Dark Awakening
3 Stars

Tynan MacGillivray, a feline shapeshifter vampire, is tasked by his Queen to locate a Seer who can save her race from annihilation. Ty’s search leads him to Lily Quinn, a human woman with a mysterious past and immense powers, who awakens in Ty a fierce need to love, protect and belong. Yet other forces are at work against them and they will need to overcome many obstacles in order to be together ...

Interesting world building and a promising plot, but the chemistry between the leads is lacking and, therefore, results in a rather tepid romance.

The concept of various vampire dynasties each originating with a god/goddess from a different mythology is very intriguing and the idea of a caste system amongst the vampires lends a darker tone to the story. Nevertheless, the details and explanations are few and far between, which means that the atmosphere is less immersive than it could have been.

The story revolving around Ty’s search for a Seer to save the race of vampires to which he is sworn and Lily’s coming to terms with her true identity and her awesome powers is well written and exciting. Unfortunately, Ty is more of a beta than an alpha and his unquestioning loyalty to his Queen despite her obvious manipulation and prejudice against his kind puts a pall on his hero status.

The romance is the weakest element. There is no real spark to Ty and Lily’s relationship and their sex scenes are not only mechanical but unoriginal - one can read similar yet more sensual scenes in other vampire tales of this kind. The characterization is also flimsy and what little development there is comes toward the end, at which point, it is too late for the reader to truly empathize and identify with either of Ty or Lily’s past histories.

Although the secondary characters are appealing whether it be the tormented Jaden, the nefarious Damien (who doesn’t love a bad boy in need of redemption) or the enigmatic Vlad, it is not yet clear whether they have grabbed my attention enough to continue with the series. Perhaps when I’m in the mood. ( )

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: Dark and entertaining world with a strong female character and some twists and turns that kept me guessing.

Opening Sentence: The ballroom was bathed in the soft glow of candlelight, and tiny flames danced, reflected in the eyes of those gathered for the ceremony.

The Review:

Dark Awakening was such a refreshing change in the paranormal romance world for me. It was written is such a way that the main female character, Lily, was not a flake, she was quite tough and level-headed. When strange things were happening to her she didn’t freak out. She was just relieved that she now had answers to all the strange occurrences in her life.

I absolutely enjoyed the way this novel was written. The tone was dark with some humor but the story just flowed from one chapter to the next. This was a novel I just didn’t want to put down; I wanted to find out what would happen next. There were also some twists and turns that I thought I could see coming but the outcomes were completely unexpected.

Dark Awakening is the first novel in the Dark Dynasties series. Vampires have been divided up into different dynasties depending on who the original creator of that line is and who their sire is. Depending on what line you are from, is how you are treated in the vampire world. The main male character, Ty, is a Cait Sith and is seen as the lowest of the low, scum and is practically a slave in some respects. He works for the Ptolemy hoping that it will give his line a better name and respect.

The Ptolemy are the “highbloods” or so they think of the vampire society. Unfortunately, they are being massacred by an unseen force. Ty has been tasked with finding a Seer who will be able to figure out who the killer is and how they are killing off so many of this great and powerful bloodline. When Ty meets Lily, he believes that she is the Seer he is looking for. He eventually (of course!) has to kidnap her to show her the world of the vampires and to prove that she could be the savior of an entire race of vampires.

I absolutely adored this novel and the characters in it and the worldbuilding. Ty is kind of a Debbie Downer but in a cute puppy dog (or kitten!) kind of way. He truly believes what he has been taught is his place in the world. He isn’t happy about it and he tries to do what he can to better himself and his clan but in a way he accepts how terrible he is treated. He often laments his woe to Lily, who tries to cheer him up and of course Lily’s modern day thinking has her wondering why these vampires’ dynasties can treat each other so terribly. Lily is a strong female character. When she finally gives in to the fact that she will never live a normal life again, she decides to live for the moment with Ty and to give in to her destiny.

Dark Awakening had a few twists and turns for me, when I thought it might go the predictable route, there was a twist that kept me guessing until the next twist. This book felt like a refresher for the vampire/paranormal romance genre. The worldbuilding was great too. I enjoyed the dynasty world and background that is revealed as this novel goes along.

Overall, Dark Awakening was a dark and entertaining first book in a series. The book kept me guessing (even though I ruined the end for myself – don’t look at the end!) and was fairly fast paced. I can’t wait to read the second book in this series, Midnight Reckoning.

Notable Scene:

Stupid though she knew it was, Lily felt her eyes sting suddenly with unshed tears. She was a fool. But wasn’t it better to allow herself this little slice of heaven with the only man who’d ever made her feel this way, as short as their connection was destined to be, than to never have it at all and always wonder how it might have been?

She truly didn’t know.

All she knew was that she was now in serious danger of losing not only her life, but also her heart, and to a man she wasn’t at all certain had a heart he would or could give in return.

