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Midnight Empire: The Tower #1
Wild Knight
In a world of darkness where royal vampires are in charge, I spend my days working as a knight in the city formerly known as London. Instead of a lance and a horse, I rely on my trusty axe, Babe, and ride the occasional dragon. Every day new threats emerge that require a dash of magic and a dollop of attitude.
Good thing I have both.
Naturally danger comes with the territory. What no one knows is just how dangerous it is for me. If our vampire overlords discover what I am, they’ll execute me on the spot—no questions asked—which is why I avoid them at all costs.
Until now.
If only this one didn’t have a lethal reputation, a princely pedigree, and a quest that leads to more questions than answers. The heat between us doesn’t help matters.
Unfortunately I can’t refuse a royal command, so I’m stuck until the job is complete.
And even if the job doesn’t kill me, the truth just might.
Good thing I have both.
Naturally danger comes with the territory. What no one knows is just how dangerous it is for me. If our vampire overlords discover what I am, they’ll execute me on the spot—no questions asked—which is why I avoid them at all costs.
Until now.
If only this one didn’t have a lethal reputation, a princely pedigree, and a quest that leads to more questions than answers. The heat between us doesn’t help matters.
Unfortunately I can’t refuse a royal command, so I’m stuck until the job is complete.
And even if the job doesn’t kill me, the truth just might.
242 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 4, 2021
1942 people are currently reading
3563 people want to read
About the author
Annabel Chase
246 books1,412 followersAnnabel Chase is the author of urban fantasy and cozy mystery novels. She would love to live in a magical town where she can shop at Ready-to-Were for the the perfect outfit, flirt with hot angels and vampires, and cook gourmet meals without exerting any effort. Visit her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Annabel-Chas... or on her website at www.annabelchase.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 390 reviews
April 24, 2022
I'm bailing a bit before halfway. I just can't take it seriously at all, and not for the obvious reasons.
The obvious reasons would be worldbuilding that throws everything paranormal into a post-apocalypse stew with Vampires running the show and everything else serving them at their whim. The world blew up and ash covers the sky and it's perpetual night. Fortunately magic so we don't actually have a deep-freeze and all the plants dead. Those wise caretakers, the vampires, bend all the resources to keeping things running kinda normal using magic to fill in the ultraviolet gaps, I suppose.
But that's all just giving a book its premise and I could have rolled with that. Only we have London and Callan and every time they interact I want to smack somebody. London is all about being scared, flying under the radar, keeping her talents hidden and, above all, avoiding vampires. We find out at about 44% (okay, yes, I looked) why that is and it's only mildly stupid so fine. Only every time she talks with a vampire, it's like she's daring them to kill her. Seriously the opposite of low profile. She shows no deference. She tweaks at them. And she openly criticizes their social structure. And I'm wondering what the crap is wrong with these despots letting that crap slide because our London is seriously too stupid to live.
And every sentence out of Callan's mouth is an innuendo. Only, the kind of innuendo you'd get from a clever eleven year-old. And I'm all thinking, "this guy knows he's 'bantering' with a woman who literally cannot tell him no, right?" I mean, this is what the social setup means—vampires are the medieval overlords who can kill you without question and whose rule is supreme and without compromise. So he's all throwing out these cheesy come-ons with a woman who is his inferior in every way and who, if you take the worldbuilding at all seriously, cannot repulse him like he deserves. I mean, London does. Repeatedly. Because she's too stupid to live. But he's one of these guys who cannot take a hint, apparently, and these stupid invites just keep on coming.
I dunno. I'm probably taking the setup too seriously, or something. Like, if you dial down the dire worldbuilding by a factor of, um, a million, then it might work? Only then what the crap is London doing whining about how she can't be herself without being killed cause she's extra special girl?
Yeah, it doesn't work. And I'm done trying to make it.
The obvious reasons would be worldbuilding that throws everything paranormal into a post-apocalypse stew with Vampires running the show and everything else serving them at their whim. The world blew up and ash covers the sky and it's perpetual night. Fortunately magic so we don't actually have a deep-freeze and all the plants dead. Those wise caretakers, the vampires, bend all the resources to keeping things running kinda normal using magic to fill in the ultraviolet gaps, I suppose.
But that's all just giving a book its premise and I could have rolled with that. Only we have London and Callan and every time they interact I want to smack somebody. London is all about being scared, flying under the radar, keeping her talents hidden and, above all, avoiding vampires. We find out at about 44% (okay, yes, I looked) why that is and it's only mildly stupid so fine. Only every time she talks with a vampire, it's like she's daring them to kill her. Seriously the opposite of low profile. She shows no deference. She tweaks at them. And she openly criticizes their social structure. And I'm wondering what the crap is wrong with these despots letting that crap slide because our London is seriously too stupid to live.
And every sentence out of Callan's mouth is an innuendo. Only, the kind of innuendo you'd get from a clever eleven year-old. And I'm all thinking, "this guy knows he's 'bantering' with a woman who literally cannot tell him no, right?" I mean, this is what the social setup means—vampires are the medieval overlords who can kill you without question and whose rule is supreme and without compromise. So he's all throwing out these cheesy come-ons with a woman who is his inferior in every way and who, if you take the worldbuilding at all seriously, cannot repulse him like he deserves. I mean, London does. Repeatedly. Because she's too stupid to live. But he's one of these guys who cannot take a hint, apparently, and these stupid invites just keep on coming.
I dunno. I'm probably taking the setup too seriously, or something. Like, if you dial down the dire worldbuilding by a factor of, um, a million, then it might work? Only then what the crap is London doing whining about how she can't be herself without being killed cause she's extra special girl?
Yeah, it doesn't work. And I'm done trying to make it.
December 6, 2021
The cover makes me mad. This chick is bad ass and tough and working in a male dominated industry full of sexist comments and assumptions.
When one man says she doesn’t have the right equipment to be a knight, she replies,
“Pray tell, when was the last time any of your knights completed a quest using his penis?”
And she specifically says:
“I offered an exaggerated bow instead. Alas, there’d be no cleavage on display even if I were so inclined—which I most definitely wasn’t. The design of my uniform was similar to a scuba suit. It was fairly asexual as far as uniforms went, which suited me just fine.”
And the cover is tone deaf to all of that.
*rant over*
This story was fun. The characters are fun and quirky. The world is interesting and well done, though I had trouble picturing no daylight. And the plot was paced well with some interesting turns. Not too complex but not too simple.
The author’s strengths are in creating relatable female characters. The men are a bit one dimensional but that’s ok.
Lots of fun. Some flirting but this is not a romance. It’s a fun story about a knightly quest.
When one man says she doesn’t have the right equipment to be a knight, she replies,
“Pray tell, when was the last time any of your knights completed a quest using his penis?”
And she specifically says:
“I offered an exaggerated bow instead. Alas, there’d be no cleavage on display even if I were so inclined—which I most definitely wasn’t. The design of my uniform was similar to a scuba suit. It was fairly asexual as far as uniforms went, which suited me just fine.”
And the cover is tone deaf to all of that.
*rant over*
This story was fun. The characters are fun and quirky. The world is interesting and well done, though I had trouble picturing no daylight. And the plot was paced well with some interesting turns. Not too complex but not too simple.
The author’s strengths are in creating relatable female characters. The men are a bit one dimensional but that’s ok.
Lots of fun. Some flirting but this is not a romance. It’s a fun story about a knightly quest.
August 9, 2022
I honestly don't know how I finished reading this one. The first 80% was overall fun. The last 20% lost me. I think I was so numb to everything about this story that I lost ALL interest by that point. The characters weren't holding my attention and I couldn't care less about the story if I tried.
Even though I picked this book up knowing (from reading reviews) that it did not have any romance in it whatsoever that is also what kinda sorta ended contributing to me being bored out of my mind with this story. The one aspect that I enjoyed immensely was the heroine's connection to animals and how many of them she took care of. That was so interesting to read about!
Due to this experience, I don't think I'll be continuing on with this series. It's not a bad story necessarily! It just isn't for me.
Even though I picked this book up knowing (from reading reviews) that it did not have any romance in it whatsoever that is also what kinda sorta ended contributing to me being bored out of my mind with this story. The one aspect that I enjoyed immensely was the heroine's connection to animals and how many of them she took care of. That was so interesting to read about!
Due to this experience, I don't think I'll be continuing on with this series. It's not a bad story necessarily! It just isn't for me.
February 7, 2022
3.75 stars....so this is one I will continue.
Where it went wrong for me? The romance. There is none. Nada. Zilch. Zero. It is very rarely and almost unnoticeably implied a time or two. A reader can assume where it is going, but there is no tow curling. None. At. All.
