Published Date: July 9th, 2010
Finished Date: April 14th, 2011
Publishers: Harper Collins, Inc.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 400
Series: Dark Days book 5
Blurb from Goodreads: 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 trusted ally, her beloved enemy, the vampire slayer Danaus. -----------------------------------------------------------------------
My Review: This book is a complete knockout. Wow! Seriously, constant action and passion thru'out the entire book from the first page where Mira was kidnapped(continued right where the previous book left off. "My left knee had been shattered and my right leg was broken. My internal organs were swimming in my own blood, bruised, punctured, and damaged. My jaw felt fractured and my eyes were nearly swollen shut." This is literally the first page, no kidding.), till the last few pages where Mira was decapitating and eradicating one really annoying pain-in-the-ass vamp/nightwalker("My fist punctured his breast plate and went straight to his heart...I screamed in pain and triumph as i wrapped my fingers around his shrivelled heart and slowly pulled it free of his chest."). Whoo! A knockout!
I love the constant thrill and the battles that Mira gets caught up in or starts thru'out the book(and, really, every page has at least half of it splashed with bloody battle scenes - other than that one very short but sweet, passionate and physical part involving Danaus and Mira:X Big spoiler!). Drake managed to keep me clutching onto the book because of her awesome way of illustrating those phenomenal, gruesome fights and skirmishes that is part and parcel of Drake's world of nightwalkers(and other less desirable creatures). Even tho the first 4 books had no romance in it whatsoever, there were little hints and touches of it that would nudge any romance lovers/fans to continue reading - Well, it certainly nudged me, all right(nudged me hardXP)
I love the fact that Mira continues to stay strong and independent(especially in this fight in the end where she enters the "battleground" all alone and managed it like a pimple - cool girl's power!). The problems that she faced, and the whole well of emotions that she feels and bottles up in herself is really overwhelming that it suffocates me as well, but she managed to pent and suck it all up. She is really powerful and is one kick-ass hot womanBD (i sound like a perv:/)
Danaus was rather...ambiguous about his feelins towards Mira initially- even tho it was all rather cleared up in the prequel where it was written in his POV, but well, i kinda pity Mira. His sort-of betrayal was really heart wrenching i wanted to plunge my hand in there and start slapping Danaus upside down to knock some sense into him. Mira's practically throwing herself at him already and yet he still holds onto his stupid doubts that(this is gonna sound REALLY cliche) they weren't meant to be together. L.A.M.E. hahaha
Anyway, Valerio and Stefan were both really prominent characters in this book in the series. Both were Ancients with skills and a bloodlust(and a bit of OCD- what with the need to fold and tuck away their expensive coats before a fight/massacre safely) that was strangely, winningly charming(if there's such a word:/). I've come to know them quite well:). Who knew the cool, calm Stefan had a close female-assistance? And i stress "close" and "female".:)
To sum it up, this is not your average love-triangle-ly vampire novel/series. There wasn't as much love and intimate physical activitie popping up everywhere as most vamp novels would have, and is definitely on for those action-seekers and thrill-seeking fans of the fantasy genre. I absolutely loved this one, the slow building passion between the characters, and this would be the only vamp novel i have read so far that i would recommend to my friends. I seriously cannot wait for the last and final instalment of this series, which is set to be released on June 28, 2011!! Cheers, Drake! For another gruesomely tastey novel:)
My Rating:
