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“What are we playing for?” An evil grin spread over his face. “I am so glad you asked. We’re playing for the chance to choose.” “Choose what?” “Where my next shot goes.” * * * Memories fade, betrayals abound, and death looms. Alina believed becoming an Immortal would protect those she loved, but how can she protect them when they’re already caught in the trap?Second book in the Immortal Trilogy

290 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 24, 2011

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Lauren Burd

4 books424 followers

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews
Profile Image for Megan Amaral.
263 reviews4 followers
April 1, 2018
Once again, I reread this series because I remember being in love with it when I was in high school and because the final book in the trilogy finally came out 7 years later. After completing the first book, I remembered how this second book was going to go and it wasn't as cringy as the first book, but it was very choppy.

At the end of the last book Alina was bit by Thanos and was infected by the virus, but in doing so she lost her memories of everything that happened in book 1 (conveniently). The last thing she remembers is getting on the plane to come to Florida for college. Oddly enough, at the end of the first book, she lies to Tabby and her father about why she abruptly left Florida to go to France; she told them that she was getting married (because all other excuses are invalid) so when she wakes up after being infected, and Duncan is there and is taking care of her, she asks him to be her fake fiance. But after one night, Samuel escapes from the dungeon (because apparently he was captured at some unknown point between book 1 and 2) and wants to run away with Alina. Alina, thinking that he was the one who attacked her and infected her, is hesitant at first, but after a few seconds completely trusts him and runs away with him. After they are running around Europe, giving the audience a few chapters to finally get to know Samuel a little more before Duncan arrives and tells them that it was his plan all along to help Samuel escape with Alina. That he never deceived Samuel and Alina. After, Alina gets news that her mother had been attacked (by Thanos?) so they travel back to Florida to try and save her as well as keep all her friends and family safe.

Throughout this book, we learn that the people who we thought were Alina's enemies were actually her allies and vice versa.

This book was extremely choppy, but it flowed a lot better than the first book. The author gave the audience more Alina and Samuel alone time so we feel better about shipping the two, but honestly, I am still team Duncan in this book. The author gives more of a personality to Samuel in this book, but it only confirmed what I thought about him in the first book; Samuel is possessive and protective and he doesn't completely trust Alina. I only say that because he still withholds the truth from her, but I think it is valid (but not for the reasons he might think). Throughout this book, after Ethan tells Samuel that he won't help him, Samuel is constantly in this mood and refuses to tell Alina how he truly feels. I mean it is obvious that he is mad because he's been friends with Ethan for hundreds of years, and he won't help him keep Alina safe, but Samuel isn't open about his feels to Alina and Alina likes him so much that she disregards it.

Samuel is the safe guy who is humble and always puts Alina before himself, but he is also very possessive. The moments that they have are really cute and no doubt they love each other, but when you put both of them in a room with other people, especially with Duncan, Samuel always thinks he has to prove himself the alpha male. Which is nice, but Alina doesn't even notice it. It is more of a cliff-note for the audience. Either Alina is oblivious OR she enjoys Samuel showing off. An example being when they go to Raul's mansion and Duncan plays the piano. Alina is in awe from his playing (I also went on YouTube to play the piece he was playing). Samuel didn't like this and decided to play the piano after. I thought it was funny how the author decided to include that Samuel wasn't as good as Duncan, but still amazing. Also, whenever Samuel and Alina are in a room together with other people, the author always writes how Samuel puts his arms around her waist. I first thought this was cute in the beginning, and then I thought it was over written, and now finally I think he is just always been over protective like she is going to run away from him at any moment and do something reckless.

