyway. Not right away, of course. But everyone had all this great development and growth. Even the characters I didn’t like were interesting. And at the end of the fourth book, when everything comes together…it was completely satisfying and nothing was left hanging. Not, that absolutely everything was tied up in a nice, neat little bow. There were some things left to the readers imagination. But it ended in such a way that I felt complete with the story and the characters.
And I just love Thais’ main love interest. I can’t name him because…well, spoilers. But the journey he takes really emphasizes his flaws and insecurities, and I just love a good love interest who isn’t perfect.
I encourage you to pick up a copy of the Balefire series. It’s fantastic. I’m just sorry you (probably) wont be able to get the four separate books with the awesome covers. Not that the bind-up cover isn’t gorgeous as well…I just really like my covers.