BS BOOK REVIEWERS: Darkness before Dawn

Darkness before Dawn

Talk about not wanting to put a book down; I devoured this book in a matter of hours. Darkness before Dawn is a vampire dystopian-if there is such a genre. This book is set in the future in Denver, or what is left of Denver, after a thirty-year war between humans and vampires. The remaining humans in Denver have walled themselves off from the vampires who live outside and are under the control of the menacingly evil Lord Valentine, an Old Family vampire. There’s a kick here, though: a peace treaty has been negotiated where the vampires will not attack them further, as long as the humans willingly supply them with needed human blood, by way of a volunteer blood bank. The only problem is that rogue vampires have been known to get into the city and kill humans indiscriminately anyway, and that nine years later, the humans have become complacent in their protective status, and hence, lackadaisical about making blood donations. To encourage this pseudo harmony and peace, a human delegate is chosen to work with the vampires, in particular, Valentine.

Dawn Montgomery’s father is hand-selected as the first delegate. When he’s subsequently killed, along with his wife-supposedly by rogue vampires-Dawn is chosen by Valentine himself to be the new delegate, and at the young age of seventeen, as well. FYI: there’s always a hidden agenda with Valentine. Dawn is a great protagonist, though, you can feel her pain and despair over the loss of her parents, as well as an older brother. However, she’s strong and capable and doesn’t back down from a fight, either. Even when that fight involves four, bloodthirsty rogue vampires against one small female human.

This is where Victor, Valentine’s son, comes in; he saves Dawn and her friend, Tegan, during that obvious disadvantaged attack. Dawn is quickly intrigued by Victor and his life, and it doesn’t take long for her to develop feelings for him, yet she’s conflicted because her own family was killed by his kind, ones that she once considered to be monsters. Then there’s Matt, a friend she’s known for years and one that just so happens to be her boyfriend, as well. And coincidentally enough, someone who’s training to be a Night Watchmen, an individual who patrols the city and kills rogue vampires.

Regardless, she can’t seem to get Victor out of her mind and her dreams. Moreover, Victor is taken with Dawn, too, as he tells her, on more than one occasion, that she reminds him of the one thing that he’s never fully seen: the sunrise. There were a couple of times were I just barely refrained from rolling my eyes at Victor’s, teetering on cheesy, dialogue, but then I tried to also remember that he was a four-hundred-year-old vampire, not well nuanced in contemporary teenage slang.

“I like you Dawn. I’ve seen lots of humans, from far away and up close. I’ve never met one like you. I think you’re the closest thing to a sunrise I’ll ever see.”

"You'll never lose me, Dawn. Since I met you, for the first time in my life, I truly understand what I'm fighting for. You are every sunrise that I will never see."

"...I would gladly sacrifice my immortality for you." He touches my cheek and then skims his fingers along my throat. "You will be in my life such a short time, but it will be worth it."

Darkness before Dawn is written by a mother/son team, and at first I was rather skeptical about this pairing (outside of Nicholas Sparks, I don’t tend to read male authors-sorry!) But I can honestly say that this was a good book. Moreover, definitely worth a try. Lots of action with this one, and with the addition of multiple baddies, the story moves at a rather quick pace. If you’re open to a different type of dystopian novel, or if you have to a vampire fix, on occasion-like me-then I recommend this book. Oh, and before I forget, this is the first book in a series (I know you’re not surprised, though)J

Darkness before Dawn – 4 out of 5 stars!