Now the good side is the storyline. Interesting FMC, London, with some cool gifts and a heritage she is trying to hide. Her back story has potential to be earth shattering, which I hope it is.
MC, Callan, there is little to go on here. He has the potential to be a great MC, but all we get this book is glimpses and hear say.
Needless to say if book 2 does not fill in some gaps I will be one angry reader.
Happy reading,
DD
Where it went wrong for me? The romance. There is none. Nada. Zilch. Zero. It is very rarely and almost unnoticeably implied a time or two. A reader can assume where it is going, but there is no tow curling. None. At. All.
Now the good side is the storyline. Interesting FMC, London, with some cool gifts and a heritage she is trying to hide. Her back story has potential to be earth shattering, which I hope it is.
MC, Callan, there is little to go on here. He has the potential to be a great MC, but all we get this book is glimpses and hear say.
Needless to say if book 2 does not fill in some gaps I will be one angry reader.
Happy reading,
DD
December 13, 2021
DNF
I got so close to the end and then I just gave up.
There were too many character, many who I didn’t care for at all.
So much talking about things I didn’t care at all about. Metals and history and so on. It was just too much and it added nothing to the story. I hated being told things. Bombarded with information that just isn’t interesting at all. So much visiting places and talking to randoms. Too many people she works with with non of them being interesting or adding to the story.
I think I started really losing interest when
She went to the palace to find out about the job
BUT she has no control of her magic and if she glows she’ll be killed on sight
But she still went to the vampires she’s avoided all her life for a job
BUT. She’ll be killed on sight if she glows which she has no control over
I mean it’s said at least 5 times in that chapter alone.
Additionally she knows that the prince is watching her (he tells her That he is watching her many times) and she uses different types of magic that expose what she is anyway.
Which - shock horror- he sees.
😒😒😒😒😒😒😒😒😒😒
It’s these really over done plots and moments that just send me running.
Sad it had really great potential.
Not for me.
I got so close to the end and then I just gave up.
There were too many character, many who I didn’t care for at all.
So much talking about things I didn’t care at all about. Metals and history and so on. It was just too much and it added nothing to the story. I hated being told things. Bombarded with information that just isn’t interesting at all. So much visiting places and talking to randoms. Too many people she works with with non of them being interesting or adding to the story.
I think I started really losing interest when
She went to the palace to find out about the job
BUT she has no control of her magic and if she glows she’ll be killed on sight
But she still went to the vampires she’s avoided all her life for a job
BUT. She’ll be killed on sight if she glows which she has no control over
I mean it’s said at least 5 times in that chapter alone.
Additionally she knows that the prince is watching her (he tells her That he is watching her many times) and she uses different types of magic that expose what she is anyway.
Which - shock horror- he sees.
😒😒😒😒😒😒😒😒😒😒
It’s these really over done plots and moments that just send me running.
Sad it had really great potential.
Not for me.
September 4, 2023
3.5
I liked this kind of post-apocalyptic London teeming with magic, monsters, and some what controlled chaos...but the romance wasn't really my jam.
So background--> The world has entered a time of endless night caused by the eruption of volcanoes, and in the aftermath some countries have even ceased to exist. With the disruption of the world as we know it many mystical creatures came out from hiding to wield control- such that the remaining countries are now run by Vampires.
After a war to establish the Houses (Vampire heads that control their territories) humans, werewolf, druids, witches and mythical beasties are all just trying to survive the new normal.
This is where we meet our h, London, (har har) going about her job as a Knight. This means she belongs to a team that are allowed to use magic and receive compensation for meting out justice when things go awry. London is kind of surly, but has a soft spot for taking in orphaned animals she finds on the job. Like her newest edition- a Cerberus!
She also has a huge secret that could get her killed if it was ever discovered. This is the crux of the problem when she is asked to take on a job by a Vampire...a Vamp Prince no less. However, even being near the Vampires is the last thing London wants to do-let alone work for them. But considering Callan is royalty she doesn't have much of a choice.
This case is on and it looks like the good looking blood sucker is her unwanted partner for the next while until she can find answers.
x---------------------------------x
So that out of the way, Callan is not my cup of tea. Sometimes cocky and arrogant works, and other times it’s just annoying...and Callan was tweaking my nerves just a bit. I wouldn't say he's sleazy per se.... but he is constantly taunting her and pushy.
Also, he did grabbed her once or twice after she said she wasn't interested and touched her ass when he knew she couldn't move....so yeah. Side eye.
Dunno--don't know if I will read on but I did like London, the world building, and her little menagerie of cute pets. Plus her friends in the Knightage had some good banter.
I liked this kind of post-apocalyptic London teeming with magic, monsters, and some what controlled chaos...but the romance wasn't really my jam.
So background--> The world has entered a time of endless night caused by the eruption of volcanoes, and in the aftermath some countries have even ceased to exist. With the disruption of the world as we know it many mystical creatures came out from hiding to wield control- such that the remaining countries are now run by Vampires.
After a war to establish the Houses (Vampire heads that control their territories) humans, werewolf, druids, witches and mythical beasties are all just trying to survive the new normal.
This is where we meet our h, London, (har har) going about her job as a Knight. This means she belongs to a team that are allowed to use magic and receive compensation for meting out justice when things go awry. London is kind of surly, but has a soft spot for taking in orphaned animals she finds on the job. Like her newest edition- a Cerberus!
She also has a huge secret that could get her killed if it was ever discovered. This is the crux of the problem when she is asked to take on a job by a Vampire...a Vamp Prince no less. However, even being near the Vampires is the last thing London wants to do-let alone work for them. But considering Callan is royalty she doesn't have much of a choice.
This case is on and it looks like the good looking blood sucker is her unwanted partner for the next while until she can find answers.
x---------------------------------x
So that out of the way, Callan is not my cup of tea. Sometimes cocky and arrogant works, and other times it’s just annoying...and Callan was tweaking my nerves just a bit. I wouldn't say he's sleazy per se.... but he is constantly taunting her and pushy.
Also, he did grabbed her once or twice after she said she wasn't interested and touched her ass when he knew she couldn't move....so yeah. Side eye.
Dunno--don't know if I will read on but I did like London, the world building, and her little menagerie of cute pets. Plus her friends in the Knightage had some good banter.
January 25, 2022
This is a decent start to a UF series. It has a lot of the typical elements, and at times reminded me a fair bit of Kate Daniels (not in an obvious rip off way, but in terms of texture/tone). But that's cool, I liked Kate Daniels a lot.
I like the FMC, and the MMC seems promising. I can't get a good fix on the secondary characters, as the other knights had some squirrely moments. Not as in they are bad characters, but as in ... there's something clearly going on there, and I'm not sure what yet.
Reading onwards!
I like the FMC, and the MMC seems promising. I can't get a good fix on the secondary characters, as the other knights had some squirrely moments. Not as in they are bad characters, but as in ... there's something clearly going on there, and I'm not sure what yet.
Reading onwards!
July 7, 2025
3 stars
I enjoyed the story and will continue to read it whilst it entertains me, but there is a lot of repetition in this book that we could do without. Overall, it is not a bad read. I think you just have to get used to the author's writing style.
Wild Knight is a post-apocalyptic world where vampires now rule the world, thanks to ash covering the world. Everyone else is food unless you have magical powers.
I like our FMC; she made me laugh, but her mouth is going to get her in trouble. Her mum tried to shield her from the very things she ends up working for. There is no romance, which would have been nice, but I am sure it may come with other books. The MMC could be promising, but we don't get to see a lot of him. More background with her fellow Knights would have been good, hopefully that will come in future books as well.
It is full of action and adventure where the Knights fight the monsters in the world, causing chaos. I would have enjoyed it more if we got to hear from the MMC. I love it when stories are told in dual POV.
I enjoyed the story and will continue to read it whilst it entertains me, but there is a lot of repetition in this book that we could do without. Overall, it is not a bad read. I think you just have to get used to the author's writing style.
Wild Knight is a post-apocalyptic world where vampires now rule the world, thanks to ash covering the world. Everyone else is food unless you have magical powers.
I like our FMC; she made me laugh, but her mouth is going to get her in trouble. Her mum tried to shield her from the very things she ends up working for. There is no romance, which would have been nice, but I am sure it may come with other books. The MMC could be promising, but we don't get to see a lot of him. More background with her fellow Knights would have been good, hopefully that will come in future books as well.
It is full of action and adventure where the Knights fight the monsters in the world, causing chaos. I would have enjoyed it more if we got to hear from the MMC. I love it when stories are told in dual POV.
June 14, 2022
A great urban fantasy. A fun mystery. Kick-ass heroine and characters. Possible romance, but at this time; action, adventure, and kicking butt.
