Review "Wait for Dusk"

Title: Wait for Dusk
Author: Jocelynn Drake
Published: July 27th 2010 by Eos
Genre: Dark Urban Fantasy

There is no sanctuary in the night…

Feared even by her own kind for her mastery of fire, the Nightwalker Mira is summoned by the Coven to take her rightful place as Elder. But with this honor comes grave responsibility—a commitment to the annihilation of the unleashed naturi. For now the foul creatures walk the earth—and neither vampire nor human will survive their horrific onslaught.

A tide of blood is sweeping relentlessly across the European continent, as Mira is dispatched to Budapest for the most devastating test yet of her astonishing powers—and falls into a well-laid trap. With the dark secrets that haunt her growing darker by the hour, she must confront the terrible truth of her past and protect her fragile sanity in the face of unanticipated treachery—a betrayal by her ally, her enemy, her lover…the vampire slayer, Danaus.


*This review might contain spoilers regarding the previous book in the series!*

After the huge cliffhanger of the last book (Pray for Dawn) I was very curious about it. Unlike the previous book, Wait for Dusk is again told from Mira´s POV and picks up right where the cliffhanger left us.

Yet again, the story is fast and kept me biting my nails. This time, Danaus and Mira´s journey takes them to Budapest, where trouble is brewing. Once again, Jocelynn Drake´s story easily sucks you into the dark, violent and intrigant world of the nightwalkers. Not only does Mira have to face the constant and ever growing threat of the Naturi, after claiming (rather bloody) her seat in the coven, Mira also has to put up with the scheming and mack-stabbing Macaire and his fledgelings.
Amongst high octane action and political powerplay, Jocelynn Drake once more capitivates her readers with Mira´s and Danaus´s complex relationship. There are tender, playful but also angry and wary moments between our nightwalker and the hunter. The romantic tension in the last books has almost killed me and sometimes I was thinking something like "Come on, do it already...", but in this book, their seemingly doomed relationship takes an important step. Plus, we finally get our way. Brace yourself for some passionate and somewhat anrgy sex. :)
However, especially because of Danaus´s and Mira´s very special if rocky relationship, Danaus´s betrayal in this book was all the more shocking. I found it hard to conciliate after the glimpse of his thoughts and feelings we got after Pray for Dawn.
Valerio and Stephan are very interesting and charismatic sidekicks (even though that does them no justice) and I´m looking forward to read even more about those two in future books. Mira´s archenemy Rowe also makes his appearance in this book, ending with a very surprising and unexpected twist.
Odelia, Veyron and especially Clarion complete this book´s great cast of characters perfectly.
Toss in another mysterious, mighty and very creepy power player who is highly interested in Mira´s special powers and the usual machinations among the pwoerful nightwalker of the coven, "Wait for Dusk" is another excellent addition to the Dark Days series.

Favourite scenes:
As previously mentioned, Mira´s scene with Rowe in Veyron´s house was very surprising. I also enjoyed the more intimate moments between Mira and Danaus- as usual. It´s so great to watch both their characters evolve and grow with each book.

All in all:

Wait for Dusk exceeds once again my expectations is, alongside with Pray for Dawn my most favourite in the Dark Days series. It´s intoxicating, thrilling, fast-paced. Jocelynn Drake´s nightwalkers and their world are definetly one of my all-time favorites! I highly recommend it to all lovers of darker Urban Fantasy and vampires!

5 points from me!

The next book in the series which is still untitled is supposed to be released July 15th 2011. Seems like such a long wait...

Review "Pray for Dawn"

Title: Pray for Dawn (Dark Days, #4)
Author: Jocelynn Drake
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Published: June 22nd 2010 by Eos (first published 2010)

Pray for salvation . . .
Pray for daylight . . .
Murder has pulled Mira out of the shadows and back into the living world . . .

As the fire-wielding enforcer of the nightwalker coven wrestles with the mind-destroying ghosts of her dark past, the slaying of a senator's daughter in Savannah threatens to expose her kind to the brilliant light of day. The dawn of chaos has come. The naturi have broken free of their eternal prison to feed on the defenseless and unbelieving of an unprepared Earth.

Mira and Danaus—vampire and vampire slayer—must unite to prevent the annihilation of their separate races. But for Danaus the challenge is intensified, for he must also fight the bori who covets his soul. And Mira, the nightwalker he must protect—whose power is the Earth's last hope—is rapidly going insane.



*This is the fourth book in an ongoing series. This review might contain spoilers, if you haven´t read the previous books*



WOW. Finishing the book left me breathless. And nearly speachless. It starts a few months after the events at Machu Pichu and other than the previous book, it is told from Danaus´s POV. Even though it is rather unusual to change the POV during an ongoing series, I was really looking forward to reading the it. Jocelynn Drake managed this change of POV brilliantly. It´s so cool to see the characters you came to know through Mira´s POV now through Danaus´s eyes. Finally, we get to know a little bit more about the mysterious hunter. Using his POV, Jocelynn Drake allows as a peek behind his usual demeanor and lets us find out about his past and his real feelings for Mira and the nightwalkers. You can also see how his attitude towards the nighthunters gradually changes.

