Nocturnal (Noctalis Series)
Author: Chelsea Cameron
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Annabell Cadiz
Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old
Ava-Claire Sullivan isn't one for doing the expected. Especially when she finds
out her mother's cancer is terminal. After a crying session in the local
cemetery where she's attacked by one strange guy and saved by another, she
doesn't call the cops. Because those guys definitely weren't your average
hooligans.
And the one who sort-of saved her? Well, he's odd. He doesn't seem to breathe or smile or have anything better to do than wait in the cemetery for Ava to come back. Which she does. Call it morbid curiosity. Even after he warns her that he's dangerous, she can't stop wanting to see him, talk to him, be with him.
There's something about Peter that provides a much-needed escape from her mother's diagnosis and her tenuous relationship with her father. Even her best friends Jamie and Texas don't know what it's like to face death. But Peter does. He already has. He also made a promise a long time ago that could destroy both of them.
When everything in your life is falling apart, what are you willing to give up to hold onto the one thing that could last forever?
And the one who sort-of saved her? Well, he's odd. He doesn't seem to breathe or smile or have anything better to do than wait in the cemetery for Ava to come back. Which she does. Call it morbid curiosity. Even after he warns her that he's dangerous, she can't stop wanting to see him, talk to him, be with him.
There's something about Peter that provides a much-needed escape from her mother's diagnosis and her tenuous relationship with her father. Even her best friends Jamie and Texas don't know what it's like to face death. But Peter does. He already has. He also made a promise a long time ago that could destroy both of them.
When everything in your life is falling apart, what are you willing to give up to hold onto the one thing that could last forever?
Review: Vampires are one of the biggest themes
within the paranormal genre and over the last few years they have gone from
being portrayed as terrifying predators to sparkly controlling stalkers or so
human-like they shouldn’t even be called vampires. With Nocturnal I had expected a ghost story (I don’t know why. Quite
possibly because I had read the synopsis to Whisper,
first book in Cameron’s Whisper Trilogy,
and thought the Nocturnal would
approach the same concept) but instead I was surprised to find a book of
vampires. I haven’t been a big fan of the newer versions of vamps since they all
seem to come off sounding the same. I was even more surprised at the fact that
I liked the version of vampires Cameron created.
Ava, the female
lead within Nocturnal who happens to
narrate the book, has her world shatter at the news of her mother’s terminal
illness. From the moment the book opens, the reader is thrown full force into
Ava’s heartache, anger, resentment, and fear over facing her mother’s death
sentence. Cameron does a beautiful and moving jump at showcasing Ava’s
emotional rollercoaster. Emotions are often hard to capture and Cameron did a
pretty lovely job. There was a good deal of repetition though and times where
the scenes were dragged out so the emotions were too heavy handed but overall,
not too shabby.
I haven’t fully
been able to decide how I feel about Ava’s character. I can completely
understand the pain and heartache she faces over the situation with her mother;
I went through a similar situation with my own mother. I completely understand
why she pretends to be strong, chooses to put distance between herself and her
friends, prefers breaking down alone and keeping her true feelings to herself.
When tragedy strikes, everyone has his or her own way of dealing with it and I
can relate to how Ava dealt with her own. So in that sense I felt a connection
with her and give her props for having the strength to get up everyday and
keeping trying to give her mom a sense of normalcy and laughter so her mother
can enjoy however much time she has left. But Ava also did some stupid crap I
just couldn’t help but roll my eyes over (i.e. going to parties and getting
drunk when she knew she shouldn’t, hanging out in a cemetery alone when she was
already attacked in the same cemetery!, trusting a total stranger with her
feelings and her life when said stranger threatened to kill her).
Ava may be
strong with her mother but she is too much of a doormat with her friends,
especially her best friend Tex which I didn’t understand. She gives into doing
stupid things because her best friend tells her to instead of standing her
ground and telling her friend to get over it. I also didn’t like the way Ava
treated her father. How could she be so understanding with her mother but not
with her father? Her father had to endure the same tragedy. Ava just acted too
much like a brat with her father.