Rated: 4 Stars
Rated: 4 Stars
December 9, 2021
Mon avis en Français
My English review
I was curious to discover this new urban fantasy series! Besides, I really like Annabel Chase’s novels so how could I resist?
London lives in a world very different from the one we know. The sun disappeared a long time ago and vampires have taken over the cities. It’s in this setting that London lives as a knight in the city’s lesser known order, helping people when they need it and especially when they pay. But then someone offers her a new job and that someone is none other than a vampire. Except she’s been running from them forever, knowing full well they’ll kill her if they find out what she really is. Even worse, this vampire is also a prince whose power could destroy her! But there’s no way she can refuse the job, he’s a prince, no one can… She will have to find her sister who has disappeared, as well as a stone that the vampire queen wants back. But why is she so interested in any stone?
This was a very enjoyable novel. London and Callan have a strong connection but our heroine knows that nothing good would come of such a relationship. Still, I’m quite curious to see what will happen between our two heroes!
This was an enjoyable first volume to read and I am very curious to find out what happens next!
My English review
I was curious to discover this new urban fantasy series! Besides, I really like Annabel Chase’s novels so how could I resist?
London lives in a world very different from the one we know. The sun disappeared a long time ago and vampires have taken over the cities. It’s in this setting that London lives as a knight in the city’s lesser known order, helping people when they need it and especially when they pay. But then someone offers her a new job and that someone is none other than a vampire. Except she’s been running from them forever, knowing full well they’ll kill her if they find out what she really is. Even worse, this vampire is also a prince whose power could destroy her! But there’s no way she can refuse the job, he’s a prince, no one can… She will have to find her sister who has disappeared, as well as a stone that the vampire queen wants back. But why is she so interested in any stone?
This was a very enjoyable novel. London and Callan have a strong connection but our heroine knows that nothing good would come of such a relationship. Still, I’m quite curious to see what will happen between our two heroes!
This was an enjoyable first volume to read and I am very curious to find out what happens next!
May 1, 2022
On paper, this book has everything I like. It's got a skilled, badass heroine, a vampire romance interest, cool magic, an interesting setup...
But I just didn't like it.
I found myself wishing paragraphs were rewritten to up the romance or up other conflict. When I rewrote them in my head, the book was a lot better. Many things felt rushed or not explained enough, and just not described vividly, the way I wanted them to be.
The ending was also not satisfying -- it didn't seem driven to me by the heroine who should have been moving the action.
Blah.
But I just didn't like it.
I found myself wishing paragraphs were rewritten to up the romance or up other conflict. When I rewrote them in my head, the book was a lot better. Many things felt rushed or not explained enough, and just not described vividly, the way I wanted them to be.
The ending was also not satisfying -- it didn't seem driven to me by the heroine who should have been moving the action.
Blah.
May 1, 2025
Fantasía urbana post-apocalíptica. Me he leído la primera tetralogía porque necesitaba despejarme y esta era una lectura light. No es nada del otro mundo, así como tampoco aporta nada nuevo a la fantasía.
En cuanto a la obra en sí, siento que le falta profundización tanto en argumento, escenarios como personajes. Si no tienes en cuenta ello puedes pasar unos ratos agradables pues entretiene bastante.
En cuanto a la obra en sí, siento que le falta profundización tanto en argumento, escenarios como personajes. Si no tienes en cuenta ello puedes pasar unos ratos agradables pues entretiene bastante.
April 17, 2022
Cute and gives me Night Huntress vibes but with less character development and plot continuity.
London and Callan had some entertaining banter like Cat and Bones which was fun, but the author really needs to flesh out Callan a lot more. We barely know anything about him except his short info-dump backstory that was delivered similarly to how an author would give historical facts about an old building.
The author should also give us a sense of Callan's emotions - through facial expressions, different tones and manners of responding, etc - to help us feel that he's a real character.
The plot was light and engaging, but there were several filler action scenes where I felt like the author wrote them out first, and then attempted to relate these scenes to the main plot. Unfortunately it just didn't flow as well as it should have.
The world-building saved this book for me. It was done in a very fun way and even though we don't receive any deep insight about the other species, it didn't feel lacking or take away from the story. I'm positive we'll learn more about them in the next installments and it's good that there was no info-dumping here at all. The timing and manner through which we learn what London is was done pretty well too.
This was overall a decent read but needs quite a bit of improvement especially on the H's development, which negatively affects the romance, and the plot continuity.
London and Callan had some entertaining banter like Cat and Bones which was fun, but the author really needs to flesh out Callan a lot more. We barely know anything about him except his short info-dump backstory that was delivered similarly to how an author would give historical facts about an old building.
The author should also give us a sense of Callan's emotions - through facial expressions, different tones and manners of responding, etc - to help us feel that he's a real character.
The plot was light and engaging, but there were several filler action scenes where I felt like the author wrote them out first, and then attempted to relate these scenes to the main plot. Unfortunately it just didn't flow as well as it should have.
The world-building saved this book for me. It was done in a very fun way and even though we don't receive any deep insight about the other species, it didn't feel lacking or take away from the story. I'm positive we'll learn more about them in the next installments and it's good that there was no info-dumping here at all. The timing and manner through which we learn what London is was done pretty well too.
This was overall a decent read but needs quite a bit of improvement especially on the H's development, which negatively affects the romance, and the plot continuity.
January 9, 2022
More telling than showing. Characters' behavior didn't fit my expectations. For example, the girl told them all who she was working for immediately after saying she can't tell them to keep them safe. She was at a bar where anyone could hear and the vampire family was clear that discretion was needed. Multiple friends of hers asked why she was working for the vampires when the entire world was set up that vampires control everything and the royals are the baddest of the bad. My impression was that if someone said no to them they would be killed, or tortured then killed. But these girls were questioning something that seemed obvious and worried about losing their license to perform magic/be knights. I was skimming at the end, but why would the vampire guy let her keep the elemental stone? He should have grabbed it right away. The only thing that would make sense is if he didn't want his family to get it for some reason that will be revealed in a future book.
May 2, 2022
Awesome
I loved this first in series. I'm immediately diving into the next one. Brilliant! Can't wait to read more of this tale!!
I loved this first in series. I'm immediately diving into the next one. Brilliant! Can't wait to read more of this tale!!
April 20, 2023
DNF @ 34
Just couldn’t get into the story
Just couldn’t get into the story
October 15, 2023
Narrated by Suzanne Elise Freeman
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sort of fun, but poorly executed.
The fight scenes were cringe worthy.
The narrator did a great job, though!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sort of fun, but poorly executed.
The fight scenes were cringe worthy.
The narrator did a great job, though!
March 28, 2022
Pues estuvo bien, me entretuvo de principio a fin y la historia se me hizo interesante, sin embargo, no sé cómo describir el libro realmente, como que le falta profundidad a la historia pero tampoco se sintió como una lectura tan superficial, es complicado.
Eso sí, London me cayó muy bien y Callan me llama mucho la atención. Tengo curiosidad por saber cómo se desarrollará la relación de estos dos porque en este primer libro no hubo nada de romance (en plan, besos, abrazos, etc.), y como saben yo no puedo vivir sin leer romance. Curiosamente tampoco me molestó mucho la nula actividad romántica, la historia puede llegar a ser bastante entretenida con las brujas, magos, lobos, vampiros y más. También aprecio que a pesar de que London tiene 30 años, la historia no gira entorno a lo sexual. Ni una vez en todo el libro se mencionó nada sexual relacionado con ella y Callan, lo cual me sorprendió un poco ya que en otras historias la protagonista nada más conoce al que será su interés amoroso y no para de andar horny (de verdad, a veces me harta tanto contenido sexual). Este libro fue un buen cambio.
Si buscas un urban fantasy entretenido, rápido, con una protagonista chida y un vampiro que intriga, este libro es para ti.
Eso sí, London me cayó muy bien y Callan me llama mucho la atención. Tengo curiosidad por saber cómo se desarrollará la relación de estos dos porque en este primer libro no hubo nada de romance (en plan, besos, abrazos, etc.), y como saben yo no puedo vivir sin leer romance. Curiosamente tampoco me molestó mucho la nula actividad romántica, la historia puede llegar a ser bastante entretenida con las brujas, magos, lobos, vampiros y más. También aprecio que a pesar de que London tiene 30 años, la historia no gira entorno a lo sexual. Ni una vez en todo el libro se mencionó nada sexual relacionado con ella y Callan, lo cual me sorprendió un poco ya que en otras historias la protagonista nada más conoce al que será su interés amoroso y no para de andar horny (de verdad, a veces me harta tanto contenido sexual). Este libro fue un buen cambio.
Si buscas un urban fantasy entretenido, rápido, con una protagonista chida y un vampiro que intriga, este libro es para ti.