At the end of the last book, it seemed like Duncan hadn't been on Samuel's side whatsoever and thrown him into the dungeon and took advantage of Alina memory loss. I was very disappointed in Duncan at this and I am still a little disappointed, but as I started to read the second book, I started to give him a little (teeny tiny) but of credit. As we find out in the middle of this book, it was all apart of this plan to make Thanos he was on his side, so he could discreetly free Samuel who would run away with Alina. Then he would go out and find them. Yes, it was a bad thing to take advantage of Alina and her memory loss, but I also think Duncan was helping her with the lie she told her father before she was infected, that she had run away to get married, and Duncan was helping her by playing the part for her. I would be more *tsk tsk* with Duncan, but him and Alina throughout the first book AND this book, even though she was clearly dating Samuel, would make out. She would stop it after a minute, but she never stopped it before it started. IF ANYTHING, I think Alina is sending Duncan mixed signals and giving him false hope. I honestly think if Alina told Duncan NO and stopped flirting with him and kissing him, he would get the message and back off, but she doesn't. It is one of the reasons why I don't like Alina. I think that Alina and Duncan still have more chemistry than Alina and Samuel. Duncan knows Alina and the type of person she is, so he doesn't waste his time telling her not to do things when he knows she'll do it anyways, but at the same time he does keep her safe. An example being when Duncan and Alina are in their apartment and see a mysterious man in her father's condo, Duncan doesn't fight Alina about coming with him, but when they are outside, he insists that he should go first just to make sure it is safe and then she can join him. If it was Samuel, he would have fought her the whole way, or he would have just disappeared and not tell her what he was doing.

I loved how the author wrote in a chapter and named it "rejected" of the one night that Alina and Duncan explore Raul's mansion after not being able to sleep. Alina was mad at Samuel for lying to her and going behind her back and possibly almost had her father killed as well as the reason why Duncan almost died. She wanted to forgive him, but he made a huge mistake, but still tried to come to his room that night when she ran into Duncan. She wanted to talk to Samuel, but deep down I think she likes Duncan more, and decided to explore with him. I believe Alina and Duncan are more similar in that way - they are adventurous and curious, whereas Samuel isn't. They made their way into Raul's study where they have a good amount of brandy and head back to Alina's room. She knows that she shouldn't let him in, but does anyways and they start to make out like they normally do. Literally nothing is new. It is when Alina starts to unbutton his shirt when Duncan stops her and tells her that he can't. I already loved Duncan, but I loved him even more when he stopped her from doing anything she would regret. Even though Duncan would do anything for Alina and anything to win her, he proved to me that he has respect for Alina and himself and it proved to me that he wants her to fall in love with him and pick him fair and square.
I loved this chapter so much because the author named it "rejected" and not something different implying that it was a mistake that this happened. It almost gives me (#teamduncan) some hope that Alina does have strong feelings towards Duncan.

In book 3, I am hoping that there is more love triangle action and Alina stops and thinks for a second about how she feels about Samuel and Duncan. I feel like Alina has been going with the flow with everything, but she hasn't stop to think why she has these feelings towards Duncan. I do feel bad for Samuel, I think he deserves way better than Alina always cheating on him with his ex-best friend who shared another love interest in the past. I do think Alina is terrible which is why it is so hard to read these books, but I have hope that in the 7 years it took the author to write the final installment of this series, that she took the time to develop Alina a little better and made her into a more relate able person as well. I hope that the author also developed this ongoing love triangle and not try to deny that Alina doesn't have any feelings for Duncan because she definitely 100% does. If the author doesn't address this, I'd be disappointed in the whole series.
Profile Image for Laura.
2,157 reviews19 followers
December 4, 2011
This is the second book in this series and after I finished the first one I couldn't wait for this to come out....and I was pretty disappointed. I feel like even though it seemed like things were going on, not much happened in the development of the characters, hopefully the next book will make up for that.
Profile Image for Mikky.
36 reviews
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January 17, 2012
Mrs. Lauren Burd just posted on her blog that the book comes out tentatively on December 1st 2011!! :]
Profile Image for Shelly.
343 reviews26 followers
June 8, 2012
My review was originally posted on my blog {Dive} Under the Cover
I am going to keep this short and spoiler free...

