Everlasting
Kissed by an Angel, Book #5
Elizabeth Chandler

Review brought to you by OBS staff member Annabell

Note: Contains spoilers!

Synopsis:

A love that spans eternity.

For Ivy, miracles are real. After all, it was a miracle this summer when she survived a near fatal car crash. And it was a miracle that Tristan, her boyfriend who died a year ago, returned to earth as an angel. But Ivy knows better than anyone that miracles come at a price.

Even though Tristan has come back to Ivy, life is far from perfect. He’s a fallen angel—and he’s trapped in the body of a wanted murderer. With Tristan, on the run from the police, Ivy’s not sure she’ll ever get her happy ending.

But when it becomes clear tat Ivy’s worst enemy, the demon Gregory is back to taunt her, it’s not just Tristan’s life that’s in danger. And Gregory is hell-bent on getting what he wants: her.

Will Ivy and Tristan ever be safe to be together? Or has Ivy run out of miracles?

Review:

I have been a fan of author Mary-Claire Helldorfer, who writers the Kissed By An Angel Series under the pseudonym Elizabeth Chandler, since I read the first book in the series. I was very much excited when I received an advanced copy of Everlasting to read since I had been unaware that the author was going to continue with Ivy and Tristan’s tale (I had thought the series was really a trilogy). I had also been unaware that this was the fifth book in the series so I hadn’t read the fourth one but that didn’t stop me from jumping into this one.

Thankfully, the essential parts of the plot to the fourth book are somewhat explained in Everlasting so I wasn’t completely lost as to how Tristan had managed to not only come back but also, why he was turned into a fallen angel.

Tristan may be back but there is no safe place for him to since the cops are hunting him down, or more like the body he has taken over, Luke. Luke, or rather Tristan, had been found unconscious on the beach one night and had lost all of memories including his own name. Gradually, Tristan started to remember his memories but nothing about Luke until Ivy showed up to explain things to him. Together, Ivy and Tristan, fight to keep Tristan hidden while attempting to find evidence to prove Luke is really innocent so Tristan can be free to stay with Ivy. But that isn’t Ivy and Tristan’s only problem: Gregory has returned as well and is using Ivy’s best friend Beth to go after Ivy, determined to destroy Ivy’s life, literally.

I was happy to see that Tristan had returned. At the beginning, I had been a bit confused since I had not read the first one but I quickly caught up due to a bit of explanation from both Ivy and Tristan. As a hopeless romantic, I loved being able to see the amount of dedication and loyalty Ivy and Tristan have for one another. It’s sweet and profound. I also enjoyed the new set of characters (they may have been in the fourth one though??). Bryan, Chase, and Max are the cool rich kids. Max is the more shy and sweet one. Chase surprised me by his level of knowledge and the fact that he did enjoy reading. But there were moments it became much when he was trying to show off. Bryan is the all-around jock with handsome good looks, talent on the hockey arena, and a great sense of humor. Kelsey is confidant and the complete girly-girl. Dhanya is snarky, beautiful and sure of herself. I preferred Dhanya’s character over Kelsey. Kelsey was rather insecure and petty where Dhanya was stronger.

But even with a bigger set of characters throughout the story and the mission of proving Luke (who is really Tristan) is innocent, the book failed to deliver on the suspense and thrill. Even the romance was weaker than in the previous three books I had read. The pacing was extremely slow with the author feeling the need to describe every location in detail as well as everything the characters did! It became infuriating. I had to skip pages to be able to keep reading.

The plot is okay but nothing that hasn’t already been done in an actual thriller and much better. Ivy and Tristan are reckless and lack common sense in their actions throughout the book. There were so many moments they should have been caught or seen but miraculously weren’t. Ivy was also far too lackluster with her reaction to the fact that Gregory has possessed her best friend’s body. She spent time going to the beach and tanning as well as going to parties and sneaking out to meet Tristan, instead of attempting to come up with a plan to save her best friend.

Will was barely part of the story and when he was he did nothing more than brood over the fact that Ivy had broken up with him to be with Luke. He spent the majority of the book in denial over what was happening to Beth even though he was the one who spent the most time with and could clearly tell what was happening.

Everlasting disappointed me. I had to struggle to get through the pages and pages of description and lack luster plot to get to the action which lasted for very short periods of time. The ending was abrupt and left on a cliffhanger. There are thirteen books in total to be part of the series. I am not sure what in the world the author is going to do with eight more books but I’m weary to find out. Perhaps she should have left the series as trilogy since the books seemed to work better that way.

If you’re a fan of the Kissed By An Angel Series, I suggest to skip over this installment.