January 9, 2022
2.75
I know my rating goes against the grain, but while I didn't mind the storyline the pacing was extremely slow and the characters were flat. (Jmo) I didn't feel any chemistry between any of the relationships and the interactions, at times, were so one dimensional they weren't in any way believable. This story was in no way unique, which is ok. .. I like the story .. but due to this commonality, it needed something to make it stand out, which the author wasn't able to achieve. (At least in my opinion).
I know my rating goes against the grain, but while I didn't mind the storyline the pacing was extremely slow and the characters were flat. (Jmo) I didn't feel any chemistry between any of the relationships and the interactions, at times, were so one dimensional they weren't in any way believable. This story was in no way unique, which is ok. .. I like the story .. but due to this commonality, it needed something to make it stand out, which the author wasn't able to achieve. (At least in my opinion).
February 7, 2022
The writing was so dull that even the “suspenseful” parts were boring. DNF @ CH. 16
And the repetition, good lord the repetition. Why are we still learning that the volcanoes blotted out the sun when it was said THE FIRST TIME in the first chapter?? I gettttt ittttttt. Volcanoes erupted. Is it that the author has nothing else to write that they need to repeat themselves??
And the repetition, good lord the repetition. Why are we still learning that the volcanoes blotted out the sun when it was said THE FIRST TIME in the first chapter?? I gettttt ittttttt. Volcanoes erupted. Is it that the author has nothing else to write that they need to repeat themselves??
Read
August 17, 2023Rating: minus 2
I am doing another revision, which is such not a joy. My many weeks long inability to upload my reviews In less than a day and often longer, magically lifted after I directed a single question directly to Amazon. I simply continued to write "Why no upload allowed, Amazon?" to my "Shockwave" review until that one sentence uploaded. Immediately after, magically my uploads have no issue. Why the harassment continues despite the obvious fear that plausible deniability is fading with each action, is beyond me. That first level manager must surely egg them on or these "rogue" techs (archetypal Useful Idiots) are utterly mental. Since these demented souls have goaded me, I aim to misbehave. 🤗
In preparation, I will need some time on YouTube. This revision was made possible by channels Tigermoth Productions, Cari Can Read, ATP Geopolitics, Mia Mulder, Abney park, Biz Barclay, Verilybitchie, It's Black Friday, Mythic Concepts, Ship Happens, Mariah Pattie, Chris and Shell, NerdForge, Military Aviation History, Neringa Rekaslute, Jessie Gender, 2 Cellos, Philosophy Tube, Shannon Makes, Owen Jones, Crecganford, Tom Nicholas, Anna from From Ukraine, Bella Ciao - Nikolay Kutuzov.
From the rating average, I can see that many readers like the book. Unfortunately, ratings on this site reflect popularity but the few reviews seldom address weaknesses or strengths in this or other books. So thousands of readers like a book but none can say or have said why. That does not seem useful to me. Another title with a similar history that comes to mind, was the German 1939 bestseller "Mein Kampf". 🤗 That is not to suggest that these two books share any DNA. The same cannot be said of the 1939 title and much of Amazon's space adventure. In either case, the ratings might be less than useful for a more demanding reader.
I was able to read two reviews of this book, both of whom disliked this book. I made the mistake of writing an agreement comment to both and was stunned by both replies.
The one assumed that any publisher approved book was high end. My opinions were always clear that publisher approved popular science fiction titles seemed to me a good indication of the worst quality. She chastised me for not realizing that my dislike of poor character work, plot holes and really awful background universe did not mean that it was a bad book. Never have I ever written that anyone else need or should agree with my reviews. I was under the impression that a reader would be interested in various views before investing time or money or library space in a book. I was wrong. My current and more accurate understanding is that as the herd moves, so should all other readers. As she pointed out, many other readers liked this book. Many viewers loved the Disney classic "Songs of the South", perhaps they should release it again. Based on popular US science fiction print, I feel that it would be a success again. 🙂 Why she had written that the character work and interactions were deficient, is beyond me. I really felt that I had begun a conversation with Philomena Cunk.
It was stupid of me to forget that the membership seems dominated by readers of a very strange and/or very undemanding mindset. Far be it from to say that after reading reviews and the ratings of substandard books, the membership seem not inarticulate so much as thick. Accordingly, I wrote an apology comment, roughly explained my misunderstanding and decided then and there that this site will never again swallow a superfluous 35 seconds of my time.
The second reviewer gave the book a one star review, which is unheard of on the site. I wrote my agreement that world building seems not to be essential in the minds of low end science fiction writers. The Star Wars curse carried forward, as it were. He quickly responded that he disagreed. He claimed that lack of world building, plot holes (and contrivance, supposedly) are not important. He stated the Star Wars was world class storytelling. He considered the movie to be a sample of character work at its finest. He threw in a handful of old media hype claims as proof. Lastly he almost apologised for disliking this book. There was almost a fearful tone to the comment. I struggled over whether to write another apology comment. My reasoning for not, being that it was possible that my former fanboys, might decide that there was a connection between the reader and myself with dire consequences to him.
This was a reader whose reviews I had referenced several times in my own. He had to have known that he was comparing a boy's adventure film to a supposedly adult novel. I am a curious person and I sometimes dig into subjects for the fun of discovery. I did not need see the interview with Lucas to know that his was a movie written for twelve year old boys. The hero's journey tripe and Campbell references were studio hype to add some semblance of substance to a surprise hit. Lucas created the most simplistic straight line narrative and background universe based not on logic but on his target audience (the preteen boy) and his love of World war two models.
This presented an opportunity to appeal to twelve year olds, who want toys and Lucas cleverly retained the rights to what became a billion dollar toy franchise. Star Wars' success was based on Lucas demonstrating the impact a brand new level of special effects could have on science fiction. He was right and science fiction film has benefited since. Good children's movie, yes. Adults overwhelmed by special effects never before seen, yes. A very, very profitable release, yes. Within those parameters, it might be considered a successful movie. If profitability is factored into the judgement and in Hollywood profits are king, it could be judged a good movie.
That is not the same as a solid adult story possessing complete World building. That is not the same as good plot and character development. That is not the same as great storytelling for adult audiences. I have difficulty believing that reader praising, then pardoning Star Wars was unaware that the franchise was from them on nothing more than a special effects extravaganza. I have difficulty believing that he was unaware that no film critic has raved about the franchise in thirty years. I had difficulty believing that He was unaware that even fans have difficulty swallowing that constantly recycled children's adventure.
All the above were reasons that his comment disturbed me. I had completely misunderstood this and his previous reviews, as I had that of the first reviewer. I had not written a comment to a non-friend review in over three years and only six or seven before. It resulted in six or seven apology comments and I should have remembered why that was. My two recent experiences reminded that outside of literary fiction or non-fiction and that doubtful, I have no interest in ever posting more than my own reviews for my own record and as a bonus some reader may find some value of them. At the least, they will infuriate my man-child fanboys of the fascistic type. Though they seem to have disappeared since I began naming them in my reviews. They were so bold before but now appear shy. It is a strange coincidence. 🤔
In this book, I saw a glimmer of a premise that I liked but there was no novel here, only a sketch of a promising main character. It was no tough decision to decide not to read the next. You might want to look through some of the lower rated reviews, as I am not Permitted to see them by Goodreads, as a rule. Though I do not know that they will be of any use, if these two reviewers are typical and after reading thousands of reviews and comments I know them to be.
There are a number of strange unexplained restrictions applied to me by this site, which began after my original short negative review of Powers of the Earth, a pathetic salute to the January 6, 2021 hero by Travis Corcoran, self-described libertarian, US veteran, advocate for the return of chattel slavery, supporter of Putin's Russia, employee of an unnamed US agency. This was also a Goodreads praised book.
Claes Rees Jr/cgr710, a self-identified NeoNazi and US patriot wrote a comment to my Powers review declaring that They had "won" (?). I suppose that means that he and his fellows will no longer flood channels which I mention with truly foul sexual and racist comments. The German particle physicist, the couple restoring an historic boat, the Swedish historian and the other female creators were not amused by Their american-ness. They did however create an interesting portrait of american man-child culture for a broad multinational audience. If their secondary goal was to increase the world's overabundance of upset, They succeeded. USA! Yay??
Claes Rees Jr/cgr710 and Travis Corcoran/JP
Don't be numpties. Be two smarties. Come and join the Communist Party. 🤗
Slava Ukraini !!! -----ta---- Slava Geroyam !!!