This book was much better than the last one as far as editing goes. I saw a couple of typos, things like that, but overall it was much smoother.

As far as the story goes, this one pretty much takes up right where the first one left off. I think that the story line is a little jerky and seems to be all over the place. There are twists and turns, but they don't flow quite as smoothly as they should. Alina's character, well all the characters really, are all over the place throughout the whole story. Are they good? Are they bad? I still don't know where everyone stands. I know that Alina loves Samuel, but she can turn on a dime and be kissing Duncan. I don't like that at all. I don't mind a little tension, but I don't like that she is so flaky. I don't think she really knows what she wants and she is way too quick to trust all of them.

This one just ends in the middle of the story. It may seem like the logical place to stop, but it's really quite abrupt and I didn't care for that at all.

I would recommend this for those who read the first book. It really is much better than the first one and it's still a little too similar to Twilight for my taste, but the idea is a good one. I just wish she had worked harder to make it a little more original. I would have rated it much higher in that case.

This is a YA story, there isn't much "warning" needed with this one. There is no description of anything beyond kissing. Everything else is done in "cut to the next scene" fashion.
Author 19 books5 followers
January 25, 2012
Like most who read the first installment of Immortal, I really looked forward to reading the second book, however in the end I was a little disappointed. In my view the second book lacked character development and I found I didn't really care about the relationships this time around. The action kept the book going and I was intrigued by the plot lines, yet towards the end the twists didn't really make sense and at the end of the book I felt confused.
Profile Image for Karen.
10 reviews
November 27, 2011
Loved this book! Some twists that I truly did not expect. Definitely kept me on my toes, I couldn't put it down til I finished it. Now I'm right back where I started dying for the next book :(
Profile Image for Tracy.
92 reviews1 follower
December 6, 2012
Good book, not as good as the gist book! But that book was amazing so it would be hard to top! Looking forward to book three. Bring it on
9 reviews
January 7, 2021
Love this series and her take on vampires. Different.
Profile Image for Katy.
611 reviews329 followers
November 30, 2011
This book really took me for a ride. Expect the unexpected, and don't be surprised that Burd will throw you a twist here and there. I liked Book 1 and 2 for different reasons - 1 was more for the drama between the love triangle and mysteries, while 2 was more for the action and twists. In this book, I didn't like how it started off, but it ended up growing on me.

The beginning was really disappointing at first. Book 1 had left us with a crazy cliffhanger, and I went crazy wondering what was going to happen next. Well that cliffhanger was easily resolved by the end of Chapter 1. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that Aliana is set straight right away, but it's a little disappointing that I stressed about it for over a year, and it was over so quick. I had expected some more back and forth feelings.

And the pace at the beginning really irked me. Funny how many will complain about a book starting out too slow, and here I am saying this one started out too rushed. I felt everything was written way to fast, as we jump from scene to scene in a matter of pages. Even though I know it's because they're on the run, I felt the storyline was a bit rushed, and I thought Burd just skimmed the surface of the action before jumping to the next chapter. And I was irritated that Samuel kept his distance.

But once they stopped running and ended up in the hospital scene, I really started enjoying the book. It amazed me how each event unfolded, and as soon as I thought I figured something out, Burd would throw me in for a loop and catch me off guard again. But at the same time, they're not twists that have you saying WTH or where did that come from. You can tell Burd put some thought into her character and plot development from Ethan and Emma to Thanos and Lucina.

As for Team Samuel or Team Duncan, I'm still torn. I thought I liked Samuel at first, but I oftentimes find his reserve kind of shady and his distance very irritating. And I thought Duncan was a bad guy, but as Burd throws in her twists and her reasoning for doing so, it turns out Duncan is pretty dreamy himself. The reason why I'm torn is because I like certain things about each guy and I hated other things about them. Also, I know that you can't take what you think is currently truth to be actual truth as Burd continues to develop her characters and her story. I'll keep my options open for the time being.
Profile Image for Cogito_ergo_sum.
628 reviews17 followers
December 3, 2013
The writing still hasn't improved, but I can see where the author wanted to go with the story. It was a good idea, but it wasn't carried out well.
I'm going to begin with the characters. Their relationship appeared only shallow. I didn't feel anything deep. It was the same with the characters themselves. To me, they weren't living, breathing beings. More time and effort needed to be expanded on their character development.

As for the plot, it was very messy. Certain areas needed to be tightened up, some expanded on, some cut out, some completely rewritten, and a lot of it rearranged. All of these changes need to be applied to the first book as well. It's as though the author was deciding to go in one direction throughout the first book, and suddenly decided to switch her goals in this book. It leaves for a complicated mess.

The way she set up the relationships between the characters, I'm not sure where she was going with that either. The thriller portion of this book (the hunt and chase) was used to hide the lack of development in other areas of the book.

I suggest that the author read some YA books, not thriller. Just simple fiction. There is no chasing, no murders, no evil plots, just a simple plot. Those books have heavy emphasis on the portrayal of the emotions and relations of the main character. The other characters in the book feel real as well. This book was missing those aspects.

I would recommend the author to go through her immortals series as though it were one large book, and re-evaluate what she wants to show through this story. What should we, the readers, take away from this? Because, frankly, I didn't get anything. If properly edited, it could be a major hit.
Profile Image for Genea.
348 reviews25 followers
April 17, 2016
More of the same with misspellings and punctuation errors, although not as bad as the first one.

Forever picks up where the previous book left off. The last book ended with Alina waking up with amnesia which started the Samuel/Duncan engagement confusion. Before her amnesia she told her father and Tabby that she was engaged to Samuel Grant and later told her father it was Duncan. Eventually she introduces Samuel to her father, neither brought up the fact she was engaged to Samuel/Duncan and now in a relationship Samuel(damn, what a mess). It annoyed me that she or no one could put it together that she was engaged to Samuel and or Duncan. This part of the story was all over the place.

Duncan continues to spice up the story as a sometimes villain/hero. His love for Alina pushes him to be her protector but he still makes you wonder if he can be trusted. Sometimes I find myself rooting for him because he seems lovelorn, and broken-hearted.

Samuel is Alina's constant protector. He doesn't talk much about what's bothering him or what he's thinking. I root for him mostly because Lily chose Duncan(but lost her) and I worry that Alina is going to break his heart. I also noticed that she never really introduces Samuel as her boyfriend, he's always a friend from school. Not sure if that's telling on her future choice or what.

The story is actually really good and strays from the expected. The characters continue to add depth and feeling. It's packed with more action and surprises. The next book should be even better by clearing up the story-lines and proper editing.
Profile Image for Catie.
60 reviews13 followers
February 23, 2012
Forever by Lauren Burd is the sequel to Immortal. Forever is a novel that I have been waiting a long time for. I was so happy when I got my chance to read Forever because the concept of immortals is absolutely wonderful and because I loved the first book so much. I have never quite read anything like this, so I am so happy that I gave these novels a chance. Forever is every thing that I look for in a great paranormal book.



Forever is a non stop roller coaster ride. In Forever Alina must come to terms with who she is and what she really wants in life. With a great set of characters and a lovely storyline, this fast paced novel will not leave you wanting for anything more. I loved the bits of romance thrown in here and there, but the romance did not take away from the main focus of the book. I loved how there was so many surprises thrown in along the way that I never knew who could be trusted and who was the bad guy. By the end everything came together. Now I just need to wait for the next book to be released in this series. In the end I would not have wanted this novel to end any other way then how it did.




I recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys a great book. If you read this series you will not be disappointed I know I wasn't.
Profile Image for Jennifer.
201 reviews19 followers
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February 15, 2016
After reading 'Immortal' I could not wait for the next book to come out. I just finished Forever, and I don't know how to describe it. It was horrible. The writing was lame, conversations seemed forced, 'chuckling' and laughing at things that weren't remotely funny. No passion when it came to intimacy, it was completely skipped over. Alina seemed to take charge of every situation and always yelling at Samuel, making him look like he had no idea what he was doing even though he was what, two thousand years old? Duncan, character wise, came out on top. Then when it was getting somewhat good, it ended. And a horrible ending at that. Overall, the plot was good just expressed/written horribly. I was only into the book when the big stuff happened, the rest seemed forced like the author was just trying to fill in gaps to pass their(the characters) time. I don't except to read the next book, as I'll most likely forget this series existed.
Profile Image for Valeska Ambrose.
16 reviews1 follower
June 26, 2013
In this second book, Alina did not improve. She is still the worse-friend-ever, just now she is also the dumbest-immortal-ever. We got to see a lot more of Samuel and as unbelievable as it can be he manages to be dumbest than Alina. The love triangle didn't buy me either and by the end of the book it was very dificult to believe that Samuel and Alina are a couple. There is absolutely no sparks between them, on the contrary of what happens between Duncan and Alina.
So why did I gave it a three stars? Because of the plot. I found it intersting on book one, and in this book it gives a total 180° that got me by surprise, and now there is no other choice than to buy the next one to see what the author has to offer, even if Alina annoys me to no end. But, if you read the first book and was able to connect with the protagonist then you certainly will love it and easily give a four or even a five stars.
Profile Image for Cathy.
95 reviews
July 5, 2012
I really like the characters and the basic story, but in this book I just couldn't see how Alina, Samuel and Duncan would all just forgive Lucina and Thanos like nothing ever happened. AND Alina and Samuel forgive Duncan. It was just too easy and sudden of a decision. It felt forced. I found it very hard to believe it in such a short time span. Over time I could see it happening, but this was like a switch was flipped. Also, the chemistry between Alina and Samuel was gone. I will continue with this trilogy but I was a little disappointed in this one. I think if it had been a longer story and had more time to build the relationships back....maybe. I am hopeful that the third book will make we love this story again. I really hated that Lucina and Duncan would never have a chance.......
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Kami.
165 reviews3 followers
January 15, 2013
It took me a while to get to this one after i read the first one. But i enjoyed the first one i didn't forget i wanted to read this one. I was happy that it started off where the other one left off but i was kinda bummed that it had so many slow parts. I really like Samuel and i was happy they are together and i enjoyed Duncan being a bad guy so i was kinda upset when he turned out to be good. I also wasn't happy that the main character acts as though she hasn't pick between the two. Over all the book was OK and i liked it because i like the characters but i got board a lot during most of the history of each character. I will read the next one when it comes out only because I'm wondering who she will end up with.
Profile Image for Claire Riley.
Author 92 books1,198 followers
August 26, 2012
Much better than the 1st but still a long way to go. The plot was a lot thicker than in Immortal and there were a lot more twists and turns. however i found that there were a lot of plot errors and lapses. Things like she gave the car keys to someone else but then she had them again on the next page. It sounds petty but it kept drawing me out of the story as there really was quite a lot of these errors.
Anyway, moving on.... Lauren Burd is an aspiring author and one to watch out for. She has some great ideas and a fantastic imagination. Her writing dramatically improved through the two novels I've read of hers and i look forward to the final instalment.
45 reviews
December 27, 2012
Interesting twist of events that makes you scream "what?" Alina drives me crazy when she gets mad at Samuel for doing what he thought was right but he didn't get mad at her for the million times she did what she thought was right; while in fact making the most dangerous decisions. Alina is still an adolescent and drives me pretty crazy with her stupid thinking and over ratioanlizing. She completely forgets that she is now an immortal and can't go running to the cops and the hospital everytime something goes wrong.
Profile Image for Barb.
22 reviews2 followers
June 9, 2013
If vampire diaries and twilight had children it would be these two books. It took me several weeks to read trilogy. Better editing would have been helpful. I'm not an editing snob I can look over editing issues if the book has my attention but this did not. I also didn't like that they took lines from twilight.

