Title: Night Hawk
Series: Night Hawk Series – Book 1
Author: J.E Taylor
Genre: Romance, Sci-Fi, and Fantasy
Blurb: Selling your soul has never been so charming and Mark throws in a little something to sweeten the pot, his girlfriend Naomi.
Sentenced to death at the hands of a demon, Naomi Hawk has a firsthand lesson in despair and betrayal in Mark’s deal for fame with all the trimmings. Deep in the clutches of the underground brotherhood, Naomi’s light is coveted for the Master’s gain.
When she slips and falls eighty stories from a precarious ledge, Naomi resigns herself to the inevitable impact and death by shattered bones. Before she can escape her demons in eternal slumber, something sinister plucks her from the plummet, stealing her out of the night to sacrifice her forever to the shadows.
Imprisoned in bottomless darkness, Naomi thirsts for justice…and revenge.
Thoughts: Descended from the bloodline of the archangel Michael, Naomi finds herself to be the perfect pawn for in a game between good and evil. When her boyfriend makes a bargain with Lucifer, Naomi finds herself walking into a trap – one that he orchestrated. Caught between the demons after her and a eighty story fall, Naomi is trying to decide which would be the better death when she slips and falls. She’s surprised when she is whisked right out of the air – and finds herself face-to-face with a new enemy.
Damien has a long-held personal grudge against Lucifer, and prides himself on taking away anything that he coveys. His intent is to kill her and drain her dry – imagine his surprise when she bites him back! Before he knows it she’s a creature of the night like him. And it’s all happened so quickly – before he realizes that she’s a descendant of Michael’s! Was it all just an accident? Or something preordained by fate?
While the premise of the story is a good one, I had quite a few problems with this book. My main issue was the bouncing back and forth between the character’s points of view. The chapters take turns between telling Naomi’s point of view and that of Damien. While I do like getting different reads on the thoughts and emotions of different characters, the fact that it was told in the first person just made it utterly confusing! With “I did this…”, or “I felt like”, it made it difficult to remember which “I” you were reading about – that of Naomi or that of Damien.
Another major fault with this book for me was the lack of explanations. The whole way that this world works was not explained. Why the difference between the vampires? They are both vampires – yet she develops the ability to shift into a Siberian tiger and Damien shifts into a hawk. Why do they shift at all? Do all vampires have different forms? Why? What about the world around them? Is anyone else aware of these strange vampires and of the demons roaming the earth? It’s all just discussed as the norm, but where is the back history of this strange environment? I need to know more about the world that Naomi finds herself living in. I’m sorry but Damien’s explanation of “I don’t know” didn’t really cut it for me.
And while Naomi stands her ground in the face of danger – almost recklessly at times (for example, challenging the archangel Michael) she doesn’t come off as particularly “tough” for me. Definitely not as tough as a Michael and a ancient vampire. Yet, she manages to defeat not just Lucifer, but a whole hoard of demons and the ex-boyfriend – almost single handedly. I mean, Really?….I just can’t buy it. Not to mention how many times she – the newborn vampire – has to “rescue” the ancient vampire who has been around centuries longer than her. How in the world did he survive so long by himself?
While there is a good, solid premise behind the book – and it has the capability of being a good book – the execution of it just didn’t do it justice. All of the issues just came together and made it really hard to feel any connection with the characters. I had to really struggle to finish the book, and this really bothered me since I feel it could be a really good story that I could get into if these issues were addressed. I’m sorry to say that I won’t be clamoring to read the next book in the series.
Rate: D