This next part is written courtesy of YouTube channels - Acollierastro, Fantasy and World Music by the Fletchers, Abbie Emmons, Philosophy Tube, Jessie Gender, The Leftist Cooks, Steve Shives, Just Write, Bernadette Banner, May, Wizards and Warriors, Overly Sarcastic Productions, Shannon Chiang, iWriterly, Books with Emily Fox, Ben and Emily, Savy Writes Books, Alizee, Mythology and Fiction Explained, The Caspian Report, Beautifully Bookish Bethany, Widebeam and Wellingtons. Abney park, Curious Droid, Jill Bearup, Abby Cox, Super Epics, ASN Random, Verilybitchie, Tom Nicholas, Ro Ramdin.
The main issue with the book was the weak world building, the second was with the main character's development or lack thereof. The world building is always deficient in books which do not quite gel or do not come close to. With bad science fiction, the writers do not seem to acknowledge solid background universe as an essential element of storytelling. There is an insufficient context within which to place any of the characters. It is a sad failing and seems universal to a large portion of the Amazon catalogue. Editors approved of these and publishers paid for them. That is the new standard.
The background universe makes no sense. The damage to the planetary biome is not described but what changes have occurred should have ended human, animal and plant life on land. One year of complete darkness alone might possibly have been enough to have made the damage to the biome irreversible, if not complete. Animals on both land and sea depend on plant life. With total darkness over the planet a falloff of plant life should follow. Plants absorb carbon dioxide during the day but release it during the night or at least some species do, if I remember correctly. The book should address whether there is an issue with planetary oxygen and carbon dioxide levels and if none, explain why not. The question of how many humans are still alive, how they are or can be supported by the new environmental conditions are important bits of information in order to maintain immersion in the story. Unless of course, the reader is a twelve year old girl or this writer's fans. 🙂
The rise of the vampires is not explained. The size of and places where the vampire population existed before the darkness are not even considered. How they survived and how quickly they expanded were never addressed. There is no description of vampire society has regionally organized itself and no history of their rise. Their is no explanation of the relationship of vampire society to supernatural creatures or if in fact they are supernatural. There is no clear description of what the portal is or its origins. The invading species can survive Earth's atmosphere, consume terrestrial plants and animals is a given. No questions there.
The technology is barely described. The book's atmosphere is Victorian with the addition of medieval weaponry. There were possibilities despite the above, which might have lent the book a Steampunk feel with its associated technology. It might have required more work but the framework was already in place for a degraded technology. I think that it could have been made to feel plausible in a more complete background universe.
The main character was almost interesting but her personal history makes little sense. Her parentage is a boring mystery. Her sexual attraction to the world's apex predator and his apparent interest in her is every bad urban fantasy series romance setup. I think that she was described well enough for a sense of her personality but there is not enough to explain her enrollment in her order. The structure and operation of her order was unclear. The other orders and their hierarchy is not explained at all, neither is their role in the society. The entire society's extent, structure, etc. is as murky as the streets of the book's city.
The vampire abilities are standard but the book leans a little heavily on the sexy vampire trope. The "Will they, won't they" arc clashes with the dread these creatures engender in humans. The attempt to humanize them and in the case of the vampire princess, her being cast as a teenaged girl was cringe-y. The main character's friends are not powerful until they are. They are quirky individual fighters until they seem to be a bachelorette party. I still liked the individuals as concepts but they are more sitcom outlines than characters. World building really disciplines writing, I think. I am no longer stunned that members find the concept bizarre, offensive and/or not applicable to science fiction related books. This is a paranormal romance with a strange urban fantasy/post apocalyptic/steampunk backdrop, totally lacking in depth.
The premise is not new, it is borrowed from cosmic horror. The main character is a romance heroine with a mysterious lineage developing a relationship with a sexy vampire. The cast exists in a barely described almost steampunk world. Finally in low effort romance writing tradition, there are the cute infantilized female characters and dangerous male sex interest. The book would read better if the writer had not chosen a pretence of serious fantasy/horror.
The weak writing standards for low end US science and related fiction is off putting. I had lost most of my interest in science fiction but watching the better films on the streaming services and the YouTube Shorts of DUST and Omeleto channels are restoring interest slowly. There is a nice multilingual selection on Netflix, which if not always better, adds nice cultural insights that I find fascinating.
My first Goodreads review experience was in seeking opinions of ebook editions of the Tao Te Ching. I was treated to a smug self-congratulatory quintet of idiots, mocking Taoism with all the expert analytical ability of drunk racist undergraduates. I had little interest in reading any review for about two years or more and that was a reaction to what I thought must be an outlier at the time. The nasty comments to my personal reviews from the beginning were even more frighteningly stupid and finding no reviews from the commenters cemented my contempt for this platform.
My YouTube picks of the moment.
A Cup of Nicole, The Kavernacle, Verilybitchie, Bobbing Along, Engineering with Rosie, Fantasy and World Music by the Fletchers, Jake Broe, Mia Mulder, Lily Simpson, Malinda, Owen Jones, Sarah Millican, Emma Thorne, Linguoer Mechanic, Bernadette Banner.
I looked to YouTube for music, science fiction shorts and fan fiction. I hadn't realized that YouTube hosted channels devoted to other interest areas and finally stumbled upon the book channels. It was love at first book channel. 😍😍 These channels host communities that are much different to that of Amazon/Goodreads. They are friendly, thoughtful readers excited by all the corners of the bookish world. I recommend a visit for any reader to several book channels and have included some below. From sponsor spots on educational channels, I was introduced to the dedicated educational video sites. They are all modestly priced and seem worth a look.
As for Amazon/Goodreads, please consider treating this site as potentially hostile. 😐
Ominous music begins. 🙂 I and other members have been subjected to persistent nasty comment clouds from (predominantly US male) science fiction fans. They have followed myself and other readers in little organized groups. It seems that these fans are unable to write their own reviews (I have checked their book shelves) and wrote not a single sentence explaining that which they found satisfying about same books. This seemed very common in the low end US science fiction fandom on this site.
They have gone further in my case, though I doubt that I am the first customer to suffer their viciousness. For bizarre and troubling details of Amazon's own campaign from the odd, not quite deniable harrsssments to the illegal see my review of either "Dark Horse", a good space romance by Diener or Powers of the Earth.
I suggest minimizing profile information, using email instead of site messages, removing all lurkers (those friends who automatically monitor and never post) and making screenshots of the odd and ugly. If you write no negative reviews of low end US science fiction, you may not be targeted but precautions still seems prudent. Remember that the Cancelorettes observe no social or moral restraint, their comments are very, very seldom challenged and member and employees both are above all Americans. Ominous music ends. 🙂
May we all find Good Reading! 😊
I am not a good advisor of on the best of YouTube channels, but these are some of my favourite YouTube channels.
LuckyBlackCat, No Justice MTG, Julie Nolke, Mythic Concepts, Tara Mooknee, Tom Nicholas, Munecat, Double Down News, Useful Idiots, Dr Becky, Mrs Betty Bowers, Pentatonix, The Armchair Historian, Wizards and Warriors, Operator Starsky, Kings and Generals, Vlad Vexler, The Kavernacle, Second Thought, Prime of Midlife, Spacedock, Novara Media, The Juice Media, Stevie Emerson, The Present Past, The Templin Institute, Interior Design Hub, Rowan J Coleman, Books and Lala, A Day of Small Things, Lilly's expat life, May Moon Narrowboat, Cruising Alba, Adelaide Beeman-White, Karolina Zebrowska, Autumn's Boutique, Hailey in Bookland, Violet Orlandi, 2Dorfasis, More Perfect Union, Some More News, Undecided with Mike Ferrell, Abney park, Real Engineering, Kathy's Flog in France, Ben and Emily, Chugging Along, The Great War, Crecganford, The Leftist Cooks, Jessie Gender, The Gravel Institute, Mauler, Musique Chinoise,Then & Now, Gemma Dyer, Between the Wars, Beautifully Bookish Bethany, Jean's Thoughts, Natasha's Adventures, NFKRZ, Jabzy, IzzzYzzz, Alice Cappelle, Alize, Chloe Stafler, Practical Engineering, Overly Sarcastic Productions, What Vivi did next, Cruising the Cut, Camper Vibe, Cecelia Blomdahl, A Cup of Nicole, Linguoer Mechanic, Denys Davydov, Jake Broe, Cone of Arc, Mythology and Fiction Explained, Andrewism, Jed Herne, Bernadette Banner, Jill Bearup, With Olivia, Lumber Capital Log Yard, Merphy Napier, Book Leo, Elina Charatsidou, Heather Dale, No Protocol, It's Black Friday, The Roomies' Digest, Patrick is a Navajo, Half as Interesting, Adult Wednesday Addams - 2 seasons, Geo Girl, Jack Edwards, Vasya in the Hay, Endevr, Ship Happens, Physics Girl, Narrowboat Pirate, Narrowboat Chef, The Mindful Narrowboat, Owen Jones, Philosophy Tube, Holly the Cafe Boat, Boat Time, Three Arrows, Sarah Z, Travelling K. A Clockwork Reader, Trek Central, Perun, Sciencephile The AI, The Science of Science Fiction.
