Nevermore by Kelly Creagh

Cheerleader Isobel Lanley is horrified when she is paired with Varen Nethers for an English project, which is due—so unfair—on the day of the rival game. Cold and aloof, sardonic and sharp-tongued, Varen makes it clear he’d rather not have anything to do with her either. But when Isobel discovers strange writing in his journal, she can’t help but give this enigmatic boy with the piercing eyes another look.

Soon, Isobel finds herself making excuses to be with Varen. Steadily pulled away from her friends and her possessive boyfriend, Isobel ventures deeper and deeper into the dream world Varen has created through the pages of his notebook, a realm where the terrifying stories of Edgar Allan Poe come to life.

As her world begins to unravel around her, Isobel discovers that dreams, like words, hold more power than she ever imagined, and that the most frightening realities are those of the mind. Now she must find a way to reach Varen before he is consumed by the shadows of his own nightmares.

His life depends on it.

Nevermore pulled me in from the start and had me reading it instead of doing assignments T_T. I swore that I would not read until all my assignments were done but this book was too addictive to be left alone! The unlikely couple of a cheerleader Isobel and goth Varen had me intrigued. I liked the transition set up from meeting to falling in love. The pacing was perfect as their love for each other was not sudden and out of the blue. I loved the numerous scenes and interactions between them.

They first meet when they are paired up on a project on Edgar Allan Poe. In my opinion, the classroom ignore-your-partner scene has been done so many times before but it never gets boring for me. The bonus in Nevermore was I was exposed to some english literature while I read about the characters researching their project! I liked reading the discussions between Isobel and Varen after a chunks of a Poe's poems were quoted.

About 2/3 of the way into the book, the paranormal element hit full blast. I couldn't get my head around the 'dream world' and what was happening. It felt like I was reading a totally different book because the atmosphere changed. I don't know if this was meant to be related to Poe in someway but I found myself losing interest at the lengthy explanations of the 'dream world'. It was like the book took it to two extremes - the very normal (first 2/3's) and then very warped, which I didn't like much.

There's a cruel cliffhanger (a cliff was literally involved I think) at the end. I'm definitely keeping watch of news about the second book because no one can be satisfied with an ending like that!!

★★★★.5