“Lily. Beautiful Lily,” Ty purred, nuzzling her hair as he wound himself around her and settled down to sleep. “My Lily.”

Yes, Lily thought, giving over to the simple wonder of being held by a man who had just made love to her, who had worshipped her body in a way she’d never before experienced. She was in deep, deep trouble.

And this time, she had no one to blame for it but herself.

FTC Advisory: I purchased my own copy of Dark Awakening. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. ( )

I have found a new author to add to my favorites list! I loved all the different vampire dynasties in this story. Each different dynasty had their own special abilities or power. Most of them set up as monarchies and each believing they are better than the next. As with most monarchies, they had a class system that they were stuck in. If you weren’t highblood, then you were lowblood and the best any lowblood could hope for was servant status for the highblood.

Lily Quinn is believed to be a seer and the Ptolemy dynasty want her. Tynan can shift into cat form, so the Ptolemy consider him a lowblood and they send him to go and bring her back to them so they can use her physic gift to see who has been killing their people. When Tynan finds Lily, she is more than he expects and now he isn’t sure he wants to bring her in.

As the story goes, it just keeps building and building. There is such a mystery around Lily that other vampire clans start to take notice, now Lily and Tynan are running for their lives.
This was a great story and was like a whole box of Godiva Chocolates. It had a variety of different of different well rounded characters. It also had great character and world building. I really enjoyed the whole thing and cannot wait to read the next in the series.

The Narration Review
This audiobook was narrated by Pete Bradbury and I loved his voice! He had a really good story telling voice and a host of different voices and accents for all the characters. He definitely added to the enjoyment of this story. He was a pleasure to listen to! ( )

Where, oh where, do I start with this review?!

I have been searching for months (months) for a new PNR series to read. There's just something about the different and unique worlds that pulls me in and sticks with me longer than contemporary romance (not that I don't love those, because I do...). However, finding and loving a PNR book or series is quite the feat. There are a plethora out there, but very few that truly grab me.

Well, this one managed it.

From the prologue of this book, I was hooked. And let me tell you--I don't even like prologues. But this one? Hooooooooooman. Ms. Castle is not messing around.

So, basically, from the very first page, I was pulled into this book. Castle writes in a way that flows beautifully and seamlessly, but also leaves the reader breathless and anxious for more. The suspense and mystery in this book wasn't overwhelming or overdone, but definitely kept me on the edge of my seat and turning pages. Also, I was immediately struck by the different voices used for both Ty and Lily's POVs, and that, to me, is the mark of an excellent author.

Our hero and heroine were really the stars of this book. Don't get me wrong, the world Castle created was unique and interesting, and the details woven through strategically were well placed and very telling. But Ty and Lily stole the show.

Lily is strong and tough, just the way I like my heroines to be. But, of course, she has uncertainty in her, and I think that's what makes her relatable. I knew, though, as I was reading, that by the end of this book, she was going to be a force to be reckoned with.

And then we have Ty.

...

I have no words for the perfection that is that man. He's left me speechless. So, how about instead of me babbling incoherently about him, I show you what he's like...

"Lily," Ty said, exhaling her name like a prayer. "Just a taste. One taste, and no more."

"Shall I take you there, Lily?" he asked hoarsely. "I can feel how close you are... Ah, gods..."

"When I touch you," he said softly, "I want to sink my teeth into you."

"Be sure, mo bhilis," was all he said. "Be sure."

"Bed," Ty said hoarsely, moving with preternatural speed toward the stairs. "I want to be on you...in you..."

"Lily. Beautiful Lily," Ty purred, nuzzling her hair as he wound himself around her and settled down to sleep. "My Lily."

"I won't give you up, Lily. I'll find a way to save you, save the both of us. Just have faith in me," he said, and she could hear the desperation in his voice. "I have to try and make things right. But I'll never let anyone hurt you. Just have faith in me."

His gaze was hungry, so hungry. "I can't be gentle tonight," he said. "I'm not a gentle man, Lily. You'd do better to lock me out. I want you hot and fast. I want to ride you until you scream for me."

Ty grabbed her hair, snapping her head back as he continued to pump into her, and she knew what was coming, what he wanted to do.

* * *

Seriously. If that doesn't get you to move this straight to the top of your TBR list, then I don't know what more I can say. I am so, so thrilled to have found another PNR series to read and love, and will anxiously await the release of each and every book in this series.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some Jaden to get lost in...

( )

Full review to be posted soon:

After a promising start, and an interesting setting and world-building, the book kind of went all meh on me as the pace dragged on for so long. Also the hero and heroine had several too stupid too live moments which I found really frustrating. I also found Lily's character pretty inconsistent and the romance just didn't work for me although it improved at the end of the book. I think it had an interesting premise with vampiric/dynastic lines and the hierarchy of supernatural races, however I don't think the book never lived up to that promise and sadly its a below average PNR for me. ( )