I wish you a great morning, a splendid afternoon, a pleasant evening, a wonderful night and may we all continue learning.
Those who hide behind Silence are never safe, they fall Alone into darkness.
Meditations, Dark Sisters
I am doing another revision, which is such not a joy. My many weeks long inability to upload my reviews In less than a day and often longer, magically lifted after I directed a single question directly to Amazon. I simply continued to write "Why no upload allowed, Amazon?" to my "Shockwave" review until that one sentence uploaded. Immediately after, magically my uploads have no issue. Why the harassment continues despite the obvious fear that plausible deniability is fading with each action, is beyond me. That first level manager must surely egg them on or these "rogue" techs (archetypal Useful Idiots) are utterly mental. Since these demented souls have goaded me, I aim to misbehave. 🤗
In preparation, I will need some time on YouTube. This revision was made possible by channels Tigermoth Productions, Cari Can Read, ATP Geopolitics, Mia Mulder, Abney park, Biz Barclay, Verilybitchie, It's Black Friday, Mythic Concepts, Ship Happens, Mariah Pattie, Chris and Shell, NerdForge, Military Aviation History, Neringa Rekaslute, Jessie Gender, 2 Cellos, Philosophy Tube, Shannon Makes, Owen Jones, Crecganford, Tom Nicholas, Anna from From Ukraine, Bella Ciao - Nikolay Kutuzov.
From the rating average, I can see that many readers like the book. Unfortunately, ratings on this site reflect popularity but the few reviews seldom address weaknesses or strengths in this or other books. So thousands of readers like a book but none can say or have said why. That does not seem useful to me. Another title with a similar history that comes to mind, was the German 1939 bestseller "Mein Kampf". 🤗 That is not to suggest that these two books share any DNA. The same cannot be said of the 1939 title and much of Amazon's space adventure. In either case, the ratings might be less than useful for a more demanding reader.
I was able to read two reviews of this book, both of whom disliked this book. I made the mistake of writing an agreement comment to both and was stunned by both replies.
The one assumed that any publisher approved book was high end. My opinions were always clear that publisher approved popular science fiction titles seemed to me a good indication of the worst quality. She chastised me for not realizing that my dislike of poor character work, plot holes and really awful background universe did not mean that it was a bad book. Never have I ever written that anyone else need or should agree with my reviews. I was under the impression that a reader would be interested in various views before investing time or money or library space in a book. I was wrong. My current and more accurate understanding is that as the herd moves, so should all other readers. As she pointed out, many other readers liked this book. Many viewers loved the Disney classic "Songs of the South", perhaps they should release it again. Based on popular US science fiction print, I feel that it would be a success again. 🙂 Why she had written that the character work and interactions were deficient, is beyond me. I really felt that I had begun a conversation with Philomena Cunk.
It was stupid of me to forget that the membership seems dominated by readers of a very strange and/or very undemanding mindset. Far be it from to say that after reading reviews and the ratings of substandard books, the membership seem not inarticulate so much as thick. Accordingly, I wrote an apology comment, roughly explained my misunderstanding and decided then and there that this site will never again swallow a superfluous 35 seconds of my time.
The second reviewer gave the book a one star review, which is unheard of on the site. I wrote my agreement that world building seems not to be essential in the minds of low end science fiction writers. The Star Wars curse carried forward, as it were. He quickly responded that he disagreed. He claimed that lack of world building, plot holes (and contrivance, supposedly) are not important. He stated the Star Wars was world class storytelling. He considered the movie to be a sample of character work at its finest. He threw in a handful of old media hype claims as proof. Lastly he almost apologised for disliking this book. There was almost a fearful tone to the comment. I struggled over whether to write another apology comment. My reasoning for not, being that it was possible that my former fanboys, might decide that there was a connection between the reader and myself with dire consequences to him.
This was a reader whose reviews I had referenced several times in my own. He had to have known that he was comparing a boy's adventure film to a supposedly adult novel. I am a curious person and I sometimes dig into subjects for the fun of discovery. I did not need see the interview with Lucas to know that his was a movie written for twelve year old boys. The hero's journey tripe and Campbell references were studio hype to add some semblance of substance to a surprise hit. Lucas created the most simplistic straight line narrative and background universe based not on logic but on his target audience (the preteen boy) and his love of World war two models.
This presented an opportunity to appeal to twelve year olds, who want toys and Lucas cleverly retained the rights to what became a billion dollar toy franchise. Star Wars' success was based on Lucas demonstrating the impact a brand new level of special effects could have on science fiction. He was right and science fiction film has benefited since. Good children's movie, yes. Adults overwhelmed by special effects never before seen, yes. A very, very profitable release, yes. Within those parameters, it might be considered a successful movie. If profitability is factored into the judgement and in Hollywood profits are king, it could be judged a good movie.
That is not the same as a solid adult story possessing complete World building. That is not the same as good plot and character development. That is not the same as great storytelling for adult audiences. I have difficulty believing that reader praising, then pardoning Star Wars was unaware that the franchise was from them on nothing more than a special effects extravaganza. I have difficulty believing that he was unaware that no film critic has raved about the franchise in thirty years. I had difficulty believing that He was unaware that even fans have difficulty swallowing that constantly recycled children's adventure.
All the above were reasons that his comment disturbed me. I had completely misunderstood this and his previous reviews, as I had that of the first reviewer. I had not written a comment to a non-friend review in over three years and only six or seven before. It resulted in six or seven apology comments and I should have remembered why that was. My two recent experiences reminded that outside of literary fiction or non-fiction and that doubtful, I have no interest in ever posting more than my own reviews for my own record and as a bonus some reader may find some value of them. At the least, they will infuriate my man-child fanboys of the fascistic type. Though they seem to have disappeared since I began naming them in my reviews. They were so bold before but now appear shy. It is a strange coincidence. 🤔
In this book, I saw a glimmer of a premise that I liked but there was no novel here, only a sketch of a promising main character. It was no tough decision to decide not to read the next. You might want to look through some of the lower rated reviews, as I am not Permitted to see them by Goodreads, as a rule. Though I do not know that they will be of any use, if these two reviewers are typical and after reading thousands of reviews and comments I know them to be.
There are a number of strange unexplained restrictions applied to me by this site, which began after my original short negative review of Powers of the Earth, a pathetic salute to the January 6, 2021 hero by Travis Corcoran, self-described libertarian, US veteran, advocate for the return of chattel slavery, supporter of Putin's Russia, employee of an unnamed US agency. This was also a Goodreads praised book.
Claes Rees Jr/cgr710, a self-identified NeoNazi and US patriot wrote a comment to my Powers review declaring that They had "won" (?). I suppose that means that he and his fellows will no longer flood channels which I mention with truly foul sexual and racist comments. The German particle physicist, the couple restoring an historic boat, the Swedish historian and the other female creators were not amused by Their american-ness. They did however create an interesting portrait of american man-child culture for a broad multinational audience. If their secondary goal was to increase the world's overabundance of upset, They succeeded. USA! Yay??
Claes Rees Jr/cgr710 and Travis Corcoran/JP
Don't be numpties. Be two smarties. Come and join the Communist Party. 🤗
Slava Ukraini !!! -----ta---- Slava Geroyam !!!
This next part is written courtesy of YouTube channels - Acollierastro, Fantasy and World Music by the Fletchers, Abbie Emmons, Philosophy Tube, Jessie Gender, The Leftist Cooks, Steve Shives, Just Write, Bernadette Banner, May, Wizards and Warriors, Overly Sarcastic Productions, Shannon Chiang, iWriterly, Books with Emily Fox, Ben and Emily, Savy Writes Books, Alizee, Mythology and Fiction Explained, The Caspian Report, Beautifully Bookish Bethany, Widebeam and Wellingtons. Abney park, Curious Droid, Jill Bearup, Abby Cox, Super Epics, ASN Random, Verilybitchie, Tom Nicholas, Ro Ramdin.
The main issue with the book was the weak world building, the second was with the main character's development or lack thereof. The world building is always deficient in books which do not quite gel or do not come close to. With bad science fiction, the writers do not seem to acknowledge solid background universe as an essential element of storytelling. There is an insufficient context within which to place any of the characters. It is a sad failing and seems universal to a large portion of the Amazon catalogue. Editors approved of these and publishers paid for them. That is the new standard.