Peter was a very
interesting character. He starts off seeming hard of emotions and deathly
scary, literally. It takes a while for Peter to open up and let Ava in which
was a nice way to have their relationship develop instead of them being all
over each other from the moment they meet. There is a dark and ageless charm to
Peter’s character. He moves and speaks with a deliberate patience and wisdom. I
also liked the physical features to Peter’s character. He’s gorgeous but
doesn’t have this ridiculous ego you would expect. He also doesn’t completely
look like what you expect a vampire to look like. It was a nice little change. The
only issue I had with the writing for his character was the fact the scenes
where Peter narrated came off too telling, everything was dictated to the
reader instead of experienced.
Tex and Jamie,
Ava’s best friends, play the secondary characters alongside Viktor and Ivan,
Peter’s brothers. I had moments where I enjoyed Tex and moments I couldn’t
stand her character. She comes off too bossy and shallow. But there are scenes
where she actually shows her heart and shows she cares about more stuff than
just boys and clothes. Jamie was one of my favorite characters. He’s sweet as
candy, adorable, and a great friend. He has such a big heart and truly cares
about the people in his life despite the fact that he is facing such a hard
life. I was annoyed since the author seemed to bypass Jamie’s situation. Ava
brings it up a few times and makes some sad attempts at paying attention to
Jamie but doesn’t really do anything to help then Jamie’s situation is thrown
under the rug without any real resolve.
Viktor and Ivan
aren’t in too many scenes and I would like to read more of them. Ivan is such
the bad boy vamp but you like him for it. He doesn’t pretend to be anything
more than what he is. Viktor carries himself with a quiet strength and deep
wisdom. I look forward to reading more of his character.
The Claiming is
one of the big moments in the plot and it was pretty predictable. I mean it’s
been done in other vampire books before. I didn’t understand why Ava didn’t put
up much of a fight. She just let’s Peter pretty much hold her down and do what
he wants. Seriously?? Ava talks a big game about defending herself if someone
came at her and standing her own ground and not being afraid to speak her mind
but she’s only ever like that with her father who doesn’t deserve for her to
be. The idea behind The Claiming is okay and presents a big conflict for Ava
and Peter; I just would have preferred the scene coming off differently than it
did.
Di, the real
villain in the book, has only one real scene which I suppose works since the
author wanted to use the first book to establish the characters and
relationships so that didn’t really bother me. As a reader, you can tell Di is
definitely cunning, selfish, and powerful. I look forward to reading more of
her character as well.
The curse that
binds Peter, Ivan and Viktor to Di I liked. It was a clever way to show how
words have power and can harm as well as heal. The first book doesn’t really
establish HOW the curse is binding but I’m guessing it’s more explained as the
series goes on.
The pacing and
fluidity of the story are done well. The suspense is tension filled and the
world building is detailed just as well. The romance is built pretty well, if
not somewhat shallow at the beginning. The action scenes really only consist of
like three and the big meeting with Di is too anticlimactic because it ends so
quickly there isn’t much of a buildup.
Overall, Nocturnal was an enjoyable and good
read. I would recommend the book to fans of the paranormal romance and
supernatural genres.
About the Author: Chelsea M. Cameron is a YA/NA New York Times/USA Today Best Selling author from Maine. Lover of things random and ridiculous, Jane Austen/Charlotte and Emily Bronte Fangirl, red velvet cake enthusiast, obsessive tea drinker, vegetarian, former cheerleader and world's worst video gamer. When not writing, she enjoys watching infomercials, singing in the car and tweeting. She has a degree in journalism from the University of Maine, Orono that she promptly abandoned to write about the people in her own head. More often than not, these people turn out to be just as weird as she is.
Nocturnal, Nightmare, and Neither the first three books in The Noctalis Chronicles about a girl with a dying mother who meets an immortal boy are available now. The fourth and final book, Neverend, will be available in 2013. Whisper, about a girl who is alive, a boy who isn't and the complications that go along with their relationship, released June 16 and is the first in a trilogy. She is also the author of My Favorite Mistake, a New Adult Contemporary Romance.
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