Nikki has been apart from Michael for 6 months, 6 months
while Michael slowly relearns to control his hunger and 6 months when Michael
resolves to stay away from Nikki. His life, his world, his job is just too
dangerous for her and he is determined to keep her safe
Unfortunately for him, one of his jobs coincides with one
of hers – she has another missing teenager and a lost contact’s family member,
neither of which she is willing to ignore and she’s certainly not going to
leave it because Michael asks her too
They are thrown back together in an exclusive resort
trying to find a slew of missing people – and finding surprises both magical
and personal waiting for them and an entire species depending on them for
survival.
After the last book, I was a little dubious about this
series, I was still waiting for something more unique to happen to set it out. While
the character interactions pretty much fit some very long established moulds,
the plot of this book broke out of the tropes. We had some completely new
creatures and a twisty plot line that made use of them in a pretty new an
interesting way that lead to a pretty original story and definitely one that
could not be entirely predicted since so much was hidden and hidden well. It
was a plot that had elements I have not seen elsewhere and put the series on my
mental map as a unique creation with its own exclusive items that are both
intriguing and fascinating – and make me want to read the next book to see
where the author’s imagination will take me next and how much further this
world will expand
This world is still played very close to the author’s
chest. In some ways I like this – like the first book the writing style is pretty
well handled in terms of descriptiveness. I don’t think the fight scenes
necessarily work brilliantly, often giving me the feeling of people queuing up
for battle and a few anti-climaxes, but they do work well. We do have some overly
emotional monologues but, again, they’re pretty restrained to what I’ve seen
elsewhere and even in the first book. The writing is careful, it has hiccoughs
but they’re slight – it controls description and unnecessary exposition though
I have to say I would like a little more world building about vampires and the
organisation Michael works for. But the fact the hints encourage me to learn
more is a good sign in itself.
There is also a considerable improvement in the
relationship between Michael and Nikki. Now, it isn’t perfect, but a lot of
what isn’t perfect is also challenged, at least to a degree. I’ve said before a
hundred times how much I hate rushed relationships – and Nikki and Michael
lamenting how they cannot possibly live without one another despite only having
known each other for a week is definitely rushed. I just never get the sense of
foundation to this relationship. Even Michael lampshades it with this line:
“We barely even know each other. We may share thoughts and we may share passion, but we have never once shared our dreams or our desires for the future. I don’t know your favorite movie or color or food or even what you like to read. And you know as little about me.”
I cheered when I read this line. And I cheered that Nikki
was talking about finding these out –because that would be great, them deciding
they have good potential and it would be worth seeing if they could build a
relationship and develop it further. I was on board for that, even with Nikki
angry because Michael wouldn’t try to see if they could have a relationship.
They both say the words – and the lack of experience with
each other is used to justify Nikki’s jealousy because she does realise they
have no secure relationship. The jealousy is another element of the story that
is handled pretty well. Nikki is jealous, she recognises it, she even seethes
with it – but she doesn’t do anything ridiculous based upon it nor is her
jealousy completely unfounded.
But I do feel that the whole “we don’t know each other”
was something of a token protest – since without addressing any of those points
they do fall quickly into the “I love you and can’t live without you ever!”
track.
Michael continues to be extremely “protective” to the
point of patronising and paternal to Nikki. He tries to send her home because
it’s all too dangerous for her delicate self. He’s always asking her to stay in
the room or stay safe while he marches into danger. His whole reason for not pursuing
a relationship with her is that he couldn’t possibly expose her to such
terrible, dangerous darkness (despite the fact she has hardly lead a sheltered
life). It is pretty aggravating to say the least.
But, on the flip side, Nikki is much less
spunky this book so she doesn’t undermine her own agency. She continually
challenges Michael’s protectiveness – without actually deciding to do something
foolish or borderline suicidal to prove how big and tough she is. She is
injured and he does help her – but she helps him as well, including saving the
say. In particular, I liked that her powers were essential tools in this story
while, in the last book, they were more wonderful assets that other people
coveted (and, therefore, coveted her) rather than weapons in her arsenal. In
all, it means that Michael still kind of annoys me – but he’s learning and
changing as Nikki challenges his constant desire to put her in a locked room to
keep her delicate fragility sheltered and protected. It also means that Nikki
has grown and I don’t dislike her any more. Most importantly, both characters
are now showing considerable potential that they didn’t have before.
Unfortunately, for all these improvements we still have
zero POC. We do have a lesbian - one of the kidnapped victims who was seduced and kidnapped by another woman - that woman is a depraved predator. It's not a big role and the villain certainly doesn't make it a positive one
In all, I think this book has several elements that the
first book sorely lacked. It introduced the world in a much wider stance, added
some texture and depth to the characters that were pretty generic and
completely overwhelmed by tropes and it gave me a lot more hooks to actually
want to continue with the story. I’m really, pleasantly, surprised and feel
more of this development could have done to have been in the first book.
An ARC of this book was received through Netgalley