The background universe makes no sense. The damage to the planetary biome is not described but what changes have occurred should have ended human, animal and plant life on land. One year of complete darkness alone might possibly have been enough to have made the damage to the biome irreversible, if not complete. Animals on both land and sea depend on plant life. With total darkness over the planet a falloff of plant life should follow. Plants absorb carbon dioxide during the day but release it during the night or at least some species do, if I remember correctly. The book should address whether there is an issue with planetary oxygen and carbon dioxide levels and if none, explain why not. The question of how many humans are still alive, how they are or can be supported by the new environmental conditions are important bits of information in order to maintain immersion in the story. Unless of course, the reader is a twelve year old girl or this writer's fans. 🙂
The rise of the vampires is not explained. The size of and places where the vampire population existed before the darkness are not even considered. How they survived and how quickly they expanded were never addressed. There is no description of vampire society has regionally organized itself and no history of their rise. Their is no explanation of the relationship of vampire society to supernatural creatures or if in fact they are supernatural. There is no clear description of what the portal is or its origins. The invading species can survive Earth's atmosphere, consume terrestrial plants and animals is a given. No questions there.
The technology is barely described. The book's atmosphere is Victorian with the addition of medieval weaponry. There were possibilities despite the above, which might have lent the book a Steampunk feel with its associated technology. It might have required more work but the framework was already in place for a degraded technology. I think that it could have been made to feel plausible in a more complete background universe.
The main character was almost interesting but her personal history makes little sense. Her parentage is a boring mystery. Her sexual attraction to the world's apex predator and his apparent interest in her is every bad urban fantasy series romance setup. I think that she was described well enough for a sense of her personality but there is not enough to explain her enrollment in her order. The structure and operation of her order was unclear. The other orders and their hierarchy is not explained at all, neither is their role in the society. The entire society's extent, structure, etc. is as murky as the streets of the book's city.
The vampire abilities are standard but the book leans a little heavily on the sexy vampire trope. The "Will they, won't they" arc clashes with the dread these creatures engender in humans. The attempt to humanize them and in the case of the vampire princess, her being cast as a teenaged girl was cringe-y. The main character's friends are not powerful until they are. They are quirky individual fighters until they seem to be a bachelorette party. I still liked the individuals as concepts but they are more sitcom outlines than characters. World building really disciplines writing, I think. I am no longer stunned that members find the concept bizarre, offensive and/or not applicable to science fiction related books. This is a paranormal romance with a strange urban fantasy/post apocalyptic/steampunk backdrop, totally lacking in depth.
The premise is not new, it is borrowed from cosmic horror. The main character is a romance heroine with a mysterious lineage developing a relationship with a sexy vampire. The cast exists in a barely described almost steampunk world. Finally in low effort romance writing tradition, there are the cute infantilized female characters and dangerous male sex interest. The book would read better if the writer had not chosen a pretence of serious fantasy/horror.
The weak writing standards for low end US science and related fiction is off putting. I had lost most of my interest in science fiction but watching the better films on the streaming services and the YouTube Shorts of DUST and Omeleto channels are restoring interest slowly. There is a nice multilingual selection on Netflix, which if not always better, adds nice cultural insights that I find fascinating.
My first Goodreads review experience was in seeking opinions of ebook editions of the Tao Te Ching. I was treated to a smug self-congratulatory quintet of idiots, mocking Taoism with all the expert analytical ability of drunk racist undergraduates. I had little interest in reading any review for about two years or more and that was a reaction to what I thought must be an outlier at the time. The nasty comments to my personal reviews from the beginning were even more frighteningly stupid and finding no reviews from the commenters cemented my contempt for this platform.
My YouTube picks of the moment.
A Cup of Nicole, The Kavernacle, Verilybitchie, Bobbing Along, Engineering with Rosie, Fantasy and World Music by the Fletchers, Jake Broe, Mia Mulder, Lily Simpson, Malinda, Owen Jones, Sarah Millican, Emma Thorne, Linguoer Mechanic, Bernadette Banner.
I looked to YouTube for music, science fiction shorts and fan fiction. I hadn't realized that YouTube hosted channels devoted to other interest areas and finally stumbled upon the book channels. It was love at first book channel. 😍😍 These channels host communities that are much different to that of Amazon/Goodreads. They are friendly, thoughtful readers excited by all the corners of the bookish world. I recommend a visit for any reader to several book channels and have included some below. From sponsor spots on educational channels, I was introduced to the dedicated educational video sites. They are all modestly priced and seem worth a look.
As for Amazon/Goodreads, please consider treating this site as potentially hostile. 😐
Ominous music begins. 🙂 I and other members have been subjected to persistent nasty comment clouds from (predominantly US male) science fiction fans. They have followed myself and other readers in little organized groups. It seems that these fans are unable to write their own reviews (I have checked their book shelves) and wrote not a single sentence explaining that which they found satisfying about same books. This seemed very common in the low end US science fiction fandom on this site.
They have gone further in my case, though I doubt that I am the first customer to suffer their viciousness. For bizarre and troubling details of Amazon's own campaign from the odd, not quite deniable harrsssments to the illegal see my review of either "Dark Horse", a good space romance by Diener or Powers of the Earth.
I suggest minimizing profile information, using email instead of site messages, removing all lurkers (those friends who automatically monitor and never post) and making screenshots of the odd and ugly. If you write no negative reviews of low end US science fiction, you may not be targeted but precautions still seems prudent. Remember that the Cancelorettes observe no social or moral restraint, their comments are very, very seldom challenged and member and employees both are above all Americans. Ominous music ends. 🙂
May we all find Good Reading! 😊
I am not a good advisor of on the best of YouTube channels, but these are some of my favourite YouTube channels.
LuckyBlackCat, No Justice MTG, Julie Nolke, Mythic Concepts, Tara Mooknee, Tom Nicholas, Munecat, Double Down News, Useful Idiots, Dr Becky, Mrs Betty Bowers, Pentatonix, The Armchair Historian, Wizards and Warriors, Operator Starsky, Kings and Generals, Vlad Vexler, The Kavernacle, Second Thought, Prime of Midlife, Spacedock, Novara Media, The Juice Media, Stevie Emerson, The Present Past, The Templin Institute, Interior Design Hub, Rowan J Coleman, Books and Lala, A Day of Small Things, Lilly's expat life, May Moon Narrowboat, Cruising Alba, Adelaide Beeman-White, Karolina Zebrowska, Autumn's Boutique, Hailey in Bookland, Violet Orlandi, 2Dorfasis, More Perfect Union, Some More News, Undecided with Mike Ferrell, Abney park, Real Engineering, Kathy's Flog in France, Ben and Emily, Chugging Along, The Great War, Crecganford, The Leftist Cooks, Jessie Gender, The Gravel Institute, Mauler, Musique Chinoise,Then & Now, Gemma Dyer, Between the Wars, Beautifully Bookish Bethany, Jean's Thoughts, Natasha's Adventures, NFKRZ, Jabzy, IzzzYzzz, Alice Cappelle, Alize, Chloe Stafler, Practical Engineering, Overly Sarcastic Productions, What Vivi did next, Cruising the Cut, Camper Vibe, Cecelia Blomdahl, A Cup of Nicole, Linguoer Mechanic, Denys Davydov, Jake Broe, Cone of Arc, Mythology and Fiction Explained, Andrewism, Jed Herne, Bernadette Banner, Jill Bearup, With Olivia, Lumber Capital Log Yard, Merphy Napier, Book Leo, Elina Charatsidou, Heather Dale, No Protocol, It's Black Friday, The Roomies' Digest, Patrick is a Navajo, Half as Interesting, Adult Wednesday Addams - 2 seasons, Geo Girl, Jack Edwards, Vasya in the Hay, Endevr, Ship Happens, Physics Girl, Narrowboat Pirate, Narrowboat Chef, The Mindful Narrowboat, Owen Jones, Philosophy Tube, Holly the Cafe Boat, Boat Time, Three Arrows, Sarah Z, Travelling K. A Clockwork Reader, Trek Central, Perun, Sciencephile The AI, The Science of Science Fiction.
I wish you a great morning, a splendid afternoon, a pleasant evening, a wonderful night and may we all continue learning.
Those who hide behind Silence are never safe, they fall Alone into darkness.
Meditations, Dark Sisters
May 12, 2022
I read the lower reviews. I always do. Before I dive in, I always want to see what people think of the storyline/world-building/character-building, etc. This was recommended to me, not as much for the storyline, though that was a part of it, but because, as an editor, this person thought I would enjoy how clean the book is. I read one review that mentioned typos. I found one. One missing comma. I can't even begin to say how rare that is, even in books I've edited (or so I'd assume). So this person who went on and on about typos either sparked the author to clean up the book or was completely, totally wrong.
That being said, I did enjoy the storyline. One thing I found to be very unusual was the way the world she built came about. The thought of there being super volcanoes that all go off simultaneously, causing perpetual darkness, was brilliant. Has it been done before? I don't know. I haven't read every book in creation. I only know I enjoyed the premise.