I think it was a wise choice to swich POVs, because some of the scenes in this book between Mira and Danaus become even more powerful and meaningful (the First Communion, for example).

The story overall is very fast, intruiging and mysterious until the last page. Like I said, it almost left me breathless. I have to warn you, the last 50-100 pages are really intense. At one point I was nearly shouting "Oh no you didn´t...!" but she did. Not only does Jocelynn Drake leave us with a huge, major cliffhanger (right now, I hate cliffhangers), but some of the events at the end I just hadn´t seen coming.

There is so much more to write about this book, so much I want to rave about, but I don´t want to give away too much. This book really deserves to be read unspoilered, so my review today is rather short.

For me, "Pray for Dawn" is my favourite in this series. Yet, at least. It´s suspensful, gripping and addictive. After having read it, I´m already impatient for the next book in the series. "Pray for Dawn" is a book that makes you love vampires again, even if you think they are over used and you´ve had enough of them. It´s Urban Fantasy at its best.

Thank god "Wait for Dusk" is realeased on July 27th. I think I can manage to wait 19 days.

Without hesitaion and doubt 5 of 5 points from me.


Jocelynn Drake´s homepage: http://www.jocelynndrake.com/

and her blog: http://jocelynndrake.blogspot.com/

Today´s Releases

Today, three awesome books are being released:

Pray for Dawn by Jocelynn Drake


It´s the fourth book in the Dark Days series and this time, it´s written in Danaus´s POV.

Pray for salvation . . .

Pray for daylight . . .

Murder has pulled Mira out of the shadows and back into the living world . . .

As the fire-wielding enforcer of the nightwalker coven wrestles with the mind-destroying ghosts of her dark past, the slaying of a senator's daughter in Savannah threatens to expose her kind to the brilliant light of day. The dawn of chaos has come. The naturi have broken free of their eternal prison to feed on the defenseless and unbelieving of an unprepared Earth.

Mira and Danaus—vampire and vampire slayer—must unite to prevent the annihilation of their separate races. But for Danaus the challenge is intensified, for he must also fight the bori who covets his soul. And Mira, the nightwalker he must protect—whose power is the Earth's last hope—is rapidly going insane.

The next one is Tracking the Tempest by Nicole Peeler, the second book in the Jane True series. Isn´t the cover once again amazing?


Valentine's Day is fast approaching, and Ryu - Jane's bloodsucking boyfriend - can't let a major holiday go by without getting all gratuitous. An overwhelming dose of boyfriend interference and a last-minute ticket to Boston later, and Jane's life is thrown off course.

Ryu's well-intentioned plans create mayhem, and Jane winds up embroiled in an investigation involving a spree of gruesome killings. All the evidence points towards another Halfling, much to Jane's surprise...





And finally, Kitty goes to War", the 8th Kitty Norville book by Carrie Vaughn is to be released.

Kitty Norville, werewolf radio call-in show host, gets a call from an old friend at the NIH’s Center for the Study of Paranatural Biology, a friend with a problem, who doesn’t know where else to turn. Three Army soldiers who have recently returned from the war in Afghanistan are in custody at Ft. Carson in Colorado Springs. They’re also werewolves suffering from post traumatic stress, unable to control their shape-shifting, unable to interact with people. Kitty agrees to see them, curious and wanting to help. Meanwhile, Kitty gets sued for slander after featuring Speedy Mart—a chain of 24-hour convenience stores with a reputation for attracting the supernatural—on her show, and an old friend-and-adversary has just been released from jail.

What releases are you waiting for this week?

Teaser Tuesday

This weekly book blog meme is hosted by Misb at Should be Reading.

Here are the rules:
- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others.)
- Share the title & author too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers.


Title: Dayhunter
Author: Jocelynn Drake
Release: April 28th 2009 by Eos (first published April 17th 2009)
Genre: Urban Fantasy


"Kick me."
I twisted around, my mouth falling open in wordless shock. The hunter stared at me, the corners of his mouth twitching. Laughter, for one brief crystalline moment, shimmied through his cobalt eyes. Dear heaven, the dark vampire hunter was developing a sense of humor.
p.62

Spotlight on a Series

Maybe you´re like me who is constantly searching for a new book fix and when it´s a series, all the better. There are so many out the that it is in my opinion hard to keep track.
That´s why I´d like to present you series that I have read, an reading at the moment or have just begun reading.

Today, I´d like to start with the Dark Days Series by Jocelynn Drake.

Nightwalker (Book 1)
For centuries Mira has been a nightwalker—an unstoppable enforcer for a mysterious organization that manipulates earth-shaking events from the darkest shadows. But elemental mastery over fire sets her apart from others of her night-prowling breed . . . and may be all that prevents her doom.

