Harper Voyager June 28 2011
432 pages By Jocelynn Drake
BLURB ON BACK OF BOOK:
The Great Awakening approaches . . .
After eons in exile, the naturi have broken their chains and now roam the Earth bent on revenge. It is the sworn duty of Mira, the Fire Starter, to protect the nightwalker race—though even she may be powerless to withstand the horrific onslaught. As Mira and her brave lover, the vampire slayer Danaus, stand ready to do battle, thousands of winged shapeshifters darken the skies. The war of ultimate extermination has begun, and the battleground is Mira's home turf.
The humans don't yet recognize the doom descending upon them. And the nightwalkers will surely perish unless they unite with outcast naturi who claim to want peace. But these unexpected "allies" are the same demons who have long worked for Mira's destruction—and in these darkest of days the lines between friend and foe will blur treacherously before the bloody end of all things.
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I will confess right up front I am not fond of first-person narrative, but I put my prejudice behind me and plowed forward. Also have not read a Urban Fantasy before, or any books by Jocelynn Drake. To say I was lost and not in a good way is an understatement. This is one book of a multi-book series and I was coming in blind. Also the book at the beginning bounces back and forth between two female characters, Nyx and Mira which just stoked my confusion more. This is not a stand-alone book, I assure you. I wish my ARC had a glossary, it would have helped.
It is to Jocelynn Drake's writing and storytelling skills that after a shaky start, I found myself well immersed in this clever world she created. Switching to Nyx's point of view ran smoother for me once I realized who was who. Nyx is out recruiting to back her sister Cynnia as Queen, as war seems imminent, Mira finds herself drawn into this conflict.
There are all sorts of creatures in this world who hold various meetings that are held in dark woods between the factions where unholy alliances are formed in order to fight the naturi, who are out to destroy and take over the earth. After all these meetings, the book kicks into high gear. Essentially, this is a battle for power,
Mira is involved with a sexy vampire Danaus, and their heated encounters are hot and steamy. I am partial to sexy vampires anyway, and Danaus fills that role in spades. I thought there wasn't much sex in Urban Fantasy, if this the exception, than it worked.
There were other characters that intrigued me as well, (Like Rowe and Barrett) so much so I will be going back to check out the other books in this series.I especially loved the Werewolves.
Mira was a fine heroine, tragedy in her past, determined and intelligent, brave and can hold her own in a fight. The firewalker angle is a great touch as well. Considering her father is some Satan type entity, she manages to be compassionate in her way and loyal to her friends and loved ones. I really liked her.
Since this is the last book in the series, I can't really give too much away, but it seems things are wrapped up nicely, it was a great ride. And for someone who was thrown into the deep end of pool, not knowing what was going on or who all the factions/characters were, I managed to tread in the water adequately and enjoyed the experience while I did.
I am sure those readers who have been following this series will be best pleased with this conclusion.
3.5 stars out of 4 for the book
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