I also enjoyed how the first book took the time to give us background, character development, and an ongoing storyline that will tie into the second book. Every series I've ever read has needed to include backstory and character background to introduce us to the cast of characters as well as the reasons they are all together, why they do what they do, how they became what they are, etc., while weaving it all into the action-filled story necessary to keep our interests and build the basis for a series. This first book was no different than any of them. It is the single biggest reason I always tell people to please read more than the first book before judging the series.
I am looking forward to seeing whether implied romances pan out, whether London's lifelong secret will come out, whether we'll ever discover the real reason behind Minka's apparent cowardice, and, of course, where the story will take us next.
If I had one complaint, it would be the animal menagerie in London's "flat". Yes, it's a cute sidebar, but it gets a bit too much attention for what amounts to a cutesy sidebar to an action-filled story. I found myself wishing she would give more attention to the other characters and their backgrounds than to a collection of strange animals that have little to no bearing on the story as a whole.
Overall, I was intrigued enough to be jumping into book two immediately after finishing book one. That is the best recommendation I can offer for giving a series a chance. And once again, I was extremely impressed with the cleanliness of the editing. For me, that is a huge part of enjoying a book.
Well done, Annabel Chase! Very well done, indeed!
That being said, I did enjoy the storyline. One thing I found to be very unusual was the way the world she built came about. The thought of there being super volcanoes that all go off simultaneously, causing perpetual darkness, was brilliant. Has it been done before? I don't know. I haven't read every book in creation. I only know I enjoyed the premise.
I also enjoyed how the first book took the time to give us background, character development, and an ongoing storyline that will tie into the second book. Every series I've ever read has needed to include backstory and character background to introduce us to the cast of characters as well as the reasons they are all together, why they do what they do, how they became what they are, etc., while weaving it all into the action-filled story necessary to keep our interests and build the basis for a series. This first book was no different than any of them. It is the single biggest reason I always tell people to please read more than the first book before judging the series.
I am looking forward to seeing whether implied romances pan out, whether London's lifelong secret will come out, whether we'll ever discover the real reason behind Minka's apparent cowardice, and, of course, where the story will take us next.
If I had one complaint, it would be the animal menagerie in London's "flat". Yes, it's a cute sidebar, but it gets a bit too much attention for what amounts to a cutesy sidebar to an action-filled story. I found myself wishing she would give more attention to the other characters and their backgrounds than to a collection of strange animals that have little to no bearing on the story as a whole.
Overall, I was intrigued enough to be jumping into book two immediately after finishing book one. That is the best recommendation I can offer for giving a series a chance. And once again, I was extremely impressed with the cleanliness of the editing. For me, that is a huge part of enjoying a book.
Well done, Annabel Chase! Very well done, indeed!
February 23, 2022
'"I am a prince of the two most formidable Houses in the realm," he said. "You would do well to stay on my good side."
The bastard had a good side?
"I'll keep that in mind when consulting my schedule." Oops. It seemed my sarcasm was stronger than my will to live.'
This was so cute and brilliantly funny. The banter between London and Callan was sexy and filled with those perfectly timed dirty jokes. This is definitely a slow-burn but their personalities just gel so well together already and I can't wait to see what their chemistry and attraction turns into.
I loved all the side characters from the Knights of Boudicea - funny-as-hell warrior women who have had to learn to play to their strengths in a male-dominated field.
The concept is unique and entertaining, and this also gives me Kate Daniels vibes - albeit in a lighter and more fast-paced form.
Looking forward to getting stuck into the rest of the series, there is a lot to uncover from London's past and what it really means to be what she is.
The bastard had a good side?
"I'll keep that in mind when consulting my schedule." Oops. It seemed my sarcasm was stronger than my will to live.'
This was so cute and brilliantly funny. The banter between London and Callan was sexy and filled with those perfectly timed dirty jokes. This is definitely a slow-burn but their personalities just gel so well together already and I can't wait to see what their chemistry and attraction turns into.
I loved all the side characters from the Knights of Boudicea - funny-as-hell warrior women who have had to learn to play to their strengths in a male-dominated field.
The concept is unique and entertaining, and this also gives me Kate Daniels vibes - albeit in a lighter and more fast-paced form.
Looking forward to getting stuck into the rest of the series, there is a lot to uncover from London's past and what it really means to be what she is.
April 22, 2022
3.5 ⭐️
Good start to a new series with a good world building.
I like the idea of an eternal night which is not common. Good mysteries all around : about London and about the stones. There’s a lot more too come for sure.
London is a likable FMC with hidden talents and more pets than she should in a world where they are valued so differently.
I enjoyed the idea of Knights being jack of all trades and a knighthood of females only. I good feel their friendship despite London keeping her distance and I’ll be interested to see if they can climb her walls over the next books.
It was however low on romance with just a budding idea of what may come but I’m hopeful as Callan seems like a good match for London.
Overall an enjoyable story with interesting and likable characters.
Good start to a new series with a good world building.
I like the idea of an eternal night which is not common. Good mysteries all around : about London and about the stones. There’s a lot more too come for sure.
London is a likable FMC with hidden talents and more pets than she should in a world where they are valued so differently.
I enjoyed the idea of Knights being jack of all trades and a knighthood of females only. I good feel their friendship despite London keeping her distance and I’ll be interested to see if they can climb her walls over the next books.
It was however low on romance with just a budding idea of what may come but I’m hopeful as Callan seems like a good match for London.
Overall an enjoyable story with interesting and likable characters.
January 18, 2022
Very interesting
I really liked this, though it felt like I was running to catch up to the plot a few times - or at least what leads up to the plot. The author does pause to explain this quite a bit, moments that actually flowed well with the narrative, but it still almost missed a full foundational setting. That said, this is an intriguing urban fantasy that moves at an incredible pace.
I really liked this, though it felt like I was running to catch up to the plot a few times - or at least what leads up to the plot. The author does pause to explain this quite a bit, moments that actually flowed well with the narrative, but it still almost missed a full foundational setting. That said, this is an intriguing urban fantasy that moves at an incredible pace.
July 16, 2022
This felt more like the outline of a book instead of a finished product. I liked the storyline, but the execution is really bad. I haven't read anything else by this author, but word crafting doesn't seem to be her strong suit.
In any case, I can't say I am motivated to read the next book in the series.
In any case, I can't say I am motivated to read the next book in the series.
August 17, 2022
an intriguing new series
Great storyline, easy follow along plot with nice twists and turns. Good descriptive writing that was enjoyable and entertaining.
Awesome characters I can’t wait to get to know better.
I’m heading off the get the next book now.
Great storyline, easy follow along plot with nice twists and turns. Good descriptive writing that was enjoyable and entertaining.
Awesome characters I can’t wait to get to know better.
I’m heading off the get the next book now.
January 19, 2023
Interesting book. Nonsexual. I found it interesting because she was a woman who is a knight that hates vampires, protects the city by killing evil monsters and then takes on a job for the royal vampires. Held my interest and I thought it was well written
November 26, 2021
Excellent Beginning of a New Series
Annabelle Chase has constructed a new world where, due to a natural disaster, vampires have taken control of everything and everyone and monsters of all kinds have been unleashed on the human survivors. In this environment London works as a knight, with a group of other women, to help people in need. She is approached by Prince Callan, of the Royal House, to find his missing sister and retrieve a very powerful artifact that has been stolen from the excavation where it was found. London doesn’t want to work for the vampires since she is really a super powerful being that is a danger to the vampires, and being found out would mean her death if they figured out what she was. But she has no choice and so begins the investigation, with the unwanted help of Prince Callan. Even though she is deathly afraid of Callan she can not stop the feelings she is having about him. And it looks like the Prince is taken with London too
The story is very well written, with sarcasm and humor and action. It moves along at a quick pace and contains plenty of plot twists. I really enjoyed it and recommend it highly.
Annabelle Chase has constructed a new world where, due to a natural disaster, vampires have taken control of everything and everyone and monsters of all kinds have been unleashed on the human survivors. In this environment London works as a knight, with a group of other women, to help people in need. She is approached by Prince Callan, of the Royal House, to find his missing sister and retrieve a very powerful artifact that has been stolen from the excavation where it was found. London doesn’t want to work for the vampires since she is really a super powerful being that is a danger to the vampires, and being found out would mean her death if they figured out what she was. But she has no choice and so begins the investigation, with the unwanted help of Prince Callan. Even though she is deathly afraid of Callan she can not stop the feelings she is having about him. And it looks like the Prince is taken with London too
The story is very well written, with sarcasm and humor and action. It moves along at a quick pace and contains plenty of plot twists. I really enjoyed it and recommend it highly.
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