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annathepiperIt's weird getting the ARC of a book two weeks after it came out, and weirder still finishing it more like three weeks after. But all in all, even in ARC form, I was quite pleased to get a chance to read Jessica Andersen's Dawnkeepers.
What we've got going on here is a Secret Magical Society that has to save the world from imminent destruction--in this case, the 2012 end of the world foretold by the Mayans. And the Secret Magical Society is the Nightkeepers, whose modern-day descendants are the last remaining handful of a once-mighty people. They're up against a rival order seeking to bring seven demons into the world, and they've got to find seven artifacts to do it.
If you think this reads a bit more like a fantasy scenario, you're right. And in fact this novel read for me almost more like a fantasy novel than it did a romance. Yes, there's a love story here--in fact, in addition to the primary one on camera in this book, there's the one clearly having been established in the first one, as well as glimmers of another one taking shape. There's quite a bit of sex. And, of course, the hero declaring True Love for the heroine in this particular installment is part and parcel of winning the day (at least as far as this part of the plot is concerned).
But there's enough worldbuilding here too to satisfy any fantasy fan. I don't know how much of Andersen's mythology in use is actual mythology and how much of it is her own invention, but it all holds together well. The fact that the cast of this series is an ensemble, too, gives the action a bigger and more global feel. Nate and Alexis may be the love story du jour for this particular novel, but several of the other Nightkeepers and side characters get significant POV time as well. I liked this quite a bit, and this is specifically responsible for making me interested enough in the overall story that I'll be going back to pick up Book 1 too.
It's not entirely perfect; I did read it in ARC form, so yeah, the copy I've got is a bit ragged around the edges. But it was a good solid read nonetheless. Four stars.
What we've got going on here is a Secret Magical Society that has to save the world from imminent destruction--in this case, the 2012 end of the world foretold by the Mayans. And the Secret Magical Society is the Nightkeepers, whose modern-day descendants are the last remaining handful of a once-mighty people. They're up against a rival order seeking to bring seven demons into the world, and they've got to find seven artifacts to do it.
If you think this reads a bit more like a fantasy scenario, you're right. And in fact this novel read for me almost more like a fantasy novel than it did a romance. Yes, there's a love story here--in fact, in addition to the primary one on camera in this book, there's the one clearly having been established in the first one, as well as glimmers of another one taking shape. There's quite a bit of sex. And, of course, the hero declaring True Love for the heroine in this particular installment is part and parcel of winning the day (at least as far as this part of the plot is concerned).
But there's enough worldbuilding here too to satisfy any fantasy fan. I don't know how much of Andersen's mythology in use is actual mythology and how much of it is her own invention, but it all holds together well. The fact that the cast of this series is an ensemble, too, gives the action a bigger and more global feel. Nate and Alexis may be the love story du jour for this particular novel, but several of the other Nightkeepers and side characters get significant POV time as well. I liked this quite a bit, and this is specifically responsible for making me interested enough in the overall story that I'll be going back to pick up Book 1 too.
It's not entirely perfect; I did read it in ARC form, so yeah, the copy I've got is a bit ragged around the edges. But it was a good solid read nonetheless. Four stars.