Darkness Before Dawn (Darkness Before Dawn, #1)
Author: J.A. London
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Synopsis: Only
sunlight can save us.
We built the wall to keep them out, to keep us safe. But it also makes us prisoners, trapped in what's left of our ravaged city, fearing nightfall.
After the death of my parents, it's up to me--as the newest delegate for humanity--to bargain with our vampire overlord. I thought I was ready. I thought I knew everything there was to know about the monsters. Then again, nothing could have prepared me for Lord Valentine . . . or his son. Maybe not all vampires are killers. Maybe it's safe to let one in.
Only one thing is certain: Even the wall is not enough. A war is coming and we cannot hide forever.
We built the wall to keep them out, to keep us safe. But it also makes us prisoners, trapped in what's left of our ravaged city, fearing nightfall.
After the death of my parents, it's up to me--as the newest delegate for humanity--to bargain with our vampire overlord. I thought I was ready. I thought I knew everything there was to know about the monsters. Then again, nothing could have prepared me for Lord Valentine . . . or his son. Maybe not all vampires are killers. Maybe it's safe to let one in.
Only one thing is certain: Even the wall is not enough. A war is coming and we cannot hide forever.
Brought to you by TeamNerd Reviewer Annabell Cadiz
Review: I have missed reading stories where vampires are
actually portrayed as the heartless predator they really are and Darkness Before Dawn brings back the terrifying portrayal
of vampires but only slightly.
Nine years have passed since the thirty-year war between humans
and vampires took place and Dawn’s parents were killed leaving Dawn to become
the youngest named Delegate for the Agency. Dawn’s job is to keep the tentative
peace between vampires and humans and to keep the blood supply ample for the
vampires so they don’t attack which means keeping Lord Valentine happy. Lord
Valentine is the leader of the vampires in the city of Denver and is as
ruthless as a vampire can be. As Dawn adjusts to the fame and criticism of the
role as Delegate, she finds her life turned upside as vampires begin to invade
the city and abduct humans. But those aren’t the only threats. Lord Valentine’s
son takes an interest in Dawn and complicates her life even further. But blood
supply and Victor are not the most threatening aspects to Dawn’s job. She will
find herself right smack in the middle of a battle that will change the vampire
regime and bring back someone Dawn had thought to be dead.
Darkness Before Dawn is narrated
by Dawn. The authors made an attempt at portraying the character as a strong
and wise female lead but it didn’t work. Dawn often came off rather
unbelievable. She also makes incredibly stupid decisions. She wasn’t the worse
female lead I have ever read, certainly better than others, but there was
nothing remarkable about her character. In action scenes, Dawn was pretty
useless. She would make an attempt but would quickly be over powered and needed
to be rescued.
Tegan, Dawn’s best friend, is a complete airhead, shallow and
rather annoying throughout the book. She not only makes decisions that nearly
get both her and Dawn killed (more than once!) but she also falls for a guy
based on looks then decides he is not like other guys and must be with him.
Michael, Dawn’s boyfriend, is bland and throws tantrums so easily when Dawn
isn’t an agreement with him. There was nothing really likeable about him. Sin,
the guy Tegan falls for and the new guy to the Watchman team (team of humans
that protect the city by taking down vampires that get passed the wall), is
your predictable bad boy. He thinks he’s above the rules, easy on the eyes, and
cocky as hell. Out of the secondary characters, Sin was the one I liked.
Victor and Richard where pretty good characters. They are both
vampires but civil ones. There is humanity to them and an old world charm which
did fit their characters well considering they are two of the oldest vampires.
Victor is agile, fast, and has a fierce determination. He isn’t driven by fear
but by his passion to merge humans and vampires together in true peace. Richard
is patient, kind, loyal, and wise. He also has a good sense of humor. I liked
his bond with Victor.
The best part to the entire novel was the world building. The
portrayal of what the city looked like after a thirty-year war with vampires
and the wall protecting the city were all well detailed. The loss, the pain,
the fear housed within the broken parts of the city where showcased well within
the architecture of the city. I also liked the fact that every city where
humans lived was closed off from other cities. Only one train ran from city to
city, non-stop, to bring supplies the humans may need but humans could not
interact with anyone else outside of their city. This was a great quality. You
could feel the isolation within the world building. I also liked that the TV
shows and radio shows were all made from within the city. Any outside tv shows
or radio shows were banned since vampire leaders did not want humans to be able
to exchange interaction.
There is, of course, a love triangle but a sad one. The love
triangle was rather ridiculous and really just felt unnecessary. The action
scenes were sparse and lackluster, especially when the final epic battle with
Lord Valentine comes into play. I had expected much more than what took place
within the scene. The suspense build up was one of the aspects of the plot that
was written pretty well. The pacing and fluidity moved at a steady pace. There
were a few moments scenes were dragged down but for most of the book, the story
reads at an easy pace.
Overall, there were aspects to Darkness
Before Dawn I enjoyed
reading. But much of the book was predictable and nothing really too surprising
happens that the reader won’t be able to figure out early on. The ending was
the most predictable part of all and reminds me of countless other paranormal
novels.
I am
interested to see how the story progresses since I did enjoy Victor and
Richard’s character. There are also unresolved aspects to the plot such as what
happened with Tegan and Sin, what will become of Dawn now that she has sided
with Victor, and what will happen to the city after the big revelation toward
the end. I just hope Dawn becomes a stronger character.
About the Author: J.A. London is the mother-son writing team of
Jan and Alex Nowasky. As Racgel Hawthorne, Jan has written many novels for
teens, including the popular Dark Guardian series. Alex, a recent graduate with
a degree in Historical Studies, enjoys combining history and fiction to create
unique worlds.
Where to Find the Author
Second installment in
Darkness Before Dawn series, Blood Kissed Sky, came out December 25, 2012.
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