The foe she now faces is human: the vampire hunter called Danaus, who has already destroyed so many undead. For Mira, the time has come to hunt . . . or be hunted.






Dayhunter (Book 2)
A new day dawns blood red
A master of fire, Mira is the last hope for the world. For centuries she has secretly enforced the history-altering edicts of the Triad. Now she and her unlikely ally—the human vampire hunter, Danaus—have come to Venice, home of the nightwalker rulers. But there is no safety in the ancient city, for the threat of conflict is in the wind . . . with unholy alliances and earth-shattering betrayals taking hideous form in the shadows.

Banished for eons beyond the world's boundaries, the malevolent naturi prepare to feed once again upon a vulnerable earth—and treachery is opening wide the portal that will enable their dread re-emergence. The great battle that has always been Mira's destiny is looming, and she must remain powerful in the face of a shocking revelation: that Danaus, the only creature she dares to trust, is something more than the man he claims to be . . .


Dawnbreaker (Book 3)
The dawn brings new terror for the creatures of the night . . .

Those of her race fear Mira for the lethal fire she bends to her will—a power unique among nightwalkers, both a gift . . . and a curse.

The naturi despise Mira for what she is—as they prepare the final sacrifice that will destroy the barriers between the worlds. And once the naturi are unchained, blood, chaos, and horror will reign supreme on Earth.

Mira can trust only Danaus, the more-than-mortal vampire slayer, though he is sworn to destroy her kind. And now, as the day approaches when titanic forces will duel under cover of darkness, destiny draws them toward an apocalyptic confrontation at Machu Picchu. But all is not lost, for a wild card has been dealt to them: a rogue enemy princess who can change the balance of power and turn the dread tide.



Pray for Dawn (Book 4)
Pray for salvation . . .

Pray for daylight . . .

Murder has pulled Mira out of the shadows and back into the living world . . .

As the fire-wielding enforcer of the nightwalker coven wrestles with the mind-destroying ghosts of her dark past, the slaying of a senator's daughter in Savannah threatens to expose her kind to the brilliant light of day. The dawn of chaos has come. The naturi have broken free of their eternal prison to feed on the defenseless and unbelieving of an unprepared Earth.

Mira and Danaus—vampire and vampire slayer—must unite to prevent the annihilation of their separate races. But for Danaus the challenge is intensified, for he must also fight the bori who covets his soul. And Mira, the nightwalker he must protect—whose power is the Earth's last hope—is rapidly going insane.


Wait for Dusk (Book 5)
There is no sanctuary in the night…

Feared even by her own kind for her mastery of fire, the Nightwalker Mira is summoned by the Coven to take her rightful place as Elder. But with this honor comes grave responsibility—a commitment to the annihilation of the unleashed naturi. For now the foul creatures walk the earth—and neither vampire nor human will survive their horrific onslaught.

A tide of blood is sweeping relentlessly across the European continent, as Mira is dispatched to Budapest for the most devastating test yet of her astonishing powers—and falls into a well-laid trap. With the dark secrets that haunt her growing darker by the hour, she must confront the terrible truth of her past and protect her fragile sanity in the face of unanticipated treachery—a betrayal by her ally, her enemy, her lover…the vampire slayer, Danaus.


*Spoilers ahead!!!*
I´ve just read the first book in the series, but this one had me so hooked that I´ve bought all the other available ones already.
I like how Jocelynn Drake chooses a female vampire as main character. For me, that was a refreshing change, because I´ve only read books featuring the usual (but still appreciated) sexy male alpha vamp. Mira is just as strong as her male counterparts, very powerful, gifted and feared. She is pictured as a bit of a loner who commands respect and holds a lot of authority in her territory. Sometimes, she seems a little cold and distant, in other moments though you see that she genuinely cares about those close to her.
Danaus, the second main character is a man with many secrets. As a vampire hunter, his job is to kill Mira´s kind, yet in the first book, he still seeks to work with her.
Even though the two find it hard to trust each other, they must work together, as an old enemy rises to destroy them both.
Their wild and dangerous journey brings them across Europe to England, where the final showdown takes place.

The bad guys in the Dark Days Series are not your comman humans who seek to destroy vampires, who live in peace side by side with other unsuspecting humans. Jocelynn Drake chooses new, unknown enemys with sometimes creepy powers that are an excellent addition to the worldbuilding.

All in all, Mira´s story is darker than most vampire books where romance seems to be the main focus. There is a certain tesion between Mira and Danaus, but if you´re expecting a PNR you might be disappointed. The back blurb hints that their is a relationship growing between Mira and Danaus, but it will take more than just one book for that. I however really loved the first book!


Pray for Dawn is to be released on June, 29th and Wait for Dusk comes out on July 27th. I can hardly wait for the release!

If you would like to learn more about Jocelynn Drake, visit her homepage where you can not only read an excerpt from her books but also the history of the character and essays about worldbuilding and other interesting stuff.