Sunday, June 26, 2011

Review -- Everdark

Everdark
The Dark Ink Chronicles, Book 2
By Elle Jasper
Publisher: Signet Eclipse
Release Date: June 7, 2011






Tattoo artist Riley Poe thought she knew Savannah's shady side---until her brother was taken by a cult of vampires. Allying herself with hot-blooded vampire Eli Dupre, she got her brother back. But her courage---and her one-of-a-kind blood type---made her an irresistible temptation for some very bad bloodsuckers.

After barely surviving an ambush by enemy undead, she has inherited certain traits of her attackers: heightened senses, lightning reflexes, unreal strength. Eli trains Riley to use her new vampiric tendencies, teaching her control and skills she's never imagined needing. But when a new trait---a telepathic link with a rampaging vampire---manifests itself, Riley knows she has to put her new skills to the test to stop the killer before he strikes again.

Long used to taking care of herself, Riley has trouble asking for help, even from the powerful vampire she loves...


I was captivated by the vampire world that Elle Jasper created when I first read book one in The Dark Ink Chronicles, Afterlight. My fascination for the characters and setting have not lessened, if anything it has grown while reading Everdark. Riley Poe is in deep: deep in action, danger, and ever deeper in love with her vampire lover, Eli Dupre, although she has yet to tell him. Riley now has "tendencies" thanks to the DNA she now shares with the strigoi vampires who attacked her. Added to her new powers, she also shares a telepathic link with one of those vampires, Victorian Arcos, who "visits" with her when she's dreaming and often when she's awake. Although no one else trusts him---and Riley initially agrees---Victorian is slowly convincing Riley that he's not the monster his brother Valerian was. Said brother, Valerian was killed by Eli, but it seems that he may have found a way to continue the carnage he wreaked in the past. And Riley has the unfortunate luck to be linked telepathically with him as well, and witness, through his eyes, the violence he brings to his victims. She knows that she must find a way to stop him, and she is going to need help from Eli, his family and hers.

Everdark picks up right where Afterlight left off, so it really is essential to read this series in order (I'm anal about that anyway). One of the things I love so much about this series---besides the smoking hot scenes with Riley and Eli---is that Elle Jasper writes so descriptively that I feel like I'm in the story. It's like watching a movie, each scene so vivid and real that my heart pounds with excitement and fear. I can feel the heavy humid air of Savannah and Charleston, smell the salty air, and feel the hair on the back of my neck stand on end as if someone was right behind me. And I must confess that I wouldn't mind a very sexy vampire like Eli sweeping me off my feet. Of course, Riley is kick ass in the most literal sense of the word, but when it comes to Eli, her heart just melts. And that, my friends, is why I love romance, no matter what form it takes.

There is quite a cliffhanger at the end of Everdark, one that had me yelling, "What the...????" Thank goodness there was an excerpt from Eventide (book 3 in the series) to calm me down....and of course, have me clamoring for more of Riley, Eli and the rest of the gang. When it comes to waiting for new books in a series, patience is not my strong suit, but I know, without a doubt, that Elle Jasper will make it worth the wait.

~ Gannon


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9 comments:

  1. I'm like that with series too, most impatient. I have learned to wait until the complete series is out THEN read. Not always possible.

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  3. Great minds think alike!!! I just reviewed this book over at Petit Fours and Hot Tamales this week and had the exact same reaction.

    I love the story and the "feel" I get when I read this one. Like you said, I felt like I was walking those streets feeling the sweltering heat. LOVE it.

    AND VERY glad that excerpt was in there. We might have had to camp out at Elle's back door...grin...

    Have a great week!

    Tami

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  4. Marybelle, the only way I can wait until the whole series is out before I read them is if I discover a series after is already complete. :-)

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  5. AND VERY glad that excerpt was in there. We might have had to camp out at Elle's back door...grin...

    Sounds good to me, Tami! LOL

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  6. A heroine named Riley (which I love) set in the town of Savannah (which I love) = a win-win for me! Thanks, Gannon!

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  7. Andrea, Savannah is such a perfect Southern city and it's ideal for this series. I need another trip there---it's been a few years. :-)

    Riley is a great name, isn't it?!

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  8. I love series like this. My problem is not wanting to wait. Therefore, I will usually wait to read them until they are all out.
    I hope things are going well for the release of this book.

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  9. Librarypat, I hope you enjoy this series when you read it.

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