Alina, Samuel and Duncan never really worked out who was going to get the girl. don't hold your breath there are only 2 books in this trilogy. unless you are looking for something to put you to sleep I would pass.
Profile Image for Maria Wilson.
460 reviews7 followers
January 21, 2017
One too many loses...

Just when you think you know who's who and what's what you get thrown a curveball. I could never quite figure out Duncan, glad his side was finally explained. Happy to see samuel and Alina together but she really needs to her feelings in check and quit giving in to temptation. Definitely didn't see those loses coming towards the end. A lot of stuff goes down in this book, pasts are revealed and secrets unfold. I cant wait to read the next one and see what else is in store for this group.
Profile Image for Louise Cable.
126 reviews3 followers
December 6, 2011
This book is even better than the first one. A real good twist that I was not expecting.

Love the way the author writes, it really captures your imagination and draws you in to the story.

I was eagly awaiting the release of this book after reading Immortal & now I can't believe I have so long to wait for the follow up, the ending is fantastic as it makes you want more.

This series is well worth reading!!
Profile Image for Lilliana Anderson.
Author 78 books1,176 followers
September 19, 2012
My Husband had gotten the immortal series for me on his ereader because he thought I would like them, and I did, I loved them - what I didn't realise was that there was still another book to come and was sooooo disappointed when I realised that I would have to wait for the next one to be written. I am really looking forward to it and check regularly for updates on it! Great work Lauren, can't wait for the next one!
1,267 reviews
September 15, 2013
I like getting series to see where the stories takes you. I'm concerned since the last blog post was in Nov 2012 and last stated project was due out Spring 2012 and nothing is out yet.

This progressed better than the last book. It got away from the Twilight similarities and became it own book. The ending had a good cliffhanger to keep you wanting the final installment. Hopefully it will come out.
Profile Image for Tanya.
315 reviews
December 2, 2011
I thought the first Immortal book was a great bargain and find. I paid 99 cents for it on B&N Nook for IPAD. I waited forever for "Forever" to come out (LOL) but I wasn't disappointed. There were a few twists and turns where former enemies became allies and former allies became enemies. Overall I'm excited for the 3rd and final installment.
Profile Image for MLC.
208 reviews
December 3, 2011
It wasn't what I was expecting. Maybe that was just because I was waiting forever to read it. However it was still a good story. I loved Alina and It was full of unexpected things and friendships I never thought would be possible. Samual and Alina are tested and Duncan is such a twister. And Thanos oh boy.
Profile Image for Ines Diaz.
102 reviews16 followers
January 2, 2012
Overview
“What are we playing for?”
An evil grin spread over his face. “I am so glad you asked. We’re playing for the chance to choose.”
“Choose what?”
“Where my next shot goes.”

* * *

Memories fade, betrayals abound, and death looms. Alina believed becoming an Immortal would protect those she loved but how can she can she protect them when they’re already caught in the trap.
Profile Image for Jennifer Reaves.
25 reviews4 followers
December 10, 2011
Absolutely loved! Such a good follow up to Immortals. Characters that I never thought I would like in the first book, I turned out to adore in this 2nd book. Emotions were running high through the whole story and I had a hard time putting this book down. Only stopped for a quick break once and finished it in a couple of hours....cant wait for book 3!
Profile Image for Justina.
101 reviews5 followers
December 14, 2011
Great second book in the series!!!! Alina has some memory problems but her pull to a certian dark-haired hunk can't be denied. Duncan will "forever" be a creep to me. I know this is a trilogy but I think it can go beyond three books. Please put out another book soon, a year is way too long, the wait for this one was torture.
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