So let's get the ball rolling! The first book I'd like to review is Elijah by Jacquelyn Franks. I've reviewed Jacob, but not Gideon... I'm still waiting for Ames to read Gideon so we can buddy review... so blame her LOL :)
Elijah by Jacquelyn Frank
published by Zebra books in December 2007
They are called the Nightwalkers, an ancient race devoted to protecting the world from the darkness of the Necromancers. And their proudest warrior is Elijah, a man who bends for nothing and no one...until one woman brings him to his knees...Genre: paranormal romance
SOME FEELINGS YOU JUST CAN’T FIGHT
He is known as the Warrior Captain—a master of every weapon, a fierce soldier sworn to protect his kind from violence. Powerful, relentless, merciless, Elijah has always won every battle he’s ever taken on—until now. Ambushed by Necromancers, he is left for dead only to be rescued by a woman who could very well deliver the final blow…Siena, the Lycanthrope Queen.
For over a decade, an uneasy peace has existed between the warring Lycanthropes and Elijah’s people, and he’s not about to let his guard down now around their queen.
But Siena’s will is every bit a match for Elijah’s own, her sleek and sensual nature waking a hunger within him that he cannot deny. Now, the Warrior in Elijah is consumed with a different battle—winning Siena’s heart by giving her pleasure beyond all boundaries. What starts as attraction and arousal soon burns into a passion with consequences that will echo through the ages for both their people. And as would-be enemies become inseparable lovers, another threat approaches, one with the power to destroy them all...
Surrender to the night.
Series: The Nightwalkers, Book 3
Hmmm, let see. It's been a while since I last wrote a full review, so I don't know from where to start... LOL. Okay, here we go…
The Story: In the previous books, Ms Frank has built a world that's in tumult – after years of wars between the Nightwalkers creatures, they have finally reached a truce and they now have to cooperate in order to fight off new threats. In Jacob, Ms Frank has focused mainly on demons and their ways and how through the centuries, they’ve been modified and changed from what was originally the truth. In short, the whole truth being discovered resulted in the rebellion/treason from two female demons who have created a "sect" composed of humans, necromancers and witches who hunt all Nightwalkers creatures (i.e. demons, vampires, weres, etc.). So at the beginning of this book, we read about Elijah who's been ambushed by this sect and is about to die... luckily for him though, Siena appears in her were-animal shape and rescues him. Both of them are stuck together for a number of days… During that time, they are wildly attracted to each other and both succumbed to their lust, even if they do not entirely accept what the other is. See, demons and were-people have been at war for hundreds of years and have just been living in peace for the past 14 years. Siena is the new Queen of her people and Elijah is the Captain of the demons and it’s been said that he killed a great number of Siena’s people. So being together is not a very good option; however, they don’t have a choice because Siena and Elijah are mates.
My Opinion: To be completely honest and why shouldn’t I, I had several problems with this book. First is the fact that Siena and Elijah got together so fast, especially while Elijah was injured. Why not work out the problems before hopping to bed together? See the problem is not only the fact that Siena is a were and Elijah is a demon, the biggest issue is that Siena will only mate once. This means that whoever she chooses as her first lover will be her mate eternally… and as Queen, she can hardly pick a demon as King, especially not a demon that has killed hundreds of her people. However, she gives in to temptation after holding up for a decade and jump into bed with Elijah. Then, a day or two later, she has to leave… and Elijah barely makes it home due to injuries… I was quite @_@ that he could have sex but not make it home.
By the way, after all the drama of “He’s a demon, I can’t mate with him even though I had sex with him,” the solution in order for them to get their HEA ending was almost too easy, too simple.
My other problem with this book is that it seems to me there are too many restraints to the characters because of the world building. I mean, demons have to be and react a certain way because they are demons, vampires get to be this way because they are vampires. I understand that in order to make the creatures interesting and new to the readers, authors have to come up with some ideas and particular traits; however, it seems to be too much in the Nightwalkers series and it really stifles the characters in my opinion. It might have been better also if there was no “Imprinting” which is how the mate system is called in this series.
Finally, because of the drama between Elijah and Siena, the politics between all the different kind of creatures and the treason/sect story, I have the feeling that I didn’t get to know the characters very well. I was given the major lines, their reactions, but never got to see development.
My Conclusion: Despite my issues with the book, I do like Ms Frank’s writing and I think she has many good ideas. However, all those ideas were a bit too much for one book. I’m not sure how I feel about the world building anymore. I enjoyed it at first when it was only the demons, but I feel it too strict when you factor in the other Nightwalkers. I am still looking forward to the next book which is Damien and features the lord of vampires. I’m hoping that his love interest won’t be a demon as I need a break from them… and I’ll decide after that book whether or not I should continue the series. For people who want to continue the series, you should definitively read Elijah since many events are happening and it’ll impact the future of the series. However, if you simply want to read a romance, then you might want to skip this book and pick up another one.
Grade: C
